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Whatever Happened to the Station Wagon, and Could It Be Making a Comeback?
Posted by: Lydia on 17/07/2019
Today, the station wagon is a bit of a time capsule: immediately recognised, fondly recalled, but a rarer sight today on Aussie roads than in decades prior. While this is a little sad to those who love this type of vehicle, the auto industry is one of constant innovation and change. And due to multiple factors, the station wagon has largely been unable to compete.
But even if the station wagon isn’t as popular as it once was, it still has an important place in car history. The humble station wagon was the forebear of some of the biggest trends that have taken over the auto industry.
Here's a look at what happened to the station wagon, and whether it could one day make a comeback.
Demographic and household shifts
Many factors led to the shrinking popularity of the station wagon, and some of them resulted in the huge trends that totally reshaped our relationship with vehicles and how we use them.
The first and most important factor isn’t about cars at all, but about our homes and families.
Today, Aussie families are typically smaller than they were decades ago, and the stats bear this out: in 1911, the average number of people in an Australian household was 4.5, but by 2016, that number had fallen to 2.6.
On its surface, this might not seem like a big deal, but it’s had a huge impact on our car purchases – especially because recent years have seen many households shift from owning only one car to owning two, three, or even four or more. So in the past, with more family members and fewer cars in each household, a station wagon was seen as a very attractive offering, given its family-friendly size. But households have changed, and so too have consumer tastes.
Travel and recreation changes
Another major change has been the way in which we holiday. Once upon a time, when airfares were very expensive compared to an average weekly pay packet, many Aussies would opt for a road trip as opposed to an overseas journey.
While road trips are still popular, in the era of a hyper-competitive airline industry, ongoing discount flights, and an increase in the speed of air travel, many Aussies are looking to holiday in Japan or Thailand rather than the Gold Coast or the Great Ocean Road. In many cases, currency conversion means it can be more affordable to catch a plane and holiday overseas than pay for petrol and accommodations in Australia.
In addition, many families now opt for caravans when taking a road trip, as opposed to a less-versatile vehicle like a station wagon or SUV.
And while the station wagon definitely still has its fans among surfers and snowboarders, many of them engage in extreme sports tourism in other countries. With surfers travelling to Bali, and winter sports enthusiasts hopping across the ditch for a holiday among New Zealand’s snowy peaks, even those groups that traditionally owned station wagons find they have less need for one at home.
The evolution of SUVs and 4WDs
For many years, the station wagon was the go-to vehicle for anyone who liked the idea of a sedan but needed more space. For many station wagon owners, their vehicle offered the best of both worlds – it was able to deliver additional capacity without giving up the same user-friendly driving experience that a sedan offered.
After World War 2, the success of the jeep inspired a new category of vehicles: recreational 4WDs and SUVs. And as other changes swept through the country, many manufacturers identified a new audience in the average Aussie household. Aussies saw in 4WDs and SUVs vehicles that could offer all the storage benefits of a station wagon, while also enabling them to venture off the bitumen and hit the off-road trails with ease – while also looking a bit more modern.
At that point in time, many Aussies who would have once been in the station wagon’s key demographic switched to this other class of vehicle – and today, 4WDs and SUVs are among the best-selling vehicles in Australia.
Many other factors have also changed the Aussie landscape. The ease of online deliveries has done away with the need to lug bulky goods back from the store, and the rise of digital streaming services at home has seen a decline in (or the end of) the drive-in, where station wagons were the perfect vehicle of choice to catch a movie.
None of these factors alone saw the station wagon’s popularity decline, but all of them together posed an issue to the vehicle’s ongoing popularity and use.
Changing the station
Although station wagons may not be as common as they once were, they do still have a devoted following among some fans, especially those who love their retro throwback appeal.
But a station wagon is similar to a sedan in terms of its driving options – so while this isn't a bad thing if you want a station wagon principally for more storage, if you have your heart set on the extra modes a 4WD or SUV can offer, you may be disappointed.
Although the heyday of the station wagon has (for now) appeared to have come and gone, the history of cars shows us to ‘never say never’. Many cars once viewed as on the way out have rocketed back to popularity.
Ultimately, the vehicle remains a very versatile one. It's certainly still as family-friendly today as it was in years gone by, but it's also super useful for anyone who is lugging business supplies, university textbooks, or maybe even a big dog or two in the back. It may not be as popular as it once was, but here’s hoping this vehicle gets to enjoy a big comeback across the Great Southern Land in future.
What has your experience been like with station wagons? Let us know in the comments below:


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Chef Amelia Irene Steed builds Black wealth one meal at a time
The Black Farmers’ Market in the Triangle is taking a new approach to supporting its community. One chef who joined the market is on a personal mission to address food inequality through her cooking classes and plant-based desserts.
When you walk into the Southeast Raleigh Black Farmers Marketon Sundays, you are immediately met with the sound of old-school R&B and soulful gospel music. There’s a distinct smell of jerk chicken and frying fish from the Black-owned food trucks. Grandmothers wear church hats and carry baskets full of fresh produce. Others wear braids and head scarves.
Vegan-based Chef Amelia Irene Steed sits in the far right corner of the market; her table is full of her homemade spices and recipes. She joined the Black Farmers Market last year with the intention of building Black social and economic wealth.
The market runs on bi-monthly Sundays in Durham and Raleigh to provide fresh food options in communities with limited access to garden-fresh produce. According to federal data, only 3% of farms in the state are owned by Black farmers.
“The bad taste of slavery for the African American community often has shunned farming as an industry for us,” says Steed. “I believe that one of the greatest things about the Black Farmers Market is shifting that narrative.”
Steed is the creator of Lotus Lane Culinary, a catering company that helps people on their own wellness journey through cooking classes that encourage community health.
“I mean, the fact that we can grow our own food and create a legacy for future generations to help them eat better, live better, be better, is one of the greatest things that I have walked away from as being part of the Black Farmers Market,” says Steed.
Steed grew up around food. She’s named after both her grandmothers, but she only met one. Grandma Irene died in her 40s from breast cancer, while Grandma Amelia died in her 60s from diabetes and heart disease. These health disparities in the Black community aren’t new.
A recent report from the CDCshows that 80% of Black women are overweight or obese, considerably more than non-Hispanic white women.
Steed’s motivation for being a vegan chef comes from both of her grandmothers. She sees a correlation between generations-old recipes and these health issues.
“A lot of what comes from soul food is really the emotional connection. It connects us to our ancestors. And when we're sitting at that table, it's 'Oh my god, you made that just like grandma's mac and cheese,'” Steed says. “The connection is okay, but what is this doing to my body? One of my goals is to shift that emotional connection a little bit and still maintain that ancestral connection. Grandma would want me to have my best life. So maybe we can shift this recipe a little bit so I can live longer.”
Steed explains how changing seasonings and cooking practices is only the beginning of this journey. She believes that if we don’t find a solution for Black and Brown communities, her work won’t matter.
“In my opinion, we fight that back with food, in our ability to unify around the food, whether it's from the grower to the producer, to the chef, you know, it truly takes a village to fight it,” says Steed.
For vendors like Steed, food accessibility is not the only bridge to creating social and economic growth in Raleigh-Durham communities, it's about using our food as fuel to sustain our lives, and building a village to support that mission.

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Medical marijuana company GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2019 earnings results on May 6, Monday, after the closing bell. Analysts expect the company’s revenues to grow seven times compared to last year, driven by increased acceptance for cannabinoid products.
Q1 revenues are projected to be $23.32 million, compared to $3.35 million last year. However, losses are expected to widen to $2.48 per share from $0.26 per share a year ago.
Investors will be looking at the demand for its flagship drug Epidiolex, which is used to treat patients diagnosed with Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that causes seizures right from childhood.
Epidiolex sales for Nov 1 – Dec 31 launch period stood at $4.7 million. In the first two month selling period, approximately 4,500 new patients enrolled and over 500 physicians generated dispensed prescriptions.
The UK based firm enjoys both the status of a ‘red hot’ cannabis stock, as well as the general acceptance for a pharma company. This is clearly visible from the trading charts. Investors have sent the shares up 71% in the year-to-date period. In the trailing 52 weeks, the stock has gained 27%.
In the long term, the company is expected to benefit from Medicare policies that lambast mainstream pharma companies of their “ridiculous pricing.” As GW’s products are based on cheap cannabinoid components, it is less likely to be impacted by such policies.
Analysts are pretty bullish about this stock. Eight out of 9 analysts covering the stock has a Buy rating. The stock has a 12-month average price target of $181.50, suggesting a 6% upside from the last close.
The semiconductor industry is a rapidly growing business segment that currently thrives on the digital transformation wave. The demand for memory chips and other semiconductor products increased over the years,
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) were up on Friday, a day after the company delivered disappointing results for the second quarter of 2022. The company reported a
Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has reported a decrease in net profit for the first quarter of 2023, despite a modest increase in revenues. The company's stock suffered a big loss


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Lily-Rose Depp looked so grown up when she attended the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. The stunning 16-year-old sat front row with her look-alike mother, Vanessa Paradis, and French designer Jean-Paul Goude. Lily-Rose, whose dad is Johnny Depp, flashed a cute smile for photographers as she posed on the airport-inspired runway. And despite sitting this show out, the model already has close ties with the fashion powerhouse. She was recently tapped as a Chanel ambassador and walked in their casino-themed haute couture show in July.
While Lily-Rose's career is undoubtedly just getting started, Johnny admitted that he's already concerned about her stepping into the spotlight. He recently told Germany's Gala magazine, "To be honest, I'm quite worried. What's happening with Lily-Rose right now isn't what I expected. Definitely not at this age. But these are her passions and she's having fun." Keep reading to see more of Lily-Rose's latest appearance, and then check out more kids who are almost identical to their famous parents.


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Bangalore: With the Union government promising to auction high-speed third generation (3G) air waves to private cellphone operators by the end of the year, mobile value-added services (VAS) firms are gearing up with offerings tailor-made for the increased spectrum.
OnMobile Global Ltd is planning a citizen journalism portal, CanvasM Technologies Ltd will offer a video portal and video calling services, Comviva Technologies Ltd will introduce video ring back tones and video mail, and California-based Qualcomm Inc. is set to launch a low-cost computer that will use 3G spectrum to connect to the Internet.
The 3G services will allow cellphone users high-speed access to the Internet so they can download data heavy files such as music and videos faster than in current networks, as well as use their mobile phones for applications such as video conferencing.
High-speed access: 3G services, promised before year-end in India, will allow cellphone users high-speed access to the Internet so they can download data-heavy files faster than on current networks. Lluis Gene / AFP
Though state-run telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) started rolling out their 3G services in New Delhi and Mumbai in May, the much-anticipated auction of the spectrum to private players has been delayed several times over differences on the reserve price.
A. Raja, Union minister of communications and information technology, said soon after taking charge earlier in June that “3G auction will definitely take place by the end of this year”. Once available, the high-speed spectrum will throw open various new business options.
Bangalore-based OnMobile Global, for instance, has developed a technology that will allow subscribers to shoot a video or a photograph and upload these on a citizen journalism website with a voiceover, in minutes rather than in hours.
The firm is in talks with some media houses, which would regulate the content, to launch the portal. The same technology will give users options to share the photographs and videos with friends or upload these on social networking websites.
“Today a person takes a photo or a video and it just lies idle on the phone. 3G will see more visual-enabled data gaining traction,” said Pratapa Bernard, head of marketing and product management at OnMobile. “It will create a market for video-based services that does not exist today.”
Some 30% of the cellphones in use in India have camera and video capability, Bernard said. OnMobile is also planning a video portal and another technology that will allow users to backup their photos, music, contacts and other content.
As 3G rolls out in India, there will be a shift in television viewing to the even smaller screen of a mobile phone, says P. Balaji, vice-president, Ericsson India Pvt. Ltd, the local arm of Swedish telecom equipment maker Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. Ericsson is providing the network infrastructure for BSNL to launch mobile TV.
California-headquartered wireless technology provider Qualcomm has grander ambitions. It plans to launch its low-cost Kayak PC in India, which uses 3G to connect to the Internet, as well as smartbooks—much like smartphones but with larger, high-resolution screens.
“Wireless may be the lynchpin to help close the digital divide, where many users’ first experiences with the Internet will be on a mobile device...,” Sandeep Sibal, vice-president and country manager of technology at Qualcomm India and South Asia, said by email.
Mumbai-based research house IMRB International estimates the mobile value added services market in India at Rs9,760 crore as at end-June, and sees this growing by nearly 70% to Rs16,520 crore in 12 months as private players starting rolling out their 3G services.
However, though India is the fastest growing cellphone market and has some 400 million mobile phone users, only 13% of the handsets are 3G-enabled, said Deepak Halan, group business director, eTech group, IMRB. He expects mostly the 9-10 million urban cellphone users who regularly access the Internet on their handsets to start using 3G services as the rates are likely to be high and awareness low, to start with.
The other hitch for mobile value added services firms is the revenue sharing model currently in use in India that leans heavily in favour of the network operators.
Under this model, cellular operators take a 60-80% cut of the revenues earned by mobile value added services firms in return for hosting their products, much higher than the 20-30% share operators earn in markets such as Japan and Korea. The 3G technology is unlikely to change this model, said OnMobile’s Bernard.
Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s largest cellphone operator, declined to comment on its plans for 3G.
New Delhi-based Comviva Technologies’ chief technology officer Anil Gajwani still sees the firm’s revenues growing “close to 50% in the first year of 3G being deployed as against (the) current growth rate of 35-40%”. Comviva’s platter of video ring back tones in place of today’s ad ring back tones, a music download portal and a video portal will be ready in the next quarter, he added, without giving the firm’s current revenues.
“With the advent of 3G (in India) we will see VAS companies migrate from text and pictures to video,” said Singapore-based Rohit Dadwal, managing director of Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific, a global industry forum. Around 18 months ago, when 3G was launched in Singapore, VAS firms jumped on to the increased spectrum to provide live video, video calling and video portals, he said.
Indian firms are already offering 3G services in other Asian nations. CanvasM Technologies, promoted by software services provider Tech Mahindra Ltd and handset maker Motorola Inc., offers its video avatar application— which allows a user to take on the voice of a movie or sports star and send a video message—in China, through China Telecom Corp. Ltd.
In India, the firm plans to offer the video avatar application as well as video mail and video calling services, said Jagdish Mitra, chief executive at CanvasM.


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Launched in 2013, the mobile point-of-sale terminal connects to the drivers’ smart phone via bluetooth, allowing them to process physical or contactless card payments.
ANZ Managing Director Retail Products and Marketing, Matt Boss said: “Technology and mobile developments are driving change and innovation across all industries. Customers expect everything to be fast, secure and frictionless – including something as simple as paying for a taxi.
“This payment solution responds to these new needs – as this app allows passengers to book and pay for a taxi in one easy step on their phone.
“Together with Ingogo, we’re very pleased to be recognised by Trailblazer for our work in delivering an innovative taxi payment system in Australia. It shows that our investment in digital and mobile banking, as part of our Banking on Australia strategy, is paying off in both the consumer and business market,” Mr Boss said.
The Ingogo payment solution is on track to process more than $150 million over the next 12 months.


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Woolworths and Coles in competition over “exclusive” tomatoes
The Coles sweet snack-sized Perino tomatoes are possibly facing a match with the launch next month of Woolworths’ Sweet Solanato tomato.
Both Perino tomatoes and Sweet Solanato tomatoes have a grape-shape look and promise a sweet aftertaste.
Paul Harker, head of produce for Woolworths said that Woolworths has worked closely with Perfection Fresh Australia and Moraitis Pty Ltd to develop their new mini tomato variety.
“We are always looking at ways to work with our suppliers to ensure we provide the latest innovation in fresh food to our customers. We saw a gap in the market for a sweet snacking tomato and we know our customers will love them,” Mr Harker said.
The Sweet Solanato will be sold exclusively through Woolworths and is being grown in greenhouses in Bundaberg in Queensland, Gosford in New South Wales ,Tatura in Victoria, as well as Two Wells in South Australia.
They are hydroponically purpose-grown in different parts of Australia to ensure they are available year-round. Victoria and South Australia produce fruit all year, while Queensland will produce the winter crop and New South Wales the spring and summer crops.
Competitor, Blush Tomatos, which grows the Perino tomato exclusively for Coles, is a business of the Costa Group. As reported in Australian Food News in January 2012, the Costa family runs one of Australia’s best-known successful family businesses as one of the country’s largest distributors of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Both the Costa group’s business and the Moraitis group’s business are committed to substantial investment in new horticulture technologies. The Smorgon family is also a major tomato-growing greenhouse investor that has an involvement.
The Moraitis family and their allied Perfection Fresh Australia group are also well-known for innovative marketing in the fresh produce markets in Australia.
Be Natural is now selling new cereals, granolas and snack bars in Australian supermarkets.
Australian egg producer, Sunny Queen, has officially opened its new “world-first” production facilit...
In an Australian first, shoppers can now purchase pork jerky at Woolworths and IGA supermarkets.
Australian jerky producers, Local Legends, are selling two new jerky varieties.
Kaufland is continuing to prepare itself for an Australian launch, advertising a number of new local...
A private South Australian ice cream producer has been judged to have the best ice cream in Australi...
NEW regulations requiring kilojoule menu labelling are working to reduce kilojoule intake, marking a...
ALDI has won Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers Award in the Supermarket category for 2018.


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Runic Games have finally given us our first look at the gameplay of Hob, their upcoming action-adventure title coming to the PC and PS4 in 2016.
We recently spoke with Runic Games about Hob in a feature interview. You can read all about the history of Runic Games and their latest title by following the link.
Check out the trailer just below and let us know what you think of Hob in the comments section. Stay tuned to OnlySP on Facebook and Twitter for further coverage of PlayStation Experience 2015.


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Resin-based 3D printing is a robust segment in the additive manufacturing world, but it wasn’t always this way, according to Paul Holt, founder and managing director of Photocentric. In an exclusive interview with 3D Printing Industry, Holt shared his unique insights about the industry’s evolution, Photocentric’s cutting-edge technology, and the changing competitive landscape.
Resin is “the obvious way that mass manufacturing will work,” says Holt.
The outdated notions about resin 3D printing, as an “ephemeral manufacturing technique” bound to be discarded after a few uses, are no longer valid. “The initial concepts, or whatever lies that were propagated about thermosets, were down to the fact that the mechanisms of manufacture didn’t live through post-care, and the formulations were not resilient enough.”
Holt claims that resin’s durability is increasing due to technological advancements. It can last longer than thermoplastics.
‘Post care’ or post-processing refers to the methods undertaken after 3D printing, including curing and finishing techniques to stabilize the object. ‘Thermoplastics’ are a type of plastic polymer that becomes moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling, typically used in FDM 3D printing.
Holt noted that resin is often feared for its long-term effects, especially if it’s ingested. He argued that this misconception is not true. He explained his point by using the example dental fillings. These are commonly used applications for daylight photocurable materials similar to those that are used in 3D resin printing. Not uncommonly, a filing can come off and be swallowed. What is the point? The fear surrounding resin comes more from unfamiliarity, lack of precedent and lack of solid scientific evidence than any solid scientific proof. UDMA / TEGDMA is widely used by the dental industry.
Photocentric’s evolving approach: how do you get from stamps to 3D printing?
“Photocentric is unique in both its ability to be successful, and fail, in that it only sells products that it makes and invents,” says Holt.
Photocentric was founded in 2002. Initially, the company focused on creating a stamping product. They invented unique photopolymers and fast photopolymers as well as a way to encode these polymers with LCD screens. Gradually their research led them to multi-layer creation, opening up the door to 3D printers.
Holt claims that two important inventions in the craft industry led them to experiment with 3D printers. First, the company developed polymers that were very fast. They then created automated machinery to process large quantities of polymers for crafts. They used these advances to build their first 3D Printer and begin their journey into additive manufacturing.
In retrospect, the path taken by Photocentric might have looked “completely illogical,” perhaps even calling to mind the old joke about how to get from one place to another, ‘if were you, I wouldn’t start from here.’ With hindsight, Holt says the route makes complete sense, and indeed, there are many parallels between craft and 3D printing industries.
“It’s a lot more successful to copy people’s proven models,” he said, pointing to Apple’s history of improving existing products and the risk first movers have when marketing a genuinely new product.
Breaking the Battery Mold with Additive Manufacturing: Photocentric’s Vision
Unafraid to forge its own path, Photocentric’s research into 3D printed batteries exemplifies this vision. Holt highlighted how the creation of three-dimensional battery that can be molded in any shape with a greater level of interfacial interaction could change everything. He stressed that innovations in this area must meet the following two criteria: be affordable and be able to produce large quantities. Any technology that fails to meet these conditions is, as Holt puts it, “dead on arrival.”
“Batteries are essentially made by coating two faces with a slurry, one with lithium, the other with carbon. You push them together with a separator and roll them up, increasing the charge interface area,” says Holt.
Think of it as painting two faces on a piece of paper, then rolling it into a cylinder – the ‘charge interface area’ he talks about is similar to the paper’s surface area. The bigger this area is, the larger the battery’s capacity to hold charge and the faster the battery will discharge or recharge. It’s an effective but two-dimensional solution to a three-dimensional problem.
“If you look at batteries in three dimensions, you realize you’re not limited to just increasing the area. You can use the entire volume to create new shapes, such as interconnected columns, egg boxes or undulating hills. The entire contour area becomes a palette for design, changing according to whether you want quick charging, quick discharging, or holding a lot of current,” Holt elaborates.
The 3D printing process allows for the experimentation of thicker electrodes. These thicker electrodes offer many advantages, but are difficult to dry using conventional methods. By breaking away from the limitations of traditional manufacturing methods, additive manufacturing can facilitate entirely new types of batteries. This could create a game-changing industry.
Holt’s ambition does not stop at product innovation. He imagines a future in which the entire manufacturing process will be automated, from digital files to packaging output. Dubbed “Project Jeni”, this initiative is Photocentric’s main focus and, as Holt predicts, the “biggest single project” he’ll work on in his lifetime.
The project grew out of the experience gained by firms during COVID in high volume manufacturing. Holt quips, “As you scale it, you just get more people in, and then you’ve got more problems.” In other words, increasing the scale of production might amplify human-dependent issues, an inherent challenge in the 3D printing sector.
Holt acknowledges that the journey to this future won’t be smooth. There are numerous small challenges and uncertainties to navigate, and it’s important to realize that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for every product. The potential benefits of fully-automated, high-volume and low-cost production are so great that it is worth the effort. Holt’s vision for Photocentric is nothing short of a revolution in resin 3D printing, redefining the future of manufacturing.
From the invention and sale of LCD 3D Printing machines
Photocentric is renowned for its revolutionary invention of LCD 3D Printing. “It’s really hard to remember what the world was like before LCD. These processes were so well established that it seemed like there was no alternative,” says Holt. LCD 3D Printing has proven to be an important enabler despite initial skepticism. It launched numerous new machines on the market, and is now one of the biggest disruptive forces in the last five years.
Photocentric is in a unique situation, carved out a niche on a crowded global 3D-printing market, with many new competitors. They did this by thinking differently about size and utility.
“What sets us apart?” Holt reflected during our conversation, “It’s our focus on large format printers and high-volume production of smaller parts.”
Photocentric has changed its positioning to a new sphere as Chinese manufacturers continue to grow the market for low-cost printers in smaller formats. This isn’t to say that they scorn these competitors, on the contrary, Holt applauds them, stating that their contributions to the market have set an impressive bar for value in 3D printing. They have optimized Photocentric’s initial concepts and given rise to a thriving ecosystem of affordable, readily accessible hardware.
“[They] provide the best value in 3D printing,” Holt observed, “Their products are amazing machines, being sold to millions each year.”
Photocentric’s strategy has evolved in two distinct directions: very large format printing and mass production of small parts. As Holt said, “Why not create very large objects or arrays of very small ones where you need to produce a lot?”
Regarding intellectual property (IP), Photocentric’s approach is unconventional. Holt views patenting less as a mechanism for blocking competitors and more as a means to safeguard the company’s freedom to operate. “The commercial benefit of having a patent isn’t completely obvious to the uninitiated,” he said, indicating a shift in perspective from the number of patents towards meaningful innovation and practical application.
Holt, citing the challenges and limitations of patent enforcement, argued that innovation should be centered on the market. “All we want to do is be able to go and commercialize our products if we can invent them and the marketplace wants them. We just want not to be stopped.”
Photocentric is unwavering in the face of increased competition. It continues to innovate and push boundaries whether it’s large-format 3D-printing or high-volume manufacturing of smaller parts. It sees the competitive landscape as a field of opportunity and not a lion’s pit. For them, it’s not just about surviving in the industry; it’s about shaping it.
Transparency helps grow the additive manufacturing market
Photocentric has been transparent with the costs of 3D-printing, including the cost of the machines, materials and other costs, such as energy and waste disposal. This transparency is crucial to companies that want to produce large quantities of parts.
When asked about the company’s impressive growth from a turnover of £10 million in 2019 to £16.5 million in 2021, Holt remains humble. “We’re sitting in an industry that posts regular articles claiming CAGR of 25%. So anyone who’s sub 25% is shrinking,” he says. He believes that the real growth comes from changing the way things are made, and not just adding a 3D printer.
Unmasking the million-part invisible 3D printing production run
The bold claim of 3D-printing one million parts makes for a headline-grabbing announcement. Yet, public mentions about such successes in high-volume manufacturing remain scarce.
Photocentric was involved in the development of two well-known projects, both addressing issues related to supply chains. Photocentric produced a monthly volume of one million 3D printed face shields for the UK’s NHS, a project that earned Holt an MBE in the New Year’s Honors list. The PPE was manufactured using 45 Magna 3D Printers.
Merit3D, Adhesives Technology and Adhesives Technology have also 3D printed hangers that keep epoxy cartridges and mixing nozzles together. The compelling aspect of this project wasn’t the product itself but the cost, necessity, and disruptive influence of this “B plan” 3D printing approach. When traditional manufacturing routes became blocked, 3D printing was the last resort.
Holt told me that the 3D-printing industry has another million parts of production. Holt’s response is cryptic and sly. “All in the places that you don’t look,” he says. The crux of his argument is that this kind of mass manufacturing is not happening at the fore of industry; it’s not on display at trade shows; it’s happening behind the scenes, often involving parts that would generally be considered “boring.”
In essence, 3D-printed components that are often overlooked and unassuming are printed in high volumes, causing a quiet revolution within the manufacturing industry. Companies are protective of the information because it is disruptive.
Holt also addressed functional properties of 3D-printing materials. Working with BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, Photocentric aims to commoditize photocurable compounds to replace traditional materials used in injection molding. The challenge? How do we ensure that these new materials are as effective as the plastics?
It is not without obstacles. 3D printers face a number of challenges, including the needs for manufacturing, cost-effectiveness and functional parts.
Photocentric’s future and that of the 3D printing sector
Photocentric’s managing director is already preparing for the company’s future five years down the road. The company’s short-term strategy involves launching unique printers to challenge the status quo. Their first offering is the Titan. It’s more than a large-format printer; Holt refers to it as a game-changer in terms of cost and productivity.
“We’re interested in very large format printers for particular companies that want to get better value out of going and making very large parts and to do them to make functional large parts cost-effectively. That is a different statement to what most large format printers are offering.”
However, Holt’s five-year vision is even more ambitious. He believes that digital mass manufacturing will soon become the norm for industries all over the world. The ability to produce millions of parts every month that are customizable in any way needed is limitless. Holt says that this production paradigm is not only transformative for manufacturing, but also for the environment, since every part’s carbon footprint is taken into account.
Holt likened this expected shift in manufacturing to how AI was first perceived as “freaky” before being universally accepted. He predicts, in the same way, that companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint will adopt digital mass production within five years.
In response to questions regarding the recent M&A activities in the 3D printing industry, particularly the Stratasys and Desktop Metal merger, Holt sees it as more of a strategy to clear the competitive landscape than to enhance user experience.
When asked about Photocentric’s potential M&A considerations, Holt maintains a clear vision for the company’s independence. “We’re like burrowing away on our own, comfortably heading for the gold vein that’s in the hills,” he said. He is confident in Photocentric’s interconnected LCD manufacturing method and believes that they can solve any problems without the need for an external partner.
Wrapping up, Holt reveals that the true motivation behind his ambitious plans for Photocentric isn’t simply to produce products. He sees 3D printing as merely a means to an end – a technology that enables them to offer a credible alternative to worldwide manufacturing. He believes that the global impact of the shift is what will make the difference.
Photocentric is treading on a path that few others have. The company’s vision of 3D-printing is less about technology and more about mass manufacturing. One thing’s for certain: they’re a company to watch closely in the coming years.
Click here to read our series of Executive Interviews.
Peter Hansford, Wayland Additive’s CRO, solves a problem that has lasted for 20 years
Alloy Enterprises’ CEO Ali Forsyth discusses metal additive manufacturing, disruption and Alloy Enterprises.
Katie Snediker, CEO Jett3D, finding a profitable niche in 3D printing
Paul Powers on the future of 3D file-sharing
Nadav G. Goshen, CEO UltiMaker, on Thingiverse and AI tools, with a message for the 3D Printing Community
What is the Meaning of the Future of 3D Printing hold?
What? engineering challenges In the next decade, what challenges will the additive manufacturing industry face?
To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don’t forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry News Follow us on TwitterYou can also like our Facebook page. Facebook.
While you’re here, why not subscribe to our YouTube channel? Discussions, debriefs and video clips. Are you interested in a career in additive manufacturing? Visit 3D Printing Jobs For a variety of roles within the industry.
Photocentric founder and managing director Paul Holt appears in the image. Photo via Photocentric.


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Kansas International Trade Day will be held June 22, 2016 in Topeka, Kansas, at Washburn
Kansas International Trade Day will be held June 22 in Topeka at Washburn University’s Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center. An array of topics will be covered at the event.
The agenda for International Trade Day and the speakers that will be present are as follows:
• 8 a.m. – Registration & Exhibits Open
• 9:15 a.m. – Opening Remarks: Antonio Soave – Kansas Secretary of Commerce
• 9:30 a.m. – Global Opportunities and Trends: Tiffany Melvin – President, North American Strategy for Competitiveness (NASCO)
• 9:45 a.m. – How to do Market Research on Foreign Countries: Nyamusi K. Igambi – Director, U.S. Commercial Service, Kansas City; Raffaele DeVito – Kansas International Trade Coordinating Council Chair Emeritus
• 10:45 a.m. – Market Entry Strategies: Antonio Soave – Kansas Secretary of Commerce; Ted J. Vlamis – Vice President, Pioneer Balloon Co., 1997 Exporter of the Year
• 11:40 a.m. – Break/Lunch
• Noon – Lunch & Exhibits Open
• 12:30 p.m. – Success Stories by 2016 Governor’s Exporter of the Year Finalists: Balco Inc. – Wichita, Ceva Biomune – Lenexa, The Grasshopper Company – Moundridge, GT Manufacturing – Clay Center. Moderator – Linden Dalecki, Ph. D., KITCC Chair
• 1:45 p.m. – Networking
• 2:15 p.m. – Legal Issues of International Business: Beau Jackson – Attorney, International Trade/Customs, Adduci, Mastiani & Schaumberg LLP; Fang Shen – Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP
• 3:15 p.m. – Logistics/Transportation/Shipping: Kimberly Johnson-Bonhart – Vice President, State Government Affairs, UPS
• 4:15 p.m. – Closing Remarks
The registration fee is $50. To register for Kansas International Trade Day and learn how to maximize your international business, visit. https://www.kansasglobal.org/education_training-training_seminars-registration.php?action=view_class&id=141.


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Sony Ericsson's debut touchscreen Walkman music phone could be with us in a matter of months, rumours suggest.
Earlier in the year it was made public that Sony Ericsson harboured plans to develop the Walkman phone range in 2010.
According to a report from Digitimes, it has now emerged that the expanded line will include a touchscreen mobile, which is set for release before autumn.
Other additions to the range, however, will arrive earlier and are penciled in for release ahead of summer.
The tech news provider also revealed that only a fraction of Sony Ericsson's output for 2010 will be aimed at the entry-level customer.
In 2009, the Sony Ericsson W995 was considered by critics and users to be a great addition to the Walkman range, but its lack of a touchscreen and true smartphone software platform left it languishing in the midrange.
Now fans of the series are hoping that Sony Ericsson can up the stakes with a fully-fledged touchscreen music phone with powerful hardware and a contemporary operating system.


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TOKYO (Dow Jones)–All Nippon Airways Co. Wednesday announced several measures to deal with faltering travel demand, including its first equity financing in three years to promote the purchase of more fuel-efficient aircraft and Y30 billion in cost cuts for this fiscal year.
“Results for the first quarter are…expected to be harsher than the fourth quarter of FY2008,” the company said in a release. As a result, it estimates its revenue for the current fiscal year will be Y30 billion short of its initial expectation.
The airline attributed the weaker revenue to sluggish demand for business trips amid the economic slowdown and a general decline in travel because of the outbreak of swine flu.
The Tokyo-based carrier is planning to make greater use of fuel-efficient jets, increasing orders for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jet to 55 from 50, among its plans to buy new passenger jets.
To pay for the new airplanes, ANA will issue up to 575 million shares, which would be worth Y182 billion based on its Wednesday closing share price.
The issuance will boost its outstanding shares by up to 29% to 2.525 billion from 1.950 billion now.
Bigger local rival Japan Airlines Corp. is also considering raising money, in the form of loans from the government-backed Development Bank of Japan and other banks.
Both airlines suffered losses in the last fiscal year on declining demand for travel, while rebounding oil prices are also emerging as another concern.
ANA’s new share issue is another headache for the Tokyo stock market, which is facing a surge in the supply of new shares.
Earlier Wednesday, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday it aims to raise about Y600 billion, or $6.2 billion, in new capital through share issuance. Loss-making chipmaker Toshiba Corp. (6502) also plans to issue new shares to raise up to Y317 billion. The Nikkei reported earlier in the day Orix Corp. is planning to offer about Y100 billion in shares.
ANA will issue 537.5 million new shares and an additional offering of 37.5 million shares under an overallotment arrangement in the event of exceptional demand. Half of the total will be offered in Japan and the remainder overseas.
The company will set the share offering price between July 13-15.
While upgrading its fleet, ANA aims to slash costs by Y30 billion in the current fiscal year by lowering labor costs, and reducing and halting routes with declining demand.
ANA, which is the launch customer for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, said it hadn’t heard from the U.S. aircraft maker on when it might receive delivery of the first aircraft, adding that it expects no major impact on its business plan from the latest delay as long as it isn’t substantial.


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Qwally, a software platform for cities to provide support to small businesses, has launched in a handful of new cities across the U.S.
The platform, which has expanded to serve three additional cities since its launch in February 2020, focuses on improving supplier diversity and promoting inclusive entrepreneurship in city small business ecosystems.
The cities are: Wichita, Kansas Brookline, Mass. Manor, Texas
In Wichita, the city turned to Qwally to improve the certification process for underrepresented businesses. The city will use the platform to allow entrepreneurs to register for bid opportunities through the procurement department, as well as access other small business support resources from the city.
“Qwally, through its partnership with the City of Wichita, provides a new and innovative platform to local small businesses looking to expand into government contracting and access area resource partners,” Wichita Vice Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. “This platform expands on the city’s current emerging and disadvantaged business efforts to reduce red tape and make this community and vendor base more inclusive.”
Brookline, Massachusetts, a town serving 60,000, set out to improve its outreach to more women and minority-owned small businesses. The town will use Qwally to forge better connections between Brookline and the area's small business community. Using the platform, the town aims to improve engagement, track outcomes and improve accessibility for small businesses. Inclusive entrepreneurship and small business growth are two key goals for the City of Manor, Texas, located in the central region of the state. The city will use Qwally’s platform to help businesses in the city navigate processes, access help and connect with organizations, like the local Chamber of Commerce or the federal Small Business Administration.
“We are thrilled with this opportunity to collaborate with like-minded cities and towns. Wichita, Brookline, and Manor are committed to improving opportunities for women and minority small business owners Commented Co-Founder, Matt Cody. We are eager to see what new possibilities emerge from these partnerships.”
Qwally’s work with Wichita and Manor are part of a matching effort through the CivStart GovTech accelerator program. The program, which Qwally joined in 2020, matches cities to startups seeking to promote inclusive procurement and entrepreneurship. The accelerator is backed by the National League of Cities, which focuses on identifying promising solutions to help cities support equitable economic growth.
Anthony Jamison, CEO of CivStart, offered these comments: "Working with local governments, we've seen the real need during COVID and beyond for solutions like Qwally's that streamlines the way local entrepreneurs can build and sustain their businesses. Qwally is seeing such success because they really are the best product out there for local governments to do this easily, affordably, and equitably."
The expansion of Qwally’s platform into these cities builds on their work underway with Kansas City, Mo., and Mobile, Ala. Since launching in January 2021 and February 2020, respectively, Qwally has worked with the cities to improve the digital experience for small businesses and city staff by expanding features and offering additional support to the community.
Qwally is a user-friendly, cloud-based software platform that provides self-serve tools to help small businesses connect with city programs and navigate complex processes. The company has participated in City Innovate’s Startup in Residence Program, the 2019 MassChallenge Boston accelerator program and is currently part of the CivStart GovTech accelerator.


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MetroMart extends convenience of online grocery shopping to Davao and Bicol
More Filipino communities will now experience the convenience of online grocery shopping as MetroMart expands its services to Davao and Bicol.
MetroMart started offering its online grocery delivery service to Davaoeños and Bicolanos last March 28, 2022, allowing new users in the said locations to order their complete range of fresh, frozen, and dry goods from Robinsons Supermarket as well as S&R even without an S&R membership.
New Users of MetroMart in these locations can also get free delivery for a minimum spend of ₱1,000 by using the codes HELLODAVAO or HELLOBICOL. Promos are applicable in their respective serviceable areas only, valid from March 28 to April 30, 2022.
“We’re excited to announce our nationwide expansion to more cities in the Philippines and to share the convenience of online grocery shopping from the MetroMart website and mobile app to more Filipino families. We are grateful for the opportunity to empower and provide income to our hardworking Personal Shoppers and Riders who are joining the MetroMart family, as well.” MetroMart CEO and co-founder Stefano Fazzini reportedly said, according to When in Manila. “Stay tuned for more updates on new locations, new merchants, and more discount deals from MetroMart this 2022.”
For more updates on MetroMart, you may like and follow them on Facebook at https://facebook.com/MetroMartPH.


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Sony has announced a 4K Media Player upgrade device for Ultra HD Bravia TVs that can’t decode HEVC (H.265) files – the increasingly popular standard for 4K media.
Early adopters who jumped ship too soon will be able to pay a €399 (£328)
early adopter tax fee for a Sony FMP-X5.
This chunky-looking peripheral will plug in to the KDL-84X9005, KD-65X9005A / 55X9005A 2012 and 2013 models and will let you play content encoded with the HEVC video codec.
HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) support is already a standard feature of all of Sony’s 2014 BRAVIA 4K TV models, including KD-X9500B/X9000B/X8500B. So if you were smart and waited for standards to be defined and prices to drop, you won’t need to buy one of these.
Given the five-figures prices of models like the KDL-84X9005 when they first launched, a £300-odd upgrade will probably seem like pocket money to those who shelled out for one in the first place.
While it’s possible to get hold of 4K media files to watch on shiny Ultra HD panels, broadcast standards for live 4K have yet to be defined.
The BBC, Sky and other broadcasters are working as part of the DTG UK UHD Forum to agree on what these standards should be. While some tests of 4K video at 60fps (frames per second) have gone down well with panellists, other broadcasters argue that 100fps or faster is needed for live sports, action movies and anything with plenty of movement.
HDMI 2.0, currently a feature of 4K Ultra HD TVs like Panasonic’s TX-L65WT600B can only handle 4K video at up to 60fps. 4K TVs with the older HDMI 1.4 spec are limited to 4K at 24fps. If broadcasters decide that this isn’t enough, a new HDMI standard will be needed, meaning early buyers may have to shell out again if they want to enjoy Sky Sports in 4K.
The Sony FMP-X5 will go on sale in August.


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Does Fair Trade make a Difference?
What impact do Fairly Traded products have on producers around the world? Tea farmer Julius Ethangatha strongly believes that the economic empowerment of small farmers in Kenya has delivered real benefits, not only to tea growers in his country but has made a positive difference to local communities.
Julius worked with the Kenya Tea Development Authority for many years to develop tea growing among small scale farmers, and is a former Chair of the East Africa Tea Trade Association. On a visit to the UK in Fair Trade fortnight he spoke about why Cafedirect and other such schemes have become so important as a way to trade and purchase - Length 15 mins.


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Searching for the perfect Christmas tree can be a hassle, and even a tree that looks great on the lot can turn out to have weird branches, flat spots or gaps once it opens up. But someday soon, every Christmas tree may be perfect, thanks to science.
Around 40 million Christmas trees are harvested every year in the U.S. and Canada, most from Christmas tree farms. A small to medium tree farm will harvest 10,000 trees, and some of the multinational giants harvest up to a million trees annually on plantations from North Carolina to Nova Scotia.
(Christmas tree farms, by the way, are also oxygen farms. One acre of Christmas trees produces the daily oxygen requirement for 18 people. Since there are a million acres of Christmas trees being grown at any given time, every day Christmas trees produce enough oxygen for18 million people!)
Only one in every 10,000 Christmas trees is perfect. Most develop gaps or unsightly branches, so growers prune their trees every June from the age of three on, and cut off the bottom branches to give the trees “handles” long enough for tree stands.
That kind of labor may soon be a thing of the past, however. Many different research teams are attempting to clone perfect trees, instead of relying on Nature to produce them. For instance, a group at Michigan State University is working on cloning Douglas fir and Scotch pine. First, they search the Christmas tree farm for a specimen with a straight trunk (so it slips easily into the stand), the strength to hold lots of ornaments, thick needles and good needle retention, good color, branches that angle up at 45 degrees and a uniform conical shape. Right now, cloned trees are expensive, but once they can be mass-produced, the price should come down.
The next step is to genetically modify the trees to resist the fungal diseases and soil-dwelling insect larvae that plague them. A farm growing disease-and-insect-resistant clones could sell 95 percent of its crop, compared to just 60 to 70 percent today, and greatly reduce the use of pesticide. Trees could also be modified to keep their needles longer and grow faster, decreasing the time from planting to harvesting.
Evergreens have proven difficult to genetically engineer, but a Danish team led by Dr. Jens Find, working with the New Zealand Institute of Forest Research, is even now nursing 1,500 cloned and genetically engineered fir seedlings. If this test is successful, cloned and genetically engineered Christmas trees could be on sale within five years. (Dr. Find says he’s had no negative reaction from the forces fighting genetically modified foods: “After all, it’s not as if anyone ate Christmas trees.”)
As long as you’re engineering a better Christmas tree, why stop with disease and insect resistance? Five postgraduate students at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, don’t see any reason to. As their entry in a competition where students have to develop plans for a fictitious start-up biotechnology company, they proposed developing and marketing a self-illuminating Christmas tree.
Genetic engineers have already creating glowing mice, silk and potatoes, so the idea isn’t far-fetched. The tree, a Douglas spruce, would glow green in the dark and produce a noticeable light even during the day. It would have two genes from fluorescent jellyfish and fireflies added to it. The first produces a substance called green fluorescent protein (GFP), while the second produces an enzyme called luciferase.
The trees would be infected with a harmless bacterium carrying the two genes. That alone wouldn’t make the tree glow; to activate the luciferase and make the GFP glow, you’d first have to fertilize the tree with a chemical compound called luciferin, sold along with the tree.
Although the genes for green fluorescence are the most widely used by genetic engineers (they make it easy to tell if they’ve successfully introduced a gene into an organism), blue fluorescent proteins are also known, and recently a red fluorescent protein was found in a coral. Which means, in theory, you could create a Christmas tree that would grow its own multicolored lights.
Aat this point, nobody is actually trying to make such a tree. On the other hand, the students’ entry has advanced to the finals of the competition, so who knows? Maybe they’ll make their fictitious company a reality.
The students estimate that the initial trees would cost around £200. Nevertheless, said one, “I’m sure a lot of people would love them, especially the Americans.”


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By Tom Jackson
While north African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Egypt receive the most, east African countries are particularly dependent on remittances.
The average per migrant is almost $1,200, representing 5% of GDP on a country-by-country average.
Yet the cost of sending this money is high.
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) reports Africans in the diaspora pay an average of 12.3% to money transmitters to send $200 home, while the cost of sending money between African countries is also high. Each year, the ODI says total fees amount to $1.4bn.
Part of the reason for these high costs could be a lack of competition; Western Union and MoneyGram control 50% or more of the remittance market in most Sub-Saharan African countries. But help may be at hand from an unlikely source: digital currency Bitcoin.


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Air Transat offers refunds for travel credits issued due to COVID-19
Air Transat will soon begin offering monetary refunds to travellers whose trips were cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company announced on Thursday that refunds would be offered to customers who received a travel credit for a trip that was scheduled to start on or after February 1, 2020.
The trip must have been booked by April 29, 2021, and travellers must not have submitted a claim to their insurance company. Refunds will be offered for flights and vacation packages.
Air Transat’s ability to offer the refunds was made possible by a $310 million funding agreement with the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC).
“We’ve been impatiently waiting for this moment, and we know our customers have been, too,” said Annick Guérard, Transat’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Now that a funding agreement has been reached and the eligibility criteria have been established by the Government of Canada, we are delighted to be able to provide our customers with this long-awaited aid.”
A request for a refund must be submitted to Air Transat by August 26, 2021. Those who booked their flight or vacation through a travel agency are advised to contact them directly.
Any commissions earned by a travel agent will not be recalled if customers receive a refund, Guérard added.
- See also:
The agreement with the CEEFC is part of a larger deal Air Transat has made with the federal government to borrow up to $700 million.
The funding will come through the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility, and will support the airline until it has “recovered to a level where it can generate cash once again.”
“The agreement reached with the Government of Canada provides us with an additional $700 million in liquidity, which is the amount we needed to move forward with confidence,” said Jean-Marc Eustache, Transat’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“With this support, we now look forward to resuming operations as soon as safe travel is possible and travel restrictions can be lifted.”


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Will Chevrolet revive its old super model, the famous Opal Diplomat?
If we stop to think, what would a new Chevrolet Opala Diplomata look like these days.
The model was one of the great phenomena of the Chevrolet brand, manufactured from 1968 to 1992.
Its launch was at the 1968 Motor Show, after that the Opala was only successful, it was always very flashy, so it was quick to fall in the taste of Brazilians.
We know that the Chevrolet Opala was accepted very quickly by the buyers. So he ended up becoming an icon of Brazilian classics.
Anyway, the great truth is that there are still a lot of people who like Opal, so everyone would like to see the model in the store again.
So the design Renato Aspromonte made a projection that everyone wanted to see. Made a version of how the New Chevrolet Opala Diplomata would look today.
If you liked our content, follow our social networks on *Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and not Tumblr.
Finally, the designer also stated that he was inspired by the new generation of the Impala, which was launched in the year 2012 in the USA. And that he didn't have to try much, that the project was already very similar to the one we are presenting.
He maintained an imposing bearing front and rear, pulling from the old Chevrolet Opal. So with the same shape of the grille and the headlights.
Unfortunately, he didn't say anything about the engine that could come in the car, but we know that it could be with a 3.6-liter V6 generating 307 hp of power, with a six-speed automatic system.


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By Michael Elkins
Shares of Lucid Group (NASDAQ 🙂 rose 3.63% in pre-market trading Tuesday after Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage of the luxury electric car company with an overweight rating and a $23 price target.
An analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald wrote in the note, “Lucid is a technology and automotive company that designs, engineers and builds luxury electric cars, electric trains and battery systems that it sells online or through retail studios. We believe LCID’s premium and luxury vehicles offer greater efficiency, longer range, and faster charging.” , and more space compared to its peers.”
Lucid Air currently offers an industry-leading range of up to 520 miles on a single charge. This range is an important difference to other electric vehicles and is enabled by the efficient and powerful powertrain that Lucid develops and builds in-house. The Lucid vehicles also come with a “wunderbox” technology system to boost ultra-fast, bi-directional charging over 900V, capable of charging 300 miles in about 22 minutes.
The company also has a fairly large commitment from the government of Saudi Arabia to sell “up to 100,000 vehicles” over a 10-year period. The agreement, announced on April 26 this year, includes an initial commitment to purchase 50,000 vehicles and an option to purchase up to 50,000 additional vehicles. Vehicle deliveries are expected to begin no later than the second quarter of 23, and initial orders are expected to range from 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles per year and rise to 4,000 to 7,000 starting in 2025.
The analyst wrote in his note that he believes this agreement is “meaningful” and will help LCID increase production quickly.


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But they will very rarely go by the meter, quoting prices 10 times that.
The 16 dealers she called on Monday quoted prices ranging from $1.10 to $1.49 a gallon.
Travel agents can quote prices with and without the air fare.
The federation says to avoid stores that will not quote prices over the phone.
The gallery is quoting prices that are higher than they have been at auction in the last few years.
Train prices depend upon too many variables to quote prices.
And many gyms will not quote prices over the telephone.
Some of the shops selling Chandeliers can quote high prices and you will have to bargain.
Market makers quote continuous two-way prices for shares in which they deal.
Buying and selling take place among a babble of dealers, each quoting different prices.


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The 2018 Renault Duster has been brought to Oman by the brand’s local importer Suhail Bahwan Automobiles.
The new Renault Duster has been refreshed with new exterior styling, completely new interiors, reduced NVH levels and now sports a set of features that makes it a contemporary Renault.
Expressing delight at launching the new vehicle, a spokesperson for Renault Oman said, “Customers can get set to be swept off their feet by the dynamic design of all-new Duster, with its new front end, roof bars and expressive, modern and robust lines. The new Duster offers a multitude of advanced active and passive safety technology as standard across the range, such as ABS with EBD in conjunction with EBA (Emergency Brake Assist).”
Some of the features now available on the new Renault Duster include Hill Descent control, a 4×4 monitor for the 4WD version, Multiview Camera, Blind Spot Warning, Remote engine start and the Renault keyless entry system. The new colour screen is seven-inch in size and offers smart phone integration. There is also an easily accessible USB port.
We have featured the drive review here.


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Apple recently announced that its iWatch will include an electrocardiogram and irregular rhythm notification monitor. The new features will be available across Europe and Hong Kong.
Apple is one of many large companies betting big on wearable health-centric technology. Consumers are becoming more connected to their health metrics, so the demand is certainly relevant for such features.
An ECG and irregular heart rhythm are often utilized to assess for signs of heart disease. Apple is presenting its technology to be used in conjunction with routine healthcare practice, and leveraging the apps can be used as a monitor – rather than active care.
The technology will be available in the US once it receives FDA approval. It has currently received De Novo clearance, so it’s just a matter of time until this technology is available in the US, says Gaurav Mohindra.
An ECG records the electrical activity from your heart. Its typically recorded while the heart is at rest. The iWatch is a perfect application for this test, as users are wearing the watch in a continued fashion on a regular basis says Gaurav Mohindra.
The ECG test may be used to detect various heart ailments, such as, detecting heart disease, heart attack, an enlarged heart, or abnormal rhythms that may cause heart failure. Apple will likely alert the user if any metric does not appear normal and suggest the user receive medical attention when warranted.
Apple indicated that they engaged in numerous studies verifying the accuracy of its results prior to releasing the device.
There are new electrodes build into the back crystal and Digital Crown on the iWatch that work in conjunction with the App to facilitate the test – which is akin to taking a single-lead electrocardiogram. It seems as though the entire test can be conducted within 30 seconds – so it’s relatively easy to access important health data in a fast and simple tool.
While tracking steps is an interesting tool – Apple has clearly shown that it’s seeking to expand wearable technology well into advanced medical testing and health, says Gaurav Mohindra. With this new foray into heart-healthy capabilities, it will be interesting to see what else Apple has in mind for the iWatch.
iWatch users will be able to configure test results so various users can access the results too. This would be beneficial for providing any abnormal results directly to healthcare providers so immediate attention can be triggered when required.


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The microchip implants that let you pay with your hand
Patrick Paumen causes a stir whenever he pays for something in a shop or restaurant.
This is because the 37-year-old doesn't need to use a bank card or his mobile phone to pay. Instead, he simply places his left hand near the contactless card reader, and the payment goes through.
"The reactions I get from cashiers are priceless!" says Mr Paumen, a security guard from the Netherlands.
He is able to pay using his hand because back in 2019 he had a contactless payment microchip injected under his skin.
"The procedure hurts as much as when someone pinches your skin," says Mr Paumen.
You can read the rest of the propaganda here.


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In mid-2015, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Action Fund's "Asbestos Nation" campaign announced that they had found "deadly asbestos fibers" in four brands of children's crayons. EWG reported that they purchased 28 brands of crayons at two national chains (Party City and Dollar Tree) between February and May of 2015 and sent them to an independent company (Scientific Analytical Institute) to test them for asbestos using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
According to EWG's report, asbestos was "detected and confirmed" in four brands of crayons, all of them manufactured in China: Amscan Crayons, Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10 Jumbo Crayons, Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Crayons, and Saban's Power Rangers Super Megaforce 10 Jumbo Crayons.
Asbestos is composed of long, thin mineral fibers that are too small to be visible to the naked eye and are easily inhaled. Asbestos was commonly used in insulation material in the 1960s and 1970s, until exposure to asbestos fibers was found to lead to a number of pulmonary issues, including scarring and inflammation of the lungs, breathing impairment, and respiratory diseases such as lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen). Asbestos has since been banned for many uses in the United States and other countries.
Naturally, therefore, EWG's news about asbestos in crayons, was of great concern to many parents, just as it was back in 2000 when the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that they had tested eight brands of crayons and found asbestos in three of them (Crayola, Prang, and Rose Art). And the main question raised back then is still pertinent now: Do these asbestos-containing crayons actually pose any significant health danger to children who might use them?
Asbestos is not a deadly poison, the mere touch or taste of which will prove fatal: it's a set of silicate minerals that can prove harmful if it's in a fibrous form that's breathed in (generally over an extended period of time):
Asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring minerals that separate into strong, very fine fibers. The fibers are heat-resistant and extremely durable, and, because of these qualities, asbestos has become very useful in construction and industry. In the home it may or may not pose a health hazard to the occupants, depending on its condition. When it can be crushed by hand pressure or the surface is not sealed, to prevent small pieces from escaping, the material is considered FRIABLE. In this condition fibers can be released and pose a health risk. However, as long as the surface is stable and well-sealed against the release of its fibers and not damaged, the material is considered safe until damaged in some way.
Asbestos is only dangerous when it's deteriorated to the point where its tiny fibers can be released into the air and inhaled. If the material is solid (in appearance and to touch) and maintained in good condition, it presents no problem.
As we've noted in other articles about similar findings regarding consumer products, there's a difference between "a dangerous substance was found in this product" and "a dangerous level of a substance was found in this product." We're all regularly exposed to many different highly toxic substances (everything from mercury to arsenic) through both human and natural processes, but not necessarily at levels that pose any appreciable health dangers to us. The nature of such substances, the quantities in which they're present, the forms they're found in, and the manners in which we're exposed to them are all important factors in determining whether they constitute a significant health threat.
When the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) followed up on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's article about asbestos in crayons in 2000 with their own analysis, they categorized the risk of asbestos exposure from crayons to be "extremely low" — in large part because trace amounts of asbestos encased in a waxy substance such as crayons are not friable (easily crumbled or reduced to powder) and therefore pose little risk of being inhaled or absorbed:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) staff examined crayons from several different boxes from the three companies to determine whether asbestos was present, evaluated the potential for exposure to children, and evaluated the potential risk.
Based on the results of the testing and evaluation, the staff concludes that the risk a child would be exposed to the fibers through inhalation or ingestion of crayons containing asbestos and transitional fibers is extremely low. No fibers were found in the air during a simulation of a child vigorously coloring with a crayon for half an hour. The risk of exposure by eating crayons is also extremely low because the fibers are embedded in the crayon wax and will pass through the child's body.
Even the Asbestos Nation's 2015 press release noted that the answer to this question is still up in the air:
As every parent knows, children sometimes eat crayons; health authorities and asbestos experts are divided on whether ingestion of asbestos-contaminated crayons is a health hazard. The Consumer Product Safety Commission maintains that the asbestos fibers are embedded in the crayon wax and that a child’s body temperature is not warm enough to melt ingested wax and free the fibers.
No cases have been documented of victims who became ill from playing with asbestos-tainted crayons or toys, but the presence of asbestos in such products was discovered only recently.
Nonetheless, the CPSC opined back in 2000 that even if "the risk is extremely low ... as a precaution, crayons should not contain these fibers." That agency has not yet, however, implemented a requirement that crayons sold in the U.S. be free of any asbestos contamination.
However one regards this news, the bottom line is that other than avoiding crayons altogether, there's not really much concerned parents can do about this issue other than to campaign that the federal government "do more to monitor routes of possible asbestos contamination in all consumer products."


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Noir moving to new Las Vegas showroom
January 5, 2017,
Furniture, lighting and accessory manufacturer Noir is moving into a more prominent space in time for the Jan. 22-26 Las Vegas Market.
The Los Angeles-based producer’s new showroom is located in World Market Center C-399, an 8,000-sq.-ft. space on one of Building C’s accessory floors.
“A major factor for Noir that has changed is the product assortment. A better configuration/ layout allows us to show our items in a way that suits our evolving line,” Baehler said. “The new space will allow Noir to display more vignettes and have more "frontal" displays (on the walkway).”
Additionally, Baehler said the placement of Noir near other accessory suppliers gives retailers a more logical product sourcing destination.
“Moving to a new location and having a fresh new look will attract new clients, but will not disrupt our current client base,” Baehler said. “As an added bonus, the neighboring showrooms have a complimentary client base.”
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Excellence and superior achievement in the home and gift industry were recognized in July at AmericasMart's eighth annual ICON Honors. Enjoy these video stories celebrating the 2017 award recipients: Spicher and Company, Bloomingville, Wolf Gourmet, Her Majesty's English Tea Room, Kurt S. Adler, Inc., and Chris Rosse, Rosse and Associates. See the videos!


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Details about the device are scarce, other than the fact that the low-lowered laser will be available without a prescription for people who hope to smooth wrinkles around their eyes. It was developed by Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. of Burlington, Mass., and will be sold in retail stores by Johnson & Johnson.
The companies have not said what the device looks like, what it will be called, or when it will go on sale.
“I am sure it is safe, but I doubt its effectiveness, as the power is low,” said dermatologic surgeon Dr. David Sire of Fullerton.
Dermatologist Dr. Dore Gilbert of Newport Beach agreed:
In with the most powerful lasers, we are only able to treat fine to moderate wrinkles with 7 to 14 days of redness, scaling and swelling. I believe this device needs to be used at least twice a day for 30 minutes each time — with very limited results.”
Joseph P. Caruso, the chief executive officer at Palomar, said in a press release announcing the approval, “The professional treatment of fine lines and wrinkles using lasers has been well established and proven to be safe and effective for years in the doctors’ office using large and expensive lasers. With this breakthrough, consumers will be able to use similar technology in the privacy of their own home for a fraction of the cost.”
The FDA did not rule specifically on whether the new device is effective. Its letter to Palomar said the company could sell the laser because it is “substantially equivalent” to other treatments already on the market. But Palomar said the device is “the first new, patented, home use, laser device for the treatment of [wrinkles around the eyes].”
After Palomar announced the FDA action, its stock price soared to above $17 from about $11.
“Nice to see the stock price jump, won’t be surprised to see it come back down once the limits of the home laser are known,” said plastic surgeon Dr. Michael A. Persky of Encino.
Gilbert added, “The device will sell because of multi-million-dollar ad campaigns and the fact we are always looking for any easy way to improve.” But he warned that the impact of such marketing campaigns tends to fade over time. “Consider the failure of the home hair removal laser devices,” he said.
Plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia of San Clemente said:
Palomar has provided very little information on it. I’d wager the final details are still in development such as the actual light parameters and the product name. It is difficult to say whether it works or not when the company makes what it is hard to delineate.
I believe that it will be a weak red or blue light LED system that has shown some improvement in fine lines. Any laser system made available for home use by the public will have to be a very weak system, with minimal effect at best.
Dermatologist Dr. Renee Cobos of Fullerton advised patients to stick with professional-strength lasers such as Fraxel.
It needs to be used 2-3 times per day for 20-30 minutes each time, does not work long term. It causes slight swelling, [which] makes fine wrinkles look better, a temporary effect.
Fraxel laser will provide a true, long-lasting increase of collagen that will help to fill wrinkles.
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Traders and staff are celebrating after winning a national award
Burnley Market Hall was named Britain’s Best Large Indoor Market in the National Association of British Market Authorities Awards which was presented by Andrew Percy, Minister for Markets.
Markets Manager Marie Shaw said, “This award is an outstanding achievement and is a reflection of the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm of everyone involved. We would encourage anyone to visit, shop local and support these independent businesses”
Proud traders and staff gathered on the market steps with the award which will hold pride of place in the market.


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The diabetes drug Metformin hydrochloride has been withdrawn because it contains excess levels of a carcinogen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced this week.
The drug’s manufacturer, Marksans Pharma Limited, has expanded a recall initially announced in June to now include an additional 76 unexpired batches of the drug.
The recalled drugs are marketed as “extended-release tablets” under the brand name Time-Cap Labs, Inc.
The drug helps lower the blood glucose levels of those with type 2 diabetes.
But the recalled product contained an unacceptably high level of N-nitrosodimethylamine, which is considered a probable human carcinogen.
“Marksans performed tests for N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) on unexpired identified marketed batches and noted that the NDMA content in some batches exceeds the daily acceptable intake limit (ADI) of 96 ng / day,”
“Therefore, for an abundance of caution, another 76 lots are recalled.”
The recall applies to metformin tablets between 500 mg and 750 mg.
The 500 mg tablets are marked “101” on one side; the 750-mg tablets are marked “102” on one side, the agency said.
The FDA advises users to continue taking the recalled tablets until a doctor provides a replacement or alternative treatment option.
“It may be dangerous for patients with type 2 diabetes to stop taking metformin without first talking to their doctor,” the FDA said in a statement.
Consumers “should contact their doctor or healthcare professional if they have encountered any problems that may be related to taking or using this medicine”.


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Ligentia has launched an inventory relief programme to help its general merchandising customers to handle a slow down in demand due to COVID-19.
The freight forwarding and supply chain management specialists said the programme would help to support storage systems to alleviate time and stock level pressures in the supply chain.
To this end, Ligentia are offering new and existing businesses free storage, while space is available, in all their China warehouses for up to four weeks.
Group chief commercial officer Daniel Gill, said: “Our global team are working tirelessly to support our customers to keep their goods moving. However, we know that as factories in China have hit near normal production levels in the past few weeks, organisations are facing the difficult decision to cancel or still ship goods as consumer demand falls due to Covid-19.
“That’s why from today, for four weeks, we are offering free storage across our warehouse network in China. By taking advantage of our program organisations will be able to gain greater control of their inventory whilst easing the pain of unplanned costs”.


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Belgium’s Binance Users Warned That 4 Altcoins Will Be Removed
Due to regulatory pressure, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has decided to delist four cryptocurrencies in Belgium.
Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has said it would no longer trade some privacy coins in Belgium, citing the need to comply with local law.
Binance’s customer care staff notified Belgian customers via email that the exchange will begin supporting trading in Monero (XMR), MobileCoin (MOB), Firo (FIRO), and Horizen (ZEN) tokens on September 21, 2023 at 19:00 UTC.
According to Binance, Exchanges must be able to completely trace transactions involving currencies listed on their platforms in order to be in compliance with EU rules, and the privacy coins stated above do not enable this.
On the other hand, BEAM was delisted from the stock exchange and its value was said to be “artificially devalued” by the market.
Holders of these privacy coins will still be able to withdraw them from Binance, but the tokens can no longer be used to make purchases or create new positions. The exchange also said that the conversion function would be reduced to a reduction-only mode, whereby trades could be closed but no new trades could be placed.


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MetroPCS/ Leap Wireless05 Sep 2007
Metro bids $5bn for Leap Wireless
MetroPCS Communications upped the ante in its off-and-on merger discussions with Leap Wireless International, offering to buy the company for more than $5bn (â‚¬3.7bn) in stock.
In a letter to Leap, MetroPCS chairman and chief executive Roger Linquist offered 2.75 shares of his company's stock for every share of Leap. That would value Leap at about $75.05 a share, a 3.5% premium over the company's Friday closing price of $72.50 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
MetroPCS would also assume or refinance about $2bn in Leap debt, Linquist said. He said that the proposed tax-free combination would create a US wireless carrier with licenses covering most of the top 200 markets, giving customers of each company access to broader network coverage. He said he anticipated $2.5bn in potential savings from the deal.


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European publisher Zen United intends to get Persona 4 Arena into local hands as soon as possible.
“It’s always our intention to keep the delay between US/JP and EU to a minimum and we appreciate people’s patience,” a representative told Siliconera.
“We don’t have an official release date to confirm at this time, but we hope to be able to do so soon.”
The release delay is a more pressing issue than usual because even the PlayStation 3 version of Persona 4 Arena is region-locked, a very unusual move from Atlus which makes importing impractical.
The American arm of the publisher has explained the move as a business decision based on the added cost of a near simultaneous Japanese and western launch with added features, and reiterated that multiplayer is global.
Persona 4 Arena is a fighting spin-off to the popular RPG and is due on both HD consoles in Japan on July 26 and the US on August 7.


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The historic strike by employees of America’s biggest private employer may not have kept Wal-Mart from profiting from Black Friday, but that doesn’t mean it was a failure. The protest sparked a conversation about labor in America that needs to be had.
In a statement released early Friday morning, Wal-Mart reported its most successful Black Friday ever. The statement seems to be designed to downplay the Black Friday protests, thanking associates for contributing to the success and claiming that, “this year, roughly the same number of associates missed their scheduled shift as last year.”
So this wasn’t a David and Goliath story. But I don’t think that a serious impact on Black Friday shopping was ever a real goal of the protests. The point was to let Wal-Mart, and the world, know that workers are fed up with working full time and still living in poverty — to start a conversation in this country about how to protect the working poor.
Throughout the lead-up to and discussion of Friday’s Wal-Mart employee walkout, I saw several people take the position that if employees don’t like the wages at Wal-Mart, they should just quit and let someone else take their job — that if the market couldn’t support jobs at these wages, they wouldn’t exist (many of them pundits here on PolicyMic).
But the market doesn’t support these wages — government assistance does.
A lot of the same people who argue against striking and in favor of letting big business do whatever it takes to protect profit margins are the same people who are against monetary government assistance, and want people to fend for themselves. No strikes, no welfare. But, guess what, if Wal-Mart and other large employers of unskilled workers don’t raise their wages and benefits, taxpayer money will continue to make up the difference.
In 2004, a year in which Wal-Mart reported $9.1 billion in profits; the retailer's California employees collected $86 million in public assistance, Mother Jones reported.
I would think that small government libertarians would balk at such a drain on taxpayer dollars. But the only way to get Wal-Mart workers off of public assistance is for the retailer to take care of its own, and pay a wage that is sufficient to live on.
Unskilled workers are a large part of the American work force, working jobs like checkout at Wal-Mart. If that’s what our workforce looks like, the economy can’t be expected to recover until workers are making enough to feed their families, let alone put money back into the economy and invest in growth. And proponents of reducing government spending need to see recipients of assistance not as a bunch of lazy moochers, but as people who work and still can’t make ends meet. If Wal-Mart raised their wages, employees would be able to support their families and taxpayers wouldn’t have to make up the difference — no strikes and no welfare.
And no, this wouldn’t mean that Wal-Mart would have to raise their “everyday low prices.” Their profit margins are huge. If the business model doesn’t work as it is now — and it doesn’t if workers are being paid less than the cost of living — the money to cover the difference should come from the company’s profits, not out of taxpayers’ pockets.


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The UK’s warehouse property stock will have vanished by the end of the decade due to demands from internet retailers, unless there is an unprecedented increase in construction. This is the conclusion in a logistics market report, which also found that warehousing space fell to a record low last year. Consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) said retailer and distributor requirements for logistics warehouses will exceed the country’s available stock by 7.6 million m2 by 2020 – even if current elevated […]
Workforce availability will become a key element when companies decide where to locate their warehouses during 2018, according to leading property agents.
HM Revenue & Customs has confirmed it is holding an internal review of its approach to enforcement relating to firms involved in the excise supply chain.
Two leading logistics firms have questioned plans for a new residential development in Yorkshire that would involve the construction of a new primary school and numerous homes adjacent to their operating sites. Clipper Logistics and Potter Group have both written to Selby District Council to question the planned Olympia Park development, which would include 985 homes and various leisure facilities including restaurants, sports and play areas, allotments and a public house. The development, for which a planning application was submitted […]


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Kobe Bryant mask sells for whopping $67,000 on eBay
The popular online biding site eBay just sold a piece of recent sports history — Kobe Bryant’s protective mask. The Lakers superstar shooting guard autographed the collector’s item that sold for a whopping $67,000 on the auction site. The sweaty mask’s proceeds are going to a good cause — benefiting Kobe’s foundation. Complex has the full story:
When we put up a post last week about Kobe Bryant auctioning off the protective mask he wore earlier this season on eBay, we had absolutely no idea how much it’d go for. The bidding was only up to about $2,500 at the time so we thought that maybe—maybe!—it’d go for five figures. But, there’s not exactly a big “protective mask memorabilia” market out there, so we were pretty clueless. Turns out, we were way off on our guess.
The Kobe mask, which was autographed by Kobe, was just officially sold for—ready for this?—$61,700. Yep, someone out there paid more than $60,000 for a sweaty piece of plastic. It’s for a good cause (the proceeds benefit Kobe’s foundation), but still…it’s a sweaty piece of plastic! Oh well. To whoever out there shelled out $60K for it: Enjoy it. Or, at least, enjoy it as much as you can enjoy a sweaty piece of plastic.
Click here to read the rest of the article.


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What year did they stop making manual Hellcats?
Dodge took the six-speed Tremec manual gearbox out of their online configurator in late 2021.
The decision was well-received by the Mopar fanbase; according to MotorTrend, a Powertrain Control Module (PCM) calibration prevented fans from receiving
a manual Hellcat for the 2022 model year. Furthermore, Dodge informed MotorTrend that the lack of
a three-pedal 2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat "isn't connected" to the PCM shortfall. Is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat's production slated to end in 2023?
Dodge will shortly stop producing the Challenger, including the manual Hellcat, which is unfortunate for Mopar fans.
The final Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, Redeye, and other retro-inspired Challengers will be produced in 2023.
After the 2023 model year, the normally aspirated 5.7L R/T and 6.4L R/T Scat Pack variants will likewise disappear.


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Ketchup and baked bean giant H J Heinz has announced that it has successfully completed the sale of its HAK jarred vegetables business to NPM Capital.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The sale was approved by the Dutch Works Council and the competition authorities in the Netherlands.
“Selling the HAK vegetables business is the first step in our process of refocusing our portfolio in Europe in order to generate more predictable and sustainable earnings growth in three core categories: ketchup, condiments & sauces; meals & snacks; and infant nutrition,” said Joe Jimenez, president and CEO, Heinz Europe.
Earlier this year, Heinz announced that it intended to seek buyers for the HAK business as part of the company’s plan to transform the European business into a world-class competitor and place its focus and resources on its core categories with leading market positions.
The HAK brand is one of the strongest and best known brands in the Netherlands. HAK products are produced in Giessen (the Netherlands) and have annual sales of approximately US$65m. The sale to NPM Capital includes the 191 employees at the Giessen facility, Heinz said.
Heinz is continuing to explore sale options for its European seafood and European frozen and chilled food businesses as announced on 20 September. This sale process is expected to take another 4 to 6 months.