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September 19, 2014
4 Min Read
In a move that strengthens its 3D design business, Stratasys continued a 15-month buying spree this week by announcing its plan to acquire GrabCAD, a provider of a cloud-based collaboration environment for engineers.
Stratasys expects the deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, to be completed by the end of September. Once completed, GrabCAD will operate as a unit within Stratasys' Global Products and Technology Group with Hardi Meybaum, current co-founder and CEO of GrabCAD, continuing to lead the business within the group.
The news of this purchase comes on the heels of two other notable acquisitions by Stratasys -- that of desktop 3D printing leader MakerBot last June for $403 million, and two more earlier this year of 3D printing service companies Solid Concepts and Harvest Technologies, the former for $295 million and the latter for an undisclosed amount.
With its latest purchase, Stratasys becomes an even more formidable leader in 3D printing, which itself is becoming the single most disruptive technology since the invention of the Internet.
Purchasing GrabCAD now gives Stratasys a comprehensive toolset for developing and managing 3D CAD content and models that can be printed using its other technology. GrabCAD Workbench allows designers and engineers to manage and share CAD files in the cloud, syncing local CAD files to projects, tracking versions, and locking files to prevent any version conflict.
Through GrabCAD Toolbox, Stratasys customers also now will have cloud-based access to third-party design tools from other vendors, like Autodesk and Adobe, both of which reportedly were also vying to buy GrabCAD.
In a press release, Stratasys CEO David Reis was undoubtedly pleased to add GrabCAD to his company's quiver, saying it's not only a boon for Stratasys but also will help accelerate the adoption of 3D printing. "By increasing the collaboration and accessibility of 3D CAD files, we believe we can further accelerate the adoption of 3D printing solutions and Stratasys' product offerings," he said. "Together with GrabCAD, we believe that we will accelerate innovation and provide increased value to a growing universe of customers seeking to utilize 3D printing solutions. We also welcome GrabCAD's active and important community to the Stratasys family. The potential within our 3D ecosystem is very exciting."
Indeed, Reis' comments hit upon the major benefits of the buy for Stratasys. Aside from the technology it gains from GrabCAD, the company also brings onboard a team of software engineers that understand what designers are looking for in 3D printing tools, as well as a knowledge of cloud-based computing, adding a new aspect to its business.
Stratasys also now has an opportunity to really grow its user base, with access to the 1.5 million users of the GrabCAD community, which also includes a public online repository of free CAD files, with more than 500,000 CAD designs available for download and nearly 50,000 file downloads per day.
GrabCAD's Meybaum also was positive about the buy. In the press release, he said it would allow GrabCAD to reach more of its core audience of engineers with its collaboration suite so they can create even more innovation with 3D-printed solutions. "By joining forces with Stratasys, a global leader in 3D printing and additive manufacturing, we believe we can extend the reach of one of the most exciting and innovative design collaboration technologies available," he said. "With its broad and growing customer base and worldwide presence, Stratasys can provide more customers around the world with exciting new solutions to meet their design needs."
About the Author(s)
Elizabeth Montalbano has been a professional journalist covering the telecommunications, technology and business sectors since 1998. Prior to her work at Design News, she has previously written news, features and opinion articles for Phone+, CRN (now ChannelWeb), the IDG News Service, Informationweek and CNNMoney, among other publications. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she also has lived and worked in Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco and New York City. She currently resides in Lagos, Portugal. Montalbano has a bachelor's degree in English/Communications from De Sales University and a master's degree from Arizona State University in creative writing.
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Quiznos is toasted. Sandwich company files for bankruptcy
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Quiznos is toasted. And we’re not talking about the sandwiches this time.
Quiznos Corp., the Denver-based purveyor of toasted subs, filed for bankruptcy today, Bloomberg reports.
The company listed debt of more than $500 million in Chapter 11 documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It hopes to implement a reorganization plan to wipe out about $400 million of that debt, according to Bloomberg.
Quiznos also is seeking court approval for a $15 million loan to continue operations while in bankruptcy.
Quiznos has struggled in recent years because of stiff competition from rival sandwich chains, as well as other fast-casual concepts that have lured appetites and profits.
The Quiznos bankruptcy filing comes days after shopping-mall mainstay Sbarro LLC sought protection from creditors, as well.
About a decade ago Quiznos expanded rapidly, promoting its toasted sub options. But the chain came up against stiff competition from sandwich shop powerhouse Subway Restaurants, as well as chains such as Panera Bread Co. and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Those concepts lured customers with their quality food at affordable price points.
Quiznos used to dot many a street corner around the Phoenix metro area, but that number has dwindled. According to the Quiznos website, there are 10 locations around the Valley.
Other sandwich shops including Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches and Potbelly Sandwich Shop also have expanded into the Phoenix market in recent years, further elbowing out Quiznos.
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COLLABORATION - British creative consultancy Radley Yeldar (RY) has launched the 2016 Fit for Purpose index, ranking the world’s most socially, environmentally and economically purposeful companies. The overall trend that surfaced in this year’s index was collaborative thinking; the top purposeful brands are collaborating with stakeholders and partners within and outside the company to embed purpose in authentic and meaningful ways.
LEADERSHIP - Fortune has published the second edition of its “Change the World” list of the top 50 companies that are delivering positive social impact. Once again developed in partnership with Mark Kramer and Michael Porter’s non-profit social impact consulting firm FSG and their Shared Value Initiative, a platform for organizations seeking business solutions to social challenges, this year’s ranking focused on businesses that created shared value through activities that were also part of the companies’ core business strategy.
PRESS RELEASE - Stuttgart/London/Boston, July 14, 2016 – thinkstep and Anthesis, two leading, global sustainability solutions and services providers, today announced a strategic alliance to pursue joint marketing, sales and consulting opportunities. Together the companies will work to expand market access to both organizations’ global clients through sustainability strategy and software implementation. The alliance will benefit businesses that are committed to making sustainability an integral part of their overall strategy. Initially, the two will work together to further market adoption of thinkstep’s SoFi ts enterprise sustainability software platform. The companies plan to expand their agreement to include the GaBi software suite in the near future.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - “Our goal is to make the intangible tangible, which is what we have to do with culture,” said Pamela Wilhelms, founder of Wilhelms Consulting Group, during a Monday workshop at SB'16 San Diego. The workshop, “Understanding and Measuring Cultural and Systems-Change Dimensions within Companies,” focused on how forward-thinking companies can initiate cultural shifts toward sustainability — and how to measure success. As the world moves toward a more sustainable economy, leading brands will be those capable of identifying and measuring healthy cultural dynamics. But culture often is too subjective and intangible to measure.
PRESS RELEASE - In spite of recent advances, the reality of life for many CSR and sustainability officers is still pretty disheartening. Many senior executives and key internal stakeholders still think of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an afterthought – another box to check on the corporate checklist.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - According to a 2013 study by PCI Films Consulting, 17 billion plastic pouches ended up in landfills throughout the U.S. that year and production is expected to reach 24 billion plastic pouches by 2018 — but that staggering statistic isn’t one that we have to accept. As a company deeply rooted in the food industry, Alter Eco has seen the continual evolution of food packaging, and plastic pouches have become one of the newest, convenient and most sought-after formats on grocery store shelves.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - In 2010, I wrote a piece on sustainability. At the time, my point of view was that it’s a challenge too big and too complex for governments alone; particularly with the financial growth of nations such as China, Brazil and India, where consumers were beginning to get a taste of their newly acquired buying power. Back then I thought it would take a change in human behavior to have a real impact on business practices … people seeing the threats to their environment the way they once saw the threat of smoking to their health. So, it’s 2016, where do we stand?
NEW METRICS - Last August, I published an article here in which I described what, to me, is the most compelling business case for corporate sustainability or CSR extant: the fact that it literally drives the market values of publicly traded firms up or down in measurable ways. To be clear, I believe there are two fundamental business cases for CSR: an intrinsic one and an extrinsic one. The intrinsic one involves the pursuit of sustainability for its own sake; the extrinsic one involves the pursuit of sustainability for financial gain – a means to an end.
LEADERSHIP - Arizona State University (ASU) has emerged as a leader in sustainability education in part due to its Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a series of programs designed to solve global sustainability problems, educate future leaders in sustainability strategies, and engage and inform the public around sustainability issues.
NEW METRICS - Think tank and sustainable management consultancy SolAbility recently released its fourth Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI), a ranking of 180 countries for “sustainable competitiveness,” defined as the ability to generate and sustain inclusive wealth and dignifying standard of life for all citizens in a globalised world of competing economies.Iceland topped the list for the second year running, followed by other Scandinavian nations. The only non-European countries in the top 20 are Japan (11), New Zealand (12), and Canada (16). The US ranked 41 and the UK ranked 48; China and Russia ranked above them at 25 and 33, respectively.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Arriving a few minutes late after taking ‘the sustainable option’ and walking to the Beaumont Estate from Egham station, Forum for the Future’s Zoe Le Grand kicked off Monday morning’s Net Positive workshop. “Nature cannot continue to provide as the population grows and grows,” she asserted. “We are not going to get there by doing what we have always done or just being 10 percent more efficient. Business needs to step up the level of ambition and drive things faster and further.”So what is Net Positive?“Net Positive is about aiming to put back more than the organization takes out; with overall positive impact. This is a mindset shift that the organizations I have worked with have found very helpful.
SUPPLY CHAIN - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is soliciting feedback on a new traceability tool that verifies seafood supply chain transactions on a global scale. A public consultation period is taking place from August 16th to September 18th, during which industry members are encouraged to offer their expertise and comments to shape the tool.
NEW METRICS - Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is an emerging methodology in the private sector, aimed at measuring the dependency and impact of companies on natural systems. NCA helps in quantifying the value of usually intangible assets from nature (such as water, pollination, etc). NCA allows mitigating risks but also identifies opportunities to reduce costs, innovate and become more resilient.
NEW METRICS - The Natural Capital Coalition has released an extensive report on business expectations around the Natural Capital Protocol, its standardized framework for measuring impact and dependence on natural ecosystems. Due to be published next year, the Protocol will provide decision-making support to businesses in their risk-management processes, exploration of new revenue streams, and in product and value chain innovation.
CLEANTECH - The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) space represents one of the most disruptive, yet lucrative, forces in the business world today. Research by McKinsey & Co estimates that IoT technology offers a potential economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025. At the top end, that level of value would be equivalent to about 11 percent of the world economy.
MARKETING AND COMMS - Matthew Yeomans spoke to a packed house on Tuesday morning, sending the message that social media can no longer be seen as a tactic; it is a fundamental way of doing business — as is sustainability.Yeomans, founder of Sustainly, is a writer and consultant with 20 years’ experience writing and editing at major publications. In his 10 years of advising companies’ online communication strategies, he authored the Social Media Sustainability Index and became one of the UK’s first social media consultancies.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - “We pan in to a generously proportioned boardroom on the 33rd floor of an iconic skyscraper, soaring above London and the River Thames. … This is an Extraordinary Board Meeting.”So begins the opening scene in The Stretch Agenda, a ‘playper’ released by advisory firm Volans last week. Over three acts, the report enlivens the call for businesses to look beyond incremental change and focus strategy on the system dynamics that impact their longevity.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - The European Commission has launched an online consultation on how science and innovation can help the EU “ensure safe, nutritious, sufficient and sustainable food globally.”The consultation will underpin the debate on a future research agenda to help tackle global food and nutrition security challenges. It will focus on the areas where the EU's research efforts can have the strongest impact, including how to improve public health through nutrition; increase food safety and quality; reduce food loss and waste; make rural development more sustainable; increase agricultural yields through sustainable intensification; and how to better understand food markets and increase access to food for people around the world.
WASTE NOT - There is a worldwide concern that the ability of our environmental systems to sustain the conditions of life as we know it is being compromised. We need to act now, and we need to act fast, so today more than ever we need innovative solutions and a different approach to problem solving.Every time we analyze a problem by focusing only in its consequences, we risk not understanding it at all. We miss the opportunity to comprehend what is causing it in the first place, and that the solution might not be to solve the end result, but to eliminate the root that is causing the problem in the first place.
CLEANTECH - Global IT firm Hitachi Consulting has been selected to construct a first-of-its-kind Big Data platform for Denmark’s capital Copenhagen to help achieve its sustainability goals.To develop the platform, the firm will work with the City of Copenhagen, Capital Region, the Danish cluster organization, CLEAN and a consortium of partners.The Copenhagen Big Data project will enable advanced analytics to support city functions such as green infrastructure planning, traffic management and energy usage. It will integrate data from multiple sources, including demographics, crime statistics, sensor-based sources — such as energy consumption meters, air quality sensors and traffic sensors, among others — and information submitted by citizens and businesses.


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New Cruise Ships Start Build in Germany
Genting Hong Kong and its Hong Kong–German shipbuilding group, MV Werften, announced a new Universal Class of cruise ships targeted at customers outside of Genting's cruise brand portfolio of Dream, Crystal and Star.The keel-laying of the second 208,000 gross ton Global Class ship for Dream Cruises took place December 10 at MV WERFTEN in Rostock.The midship section of the Global Class ship is being produced in Rostock. The transfer of the first 160,000 gross ton midship section…
Genting Cuts Steel for Dream Cruises at Werften
Cruise operator Genting Hong Kong (GHK) said that its unit Dream Cruises has launched the construction of the second Global Class cruise ship at German shipbuilder MV Werften in Rostock-Warnemünde.“Production of Dream Cruises’ second Global Class ship commenced at MV Werften in Rostock-Warnemünde today, almost exactly a year after the keel laying of the flagship of the series," said Genting Hong Kong’s Chairman and CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay while initiating at the press of a button the first steel cutting for the 342m long…
Dream Cruises Wins $2.9Bln from KfW IPEX-Bank
KfW IPEX-Bank, leading a consortium consisting of six international banks, is structuring the financing of two cruise ships for Genting Hong Kong Ltd. and its brand Dream Cruises.The Global Class I and II ships are currently being built in the three shipyards of MV Werften located on the Baltic Coast in the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.The financing package comprises around EUR 2.6 billion with a total investment volume of just under EUR 3.1 billion.The…
Genting HK Sells Stake in Dream Cruises
Genting Hong Kong, a member of the Malaysian Genting Group, has reached an agreement to sell a 35% stake in global cruise ship company Dream Cruises to Canada’s TPG Darting, which is owned by TPG Capital Asia and Growth Funds.The company said the deal would strengthen its balance sheet as well as its ability to continue to expand its fleet in the cruise industry.The consideration for the 35% equity interest is US$489 million, valuing Dream Cruises total equity at US$1,397 million. With assumption of net debt of US$1,871 million, the enterprise value of the transaction is US$3,268 million.
Royal Approval for Bolidt Cruise Contract
The installation of decking solutions from Dutch company Bolidt aboard one of the largest cruise ships ever to be built in Germany has received a royal seal of approval, after King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands witnessed a contract signing at the Rostock facilities of yard group MV Werften. The agreement, formalized during a trade delegation visit, provides for Bolidt to supply a total of 17,000m2 of its innovative synthetic systems to the first Global class cruise ship for Hong Kong-based Genting Group’s Dream Cruises…
Dream Cruises Welcomes Third Ship
Dream Cruises, a luxury cruise line owned by Genting and based in China welcome “Explorer Dream” in Shanghai as the third ship in its Dream Cruises fleet.Dream Cruises held the christening ceremony for the former SuperStar Virgo at Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal. Chinese designer Grace Chen served as the godmother and presented a fashion show with 18 models showcasing her 'Voyage' collection, walking a runway on the Palace Pool Deck."Formerly the “SuperStar Virgo” of sister brand Star Cruises…
Cruising: Small is Beautiful
Cruise shipping, at the intersection of maritime and hospitality industries, continues to be vibrant. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the industry’s major trade association, forecasts that the ocean cruise segment will draw 30 million passengers in 2019, up from 28.2 million in 2018. At the start of the decade, in 2010, the comparable count was 19.1 million passengers. CLIA members will have 272 vessels operating in 2019- with 18 ocean going vessels set to begin service.
New Ships, Passenger Records Pace Global Growth
The relentless increases in luxury ocean and river travel that has propelled the cruise industry in 2017 to new passenger records is a clear indication that 2018 and the next five years will see a new era in global travel. Even as the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) counted up the record number of global cruise passengers in 2017, CLIA member cruise lines are scheduled to debut 27 new ocean, river and specialty expedition ships this coming year. Among the most interesting of those ships are the two new Ponant ships…
MV WERFTEN Lays Foundation for Accommodation Center
MV WERFTEN, the shipyard group is constructing a special accommodation center for subcontractors and guests at the Alter Holzhafen in Wismar; visitors will be able to spend the night in cruise ship cabins. The new building, which comprises 104 rooms, is scheduled to open by winter 2018-2019. Wismar, March 6, 2018 | Today, MV WERFTEN celebrated the official start of construction on its very own accommodation facility – the MVW Alter Holzhafen Beherbergungsstätte – with a groundbreaking ceremony.
New CEO at the Helm of Crystal Cruises
Genting Hong Kong appointed travel industry veteran Tom Wolber as President and CEO of Crystal Cruises, effective September 15. Wolber brings to the role over three decades of experience in general management, operations, newbuild construction and business development. He joins Crystal most recently from the Walt Disney Company where he served in various executive roles for 28 years, 10 of which were with Disney Cruise Line where he served as Senior Vice President of Operations. Wolber helped transform Disney Cruise Line into a global cruise line.
MV WERFTEN Delivers Its First Newbuild
Shipbuilder MV WERFTEN has completed its first newbuild project, having today delivered Crystal Bach, the first of four new Rhine Class luxury river cruise vessels for Crystal River Cruises. Designed specifically for river cruising in Europe, the 135-meter-long and 11.4-meter-wide Crystal Bach will sail along the Rhine, Danube and Main Rivers through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, carrying up to 106 passengers in 55 large suites, all designed to be above the water line with horizontal sliding windows.
Indian Ports Register 6.79% Growth in Traffic
The twelve major ports under the Ministry of Shipping, India handled a record 647.43 MT of traffic in 2016-17, registering an annual growth rate of 6.79 percent, as against 4.32 percent last year. With this, these ports have out- performed private ports for the second consecutive year. The private ports have registered a traffic growth rate of 4 percent this year. The top position in cargo handling was retained by Kandla Port that handled 105.44 Million Tonnes of cargo, registering a growth of 5.39% over last year.
Berth and Billions: Cruise Business Powers European Yards
In a historically weak contracting environment the cruise sector has seen a strong level of newbuild ordering and investment in the year to date, says a research report by Clarkson. Cruise lines have continued to expand their fleets, with new markets such as China in their sights. While a number of yards have benefitted from this firm level of newbuilding activity, they have all been European and the region remains dominant in the cruise sector. In the first seven months of 2016…
Genting to Invest in Werften
Genting Hong Kong Ltd will invest 100 million euros in its German shipyard, MV Werften to focus on building new large ships. The three shipyards in the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bought this April would be named MV Werften, be managed in Wismar. The company will focus on eventually building three large cruise ships a year. Lloyd Werft, located in Bremerhaven and bought last September, will focus on its prior business of repairs, conversion and building of megayachts. MV Werften has covered docks, fabrication halls and painting shops, but will be upgraded in the near future.
Genting HK Orders 10 Cruise Ships Worth $4 bln
Genting Hong Kong, a unit of Malaysia's gaming giant Genting, is building 10 cruise ships worth 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion) in anticipation of higher demand from the Chinese market. Genting has signed an order for 10 ships with the Lloyd Werft Group, comprising two mega cruise ships for Star Cruises and eight vessels for Crystal Cruises. "We are focused on delivering a world-class vacation experience for Chinese cruise passengers," said Genting and Genting Hong Kong Chairman Lim Kok Thay.
Genting Completes Purchase of 3 shipyards
Genting Hong Kong, announced the completion of the acquisition of Nordic Yards’ three shipyards in Wismar, Warnemunde and Stralsund, Germany for the consideration of 230.6 million Euros. The deal will give Genting Hong Kong the core expertise, manpower, fabrication capacity and covered drydocks to build a global cruise fleet for its three brands - Crystal Cruises, The World Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line ; Dream Cruises, Asia’s Most Luxury Cruise Line; and, Star Cruises, Asia’s Leading Cruise Line.
Genting Hong Kong Acquires Nordic Yards
Cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd is buying three shipyards in Wismar, Warnemünde and Stralsund respectively owned by German shipbuilding company Nordic Yards for $358 million to further enable its presence in the sector. The purchase from Nordic Yard is expected to be funded by internal resources of the group, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The purchase of the three shipyards, along with Lloyd Werft last year, enables Genting Hong Kong to realize its global cruise ships fleet strategy over the next decade for its three brands - Crystal…
Shipyard Takeover in Northern Germany
An investor has been found in Malaysia’s Genting Group to enable the continued existence of the three shipyards in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund. The takeover contract was signed in Hamburg on Tuesday this week. In the weeks following the conclusion of the applicable checks by the authorities, the takeover will become final and business operations will be transferred to the Genting Group. At the start of the year Genting, a major cooperation with worldwide operations, acquired all the shares in Bremerhaven’s Lloyd Werft. The result is a group consisting of four shipyards in Northern Germany.
South Korea Okays Casinos on Cruise Ships
South Korea has given the go-ahead for cruise ships to operate onboard casinos for foreign guests, , reports the Korea Joongang Daily newspaper. South Korean cruise vessels voyaging overseas will be able to operate casinos on board – but casino admission will be only for foreign passengers from as early as next year. “The ministry is in no talks to push for admission of Koreans to [such] casinos,” said Han Dong-soo, an official at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, as quoted in comments to the Korea Herald newspaper. The ministry has been taking the lead on the casino cruises initiative.
Crystal Cruises Plans for Expansion
Crystal Cruises announced an expansion plan under new owners Genting Hong Kong that includes three 1,000-passenger vessels, its first new ships in decades. Plus, Crystal will expand into adventure, yacht and river cruising, and luxury jet trips. The three Crystal Exclusive Class ships will be about the same size as the 20-year-old Crystal Symphony and the slightly larger 2003-built Crystal Serenity. The line has signed a letter of intent with Lloyd Werft to build the ocean ships, which will have an unprecedented space ratio of 100 gross tons of space per guest, Crystal said.
South Korean Okays Casinos in Cruise Ship
South Korea plans to enable its citizens and foreign tourists to wager on new cruise ship services that will serve ports around the country, reports the Korea Joongang Daily newspaper. Some major overseas cruise companies – such as Genting Hong Kong Ltd’s Star Cruises – operate shipboard casinos that only open once the vessel is in international waters. The plans also include allowing local residents to use casinos on cruise ships. The National Assembly passed the Cruise Act in January to open casinos on cruise ships carrying the Korean national flag for foreign passengers only…
Sembcorp Marine Q4 Net Profit Up 9.2%
(Reuters) Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Ltd, one of the largest offshore drilling rig producers in the world, said its net profit in the fourth quarter rose 9.2 percent as higher operating profit offset lower contributions from associates and joint ventures. Sembcorp Marine, which is the world's second-largest jackup rig producer after crosstown rival Keppel Corporation Ltd , posted a fourth-quarter net profit of S$182.4 million ($143.89 million). Its full-year net profit rose 3.2 percent to S$555.7 million, above a mean forecast of 23 analysts of S$528.50 million.
Cruise With Confidence: Cruise Lines Prosper Despite Troubles
Cruise Lines shrug off tragedy, bad publicity, new regulations and a weak economy to post impressive growth. In the year since the Costa Concordia tragedy, the cruise industry has seen a raft of new regulatory initiatives; in part developed in conjunction with industry associations. Harmonization of multiple regimes is the new mantra for industry stake-holders. In late December, the Florida-based Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) announced a tie-up which will result in one worldwide voice for the industry.
SS United States Faces Scrapping
According to the SS United States Conservancy awareness campaign, the America’s national flagship, the SS United States, is in imminent danger of being bought by scrappers. This great vessel, which still holds the trans-Atlantic speed record, may soon be destroyed. Bids for purchase of the ship by scrappers are being collected by NCL this month. The current owners of the vessel, Genting Hong Kong (formerly Star Cruises Limited), through its subsidiary, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), listed the vessel for sale in February 2009 but have not announced a purchaser to date.


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Apple launches September 7 at 19 Norwegian time at the head office in Cupertino, California.
A night sky with a constellation in the shape of the Apple logo decorates this year’s invitation. This has led to speculation that there will be a major camera upgrade, for night or remote shooting, he writes CNN.
And by tradition, the company itself was a little detail-oriented before the launch.
However, tech expert Magnus Brøyn believes that many of the rumors have something to do with it.
We can expect the iPhone where the biggest revolution is related to the camera, he says.
Bigger but not more expensive
Just as the company has done every year for nearly a decade, Apple is expected to show off its latest series of iPhones in the fall.
According to Brøyn, the new models will have the same screen size, which is currently 6.1 and 6.7 inches.
However, rumors have it that they will also release a 6.7 screen model without Pro functionality, he writes CNN. This means that it will have a large screen, without getting a much higher price tag.
Apple probably won’t change the design or significantly rebuild the body. Brøyn says the design of the phones will be more or less the same, but with a few cosmetic changes.
The so-called “bus pocket,” the black tab at the top of the screen, will likely disappear, according to the expert.
It’s something many other manufacturers have changed for a long time, with the goal of making use of the entire screen surface in the best possible way, says Brøyn.
Battery life will probably be improved a bit.
Apple has also designed an A16 system chip that will make the phone faster, but it is currently unknown if the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro will both get them.
One of the biggest changes
Brøyn believes there is good reason to speculate about better photography in the dark or at a distance with the new phones, especially for the new Pro model.
From today’s 12MP, it will likely launch with a 48MP camera.
– This upgrade is fierce. Brøyn says improved optics means you get creative and better photos even when conditions aren’t ideal.
The fact that the camera gets such a better resolution also makes it possible to shoot in 8K.
He writes: “If this happens, it could be one of the biggest changes in iPhone camera quality to date” CNN.
Upgrading the optics in conjunction with the fact that you get better built-in camera technology on the software side simply means a much better camera experience. That would mean a lot to many, says Bruen.
Another point the expert highlights is that the display will likely improve, from 60Hz to 120Hz, on the new Pro models.
– Here, Apple has fallen behind many others, and earlier they were expected to increase the update frequency, but now it is likely that this will finally happen, which will give a more dynamic screen image.
It will be more expensive
With better technology, the price is also expected to be higher.
Unfortunately, the price point will go up. These will be the most expensive iPhones we’ve seen, says Brøyn.
In addition to the better components in phones, it is also being launched at a time when the price of all electronic devices is rising due to the lack of components and the high rate of inflation.
Although the rate does not necessarily increase much in dollars, Brøyn believes we should be prepared for a higher rate in NOK due to the exchange rate.
You just have to attach a picture of the seat, take out the ball frame and make an assessment of how much you can and are willing to spend on a new phone, he says.
“Web specialist. Lifelong zombie maven. Coffee ninja. Hipster-friendly analyst.”


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LED daytime running light, LED headlights, matrix beam and now laser light: Audi is again using the Le Mans 24 Hours this year to further extend its advantage in the area of light and vision. With the new R18 e-tron quattro race car Audi has opted for a combination of LED and laser light.
Optimal illumination of the track plays a crucial role in the Le Mans 24 Hours and other endurance races, which are partially held in darkness. “We’ve always attached great importance to making our drivers feel safe and comfortable in the cockpit of an Audi race car,” says Chris Reinke, Head of LMP at Audi Sport. “Good night vision is an essential element of this. The matrix beam LED headlights already provided our drivers with a major advantage at Le Mans – combined with laser light, it’ll increase even further. This new technology has great potential for the future.”
With its matrix LED headlights, consisting of eight LED units per side, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro set standards in terms of lighting range and light intensity at Le Mans last year. The innovative headlights of the new R18 combine the strengths of the matrix LED headlights with those of laser light. “Laser light provides a much more homogenous and precise spread in front of the car,” says Chris Reinke. “For us, this technology marks a milestone – it’s a reflection of the pioneering spirit of Audi Sport that, yet again, we’re assuming a pioneering role and, together with our colleagues in production development, deploying this new technology at such an early stage in racing. This collaboration is remarkable.”
At the International CES 2014 in Las Vegas in January, Audi showcased the Audi Sport quattro laserlight concept car and a front section of the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro including the headlights. In the case of the previous R18, Audi retrofitted the car with matrix LED technology while for the new generation the developers integrated matrix beam and laser diodes from the beginning. This also made it possible to further optimize the intelligent cornering light. Depending on the position of the car on the race track, it illuminates a corner even before the driver turns in.
Two-time Le Mans winner and former World Endurance Champion Marcel Fässler already had the opportunity to experience the compelling advantages of the new headlights during tests held in darkness. “I’ve never had such good light on a race car as on the new R18,” the Swiss enthuses. “It’s clearly even better than last year. I wouldn’t call this just one step forward, but three. The laser light is brighter, more concentrated and more precise. For example, you can see the apex of a corner much better with it. At night, this could be a crucial advantage for us.”
Audi has previously set standards in lighting technology at Le Mans on several occasions. The Audi R10 TDI in 2006 was the first race car equipped with LED daytime running light. On the R15 TDI, LEDs additionally functioned as the high beam. In 2011, with the R18 TDI, Audi used full LED headlights for the first time; and in 2013 matrix LED technology followed.
“The use of laser light at Le Mans is yet another example that underscores Audi’s leading role in the development of new technologies and the importance of motorsport for the company,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Le Mans again serves as a tough test bed for a new technology that’ll soon be launched in production at Audi and in which the four rings are again a crucial step ahead of the competition. The close cooperation between Audi Sport and production development is exemplary and unique.”


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IMPERFECT PRODUCE SPROUTS IN HOUSTON
Imperfect Produce, the produce subscription service that sources “ugly” fruits and vegetables from farms and delivers them directly to consumers’ doors, is expanding to the Houston market on Monday, January 28. Since 2015, Imperfect has been on a social mission to eliminate food waste, help farmers across the country benefit from a full harvest and make fruits and vegetables more accessible and affordable.
Residents can use code HOUSTON5 to receive $5 off their first weekly or bi-weekly shipment (normally $12-18) when setting up a customized box until March 2019. Houston delivery will be available in central and greater-Houston neighborhoods, and will continue to expand in the coming months. Exact delivery areas and routes will be detailed on the Imperfect sign-up page beginning Monday, January 28.
HOW IMPERFECT WORKS
Twenty percent of all fruits and vegetables grown in the U.S. don’t adhere to the strict cosmetic standards of grocery stores, creating billions of pounds of wasted produce every year. Imperfect buys the “ugly” produce directly from farms and ships to customers’ doors at a cost that is 30 to 50 percent less than grocery store prices. Users can fully customize their Imperfect Produce experience, choosing from a small, medium, large or extra-large shipment ranging from $12-18 weekly or bi-weekly filled with organic or conventional fruits and vegetables, along with other perishable food products that might normally go to waste. Houston residents’ first shipment will include conventional options like medjool dates, shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes as well as organic options like butternut squash, mango orange, snap peas and more.
NARROWING THE GAP ON WASTE
Through a mutual interest in food recovery, CEO Ben Simon and co-founder Ben Chesler founded Imperfect Produce to help make an impact on food waste by addressing the billions of pounds of produce that never made it off farms. Imperfect helps to narrow this gap by delivering ugly and surplus produce that might otherwise go to waste. They have successfully recovered 30 million pounds since the company’s start. Now delivering in eight cities across the country, with more Texas cities on the horizon, Imperfect aims to one day deliver ugly produce all over the country and be a force for good in the food industry by both reducing food waste and making healthy food more accessible for everyone.


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Giri Venkatesh, who recently bought crackers worth Rs. 6,000 online, says, “Buying online is not only convenient but also easy on the pocket, thanks to the various deals and discounts. Also, it's too much of a hassle to buy crackers from local stores. You need to travel a good distance to get quality products and even then, the prices are skyhigh. At least, I know online retailers are selling trustworthy brands and my Diwali won't be a dud!" According to Sharique Alam, senior manager at a florist chain, there has been an encouraging response from people all over the country . He says, “Although we mainly specialise in confectionery , flowers and gift items, we wanted to explore other categories. Crackers make for great gifts, so we thought of including it in our portal this year. And considering we didn't promote it in such a huge way , we are more than happy with the response we are getting."
Pandi Kanna, proprietor of a firecracker company which has been dealing in wholesale fireworks since the past 28 years, has also taken to the online forum to cater to a wider consumer base. He says, “My website is only 2-3 months old, but we've received great response so far. We've received over 30 bulk orders from one city itself !" The only problem, he points out, is shipping to states other than Tamil Nadu. “Shipping to other cities isn't easy and, initially, we had to drop a few orders. It's extremely risky to courier crackers, so one must have their own transport system."
But it isn't all hunky dory for online retailers of fireworks.Many of them are facing stiff competition from local markets which thrive on variety . Explains Nandan, an executive from an online gift portal, “There hasn't been a major rise in online sales of crackers this year. We believe it's because people still like to go out and buy fireworks the traditional way . It will take some time for the trend to catch up.But then, some people are just more comfortable with retail shopping. So, we are offering gift combos such as sweets, chocolates and assorted firecrackers to boost sales. It also includes flower pots, rockets, charkhi and phuljhari. We deliver crackers via vendors in different cities."
Quality is also an integral factor as low quality crackers come in poor packages, which then increase risk of accidents while in transit.
Quality products have better packaging standards and are safer to transport.


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Kiosk payment solution passes European Central Bank certification
The APS Compact NL payment kiosk marks the latest addition to Unixfor S.A. automatic payment systems and the first European Central Bank Article 6-certified self-service kiosk equipped with the CI note line. The certification was completed following testing by the Bank of Greece, according to a press release.
The CI note line from CI Tech Components AG features a modular design and provides high bank note acceptance rates while maintaining ECB Article 6 security standards.
"With the modular design of CI note line, we provide a reliable solution which meets the required high security standards of the APS Compact NL's end market," Dr. Christoph Woenckhaus, managing director at CI Tech Components AG, said in the release. "The fact that Unixfor S.A.successfully passed the current European Central Bank Article 6 framework underlines the technical performance and bank note processing security of Unixfor's latest product addition."
Vassilis Theodoropoulos, sales director at Unixfor S.A., stressed the benefits to customers of this new modular payment kiosk solution that can be tailored to customers' needs for bank note deposit, dispensing and recycling.
The Unixfor payment kiosk is listed under "Successfully tested types of bank note handling machines" on the ECB website.


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E-commerce giant Flipkart recently rolled out a new campaign #AaoFirPakdeRaftaar to mark a new beginning after the lockdown phase. The campaign aims to uplift the spirits of sellers by addressing the significant roles they play in the lives of consumers while they stay indoors following social distancing. The key intent behind this campaign is to engage with its existing sellers and the entire ecosystem fortifying that they stand by them in this unprecedented scenario.
- The campaign features “AaoPhirPakdeRaftaar” anthem which imparts a sense of hope, trust and togetherness among the local seller community in India.
- The main film showcases the lives of three characters facing challenges in their field of work as an impact of the lockdown portrayed through different stories.
- It features an Ekart executive concerned about going to work, a local seller sceptical about his stock sales and a household father worried about selling his saree stocks.
- These scenarios display the worries and challenges faced by the sellers during the lockdown and a peek of the resurgence as the businesses revitalize through Flipkart.
E-commerce platforms have been at the frontlines for the customers during this pandemic and this campaign by Flipkart provides real-time support to these sellers and proves as a key to keep them motivated and committed to fulfil their roles during the pandemic.


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Outer Banks Chefs Rise to the Challenge
If the 3rd Annual Holiday Chefs Challenge at the Hilton Garden Inn Thursday night proved nothing else, Outer Banks chefs can take even the most common day-to-day foods and create something memorable.
The Chefs Challenge is the largest fundraiser for the Beach Food Pantry and the 2016 event was everything Food Pantry Executive Director Theresa Armendarez hoped it would be. “We sold out of tickets,” she said. “This is our biggest fundraiser. And we had some great support from businesses.”
The premise to the Chefs Challenge is simple: Chefs have 60 minutes to create a dish using anything that’s on a list of items that the Food Pantry has in stock. At least one of the items must be a canned good (for example, vegetables, tuna or beans).
Admittedly the chefs dressed their presentations up with homemade sausage, slow-smoked brisket and the like, but everything started with common ingredients that the Food Pantry often has on its shelves.
If the basics started as something common, the dishes the chefs created were anything but.
Coastal Provisions’ Dan Lewis created a chicken and spamalaya (yes, that’s spam) that was wonderful. Chef Evan Hayes from Bluewater Grill placed second in the Judge’s Choice Award with a smoked pork tenderloin on cornbread that was also delicious.
The top prize, though, went Chef Brian Hardison of the Jolly Roger, and deservedly so. His blackberry barbecue ribs with purple mashed potatoes and collards was comfort food taken to the next level. The collards were the canned good in this case.
The Jolly Roger also won the grandest of grand prizes—Crowned Prince of Canned Goods.
Beyond the fun—and the evening was a lot of fun—and the great food, an important need was met.
“The money we’re raising seems to have met the challenge of helping families in need,” Armendarez said. “We serve 300 people per month.”
Although much of the food is donated, the Food Pantry still purchases significant amounts of product. “We spend upwards of $30,000 per year on food,” Armendarez said.
Clients—as the people and families who use the Food Pantry are called—can make up to four visits a year, although according to Armendarez very few (just 3%) come that often. And the needs change seasonally.
Fall and winter is the time of greatest need, and there are always certain items the pantry seems to run low on.
“We always have an ongoing need for cooking oil, fruit and peanut butter and jelly,” Armendarez said. “We pay for the peanut butter and jelly and canned fruit. People just don’t think to donate them.”
Through donations from Outer Banks businesses and a grant from the Cannon Foundation, the Food Pantry is doubling the size of their Kitty Hawk location. However, those grants and donations will cover their construction costs, a point Armendarez is quick to make while talking about the money the Chefs Challenge raised.
“None of the money we raised is going into the building,” she said.
Blue Moon Grill
Bluewater Grill & Raw Bar
The Garden Grille & Bar
Port o’ Call
Simply Southern Kitchen


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Talisman Energy (TLM) is abandoning oil exploration in a block of forest in the Peruvian Amazon, reports Amazon Watch, an activist group that has campaigned against the driller since 2004.
It wasn’t immediately clear why Talisman decided to pull out of Peru, but the energy company has faced strong opposition from environmentalists who say indigenous groups haven’t been properly consulted and that operations threaten the region’s high levels of biodiversity. Talisman operates blocks 64 and 103 and has stakes in two other lots in the Peruvian Amazon.
Of particular concern to green groups was Talisman’s activities in Block 64 which lies “in the heart of indigenous Achuar territory in a remote and bio diverse region of the Amazon rainforest,” according to Amazon Watch, which welcome the oil company’s decision.
“Talisman has had to face up to what the Achuar told them when they first invested in Block 64: The company cannot drill without the consent of the Achuar people,” said Gregor MacLennan, Peru Program Coordinator at Amazon Watch, in a statement. “Talisman’s exit sends a clear message to the oil industry: Trampling indigenous rights in the rush to exploit marginal oil reserves in the Amazon rainforest is not an option.”
The Peruvian government has granted oil exploration licenses for roughly 70 percent of its Amazon rainforest territory.


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Rivals in the fight against computer "viruses" are spending much of their time battling each other instead of their common enemy: the software invaders that can secretly destroy computer data.
The dispute concerns which of two groups has the qualifications and impartiality to evaluate anti-virus software for customers. The competition could slow progress in combating the viruses."I personally know most of the people in this industry and I have never seen this kind of animosity," Brian Camenker, head of the PC users group of the Boston Computer Society, said Tuesday.
The battle centers on products - called "vaccines" - that are designed to combat viruses. Viruses are tiny pieces of computer code that pranksters or others slip into normal programs to "infect" computers when used.
Although they are rare and have done limited damage so far, viruses are feared because of their potential to be spread from one computer to another, wiping out millions of dollars' worth of data in minutes.
Publicity about recent viruses - including those dubbed the "Christmas Virus," the "Black Friday Virus" and the "Pakistani Brain" - led to anti-viral software products, but there is no easy or reliable way to know whether they work.
Customers and producers agree on the need for an independent panel of experts to review the software. The question splitting the industry is who should be in charge.
Pitted against each other are the 2-month-old Computer Virus Industry Association, based in Santa Clara, Calif., and a loose collection of other computer experts led by Jon R. David, a consultant in Tappan, and Harold Highland, editor of Computers & Security magazine in Elmont.
The controversy heated up Monday with the publication of a front-page article on the debate in MIS Week, a trade newspaper.
Each side accuses the other of using sloppy techniques and manipulating the testing process for its own purposes. The intensity of the debate has left some software developers disgusted with the whole business.
An independent testing panel is essential because most computer users have never seen a virus. If they had a useless defense, they would not know it until a virus caused problems.
"This kind of testing needs to be done professionally and carefully, particularly if other people are going to place reliance on it," said Robert V. Jacobson, president of New York-based International Security Technology Inc.
Jacobson has cautiously thrown his support behind the Computer Virus Industry Association, which was formed in June by a group led by John McAfee, president of InterPath Corp. of Santa Clara.
The association is assembling an independent university testing panel composed of people from three New York-area colleges: Pace University, Adelphi University and Sarah Lawrence College. The panel is headed by John Cordani, who teaches computer science at Adelphi and Pace.
David and Highland say Cordani and the three schools don't have the necessary credentials. They also say McAfee's InterPath products will have an advantage in the testing because McAfee invented a virus simulator that will be used as a testing mechanism.
Highland is getting money from his magazine's British-based publisher, Elsevier Advanced Technology Publications, for his own review of anti-viral software. But Highland said he is not interested in operating an ongoing software review board.
For all the controversy over anti-viral products, computer security experts agree that the best protection is prevention. That means being extremely careful about dangerous practices - such as using software that is offered free on computer bulletin boards.
In December, a virus containing a phantom Christmas message took only two hours to spread throughout a network used by International Business Machines Corp. and universities worldwide. The virus rifled through each computer user's computer address file, then sent its message to each of these computer users like a computerized chain letter.
In January, Hebrew University in Jerusalem said a virus had invaded its computer system and other computers in Israel. Termed the "Black Friday" virus, the saboteur threatened to wipe out files on Friday the 13th of May. But an antidote program was devised.
The most prevalent computer bug is the Pakistani Brain virus, so called because it originated in Pakistan. It doesn't destroy files but substantially slows down computers.


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Following the Flash Memory Summit and Intel Developer Forum in August and September, where Toshiba demoed the then prototype of the MQ01ABDH series, excitement over the breakthrough performance and up-coming market accessibility of Toshiba’s Hybrid Drive in notebook PC systems fueled heightened anticipation over improvements in the PC computing experience. Toshiba’s Hybrid Drive performs nearly as fast and efficiently as leading-edge SSDs yet provides up to 1TB of storage capacity at more affordable price points than SSDs. Toshiba’s Hybrid Drive signals a new era of computing to come. A recent post on Forbes’ Storage Bytes blog "2013--It’s a Hybrid World" notes that the "simplicity in computer design appears to be driving the growth of hybrid HDDs for ultrathin notebook computers rather than dual storage architectures." PC manufacturers no longer want to build big and heavy systems; there is a strong move toward sleek and powerful computers that remove the bulk and sluggishness of yesteryear’s devices. .
Toshiba has long been committed to delivering customers the best storage devices, aligning product development to industry trends, technology innovations as well as customer demands. When storage analyst firm iSuppli released its report, "Thin Hybrid Hard Disk Drives Could be Potent Growth Factor for Storage Industry" this month, it was clear that OEM partners, end-users and the overall computing industry have a growing interest in storage solutions that deliver increased performance and responsiveness of Solid State Drives (SSDs) without compromising the capacity or cost-effectiveness of hard disk drives (HDDs).
iSuppli expects hybrid drives to shake up the storage industry, projecting that the market for hybrid drives could reach 25 million units by 2016. It’s also expected that hybrid drives will eventually proliferate across notebook and desktop PCs once users understand the benefits that hybrid drives deliver.
With the recently-announced MQ01ABDH series, Toshiba demonstrates the advantages of high-capacity storage with SSD-levels of performance and responsiveness in a 2.5-inch drive offering up to 1TB in capacity.
As Toshiba celebrates its 25th year in NAND flash technology the MQ01ABDH Hybrid Drive clearly indicates how Toshiba is utilizing is expertise in storage technologies to enhance the user experience. Hybrid Drive reaffirms the promise we’ve continued to make to OEMs, electronics retailers, IT administrators and consumers around the globe: we are building the storage you need, and have the technology mix to excite generations to come.
The views expressed on this post are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TAEC or Toshiba.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.


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MSI Wind now in Manila. Specs, Pictures and Price list
Looks like the biggest competitor for the Asus Eee PC line has arrived. If you can remember, MSI Wind pushed back their shipping date twice but they still come out big. The specification looks promising and very encouraging for the customers. But the battery is still not.


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The Hobby Maker Product Exhibition is currently held at the GSC x Karaoke Tetsujin Cafe until February 18th. The event is intended for everyone involved in the industry, especially those who didn’t have a good view of all the products at WonFes.
Mikatan has snapped some photos from this event and she has posted it up on her blog. Visit the blog if you want to see the entire set of photos.
Oh, and Mikatan also mentioned that she is going to post a preview of Nendoroid Petite: Hatsune Miku Selection on the next Friday. Yay! XD
Good news for Puella Magi Madoka Magica fans who missed out the first release of both Nendoroid Miki Sayaka and Nendoroid Sakura Kyouko, as they are announced for re-sale and available for pre-order starting today.
The exact reason of why GSC decided to release these two is unknown. Is it because of a new season of Puella Magi Madoka Magica currently in the works or is it simply some routine re-releases?
In any case, both of them are priced at 3500 Yen and scheduled for release in May.
As you have known, the finalist with most votes is “Wafu~” photo by Yuu, featuring the lovely Kud from Little Busters!. The runner up goes to nikicorny‘s “The Secret Garden” by a narrow margin (2%). Congratulations!
Well, did you like it, Nendonesian? What do you think? ^^
Hatsune Miku in racing-themed outfits or widely known as Racing Miku, gets a new design annually. This year’s design was revealed at the Winter WonFes 2013 (or the NicoNico broadcast, for non-Japan residents).
Obviously, it is also followed by the Nendoroid design, albeit merely as an early illustration rather than full-fledged design, as you can see in the pic above.
Here is the original illustration for comparison sake:
Well, what do you think about the design early illustration of Nendoroid Racing Miku: 2013 version, Nendonesian? ^^
Did you see the last pic in our review of Nendoroid Hatsune Miku: Yukata version? Yes, that custom Nendoroid Yukata Miku wearing the yellow-ish yukata can now be examined in a closer look, as the maker posted the pics recently.
Wow! The box for Nendoroid Snow Miku: Strawberry White Kimono version looks very premium-ish!
Yep, Mikatan has just posted her (p)review of this upcoming Nendoroid which is scheduled to be released in a few days, starting from the Snow Sapporo Festival on February 9th and then Winter WonFes 2013 on February 10th.
Nothing new about the parts and accessories as they have been revealed many weeks ago, but it will not hurt to take another glance at this lovely Nendoroid in Mikatan’s blog post below.
Rejoice Kud WafterLittle Busters and Noumi fans! GSC has just announced that Nendoroid Kudryavka Noumi: Winter Clothes version will be re-released along with the summer version, which was announced previously.
Kudo-chan is joining the Nendoroids! Wafu~!!
From the PC game “Little Busters! Ecstasy” comes a Nendoroid of the adorable Kudryavka Noumi!
Kudo comes with three expressions – a smiling face, a worried face and of course her famous ‘wafu!’ face, along with extra hands to recreate the full ‘wafu!’ pose! She also comes with dog ears and a tail, a Frisbee and even her pet dog Belka – a set of extras that willl let you create all sorts of adorable scenes for the adorable Kudryavka!
Similar to the original release, she will be manufactured by Gift, priced at 3800 Yen and scheduled for July release.
What do you think about it, Nendonesian? Did you miss the first release? XD
With 6 Nendoroids and 4 Petites scheduled for this month’s release, that numbers seem pale in comparison with recentmonths’ releases.
That said, I guess the upcoming winter WonFes preparation has taken so much resources off GSC that they even decided to delay some products there – including the much anticipated Nendoroid Iron Man. Hopefully their QC can be improved further by the delay.


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There’s big changes afoot at Konami. The studio has plans for no more triple A titles to be produced there apart from Pro Evolution Soccer and worldwide technology director Julien Merceron has left the company.
It is been said that Merceron has left the company due to his increasing unhappiness at the direction that the studio is taking. This direction is to lead them away entirely from the production of console games so that they can concentrate their efforts and resources on the development of mobile games.
This does have another implication as well. It means that there will be no production of a new Metal Gear Solid game and it would seem that after they have finished work on Metal Gear Online, the separate online component to Metal Gear Solid 5 they will cease to work on the franchise.
Konami will however continue to work on their upcoming title PES 2016. They also own the licence to produce a game for the Euro 2016 tournament so it is hard to see them passing up the opportunity to do something for this.
Problems began to surface at the company earlier this year when Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima left the company amid a falling out with the bosses at Konami. The powers that be at Konami refused to continue to bankroll his lavish productions anymore. It is rumoured that Metal Gear Solid 5 cost $80 million to make.
Problems with the business practices of the company were highlighted earlier in the year when the Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei ran an article outlining several practices the company were undertaking. These included making ‘useless’ employees do mind dumbing, meaningless tasks to force them to quit rather than paying them any compensation for firing them.
What lies in store for this once great studio is anyones guess and we will all have to wait and see what the future may bring.


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More schedule disruption and equipment shortages push freight rates upwards yet again, with the SCFI (Shanghai Containerised Freight Index) reaching a new historical high last month.
As predicted, the obstruction of the Suez Canal has continued to aggravate an already highly stressed market, with delays to many ships, by one or two weeks, forcing carriers to blank sailings in both directions reducing possibility to reposition drastically needed empty containers.
Carriers have effectively increased capacity on the major East West trade lanes. Weekly average nominal capacity on the Asia to North America trade this week stands at 568,351 TEU, the highest level ever recorded and up 45.7% on a year-on-year-basis. This compares to 423,689 TEU for the Asia to Europe trade, up 24.7% compared to a year ago.
With the stabilisation of service hopefully leading to freight rates flattening and some reductions in spot rate. This stability will also bring back the longer validity to contract rates rather than the twice monthly review currently being forced on the market.
The logistics industry in India has been facing space and equipment shortage since January and it continues due to the Covid-19 surge. Despite the lockdown, the Indian government are supporting export and import activities by categorising them as an emergency service. However, many manufacturers have still closed or have reduced staffing which creates significant delays in movement of cargo from factory to port.
Blank sailings are back to haunt shippers and forwarders on the Asia-Europe trade lanes. Shipping lines are continuing to pull capacity with several blank sailings to restore schedule reliability, which we are strongly hoping will help to stabilise the freight rate market soon enough.
In 15 months, we’ve seen the freight rates more than quadruple and, in the market today, there’s no guarantee that the container will even move.
We’ve seen a lot of ‘special services’ where shippers can pay an inflated premium, however, the shipping lines reserve the right to roll cargo for up to three weeks. In this instance, rates are only good for seven days and if cancelled, shippers face a $2,500 surcharge.
It’s a very volatile situation that has left both shippers and freight forwarders stuck in a tricky situation. We are hoping that the rates are due to bounce back to some sort of normality, however, if shipping lines continue to drastically drive their rates through the roof, we’re not going to see rates of $10,000+ significantly decrease anytime this year.
It’s currently at an unsustainable level, with SMEs in particular, spending more on shipping their goods than the goods themselves, with no other option than to splurge on the outrageous rates.
Brexit brought a flurry of complexities and delays; however, we can rule out that it is further contributing to any part of the ocean freight conundrum. Most of the challenges we face with rates is on the Asia inbound route, where Brexit causes disruption around the Channel Tunnel, Dover, Calais etc. and focuses more on European road freight.
The main disruption to supply chains here is around the return of customs controls, sanitary and phytosanitary controls, the constraints from rules of origin, the marking of products (CE vs UKCA), work permits and the end of freedom of movement between the UK (United Kingdom) and EU (European Union).
Despite the free trade deal, UK (United Kingdom) exports to the EU fell by more than 40% in January 2021, with challenges proving substantially more difficult for the food and drink sector whose exports to the EU fell by 40% in February 2021. This is largely due to sanitary and phytosanitary controls and the lack of veterinaries to deliver Export Health Certificates (EHCs).
These challenges are particularly affecting SMEs, who have much less resource to deal with them. The increase in documentation and customs requirements are leading to huge delays for many shipments with some business having to rely on the “groupage” of multiple consignments to get them through the border, which increases the risk that they get blocked.
Are you a small or medium enterprise? Find out more information on applying for a government funded grant.
India is severely affected by the most recent wave of Covid-19. People continue to struggle, as it has challenged the India’s healthcare infrastructure greatly. The Indian government is trying its best to curb the spread. The Northern part of India (Mumbai, Delhi) continues to grapple with high case load and hospitals are running out of beds and oxygen support. South India (Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin) the cases are increasing day by day with bed and oxygen shortages reported. Many states have imposed partial or complete lockdowns to mitigate the impact.
Many suppliers’ industries are closed or running with limited staff which slows production and delays movement of cargo from factory to port.
During this new outbreak, we have made several contingency plans to support our clients, and continue to develop highly integrated software to streamline communication.
Congestion remains high, with disinfection and quarantine measures being continuously implemented by local authorities to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We are predicting delays to all vessels departing Yantian in the next two weeks, with significant risk of further disruption should the current Covid-19 outbreak worsen. At the moment, no other ports are affected, and the impact is contained to vessels operating in and around Yantian. Read our full article here.
A brief overview:
We're facing remarkably similar challenges to last month, and quite frankly, all year. We’re hoping to see a little bit of stablisation across rates and availability and will stive to keep you informed and ready to respond.
We recommend getting in touch with your Key Account Manager to touch base and ensure you have a clear idea on what to expect for your shipments.


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Electricity prices are breaking records before the last financial crisis, which does not satisfy anyone except the energy companies. More importantly, the prices of a number of production inputs are also high, as demand rises after an epidemic shock, but logistics flows continue to slow.
However, last week also brought many positive news in the local corporate world. Summarized by Evan Halloza in 2200 words, What is the 10 minutes of reading.
1. The young Czech shoe company Vasky Václav Stanánek is already moving to Partizansky to produce sneakers
Young Czech Václav Staněk is only 23 years old, but five years ago he started building a new handmade Vasky leather shoe product in Zlín, Czech Republic. It employed 80 people last year and generated 4 million euros in sales.
Now the young businessman is moving to Slovakia with his company. At Partizansky, Vasci actually sewed the uppers of some of his shoes. Now, however, a new production of sneakers will be launched there with the 40 largest employees, and in the future it may also bring the increasingly popular barefoot shoes, that is, more stylish sneakers, to the city.
Bata helps. Stannock explains that young startups can gain a foothold not only in the technology sector, but also in traditional industries. He himself bases his marketing largely on the tradition of the famous Czech shoemaker Jan Antonin Bata. Both in Zlin and Partizansky, there were production bases of the Bata family.
In addition, Staňek owns two other companies in the traditional business. In India, the manufacturer of leather bags owns Bagind, and in the Czech Republic the manufacturer of wooden furniture Wuders. Sales of these two companies will reach four million euros this year, and Vasci is likely to move to six million euros this year.
More on the young entrepreneur: The pavilion was originally intended for athletics, and also started its business from profits less than victories in the 800-meter races.
Already in the Czech Republic, he was awarded the title of EY “Entrepreneur of the Year 2019”. The Czech magazine Forbes again included him in its prestigious rating of the most successful young entrepreneurs from 30 to 30 years old.
2. The left will not shake the Japanese left, but for south-central Slovakia, the expansion of two investors from China and the United States strengthens
Japanese auto plastic parts manufacturer Levice leaves after only four years of operation kasai, who originally came here to see Jaguar Land Rover’s British automaker Nitra. How do published Marchesa TV, all 260 factory employees lose their jobs there.
On the contrary, at present, south-central Slovakia has learned two better news:
- In Veľký Krtíš, the local manufacturer of roof moldings and aluminum for car windows, Fysam Auto Decorative Slovakia, wants to launch new products, which will accommodate 170 people. Last year, this Slovak daughter of Chinese society Fuyao For small orders for cars, on the contrary, it reduced the number of employees from the current 100 to the 60. After the start of new production with a total of 7.4 million euros, a total of 230 people for the Chinese will work in Krtíš.
- American car seat manufacturer I was convicted It also wants to hire more than 190 additional employees for its shooting engineering production of metallic components for headrests, which it had already rolled out in the halls of former tile manufacturer Novoker.
What does this mean for both regions of Slovakia: The left’s loss to the Japanese investor does not shake the left. After the turn of the millennium, the city built one of the most successful industrial complexes in the country. Many powerful companies have big factories there. The British company GSK produces toothpastes there, the Scandinavian Kluita sweets, and the German auto contractor ZF produces toothpaste there.
For the southern part of central Slovakia, new investments by both Chinese and Americans totaling 400 new jobs, on the other hand, are a big boost. Unlike the west of the country, this region still suffers from a labor shortage.
More on the topic: A Chinese investor in Veľký Krtíš has been fired due to a pandemic. He will now accept more people
The world’s largest car seat manufacturer wants to hire another two hundred people in Lučenec
American Adient’s Slovak Fleet
- One of the largest subcontractors in the Slovak automobile industry
- A total of 3200 employees
- 140,000 car seats per year
Martin, Zelina, Lucinek – Factories that produce car seats themselves.
Bratislava Shared Financial Services Center.
Trenchin – Technological center for the development of new car seats, which is the largest technological center of the Slovak automobile industry with more than half a thousand specialists.


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Hyundai has released the first official images of the new crossover. According to TheKoreanCarBlog, the company has announced the imminent premiere of the compact AX1 model, which will be the smallest SUV in the brand’s lineup.
The novelty will be developed for India and the countries of Southeast Asia, but the crossover may appear in other markets as well. The fact that the Hyundai AX1 could become a global model is evidenced by the fact that test prototypes were seen in different parts of the world – both in northern Europe and in South Korea.
The Hyundai AX1 engine range is expected to include three-cylinder 1.0- and 1.2-liter petrol engines, capable of being paired with a manual or robotic gearbox.
The list of standard equipment will include front airbags, ABS and brake force distribution, rear parking sensors, and an auto-dimming interior mirror.
In early March, the new Bayon compact crossover debuted, becoming the most affordable SUV in the South Korean brand’s lineup on the European market. The model is based on the platform of the compact i20 hatchback, with which the crossover has shared the engine lineup. We are talking about three-cylinder gasoline engines with a capacity of 85 to 125 hp, which can be operated with a mechanical or robotic gearbox. Crossover prices start at € 16.8 thousand
We also advise you to watch a detailed test drive of the Hyundai Santa Fe from the FineAuto team:


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Dunnes Stores given limited stay on Point Village fit-out
Judge said retailer entitled to have arguments heard at Court of Appeal and awarded costs to PVD
26 October 2021 | 0
Dunnes Stores has been granted a limited stay on fulfilling a recent High Court order, to fit out a long-awaited anchor store at Dublin’s Point Village.
Earlier this month, Mr Justice David Barniville gave an order that the supermarket chain carry out the work, as requested by Point Village Development Ltd (PVD). 2021 marks the fifth year that has passed since the original deadline by which Dunnes Stores was required to have completed the work.
On Wednesday, 20 October, The Irish Times reports that Dunnes was granted a limited stay in relation to fit-out, pending appeal of the High Court decision.
Acting on behalf of PVD, Michael Collins SC urged the judge not to grant a stay, on the grounds that Dunnes had not identified any substantial grounds for an appeal.
He claimed Dunnes’ points bordered on the unarguable and that the group’s lawyer, Martin Hayden SC, with “his characteristic anarchic brilliance” had succeeded in delaying the project for 10 years.
Hayden responded by thanking him “for the promo and I will forward the bank draft in due course”. He also disagreed with Collins’s suggestion that Dunnes had lost in most of its cases regarding the decision and said “we are not ahead on numbers but not that far behind”.
Ultimately, Mr Justice Barniville said Dunnes is entitled to appeal and the appeal itself does not operate as a stay.
Although not immediately obvious what Dunnes’ grounds of appeal were, he said the retailer was entitled to air its arguments before the Court of Appeal. He expected that the case would get an early hearing date.
Arguments for a further stay could be made before that the Court of Appeal, the judge added.
He awarded the costs of the case to PVD.


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Morrie's Automotive Group won franchise rights to sell Aston Martins as early as next week.
A Clearwater businessman involved in a giant luxury car dealership project in Eatonville has been indicted on charges that he embezzled veteran's benefits.
A temporary showroom on Glebe Road will soon be replaced by a state-of-the art dealership.
With a variety of flashy and technologically advanced new models out and on the way, the luxury end of the auto market is heating up.
Texas is bucking the trend of declining enrollments, but the state still has plenty of challenges in higher education, leaders of seven North Texas institutions said Thursday in Dallas Topping the list: Declining state funding and rising student loan debt, the university presidents said.
Maserati is not known as a mainstream automobile. That is, until now.
The purpose of advertising is not to entertain. It is to motivate.
The 31st Houston Auto Show, which started Wednesday, is the largest in the event's history.
Ever heard of a Hispano-Suiza? A 1925 gray convertible version of this one-time Rolls-Royce rival took Best in Show at the inaugural Arizona Concours ...
For those of you dreaming to take your first joyride in a Ferrari, rejoice.
Taken for a ride: Felix Sabates is opening Charlotte’s first Bentley dealership on Nov. 2. Sabates, who opened a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Pineville ...
January has become classic car month in the Valley, and it’s about to get bigger.
A dispute lingers over territory rights for a Bentley dealership in Charlotte. Despite that, the man who landed dealership rights will open next month ...
Dwight Knowlton lights up when he talks about his latest entrepreneurial project, “The Little Red Racing Car.”


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NORMAL - As Toys For Tots celebrates its 60th anniversary nationally this year, McLean County Toys for Tots has an ambitious goal.
"The goal is to collect 30,000 toys and gifts," said Matt Drat, local coordinator of the McLean County program.
The organization, affiliated with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, collected more than 28,000 toys in McLean County last season to give to needy children at the Christmas holidays.
Drat is confident the community will respond to the higher goal. The collection continues through Dec. 19.
"I'm confident. They know what's at stake. It's the kids," Drat said. The goal was announced Monday at the Children's Discovery Museum.
The program collects new, unwrapped toys and gifts that are distributed through social service organizations such as The Salvation Army.
The public can donate at more than 90 drop-off locations throughout McLean County, including retail stores, restaurants and government agencies.
Toys also will be collected at special events: 1 p.m. Saturday at the Illinois Wesleyan University home football game; 10 a.m. Dec. 1 at the Jaycees Christmas parade; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Wild and Swingin' Holiday Party at the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Suzy Bogguss Christmas Holiday Show at the BCPA; and 8 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Illinois Symphony Holiday Pops Concert at BCPA.
The Toys for Tots program was established nationally in 1947 to provide Christmas toys and gifts for needy children ages newborn to 16.
Drat said 2007 will provide a challenge in making sure toys recalled for safety reasons are not distributed.
"We will monitor the toys we get and make sure none are on the list," he said.
Also new is a Toys for Tots Santa's Workshop designation that honors businesses and organizations that have helped with the McLean County drive. Initial inductees are Connecting Point Computer; B104; WBNQ; Central Illinois Leathernecks; WEEK-TV; VFW Post 454; Midwest Electronics; Hundman Lumber; UAW Local 2488; and Mitsubishi Motors North America.
How to help
• Drop new, unwrapped toys in one of more than 90 collection boxes located throughout McLean County. A list of drop-off sites is at www.mcleantoysfortots.org
• Make checks payable to McLean County Toys for Tots, 1306 E. Empire St., Bloomington, IL 61701.


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Nijkon announced the Nikon Z f, a retro-looking full-frame mirrorless camera. The new Nikon Z…
CIPA posted their statistics for February 2018, and it’s a worrying picture they give of the camera industry.
According to CIPA, the overall digital stills camera shipments worldwide were down 26.6% compared to the same period of 2017. The figures are due to the compact camera market, which is shrinking year after year and now see as a 44.7% drop.
Shipments of DSLRs and MILCs together went down by over 5% (compared to February 2017). DSLR sales alone saw a modest 0.1% raise in shipment while MILC shipments dropped by 15.8%.
It seems people still love their DSLRs, despite all the mirrorless galore.


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22 April 2008
22 April 2008
PPG Industries’ fibreglass business is raising prices effective from May 1, or as permissible by contract, for products in the Americas.
“Rising costs for energy, transportation, raw materials and precious metals create an economic hardship for our business and our industry that is affecting our ability to reinvest for the future,” said Greg Benckart, PPG general manager, fibreglass. “PPG has invested significant capital to support the industry, with furnace rebuilds in our wholly-owned assets as well as new capacity in Asia. While we want to continue to invest in technology and capacity, we find ourselves in a position where current economics will not justify these necessary investments.”
PPG’s price increases will affect all reinforcements for thermoset and thermoplastic resins as well as yarn products. Sales representatives will communicate price-increase details to their customers in these markets.
Cobra International will showcase a range of composite products at CAMX 2018, including carbon fibre components for the automotive, transportation, marine, water sports and luxury sectors.
UK company Prodrive Composites has developed a process for manufacturing recyclable composite components that can satisfy future end-of-life requirements without any compromise in the performance of the original parts. The company says the P2T (Primary to Tertiary) process not only simplifies recycling, but endows a composite material with the potential to fulfil three or more useful lifetimes.
Designers at Elemental Motor have utilised tailored fibre placement (TPF) to extend the use of carbon composites in its RP1 sports car.


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Retail Food Group criticises UBS reports after share plunge
An Australian Donut King store
Owner of Crust Pizza, Donut King and Gloria Jean’s Coffee, Retail Food Group, has experienced a significant drop in its share price with the company attributing the fall to UBS reports.
RFG, which owns a number of food brands operating in Australia, saw its share price drop by 11 per cent on Monday 5 June 2017.
In an Australian Securities Exchange announcement, RFG attributed the trading change to two UBS reports issued 2 June 2017.
The UBS reports discuss an introduction of a new accounting standard (IFRS 16 Leases) and analyses it may negatively impact RFG’s balance sheet.
RFG has since however said “UBS would have no insight into the Company’s [RFG’s] position in respect of the impact (if any) of IFRS16 Leases”.
The company further stated that any assumptions on the potential impact of the accounting standards change was “premature, precipitous and with respect, an exercise in speculative guesswork.”
In response to RFG’s criticism, a UBS spokesperson said “UBS analysts provide insightful, relevant research on companies to help our clients with their investment analysis and this research is no exception.”
Volatility and volume in RFG shares “extraordinary”
Alex Moffatt, Director of financial consultancy firm, Joseph Palmer and Sons Victoria, told Australian Food News the volatility and volume in RFG’s shares over the past couple of days has been extraordinary and that he personally believed it was exacerbated by algorithmic trading.
“Once the dust settles it will be interesting to note any changes to major shareholders,” Moffatt said.
RFG brands include Donut King, Crust Pizza, Pizza Capers Gloria Jean’s, Di Bella Coffee, Brumby’s Bakery and Michel’s Patisserie.


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Skoringen, Zjoos and Feet Me, three Danish footwear retail chains that have been working together on purchasing, are pushing their cooperation further, turning their joint buying cooperative, Shoe-D-Vision, into a full-fledged company by the same name that will take over marketing and other functions. It should also make it more feasible to expand into Sweden, and possibly the UK. The chains already run data processing and logistics through Shoe-D-Vision.
Claus Trane, the former chief executive officer of Skoringen who has led Shoe-D-Vision for the past few years, will take on a similar role at the new company, which now wields a consolidated retail turnover for the three chains of just over 1 billion Danish kroner (€134m-$210.3m) before VAT in Denmark, and another DKK 650 million (€87.1m-$136.7m) in Norway.
Skoringen is one of the largest footwear buying groups in Scandinavia, with 134 stores in Norway and 185 in Denmark. It joined forces with another Danish voluntary group, De Grønne Skobutik, in 2002 to form Shoe-D-Vision and increase their respective buying power. De Grønne Skobutik has since been renamed as Zjoos, a name that sounds like “shoes,” and the chain now consists of 70 stores, only two of which are in Norway.
Skoringen launched the Feet Me concept in 2001, consisting of dedicated sections of the affiliated stores for trendy women’s shoes. The Feet Me brand is now used for stand-alone stores operating right next to 35 Skoringen stores in Denmark, with a connecting door. Like Zjoos, Skoringen is now shifting its focus from the family to trendy women, but Zjoos will concentrate on smaller urban areas, giving retail members a more differentiated range of alternatives to choose from for their investments.
Retailers affiliated with the three banners hold a 35 percent market share of the Danish specialty shoe retail market, or about 20 percent of the total market, estimated at DKK 4.8 billion (€643m-$1,000m) a year, and are also very present in Norway. In order to become a major player in the Scandinavian region, the new group intends to increase the number of stores rapidly and encourage the introduction of its concepts to the Swedish market within the next few years, probably through the acquisition of a small chain there.
The Skoringen division accounts for almost half of the merged company, with turnover that grew by 21 percent in 2007 to DKK 756 million (€101.3m-$159m), including VAT. While net profits for the central wholesale division doubled to DKK 14.7 million (€1.9m-$3.0m), the retailers belonging to Skoringen enjoyed profit margins estimated at 6 percent of sales.
These profits will help Skoringen retailers to re-invest the DKK 300 million (€40m-$63m) necessary for redesigning their outlets according to a more fashion-oriented concept, with a strong focus on female consumers. The company estimates that the average Danish woman buys five pairs of shoes per year, while men only purchase only half as much.


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Following on from the business interest focused around the meeting of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao with UK Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this month the Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) has announced a major collaboration which will see membership of the Society made available to designers throughout mainland China, Taiwan, Macao and Hong Kong.
At a signing ceremony in Beijing on July 5, Chief Executive of CSD, Frank Peters signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr. Xing Lei, the Chief Executive of the Dragon Design Foundation (DDF) which sees the two organisations working together to promote the highest standards of professional design practice in China.
"This is truly a major event not just for CSD and DDF but most importantly for the design profession and those who receive the benefits design can bring to everyday life," Peters said. "It is a collaboration that benefits designers, commerce and ultimately society. We are continually reminded that the world is watching China to see how it will tackle issues of manufacturing and its effect on our environment and we share those concerns but we cannot just watch. We have all shared the benefits of China's global repositioning and therefore we have a responsibility to engage, share knowledge, offer support and assist in creating a sustainable industrial model and professional design practice has a major role to play in this strategy."
The signing of the MoU comes six years after CSD commenced its discussions with DDF at their inaugural design festival in Qingdao. Over this period the Society had discussions with the major design discipline organisations in China as well as industry, educational institutions and government representatives.
"It was clear from our first meeting with CSD that there was a mutual desire to help designers develop their profession in preparation for the difficult tasks ahead in developing a sustainable economy which respects the values of people and the environment," said Mr. Xing Lei of DDF. "The world recognises the leading role the UK plays in design and it is also aware of the global power of China as a producing and consuming nation. It makes perfect sense for the professional body for design in the UK and the leading design foundation in China, both of which represent designers across all disciplines, to collaborate in bringing together designers from both nations for mutual development and benefit.' He added, 'The standards operated by CSD are respected by DDF and we will be promoting these throughout China."
The CSD membership structure and the CSD Genetic Matrix on which it and other programmes are based will be adopted by DDF and promoted across the professional design sector in China.


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Italian automaker Fiat on Wednesday opened a new
plant for the manufacture of Maserati sport cars near its
headquarters in Turin as it posted bigger profits for 2012 despite
continuing to lose money in Europe.
Over the course of 2012, the Fiat Group, including its US subsidiary Chrysler, sold 4.2 million cars, over 1 million more than in 2011. Net profits rose from 684 million to 1.66 billion euros (2.2 billion dollars), but debt also rose, from 5.53 to over 6.55 billion euros.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, net profits amounted to 388 million euros, up from 286 million euros in the previous three months. In the last quarter of 2011 they amounted to 265 million euros.
No dividends were paid out to shareholders.
"The results are in line with expectations. The group is healthy," Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said.
Fiat shares on the Milan stock exchange were up by 2 per cent by around 2:30 pm (1330 GMT).
The company has been hard hit by falling sales in recession-hit Europe, its traditional core market, but has remained profitable thanks to strong performances in Brazil and North America.
Last year, losses in the EMEA region - comprising Europe, the Middle East and Africa - amounted to 738 million euros, down from 897 million euros. However, excluding unusual items, they were up from 353 to 544 million euros.
Meanwhile, Chrysler reported 1.7 billion dollars in profit, some nine times the amount earned in 2011, or twice as much after accounting for special items. Revenues for 2012 rose 20 per cent to 65.8 billion dollars.
Chrysler reported selling 2.2 million vehicles, increasing its market share in the United States from 10.5 to 11.2 per cent.
Marchionne wants Fiat's European operations to build more lucrative luxury cars in a bid to turn the company's fortunes around.
"We have a serious commitment," Marchionne said at the opening of the Maserati plant in Grugliasco, confirming that there were no plans to shut down factories in Italy.
The Maserati plant, named after the late Fiat boss Giovanni Agnelli, was taken over from Bertone coachworks in 2009 and completely overhauled to produce the Quattroporte saloon and a new smaller model, the Ghibli.
Marchionne said Fiat would return to profit in Europe by 2015-2016. In 2012, European sales for the group were down 16.1 per cent compared to a year earlier.
Fiat's range includes the Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Abarth brands, as well as Ferrari and Maserati. Chrysler sells cars under the Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands.
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Realme has confirmed that the company’s upcoming flagship smartphone — Realme X50 Pro 5G will also get launched in India on 24th February, making it the first 5G smartphone in the Indian market.
Now, in a new teaser poster on Weibo, the company has confirmed that the smartphone will come with a quad-camera setup on the back where the primary camera sensor will be of 64-megapixel.
Further, the company has also confirmed some key features related to the camera, which includes 20X hybrid zoom, SAT smooth zoom technology, and seamless switching between photo and video mode. However, the camera configuration has not been revealed yet.
The smartphone has so far been confirmed to feature Super AMOLED screen and will also offer 90Hz refresh rate. It is expected to come with Full HD+ screen resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio. Recently, it was confirmed that the X50 Pro 5G will come with support for 65W SuperDart Charge technology.
The company has also confirmed that the smartphone will be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC and will offer dual-mode 5G with NSA and SA support. It is also expected to come packed with up to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage.
As for the software, it will run the latest Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own Realme UI on top.