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British motorcyclist Hayley Bell says she’s tired of feeling like an afterthought to the motorcycle industry. So, Bell put out a call on Facebook to her fellow female riders.
"I’ve had a totally crazy idea who wants to join me? I’m thinking of doing a world relay and seeing how far we get."
“I put out a post to say, 'I’ve had a totally crazy idea who wants to join me? I’m thinking of doing a world relay and seeing how far we get,'” Bell said.
And the Women Riders World Relay was born. Bell, who came up with the idea last fall, says she used Google Translate to post her message in different languages online. She figured it would maybe attract a few hundred women. Over 14,000 women motorcyclists, representing more than 90 countries, answered the call.
Nearly 20% of motorcyclists in the United States are now women, according to a recent study from the Motorcycle Industry Council. But riding is still largely considered a hobby for men, and it can sometimes be difficult for women to break in.
“Women ride. ... And we ride bloody well.”
“Women ride,” Bell said. “And we ride bloody well.”
Courtesy of Women Riders World Relay
Bell says she hopes the relay will grab the attention of the global motorcycle industry and eventually help build relationships with motorcycle companies.
“We want to develop the whole market and move it forwards to include women in a much more equal status than it is at the minute,” she said.
Words like that grabbed 24-year-old Peruvian university student Gianna Velarde. This year, she competed in the Dakar Rally, a grueling, 11-day endurance race on her dirt bike. Velarde says that at the event, a race official was thrown off by her mere presence.
“When I asked him if he can give me the route book, he told me, ‘It’s only for riders. ... I showed him my bracelet [for being a rider] and told him, ‘I’m a rider, too. Is it because I’m a woman?’”
“When I asked him if he can give me the route book, he told me, ‘It’s only for riders,’” Velarde said. “I showed him my bracelet [for being a rider] and told him, ‘I’m a rider, too. Is it because I’m a woman?’”
Velarde says the man was at loss for words. She’ll lead part of the South American leg when the relay reaches there in November.
Courtesy of Gianna Velarde
Even though the number of women bikers has nearly doubled since a decade ago, things like the bikes themselves are still mostly targeted to men.
For instance, most bikes are just too tall and for shorter women whose toes barely reach the ground. And that unstable feeling on a machine that easily weighs hundreds of pounds can sometimes be a big obstacle. Things that might seem simple, like just stopping the bike, can be a little scary. Take it from Velarde, a short rider:
“Every stop at a red light is like winning because of the height of the bike,” Velarde said.
It’s also hard to find protective gear that doesn’t make a woman look like the Hulk.
That’s why Cait Maher created the California Moto Market, a pop-up store that offers hard-to-find women’s motorcycle apparel and gear.
“This is the first time everyone’s kind of looking around to say, 'Well, women are people; let’s have them buy the bikes,'” Maher said. “But they’re not really asking the women in the industry how to market to them.”
At the market, looking through leather jackets, Kevlar-lined pants, gloves and other accessories designed by women riders, for women riders, it's refreshing to see gear without the common splashes of pink and purple or heart and flowery details.
“Yeah, we’re over it,” Maher said. “No glitter rhinestones here. Take your tribal butterflies somewhere else.”
Back to that ride around the world: It recently kicked off in Scotland. Founder Hayley Bell began the relay with about half a dozen other women riders at John o’Groats, a village at the far north end of the country.
Bell says she won’t be riding the entire relay across the globe, although she’d like to. She says the trip is expected to take a year to complete.
But, Australian motorcyclist Colette Edeling says she’s made it her personal goal to complete the entire global event, from Europe and the Middle East to the Pacific Islands and Africa.
“I’m 55, and this is never going to happen again, this kind of relay. ... I just decided, why not?”
“I’m 55, and this is never going to happen again, this kind of relay,” says Edeling. “I just decided, why not?”
That means she’ll spend almost every day of the next year in the saddle, rain or shine. At some points in the route, there will be groups of women riding along with Edeling. In more remote locations, she may be riding alone. There have been some bumps in the road so far, especially with the weather.
“We rode in snow, we rode in hail, we rode in absolutely everything in the last 10 days,” Edeling said. “It’s been fantastic. Except, very little sun, unfortunately.”
Edeling will probably get lots of sun when she reaches California in the fall. She'll meet with others on their trusty Kawasakis.
Until then, riders will be tracking the progress of these women and their machines online. The riders are passing a GPS baton along the global relay.
One piece of advice to them now: Keep the rubber side down.
Courtesy of Tiffany Camhi


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MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today announced that it will report first quarter 2019 financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Robert Dickey, Chief Executive Officer, and Alison Engel, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the company’s financial results at 10:00 a.m. ET.
|What:||Gannett First Quarter 2019 Financial Results Conference Call|
|When:||Wednesday, May 1, 2019|
|Time:||10:00 a.m. ET|
|Live Call:||US/Canada Toll-Free: (855) 462-1958|
|International: (503) 343-6635|
|Conference Code: 6590147|
|Replay:||US/Canada Toll-Free: (855) 859-2056|
|International: (404) 537-3406|
|Conference ID: 6590147|
|(Available approximately two hours after the completion of the live call until 1:00 p.m. ET on May 30, 2019)|
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an innovative, digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to strengthening communities across our network. With an unmatched local-to-national reach, Gannett touches the lives of more than 125 million people monthly with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services. Gannett brands include USA TODAY NETWORK with the iconic USA TODAY and more than 100 local media brands, digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, WordStream and SweetIQ, and U.K. media company Newsquest. To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com.

domain: news


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Earlier this week, it was revealed that energy giant Haliburton is was going to begin a transition that will replace all corporate BlackBerry devices with iPhones.
RIM got more bad news today in the form of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announcing that the federal agency will also be dropping the BlackBerry platform in favor of the iPhone.
The news came via a memo from the agency’s CIO Joseph Klimavicz dated February 3. The memo, obtained by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop indicates that BlackBerry support will extend only until May 12 of this year. After which, the agency will replace BlackBerry handsets with iPhones running iOS 5 or later. The memo noted the NOAA will also include support for the iPad 2.
This move comes after NOAA’s decision to switch to Google Apps for email and calendaring infrastructure. That decision was part of the Obama administration’s efforts to pursue a “cloud first” approach.
With this transition, NOAA becomes part of a trend in the U.S. federal government to move from BlackBerry to iOS devices. It also comes after the U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel discussed efforts to embrace mobile technology across federal agencies at CES last month calling the effor a pledge to “make this year the year of mobile.”


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Once again, McElroy is defining the future of fusion with the debut of two new machines at INFUSION22.Read More
Be the first to see latest innovations at INFUSION22!
Be sure to attend one of the most popular events at INFUSION: the McElroy Product Showcase. This is your opportunity to see the latest new products and learn more about existing tools.Read More
Product Showcase wows attendees at INFUSION18
Our annual networking conference for the plastic pipe industry — INFUSION — took place last month and one of the most exciting events in the lineup of programs is always our Product Showcase. This offers our guests a hands-on experience with all of our new fusion equipment and gives them an opportunity to interact with the engineers who designed them.Read More


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Rixos Bab Al Bahr in Ras Al Khaomah announced today the extended lineup of its week-long music festival May Fest 2017, which will kick off on April 28.
May Fest 2017 will open with a performance from award-winning Akcent that mark
Rixos Bab Al Bahr in Ras AL Khaimah brought home the top spots in four separate Top 100 World's Best Hotels lists, namely Travelers’ Choice Awards, Flight Network, Coral Travel Starway Tourism Awards and Satur Travel.
Leading hospitality group Rixos Hotels has appointed Ali Ozbay as the new cluster director of marketing and communications.
With extensive knowledge in strategic marketing and communications, Ozbay will oversee the marketing opera
Rixos Hotels, one of the fastest growing hospitality chains in the world, has appointed Cenk Unverdi as general manager of the five-star luxury resort Rixos The Palm Dubai.
Unverdi, who was the hotel manager, steered the growth of
The Italian inspired L’Olivo Ristorante at Rixos The Palm Dubai will be hosting Chef Giorgio Diana from March 22 – 30, where he will be demonstrating his cooking techniques and dishes that earned him the highest culinary honor at the
AccorHotels and Rixos Hotels announced today a strategic partnership illustrating AccorHotels’ strategy to expand its presence in the upper upscale/luxury market, with a primary focus on developing global activities in the resort segment.
Rixos The Palm Dubai, the Turkish-inspired luxury resort destination brought home three awards from the Middle East Hozpitality Excellence Awards 2016 and the World Travel Awards 2016.
At the Middle East Hozpitality Excellence Awa
Leading hospitality group Rixos Hotels has unveiled plans to expand its global portfolio with the addition of 32 new hotels worldwide by 2018, including the Middle East.
Rixos Hotels is opening another flagship hotel in Jumeirah B
This year, the decadent Rixos the Palm is coming together with Australian singer song writer Faydee, DJ producer Mahmut Orhan and Superstar singer dancer Inna to throw one of Dubai’s best New Year Parties that runs for a whole week.
Rixos The Palm Dubai is welcoming guests to experience the specially blended organic tea and coffee, brewed by professional tea sommeliers on site, at its newly refurbished Nu Air Shisha Lounge.
Nu Air Shisha Lounge presents a fus


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While most of us were looking at which phone is going to grace our hands for the next year or two, Oculus Connect took place today where a rather large announcement was made. The company announced an all-new virtual reality headset by the name of Oculus Go which will not require a smartphone nor a computer to work.
Oculus claims that this will be the “easiest way to experience VR”, as Hugo Barra stated that the Go would be the “sweet spot” between mobile VR and desktop VR experiences. As for what the Oculus Go package includes, it will have a “high-resolution” LCD display which will reduce the “screen door effect” that current VR users are dealing with.
Additionally, the Oculus Go will feature “integrated spatial audio” which means that the speakers are built right into the headset itself, making it possible to listen to whatever content is being consumed. If that’s not your thing or do not want to disturb others around you, Oculus included a 3.5mm headphone jack for traditional listening.
Oculus Go will be priced at $199 and will be launching sometime early next year, but there was no mention of an official release date. This is huge for the VR space, considering the fact that you won’t need a smartphone or a computer to access VR content, which is currently the case for VR content.
Let us know what you think about the Oculus Go and if you’ll be picking one up later this year.


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Publicis struck a $530 million deal with Microsoft to buy the Razorfish ad agency and boost its position in digital communications, the world's third-largest communications group said on Sunday.
Publicis will issue 6.5 million treasury shares to the software giant, worth €162 million ($232.6 million) at Friday's closing price, and pay the rest in cash from its ample liquidity position. The two firms, which concluded a cooperation deal in June, also signed a strategic alliance agreement to deepen their ties in digital advertising while Microsoft uses Bing as its battleship in the search engine war with Google Inc.
Publicis is already the number one in digital advertising and Razorfish was number two in the single advertising sector that still shows growth rates despite the economic crisis.
The group, based in Paris, beat Britain's WPP Plc and Japan's Dentsu Inc. in the final bidding from an original field of some eight parties interested in the Microsoft unit.
“The price paid was the result of an auction process,” Publicis chief executive Maurice Levy told reporters on a telephone conference from the south of France.
He said the transaction valued Razorfish at some 1.4 to 1.5 times the revenues, which he called in line with sector deals.
He added Publicis did not plan any more acquisition of this size in the sector, but would look at any opportunities. Any of these deals would be smaller-sized acquisitions. At end June, Publicis had €3.5 billion in liquidities. The transaction means that Publicis will generate 25% of its sales from the digital sector, up from 21% at the half-year stage, a figure Levy originally targeted for end-2010.
Publicis is the world's third-largest advertising group with ad agencies such as Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, media buyers Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia while in digital advertising it owns Digitas. Razorfish was founded in 1995 and became part of Microsoft in 2007 as part of the $6 billion aQuantive acquisition. Its clients include Best Buy, Ford, McDonald's, Microsoft and Starwood Hotels. (Reuters)


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Ericsson Is Still Sliding Downhill
NEW YORK - Ericsson posted dispiriting third-quarter results today as the market for wireless network equipment continues to weaken. But the Swedish firm reiterated its prediction of a return to profitability next year, and investors apparently were mollified--the stock rose in morning trading while most other mobile-phone stocks declined.
These stocks had all rallied yesterday on Nokia's (nyse: NOK - news - people ) impressive quarterly results. Nokia's good news was mostly about handset sales, whereas Ericsson (nasdaq: ERICY - news - people ) has placed its big bet on network equipment sales. That bet looked dodgy today as the firm reported lower-than-expected orders.
Ericsson, naturally, took a less dire view of the situation. "We expect the mobile-systems market in 2002 to decline about 20%, in line with our previous estimate of more than 15%," the firm said in a statement. "We anticipate that the market in 2003 will not decline as much as this year and will begin to stabilize at a lower level."
For the third quarter, Ericsson posted a loss that was wider than Wall Street had expected. Sales were sharply lower than a year ago, but no worse than expected.
"We believe that we will continue to maintain our share in each technology segment of the mobile-systems market," Ericsson said in its statement. "The market remains unpredictable. We will continue to adjust to the prevailing market conditions and expect a return to profit at some point in 2003."
Not all mobile-phone firms have to wait until next year to post a profit. South Korea's Samsung Electronics today reported sharply higher third-quarter profits due to strong handset sales. (Full disclosure: Samsung sponsors the Forbes.com Video Network.)
As the wireless network market continues to shrink, the number of major players in this space may shrink to four from six by the end of 2003, according to analyst Bill Lesieur of Technology Business Research.
"Ericsson is maintaining its top position in wireless networking equipment and technology, so the company will not be forced to merge with another player from a purely competitive position perspective, but rather may be forced to merge to reconcile its weak business model and financial condition," Lesieur said in a note.
More From ForbesSony-Ericsson Venture In Jeopardy 08.30.02 Ericsson CEO Hellstrom threatens to bail out if handset sales don't pick up. He might've made it worse.
Related SectionsHome > Technology


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In what seems a clear vote of confidence in China's hi-tech skills, US chip manufacturer Anadigics is to build a new fab in Kunshan, Jiangsu province.
The move is unusual because Anadigics specialises in making complex chips out of gallium arsenide, a semiconductor that is not so well known as silicon but has particular advantages for high-frequency radio applications like cellular communications and broadband wireless.
Most leading manufacturers of GaAs chips are located in the US and the market for GaAs devices does not suffer the cut-throat competition or boom-to-bust economics that affects many silicon device manufacturers.
Anadigics was one of the first to use 6-inch wafers to make its GaAs chips at its fab in New Jersey and the prescient move allowed it to get higher operating margins than the competition.
Things are obviously looking up for Anadigics as it now needs a second 6-inch facility and this time it has, surprisingly, chosen to build the fab in China, in Kunshan New and Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (KSND). Today, local dignitaries and Anadigics officials broke ground on the fab (picture), whose construction is due to be completed next year.
GaAs semiconductors were once limited to niche applications such as defence and microwave communications, but the growth in wireless and wireline broadband services has pushed this technology into the mainstream.
Indeed, one of its latest customers is China's Huawei, which is using an Anadigics power amplifier chip in its U120 music-optimised handset (pictured right). While Huawei's handset business is not well known outside of China, the company is a leading supplier in China's domestic market.
The rapid rise of China's handset industry has clearly swayed Anadigics to set up its foreign fab in mainland China rather than in Europe, Korea or Taiwan, where it already has offices.


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You have free articles remaining.
Question: Because of gains by arch-rivals Geico and Progressive and younger consumers who’ve grown up with the Internet and prefer to buy online rather than through an agent, State Farm is losing some of its market-share in the auto-insuring business, to the point said Crain’s Chicago Business last week, that “around 2022” Geico could overtake State Farm as the country’s largest auto insurer. What would be especially sad if that would be true?
Answer: 2022 will be the 100th anniversary of Merna farmer G.J. Mecherle founding his company back in 1922 in downtown Bloomington. State Farm has planned many events to help celebrate that historic milestone, none of which include falling to No. 2.


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Enterprise cloud apps company Workday has set out its plans for UK and French payroll systems as part of a drive to secure more European subscriptions.
Europe constitutes Workday's fastest-growing market, growing from virtually nothing about two years ago to provide more than 10 percent of the company's business today, according to chairman, co-founder and co-CEO Aneel Bhusri.
"Workday is really serious about Europe and at the highest level we're in a little bit of a race with SAP and Oracle. We believe we have a four- or five-year head-start with the products, as the world moves from on-premise to the cloud," Bhusri said.
"They've obviously got bigger sales and services organisations in Europe — that's really the race. I'm pretty optimistic at this point but these are two formidable competitors," he said.
"Since the day we started the company, we set out to replace PeopleSoft, SAP and Oracle and if you look at our customer base, in almost all cases, they are replacements for one of those three systems."
Bhusri said the company's success in North America results largely from a focus on multinationals. Workday's strategy in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries is built on the same approach.
"We do very well with multinationals that are managing people across multiple geographies. The system is built to provide a single global view of all your employees, of all your talents and all your costs but also it supports all the local legislation as well," he said.
According to Bhusri, Workday has already chalked up some notable successes in Europe, securing contracts with UK-based multinationals such as insurer Aviva, retail group Primark, foreign-exchange company Travelex, and business services firm Rentokil Initial — as well as electronics giant Philips in the Netherlands. Workday has about 450 major customers worldwide.
He said the decision to work on payroll systems, which should be available by 2015 in the UK and 2016 in France, is based on their strategic importance.
"That just opens up more of the market for us. Some of the large companies would like to run not just human resources but payroll in a unified way and without the payroll offerings they would probably wait a little longer to become a customer," Bhusri said.
He added that the UK and French payroll systems represented major commitments and that he expected Workday to do better than the 2015 and 2016 dates for UK and French payroll.
"Those are conservative dates but what we're putting out there now is a way for customers and potential customers to plan around those availability dates," he said.


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Beauty products are becoming one of Korea’s biggest exports. While they enjoy increasing popularity in the U.S., they are even trendier in China, where imports of Korean cosmetics surged more than 250% this year and now account for nearly a quarter of the country’s beauty imports.
Pop culture has helped spread their reputation – beauty products are often integrated into popular K-dramas – alongside perceptions that their quality is superior to that of domestic products. L2’s Digital IQ Index: Beauty China points to another reason that Korean Beauty brands are succeeding in China: digital competence.
While European and U.S. brands saw their Digital IQs fall this year, Korean and Japanese brands demonstrated double-digit growth. Their best-in-class approach to the China market is exemplified by Gifted brands Innisfree and Laneíge, which both joined L2’s top ten. Both brands aggressively use sampling to drive trial and awareness – Innisfree on Beauty community sites, Laneíge on mobile-based communities. In addition, Innisfree boasts a sophisticated direct-to-consumer brand site and cross-channel loyalty program, and Laneíge is the most mentioned brand on microblogging platform Sina Weibo, garnering more than 21,000 mentions per month.
In general, Korean brands have been quicker to localize their brand sites than their Western counterparts. Just a third of Western brands host their China sites in-market, compared with 77% of Japanese and Korean brands and 90% of local brands. This failure directly affects online sales: load times for sites hosted outside China are more than double those of locally hosted sites, and most Chinese consumers say they would shop elsewhere if faced with a slow-performing site.
Moreover, while Korean Beauty brands in China have traditionally had less sophisticated sites, their increasing popularity has prompted heavy investment in commerce elements. For example, 33% more Japanese and Korean brands cross-sell on product pages this year than last, while only 11% more Western brands and 22% more local brands adopted this strategy.
However, the L2 study also finds that some Korean brands could do more to capitalize on their popularity. Etude House and Innisfree are the most searched Index brands on Youku, outperforming both local and Western brands – an indication of their popularity. Yet Innisfree’s Youku channel is only the 12th most-viewed, and just 11% of the 62 videos Etude House posted in 2015 have garnered more than 5,000 views. This suggests that while the brands have a ready audience, their videos currently lack engaging content.
For more, download a copy of L2’s Digital IQ Index: Beauty China. [reportdownloadlinks report_post_id=”138967″]


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As many as 91% of UK respondents have used their mobile device for mobile commerce, to either research or purchase a product. The UK also has the highest proportion of users who have purchased via mobile from within an app (44%), an app store (35%), a website (58%) and an auction website (23%).
The findings show that 82% of UK respondents access the mobile web on a daily basis. This high level of mobile web and commerce activity dovetail with a reduction in fixed-PC usage; now one third (34%) less of UK respondents to the survey access the internet on their PCs, compared to18 months ago.
Globally, 82% of respondents across all markets have used a mobile device for commerce purposes, illustrating the growing prevalence of the channel on a worldwide scale. In addition, over half (53%) of all respondents have purchased some form of digital product via mobile.
“This global research clearly demonstrates that UK consumers are embracing mobile as a key access point for their content and commerce needs,” commented Andrew Bud, global chairman, MEF. “It also illustrates that mobile is an essential platform for companies wishing to drive consumer engagement and monetise their goods, services and digital products.”
This change in consumer habits – and as a consequence, the increasing focus placed on mobile by a growing number of companies – is the reason why MEF has decided to expand its mission to include the entire mobile content and commerce ecosystem. The fact that organisations such as The Coca-Cola Company, A&N Media and Barwa Bank have joined MEF, reflects both the evolution of the organisation and the industry as a whole Bud said.
Noted Rimma Perelmuter, executive director, MEF: “As a global organisation with strong local representation, MEF is ideally placed to shape the industry, connect thought leaders, drive monetisation opportunities and provide competitive advantage for mobile content and commerce leaders. Over the past 10 years, MEF has helped grow mobile content into the $36 billion industry it is today, assisting its members in navigating the complexities of the channel and capitalise on its opportunities.”
Over the past 18 months, the organisation has led a global mobile commerce initiative promoting the enormous commercial potential of the mobile channel. This work includes a partnership with ASC X9, the US technical group that develops financial industry standards, to establish privacy and security standards to advance m-commerce. Nearly a quarter (24.8%) of all UK respondents cited a lack of trust in the security of the mobile platform as the reason for not purchasing via this channel more often.


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GitLab goes public at an $11B valuation to support the hybrid work economy.
Sid Sijbrandij- Co-Founder & CEO
While the name GitLab appears to be a scary laboratory, it is not! GitLab is a massive software company, once named "the Facebook of programming." It is a one-stop-shop for developers to create, store, and distribute new software. Instead of sending a "per my last email: code change" to your coworker, you can see and make all changes in one place. San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana invested $100K in GitLab through his fund Liquid2 Ventures in 2015 when GitLab's valuation was $12M. On October 14, 2021, the company went public trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "GTLB."
Shares of GitLab jumped 35% after going public on the Nasdaq. GitLab closed well above its IPO price of $77, giving it a $14B+ valuation, nearly double what it was in January. During the pandemic, they benefited from companies rushing to streamline their operations remotely. It generated $152M in revenue in 2020 — up nearly double from 2019.
GitLab's main competitor, GitHub, has more than 65M developers and was scooped up by Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5B. GitLab has attracted new users by offering its popular DevOps software free. The hope was more nonpaying users would turn into premium paying subscribers, but it hasn't panned out. Less than 1% of GitLab's 30M users converted to a $19.99 or $99.99 a month subscription. For context: Spotify had a 46% conversion rate in 2019. GitLab lost $40M last quarter due to ramping up its marketing budget to attract big spenders.
Developers are the backbone of the hybrid work economy, but they need the tools to keep up with cloud demand. As more companies offer a flexible work-fromhome lifestyle, businesses must make office apps available remotely. Companies like GitLab, whose employees are 100% remote, are gaining steam by trying to make that transition seamless. Still, it could be a while before they make money doing it. As I am writing, "GTLB" is now trading around $126 per share.


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If you’re enjoying the unusually warm weather we’ve been having recently, you may think less favourably on it after this.
According to recent research, rising temperatures are having a big impact on wine production as increased heat exposure leads to a slowdown in the rate that workers can pick grapes.
Of course, wine production is dependent on manual labour meaning not only will less wine be produced with global warming, the price of existing wine is likely to go up.
The study, published in the journal Temperature, analysed findings from places like the Mediterranean where most of the world’s wine is made.
Using time-motion analysis to determine the effect of workplace heat on employee productivity, the study found that longer and more frequent breaks were taken during hot weather.
As well as this, warmer weather also affects the way grapes ripen and therefore, changes the way wine tastes.
And with Nasa reporting that 2016 was the warmest year on record, it may be time for the human race to choose between cheap wine or sunny weather – it seems we can’t have both!


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Another Shopper Victimized at Target
(1 min Audio Report – Freedom’s Call)
Another shopper victimized at Target!
A Texas Target store was the scene of a young man, using his cell phone to videotape a girl in the dressing room.
Now police have released a photo of the suspect and are hoping to arrest him.
Target claims t0 be cooperating, yet they continue to open their bathrooms and changing rooms to both genders.
This fosters an environment that opens perverts with open arms.
The facts are that this man chose to do his video-taping of an innocent girl in a Target store.
More than a million people have pledged to boycott Target because of the safety problems with their bathroom policy.
Top 6 on BarbWire.com
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By Tristan Harris 31/08 Updated: 31/08 09:45
TRADITIONAL activities and events for all ages will be on offer at Tardebigge Fair and Show next week.
As well as fun, games and stalls selling cakes, plants, jams, books and clothes among other items, there will also be an appearance from a London 2012 Olympic Torch at the event which takes place on Saturday, September 8 from 1.30pm at St Bartholomew’s Church.
The church itself will host award-winning displays, including flowers, vegetables, wine, preserves, baking and photographs.
Entries need to be brought to the church between 9am and 11am on the day of the show and the produce will later be auctioned off.
There will also be a white elephant stall, tombolas, classic cars and motorbikes, a miniature railway, bouncy castle and traditional games, such as a coconut shy and skittles.
For more, including a schedule of classes, call 01527 540546 or visit the church.
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Sachin Tendulkar, the iconic Indian Cricketer has thrown his hat into the IoT space and invested in Smartron India Private Limited. Smartron is an indian player focused on retail and enterprise grade IoT devices. They have a slew of devices lined up for release in the coming days
Smartron India Private Limited, India’s global technology OEM Company, announced a new innings with the Cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar. Besides being the brand ambassador of Smartron, Sachin is also a strategic shareholder in the company. Smartron has been operating in stealth mode since August 2014 and is set to launch a slew of smart devices and Internet of Things (IoT) products for consumer and enterprise markets in the first quarter of FY 2016-17.
Smartron is headed by Founder & Chairman Mahesh Lingareddy who is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Soft Machines Inc., a US-based semiconductor company with operations in US, India, and Russia. Smartron is riding on the back of the IoT wave by innovating in the areas of smart, sensor, robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud and big data technologies to bring next generation smart devices, services and care targeting consumer, enterprise, industrial and infrastructure markets.
Commenting on the association, Sachin said, “I have always been fascinated by technology. Smartron’s founding vision for the need for a robust product ecosystem in the country to grow is very impressive. We need to support brands that are “designed and engineered in India” by our Entrepreneurs and Engineers that ably compete in the global markets. I look forward to being part of the growth journey of Smartron buoyed by tremendous growth opportunities offered by IoT worldwide.”
Commenting on Sachin’s association with the company, Mahesh said, “We are very excited and privileged to have Sachin join us in our journey. He is one of the greatest Indian stories of our times, a true global icon and brand that disrupted the game of cricket, and inspired generations. We at Smartron aim to achieve the same in the technology space by building a global product brand from India, disrupting the IoT market with innovative products and inspiring generations of engineers and entrepreneurs.”
This association looks like it will definitely bring in a lot of innovation and very pronounced changes into the IoT space in India. Sachin’s entry signals the fact that IoT is where the future is and one way or the other, it is here to touch our lives here in India. The future will be interesting
Led by very experienced management and passionate engineering teams and funded by investors from US, India, Middle East and others, Smartron started as a global organization from day one with R&D centers in Hyderabad and Bengaluru and supporting teams around the globe to enable global technology sourcing, marketing and sales. Smartron has been working closely with vendors, partners and customers to co-create and collaborate in building a strong product ecosystem.


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Mitsubishi Motors UK has sold its 11 site owned retail group Colt Car Retail Group (CCR) to listed Japanese automotive retail company VT Holdings for an undisclosed sum.
VT Holdings has 125 dealerships across Japan representing brands including Honda, Nissan, Ford and Jaguar. VT Holdings also has Suzuki, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Peugeot dealerships in South Africa.
Lance Bradley, managing director of The Colt Car Company, the sole distributor of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said: “VT Holdings approached us last summer, explaining that they were looking to establish themselves in the UK and that they would be interested in buying CCR.
“At the time we were not actively seeking to sell CCR. When we did our research, however, we became aware of the very good reputation VT Holdings have in other parts of the world and recognised the benefits they could bring us.”
VT Holdings has set out a plan to establish itself in Europe, and purchasing the CCR Group is their first step along this path.
This latest acquisition is not the first time Japanese businesses have entered the UK automotive retail market.UK dealer group Jemca Car Group is owned by Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Norton Way Motors and RRG Group are both owned by Japanese holding company Marubeni Corporation.
Mapping: Colt Car Retail's sites (Source: AMi)


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Tree Brewing Co. is recalling its Golden Larch Grapefruit Radler because the product contained sulfites undeclared on the label.
The recall covers Golden Larch Grapefruit Radler sold in 473 milliliter cans with a packaging date of March 15, 2022, as well as the Season Pass eight-pack, which contains two cans of Golden Larch.
The Season Pass has a pack date of March 15, 2022.
The affected products were sold in Alberta and British Columbia.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there have been no reported reactions.
Collected radlers must be thrown away or returned to the place where they were purchased.


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While eReaders are still becoming mainstream, the Amazon Kindle leads its competitors in brand recognition, with 61 percent of consumers having heard of the device, according to a new report from PriceGrabber.
More than half (55%) of consumers said they had heard of the Apple iPad. Thirty-four percent indicated they had heard of the Sony Reader, and 28 percent of consumers were aware of the Barnes & Noble nook.
While more consumers are familiar with the Kindle, the Apple iPad is the most popular eReader among consumers planning to make a purchase in the next year. Twenty percent of consumers plan to purchase the Apple iPad in the next year, while only 12 percent plan to buy the Kindle. This is followed by 6 percent of consumers planning to purchase the Sony Reader and 5 percent planning to buy the Barnes & Noble nook.
Consumers’ agreement about the primary use of an Apple iPad is undecided. When asked how they would use the iPad, 13 percent said they would primarily use it as an eReader. Twenty percent would use it as an additional mobile productivity device. Nineteen percent would use it as a replacement for a laptop or a netbook, and 10 percent would use it as an entertainment device.
PriceGrabber predicts the touchscreen feature alone likely will not convince consumers to buy an eReader, but eReaders have many features consumers find appealing. Forty-five percent said the touchscreen was an appealing feature of the eReader. Thirty-nine percent of consumers like the portable size, and 37 percent find the availability of eBooks appealing.


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Bridgestone Americas and Shell Lubricants have announced the launch of new service that will make Shell Lubricants products available at Bridgestone’s Affiliated Retailer Nationwide Network.
The Nationwide Network Shell Lubricants program will make products such as Pennzoil, Quaker State and Shell Rotella engine oils available at Bridgestone affiliated retailers that choose to enroll in the program.
Shell is inviting Bridgestone affiliated retailers across the country to enroll in the program.
“Shell Lubricants designed the custom Lubricants Program exclusively for Bridgestone affiliated retailers across the country to provide consumers with quality branded motor oil at competitive pricing,” said Rusty Barron, vice president of marketing for Shell Lubricants. “By enrolling in the program, affiliated retailers will have a wealth of information at their fingertips promoting quick access to the in-demand products they need to stock their shelves.”


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He’s the quintessential salesman who will do “almost anything” to close a deal. Friends and rivals alike describe Subhinder Singh Prem as determined and a go-getter. The 43-year-old former managing director of Adidas India is known for following his pursuits passionately, be it working out or running a business. From the time he joined Reebok India in 1995 as a footwear manager, Prem was a regular at the company’s fitness centre, reaching there at least an hour before work started.
The other shoe drops
It took Reebok India five years to wake up to financial irregularities of nearly ₹900 crore. What happens now?
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ECONOMYNEXT – A purpose-built industrial park in Eravur, in eastern Sri Lanka under tight environmental rules and low carbon emissions will produce a ‘greener’ fabric raw material trail that is transparent to final buyers, officials said while existing industrial zones are being spruced up.
Using fabric and material produced at the Sri Lanka park will provide “end-to-end visibility in the whole supply chain.”
“So, we can have and give a guarantee that this is an ethically sourced product to the buyer,” Sanjaya Mohottala, Chairman of Sri Lanka Board of Investment said at the launch of ‘A Road Map to a Greener Apparel Sector in Sri Lanka’.
“Secondly, by bringing the activity to one location we can have high-quality treatment plants, water recovery; learn from each other new technologies to reduce water consumption, experiment new things, shared facilities thereby reducing the carbon footprint, water usage and all the other aspects.
“Also having fabric localized in Sri Lanka will reduce the need and current practices of flying in fabric from countries like China, Taiwan, Indian or Korea; again, reducing the carbon footprint.”
The report was published by HSBC Sri Lanka and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to promote greener manufacturing processes with a focus on small and medium-sized apparel firms.
“The SME companies, in particular, will be the beneficiary of the findings when those thoughts could be converted to a bankable proposal,” Tuli Cooray, Secretary-General, Joint Apparel Associations Forum said.
The report contains findings from an 18-month study and recommends 12 areas that the apparel sector has to focus to make it more eco-friendly.
These include renewable energy, zero-discharges, science-based targets, circularity, and ‘sustainable’ financing.
“The long-term sustainability of the apparel sector, especially in the post-covid-19 era, requires a transformational change to meet the demands by the global brands to reduce energy, water and chemical footprints,” Ananda Mallawatantri, Country Representative, International Union for the Conservation of Nature said.
“Supported by the Government consistent policy commitment, high level of compliance by the industry and extensive stakeholder coordination the Sri Lanka apparel sector could meet these challenges and
“In doing so the benefits would extend to other economic sectors too by raising the environmentally friendly image of the country.”
Supply Push and Market Pull
Sri Lanka exports apparel worth five billion dollars and imports cotton, knitted and crocheted fabric.
Mohottala says Sri Lanka caters to a high-end market whereas countries like Bangladesh supply day-to-day wear low-value items.
The categories it caters to are sportswear, lingerie, loungewear, bridal wear, workwear, swimwear and children’s wear.
“These consumers are increasing awareness or are environmentally conscious,” Mohottala said.
“So they are in one way ensuring or asking the brands to make sure that they source in environmentally friendly value chains.
Sri Lanka already has a good image in the global market as one of the most ‘ethical’ sourcing destinations but is strengthening its brand as an environmentally friendly one.
There is a two-way push and pull happening he says a pull for environmentally friendly products from consumers and a push from the legislative side.
“There is a pull happening from the consumer side and there is a push happening from a legislative point of view,” Mohottala said.
“If you look at what European Union has done in the recent past it has companies of EU to look for a certain amount of renewable energy component in the products they import.
“We saw these trends early on and took steps towards making sure Sri Lanka is in that vertical.”
Sri Lanka will also have to get ready for recycling which will come soon.
“I think one of the bigger trends that are coming on top of this is repurposing used fabrics or recycling,” Mohottala said.
“So once that comes with some of the new technologies, we as a country will be ready to ride that wave as well.”
Broader Zone Push
The BoI has 13 industrial zones and new ones are being been added. These zones contribute to about 80 per cent of all industrial exports of the island.
The new Eravur zone was purpose-built with the most advanced environmentally friendly technology available.
The Board of Investment is also upgrading its older industrial zones and experimenting with new processes to deal with waste and meet or exceed standards.
The upgrading of wastewater plants has been Horana, Seethawaka, Koggala and Katunayake have already been completed, Mohottala said.
“We are already in the process of augmenting and upgrading wastewater treatment plants in our zones to make sure that we meet all the environmental regulations requirements or even exceed,” Mohottala said.
“There’s a new trial we are doing, once we do the wastewater there is a sludge that is accumulated, in the past some of this sludge was disposed of in dump yards.
“We have taken initiatives to find new mechanisms for the use of this sludge whether it is an alga, fuel for certain furnaces or even use as a brick for certain industries or mix it with a bio-mat mask to use something like coal.”
Attempts at water recovery are also underway with firms in With Joint Apparel Association Forum.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s no longer social responsibility,” Mohottala said.
“The companies who really take environmentally sustainable sourcing or environmentally sustainable production seriously inherit happier workforce but also expand their margins.
“It is no longer a cost item but actually a mechanism to differentiate, a mechanism to have more survivability, and in a cutthroat industry to have a mechanism to expand profitability by upgrading yourself in the value chains.” (Colombo/June30/2021)


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Inside the new Google Search Console at SMX East | Industry News
Industry News – Inside the new Google Search Console at SMX East
If you’re an SEO, odds are good that you live and breathe inside the Google Search Console every day. The good news is that Google is about to significantly upgrade the Search Console with an extensive redesign to better serve you.
from Pocket http://ift.tt/2wt3500
Read the full story here – IFTTT


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Crafting Comes to Nosgoth
This week, Nosgoth has introduced the Forge, its new crafting system.
The Forge allows players to enchant and adjust items through the use of materials, found when playing matches, completing matches, and salvaging old items. Enchanting changes regular items into magic ones or upgrades magical items. Reforging changes specific properties on an item by rerolling for new properties.
Full details on the crafting system are explained in this dev blog.
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Once again negotiations between the EU and the UK have run down to the wire. The transition period for data transfers between the bloc and the UK was due to end today, 30 June. Just in the nick of time, the EU has formally adopted an ‘adequacy’ decision which will allow data to continue to flow freely. This means that business in the UK and EEA alike can breathe a sigh of relief.
What is an adequacy decision?
The transfer of personal data outside the EEA, which is usually a ‘restricted transfer’, is permitted where the EU has found that country’s data protection and privacy regime to be ‘adequate’ and in line with the strict controls of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679.
A transition arrangement has been in place since Brexit, which treated the UK as if it were still a member of the EU for data protection purposes, but this was set to end. If the adequacy decision had not been approved, the UK would have been classed as a third country for data protection purposes and the transfer of personal data from the EU would be permitted only subject to additional arrangements.
Is the decision unexpected?
The UK GDPR is almost identical to the EU equivalent, so in many ways the decision is not surprising. Although the EU published a draft finding of adequacy in February, this required final authorisation and, with the deadline of the 30 June as the end of the transitional arrangements approaching, there was no room for complacency.
Formal adoption of the adequacy decision confirms that personal data is permitted to flow freely between the UK and the EEA. This means that UK based organisations can continue to receive EEA personal data on the same basis, without additional restrictions.
Why does it matter?
The use of personal data is essential to the UK economy and the everyday trade of goods and services. That this can now continue to happen without additional barriers may be a positive indication about the UK’s trading relationship with the EU.
It is interesting to note that transfers of personal data for the purpose of UK immigration control are excluded from the decision.
What does it mean for my business?
Although the decision means that UK business may transfer data to and from the EU without carrying out additional due diligence, the EU data protection regime must still be considered. The finding of adequacy will expire in 2025 and can be revoked at any time without notice. It is the first time an adequacy decision has a fixed expiry date, which indicates the EU’s reservations about the future direction of UK data privacy.
It is expected that gaps between the UK and EU’s laws will widen over time, and as the landscape of data protection and privacy in the UK evolves, this may impact the transfer of data with the EU. One area which is likely to continue to cause concern for the EU is the onward transfer of data out of the UK to jurisdictions such as the USA.
Further, British business without an EU establishment which provide goods or services to individuals in the EU will still need to take steps comply with EU data protection laws. This means that many will need to ensure they comply with both UK and EU legislation.


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Nintendo lost a lawsuit in the U.K. against Koninklijke Philips last Friday where the company was found infringing on two of the Dutch technology company's patents with motion technology used for the Wii and Wii U.
According to court documents filed in the U.S. last month, Philips filed suit against Nintendo for infringing upon a patent for motion control and another for wireless devices that can be remotely controlled by a second device. The suit outlined that Nintendo's Wii, Wii Remote and Wii Remote Plus controllers, Nunchuk, Balance Board, Wii U console, Wii U GamePad, Wii Mini and Wii MotionPlus technology are all in violation of the first patent. The Wii U and GamePad console ecosystem were identified in the suit as infringing upon the second.
"The common general knowledge did not include a device combining a physical motion sensor with a camera and the reasons advanced by Nintendo for putting those two sensors together in one unit are unconvincing," Judge Colin Birss stated in the decision at the U.K. High Court. The judge ruled that Nintendo didn't violate a third patent regarding modeling a user in a virtual environment.
Philips is suing Nintendo over the patents in other countries such as the U.S., Germany and France. Nintendo is of the opinion that the two patents for recognizing hand gestures and motion are invalid and it plans to appeal the decision against the technology used in its Wii products.
"Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others," the company said in a press statement. "Nintendo is committed to ensuring that this judgment does not affect continued sales of its highly acclaimed line of video game hardware, software and accessories and will actively pursue all such legitimate steps as are necessary to avoid any interruptions to its business."
A lawsuit filed by technology company Triton Tech of Texas, LLC accusing Nintendo of infringing on its patents with Wii Remotes was dismissed by a federal appeals court earlier this month. The decision marked a second time that Triton's patent was found invalid as it did not adequately describe a complete invention.
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Update: Sky Mobile deals go live
Sky Mobile is set to launch in mid-December with 12 month contracts on SIM only terms. The big news is that Sky Mobile has already attracted 46,000 pre-registrations for its network, which piggybacks off of O2’s infrastructure.
In 2017, Sky Mobile intends to offer its plans with the additional option to buy an Apple or Samsung phone.
Sky Mobile intends to attract consumers with its data bundles, which permit the rolling over of unused data:
In addition to the data bundles, consumers must decide on how they will pay for calls and texts:
Should the Sky Mobile data bundle be insufficient, then consumers can buy a 1GB Add On, as needed.
|SIM only advantages|
The Sky Mobile service has four key features:
Sky Mobile will allow each household to have up to five SIMs and Sky+ customers will also receive Sky Go Extra for free, a service which currently costs £60 per year.
When we compare Sky Mobile to our existing SIM only deals, we find that the Sky Mobile deal isn’t as competitive as Sky would like to make out.
Today you could get a SIM only deal from EE with unlimited calls and texts and 2GB of data, for £6 per month. You could get a good deal with Three and choose a SIM only deal with unlimited calls and texts and 4GB of data, for £8 per month.
If you are data mad, then Vodafone offers unlimited calls and texts and 20GB of data, for £10 per month. For the same price with Sky Mobile, even Sky TV customers would only get 1GB of data, which 20x less than the data offered by Vodafone.
|iPad SIM only deals|
So, our advice for now, for both Sky TV and non-Sky TV customers, is to save some money and buy one of the deals on our SIM only page.
Written by: Michael Brown
We originally broke this news story on 30th January 2015:
One of the UK’s biggest TV and internet providers is set to jump onto the mobile bandwagon in the near future, as Sky has apparently wrapped up a partnership with O2’s parent company, Telefonica.
Sky, which is currently found in 10 million UK based homes, has long been a provider of the three services consisting of TV, broadband and landline set-ups. But now it could be upping its game by launching its own mobile service, to provide four different services for the first time.
The move would mean that Sky could effectively bundle all of its packages together to offer ‘quad play’ opportunities for customers.
This type of deal allows for competitive pricing, as well as guaranteeing that you only get one monthly bill, rather than four separate ones, making it more manageable for households.
This type of deal is already quite popular in mainland Europe, and this move could trigger it to become a hit over here as well.
Virgin Media does have the capabilities to offer the service as well, but hasn’t marketed it too heavily, with many foregoing the Virgin Mobile network for bigger names on the market.
Busy Mobile Period
Whilst Sky is simply working in partnership with O2’s owner, there are still several other big deals going on right now which could result in the purchase of mobile networks over here.
The first of which actually features O2, which could be bought by the owner of Three Mobile for as much as £10bn, effectively merging two of the biggest UK based networks.
This deal would make the network the biggest in the country, overtaking EE, which is currently the market leader for 4G service.
However, EE is also in talks about a sale, with BT the potential buyer in a deal worth £12.5bn. This would also give them the opportunity to offer a quad play deal, with BT’s TV, internet and landline services critically acclaimed and massively popular already.
Both of these deals are still a long way off completion, with both subject to approval by the relevant authorities.
But whilst both deals could be achievable, they may face some protests about the lack of competition driving consumer costs up, which obviously wouldn’t be good news to the average consumer.
Sky Mobile Launch
Sky’s deal with Telefonica won’t be undergoing as many stringent checks as it’s not a full blown purchase, rather a partnership which allows the TV conglomerate to use O2’s masts to provide its own deals.
The likes of Tesco, Virgin and other smaller ‘networks’ work a similar process, although the customer service and deals are purchased through the corresponding company rather than O2.
Sky is set to officially get going next year, meaning it will be a little while before you start seeing any deals being advertised, but for prospective Sky customers, it looks like it could be a worthwhile deal.
Written by Luke Hatfield


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The a2 Milk Company faces a “tough” road ahead as its key Chinese market shrinks and its competition increases. Chief executive David Bortolussi, took over in February and this week fronted with his key executives and a 160-page presentation. It took four hours to outline to investors and analysts the milk marketers plans following a year of unprecedented change in its market. The Chinese infant formula market is worth an estimated $47 billion in annual sales, and a2 Milks Platinum infant powder was really popular with the informal daigou resellers. These were the students and tourists who bought up the product and shipped it home to China. That whole grey market shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic. China’s birthrate fell – and competition from local Chinese companies increased. Shares in a2 Milk, once worth $21 plus – are now trading at around $6.47. They have lost 58% of their value over the past year. a2 Milk plans to spend more on marketing, new products and spreading its reach beyond the largest cities. The company is targeting profit margins in the “teens” in the medium term and in the “low-to-mid 20s” in the medium-to-long term as its business recovers. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, a2 Milk had a profit margin of 32 per cent.
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- Products & Services
- Knowledge Base
"The acquisitions add high-end precision machining and additional robotic technologies to our existing portfolio and give us a stronger presence in the semiconductor and defense industries."
GEORGETOWN, MA, November 15, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Momentum Manufacturing Group (MMG), one of the top ten largest metal manufacturers in North America, announced its entry into the semiconductor market with the acquisition of two leading companies that support semiconductor manufacturing.
Little Enterprises in Ipswich, MA, and Evans Industries in Topsfield, MA, have joined MMG, adding 86,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity and nearly 160 skilled team members to the New England-based enterprise. Both companies provide precision metal machining and manufacture components that support wafer fabrication equipment. The acquisitions will enhance MMG's existing manufacturing operation, which includes ten facilities across New England, and strengthen its focus on the semiconductor market.
"The acquisitions add high-end precision machining and additional robotic technologies to our existing portfolio and give us a stronger presence in the semiconductor and defense industries," said Jim Moroney, CEO of Momentum Manufacturing Group. "We are excited to welcome the seasoned staff from Little Enterprises and Evans Industries to our team. Their knowledge, capabilities, and operating approach will seamlessly transition into MMG."
Over the last five years, MMG has invested more than $250 million to expand and strengthen its capabilities, including adding aluminum extrusion manufacturing, custom cabling, and greater use of automation and robotic technologies. Significant investments are planned for 2023 to support current and future demand as the semiconductor industry reshores in response to the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law on August 9, 2022.
"New England is home to several semiconductor manufacturers, a wide array of technology businesses who rely on semiconductors, and some of the world's leading research institutions who will all benefit from funding made possible by the CHIPS Act," shared Moroney. "We want to ensure our company is a strong strategic supplier to our customers in the semiconductor market."
The CHIPS and Science Act will dole out $280 billion to improve domestic semiconductor manufacturing and scientific R&D and commercialization, which will have a sizable impact on New England's innovation economy. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, semiconductors and machinery used to make semiconductors account for $2.7 billion worth of Massachusetts' exports — making it the third most valuable export from the Commonwealth.
About Momentum Manufacturing Group
Momentum Manufacturing Group is a leading U.S. strategic manufacturing partner to OEMs and product manufacturers across various industries, including robotics, electronics, fitness, medical device, defense, transportation, food service, and semiconductors. The company provides metal fabrication, precision machining, engineered aluminum extrusions, custom cabling, powder coating, and assembly services and maintains an extensive manufacturing infrastructure across several New England states. For more information, visit mmgmfg.com.
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After a three-year break the BathLive Business Awards, sponsored by Truespeed, are set to return later this year to recognise the achievements and resilience of the local business community during the pandemic.
The event, which was not held in recent years due to Covid-19, is set to take place on Thursday, September 29, at Bath Pavilion.
BusinessLive and its sister website SomersetLive and newspaper the Bath Chronicle are looking for companies which deserve to be recognised after a challenging few years.
Since the awards were last held, a clean air zone has been introduced in the city, while Bath has also been awarded its second UNESCO World Heritage status. During the past three years here have been many Bath business success stories, as many firms emerged from lockdown restrictions.
From companies such as Lovehoney building global business empires to independent businesses such as Electric Bear Brewing confounding the odds against them to grow online sales during the pandemic, there has been much to celebrate within the Bath business community.
Businesses from across the city are now able to put themselves and their staff forward for this year’s BathLive Business Awards - in partnership with returning headline sponsor Bath-based internet service provider Truespeed.
Truespeed chief executive James Lowther said: "The BathLive Business Awards ignite a huge sense of camaraderie throughout Bath's community. Many businesses have endured a prolonged period of difficulty so it’s vital to support our fellow local businesses.
“As a Bath-based company rolling out ultrafast, full fibre broadband across the South West, we're thrilled to be supporting the awards for our third consecutive year and look forward to celebrating the multitude of Bath's inspiring businesses and incredibly talented people.”
Any public, private or third-sector organisations can enter the awards, regardless of size or industry.
The awards also reward individual talent with categories for entrepreneurs who have successfully grown their business or outstanding employees whose efforts have stood out this year.
Nominations are now open with Wednesday, July 13, the deadline for entries. To find out more about how to enter or purchase tickets, please visit the event’s official website.
Categories for 2022 BathLive Business Awards
Business of the Year, sponsored by Truespeed
Start-Up Business of the Year, sponsored by Higos
SME Business of the Year
Large Business of the Year, sponsored by Novia Financial
Business Person of the Year
Best Place To Work
Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Environmental & Sustainability Award
Tourism & Hospitality Resilience Award
Diversity & Inclusion Award
Outstanding Contribution To Bath Award, sponsored by Stone King
Like this story? Why not sign up to get the latest South West business news straight to your inbox.


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Avondale, PA — Mushroom growers are entering 2020 with record sales volumes, increasing retail prices and solid demand for fresh mushrooms, according to the American Mushroom Institute.
The September shipment report from the Mushroom Council™ shows domestic mushroom production set a new all-time high. This was the fourth consecutive new monthly high and reflects steady sales growth throughout the summer months. Both June and August volume exceeded 80 million pounds for the first time ever, indicating that mushroom sales are strong year-round. Combined shipments (domestic plus imports) also hit new record highs.
Mark Lang, MBA, Ph.D., University of Tampa, analyzed the recent data trends for the Council. “As mushrooms become a staple item for many Americans and more people start consuming them, demand has risen steadily for the past decade,” said Lang.
Retail prices are also seeing a steady increase. The most recent tracking data from IRI showed that as of Nov. 3, 2019, the average selling price for fresh mushrooms increased from $4.06/lb in October 2018 to $4.17/lb in October 2019, with an average increase of 1% per month.
“Retailers and their shoppers are demonstrating that the demand for fresh mushrooms is no fad—it’s a long-term trend. We see expanding displays and more real estate in the produce department, combined with record high retail prices—all the result of consumers demanding more healthy, flavorful plant-forward foods. Fresh mushrooms are well positioned for even greater growth in the near future,” said Steven Muro, President, Fusion Marketing.
Mushrooms are also trending in the food service sector. The National Restaurant Association named mushrooms the top produce item of 2020 with The Blend™ as a 2020 trend. Colleges and universities are also embracing meat and mushroom blends on their menus, with 42% of college dining halls serving mushroom-blended products.
The increase in prices and demand was also indicated in the recently revised National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) 2019 Report. The average reported price was $1.34 per pound, up 3 cents from the previous year’s price for the eight states documented in the new reporting method. The report also revealed a new record high of mushroom crop being sold into the fresh market at 92.1%. These increases have also prompted multiple producers to expand, with some growers either planning or have recently completed expansions. J-M Farms in Miami, OK, broke ground last month on a $9 million expansion. Ostrom Mushroom Farms in Sunnyside, WA, will begin production in 2020 at a new 43-acre farm.
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About American Mushroom Institute
The American Mushroom Institute (AMI), headquartered in Avondale, Pennsylvania, is a national voluntary trade association representing the growers, processors and marketers of cultivated mushrooms in the US and industry suppliers worldwide. Members of AMI produce 90 percent of all cultivated mushrooms nationwide, which include Agaricus, Crimini, Portabella and specialty mushrooms. For more information, visit www.americanmushroom.org.


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Rackspace launches UK cloud
The US company expands its data centre in the UK to help European companies with regulations.
Already a popular choice in the US, Rackspace is set to offer its OpenStack Object Storage and cloud servers running its Cloud Files product, alongside its already established European hosting platform.
The company's chief executive (CEO), Lanham Napier, said the move was inspired by the difference in regulation laws in the European Union, where companies cannot store certain data in infrastructure based outside of the region.
"Due to storage regulations set out under European law, many UK companies are restricted from using cloud," he said.
"Our UK offering allows companies to avoid offshore data issues and weighty upfront capital investments which helps them become more strategically agile from a business perspective."
The servers offer a range of Linux operating systems or Windows, and give users a choice of using Rackspace's control panel or another from a third party provider.
The pay as you go model was key to the success of cloud computing, according to Lanham.
"Cloud computing enables this evolution in a cost effective way; if customers on the cloud no longer need resources, they stop using them and almost immediately stop paying for them," he said.
"This will be critical to companies still fighting to cut costs from their budgets, and will allow them to control spending more tightly than ever before."
Rackspace claimed to already have 500 customers in beta using its open source cloud technology and hopes to grow this significantly over 2011.
How to scale your organisation in the cloud
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WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumer spending fell for the first time in eight months in September, but a rise in consumer sentiment to more than a seven-year high this month indicated economic growth would remain on solid ground.
The economic picture also received a boost from other data Friday showing factory activity in the Midwest accelerated sharply in October, while wages in the third quarter recorded their largest increase in more than six years. Strong wage growth has been the missing piece of the recovery puzzle.
"The fundamentals of the economy remain very strong, the conditions are in place for continued above-trend growth," said Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, declined 0.2 percent last month, the first drop since January, after a 0.5 percent increase in August, the Commerce Department said.
The weak end to the third quarter suggested consumer spending could slow early in the October-December period, and chip at the economy's momentum. The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual pace in the third quarter.
But with consumer sentiment this month hitting its highest level since July 2007, wage growth starting to pick up and gasoline prices at a near four-year low, the broad-based drop in consumption is likely to be temporary.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's index on consumer sentiment rose to 86.9 in October from 84.6 last month, a separate report showed.
Another report from the Labor Department showed its Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of labor costs, increased 0.7 percent after rising by the same margin in the second quarter.
Wages and salaries, which account for 70 percent of employment costs, rose 0.8 percent in the third quarter, the largest increase since the second quarter of 2008. They had gained 0.6 percent in the second quarter.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on the mixed data, while the dollar rallied to its highest level since June 2010 against a basket of currencies. U.S. stocks were trading sharply higher.
Various business surveys have been hinting at an acceleration in wage growth. The third-quarter increase in wages and salaries is a welcome sign for the labor market.
"This first sign of rising wage pressure in hard data releases corroborates the Federal Reserve's more sanguine assessment of the labor market," said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York.
"If sustained, which we expect, it will further strengthen the Fed's commitment to continue its policy normalization path, and to eventually raise rates."
Fed officials on Wednesday gave a fairly upbeat assessment of the labor market, dropping their characterization of labor market slack as "significant" and replacing it with "gradually diminishing."
Weak consumption is keeping a lid on inflation. A price index for consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in August. In the 12 months through September, the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index rose 1.4 percent for a second straight month.
Excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.1 percent for a third consecutive month. The so-called core PCE price index increased 1.5 percent in the 12 months through September.
Both price measures continue to run below the U.S. central bank's 2 percent inflation target.
-Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak in New York.
9 Numbers That'll Tell You How the Economy's Really Doing
Consumer Spending Falters, but Wages Make Big Gains
The gross domestic product measures the level of economic activity within a country. To figure the number, the Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the total consumption of goods and services by private individuals and businesses; the total investment in capital for producing goods and services; the total amount spent and consumed by federal, state, and local government entities; and total net exports. It's important, because it serves as the primary gauge of whether the economy is growing or not. Most economists define a recession as two or more consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP.
The CPI measures current price levels for the goods and services that Americans buy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects price data on a basket of different items, ranging from necessities like food, clothing and housing to more discretionary expenses like eating out and entertainment. The resulting figure is then compared to those of previous months to determine the inflation rate, which is used in a variety of ways, including cost-of-living increases for Social Security and other government benefits.
The unemployment rate measures the percentage of workers within the total labor force who don't have a job, but who have looked for work in the past four weeks, and who are available to work. Those temporarily laid off from their jobs are also included as unemployed. Yet as critical as the figure is as a measure of how many people are out of work and therefore suffering financial hardship from a lack of a paycheck, one key item to note about the unemployment rate is that the number does not reflect workers who have stopped looking for work entirely. It's therefore important to look beyond the headline numbers to see whether the overall workforce is growing or shrinking.
The trade deficit measures the difference between the value of a nation's imported and exported goods. When exports exceed imports, a country runs a trade surplus. But in the U.S., imports have exceeded exports consistently for decades. The figure is important as a measure of U.S. competitiveness in the global market, as well as the nation's dependence on foreign countries.
Each month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures changes in the total amount of income that the U.S. population earns, as well as the total amount they spend on goods and services. But there's a reason we've combined them on one slide: In addition to being useful statistics separately for gauging Americans' earning power and spending activity, looking at those numbers in combination gives you a sense of how much people are saving for their future.
Consumers play a vital role in powering the overall economy, and so measures of how confident they are about the economy's prospects are important in predicting its future health. The Conference Board does a survey asking consumers to give their assessment of both current and future economic conditions, with questions about business and employment conditions as well as expected future family income.
The health of the housing market is closely tied to the overall direction of the broader economy. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, named for economists Karl Case and Robert Shiller, provides a way to measure home prices, allowing comparisons not just across time but also among different markets in cities and regions of the nation. The number is important not just to home builders and home buyers, but to the millions of people with jobs related to housing and construction.
Most economic data provides a backward-looking view of what has already happened to the economy. But the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index attempts to gauge the future. To do so, the index looks at data on employment, manufacturing, home construction, consumer sentiment, and the stock and bond markets to put together a complete picture of expected economic conditions ahead.


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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported an increase in the average price of a 5kg cooking gas cylinder from N5,139.25 in January 2023 to N6,154.50 in February 2024,Daily Trust reports.
According to the NBS “Cooking Gas Price Watch” released in Abuja on Saturday, this February price reflects a 19.75% rise compared to January 2024. On a year-on-year basis, there was a 33.78% increase from N4,600.57 in February 2023 to N6,154.50 in February 2024.
The report also provided state-wise details, indicating Lagos had the highest average price at N6,820.00, followed by Imo at N6,785.71 and Anambra at N6,750.00. Conversely, Yobe had the lowest price at N4,912.50, followed by Kebbi and Adamawa at N5,350.00 and N5,385.00 respectively.
Regional analysis revealed the South-East had the highest average retail price for a 5kg cooking gas cylinder at N6,616.57, followed by the South-West at N6,513.30, while the North-Central had the lowest at N5,723.02.
Furthermore, the NBS noted a 28.33% month-on-month increase in the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder, rising from N11,735.72 in January 2024 to N15,060.38 in February 2024. On a yearly basis, this represents a 46.88% surge from N10,253.39 in February 2023 to N15,060.38 in February 2024.
State-wise, Ogun had the highest average retail price at N16,375.00, followed by Delta at N16,333.33 and Edo at N16,321.43. Conversely, the lowest average price for a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder was in Bauchi at N13,167.50, followed by Katsina and Yobe at N13,562.50 and N13,610.00 respectively.
Regional analysis indicated the South-East had the highest average retail price for a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder at N15,954.60, followed by the South-South at N15,943.40, while the North-East had the lowest price at N14,035.88.


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Microsoft has announced the availability of the Surface Hub 2S. The Microsoft Surface Hub 2S has a 50.5-inch display that comes with a 4K+ resolution and a 3:2 aspect ratio. With thinner bezels, the device comes with a better screen to body ratio. Other integrated devices are 4K Cameras, integrated speakers and far-field mic arrays. The software runs the existing Surface Hub software experience.
Microsoft Surface Hub 2S will be available starting June
It is powered by an Intel 8th Generation Core i5 processor with a DDR4 RAM of 8 GB and an SSD of 128 GB. The new 4K+ display is 60% thinner than the previous version of Surface Hub.
The GPU is the Intel UHD 620. There also exists an 85-inch variant of the Surface Hub 2S. That large variant will be coming sometime in 2020.
Microsoft has partnered with Steelcase to build a stand for the new Surface Hub 2S. This stand will comprise of the APC Charge Mobile Battery. This new stand is called as Steelcase Roam Mobile Stand which makes it easier for the device to be taken from meeting to meeting.
The best thing is that, if you just want the display you can do it too. Later this year, Microsoft will be making a Surface Hub 2 Display. This will be just the display part without computing power. If you want to use it as a Television or an extended display, you can get it then.
As already announced, the Surface Hub 2S customers will be able to upgrade to the Surface Hub 2X experience using a processor cartridge accessory. It will deliver better hardware performance and new software experiences like software experiences and more.
The 50-inch variant of the Surface Hub 2S will be available at $8,999.99 whereas the 84-inch variant of the Surface Hub 2S that comes with the Intel Core i7 will be available at $19,999.
You can learn more about this announcement here.


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Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle (“EV”) manufacturer, has delivered 63 Class 3 vehicles to the Randy Marion Automotive Group (“RMA”) and has invoiced RMA for $3,969,000. This shipment brings the total delivered EVs to 121, valued at more than $7.5 million, with plans to deliver 150 vehicles total by the end of the year. These vehicles are part of a purchase order placed by RMA earlier this year for 1,000 vehicles in all, with the first vehicles shipped in September. Mullen expects to deliver the majority of the vehicles in 2024. The company’s Tunica, Mississippi-based plant is slated to produce 150 vehicles in 2023, with a 3,000-vehicle capacity moving forward into the new year. The Mississippi plant will manufacture and assemble the Mullen ONE, Class 1 EV cargo van and the Class 3 EV cab chassis trucks. According to the company, the All-Electric Mullen THREE is a Class 3 low cab forward EV truck designed for a 125-mile range and featuring a 5,000-plus-pound payload. The vehicle is specifically built for urban last-mile delivery and can be easily upfit to meet a variety of vocational needs from last-mile delivery, construction, landscaping, catering and more. “We are laser-focused on hitting our commitment to deliver 150 Mullen THREEs by end of this year,” said Mullen Automotive CEO and chair David Michery in the press release.
To view the full press release, visit https://ibn.fm/WreAL
About Mullen Automotive Inc.
Mullen Automotive is a Southern California-based automotive company building the next generation of electric vehicles (“EVs”) that will be manufactured in its two United States-based assembly plants. Mullen’s EV development portfolio includes the Mullen FIVE EV Crossover; the Mullen-GO Commercial Urban Delivery EV; the Mullen commercial class 1–3 EVs; and Bollinger Motors, which features both the B1 and B2 electric SUV trucks and class 4–6 commercial offerings. On Sept. 7, 2022, Bollinger Motors became a majority-owned EV truck company of Mullen Automotive, and on Dec. 1, 2022, Mullen closed on the acquisition of all Electric Last Mile Solutions (“ELMS”) assets, including all IP and a 650,000-square-foot plant in Mishawaka, Indiana. To learn more about the company, visit www.MullenUSA.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to MULN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
MissionIR (“MIR”) is a specialized communications platform with a focus on assisting IR firms with syndicated content to enhance the visibility of private and public companies within the investment community. It is one of 60+ brands within the Dynamic Brand Portfolio @ IBN that delivers: (1) access to a vast network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to efficiently and effectively reach a myriad of target markets, demographics and diverse industries; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ outlets; (3) enhanced press release enhancement to ensure maximum impact; (4) social media distribution via IBN to millions of social media followers; and (5) a full array of tailored corporate communications solutions. With broad reach and a seasoned team of contributing journalists and writers, MIR is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that want to reach a wide audience of investors, influencers, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, MIR brings its clients unparalleled recognition and brand awareness.
MIR is where breaking news, insightful content and actionable information converge.
For more information, please visit www.MissionIR.com
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The DearAOL Coalition are up in arms over what they’re calling e-mail censorship by AOL, but AOL insists that’s not the case.
Since February, the coalition has been railing against AOL’s proposed e-mail certification program AOL is implementing with partner Goodmail, saying that the plan to charge for enhanced deliverability services threatens to undermine free e-mail as we know it.
The latest alarm being sounded by DearAOL is the coalition’s accusation that AOL began blocking all e-mails that contain the DearAOL.com URL today, and stopped only after being “caught red-handed” by the coalition.
“Today’s events prove the DearAOL.com Coalition’s point entirely: Left to their own devices, AOL will always put its own self interest ahead of the public interest in a free and open Internet,” Timothy Karr, campaign director of coalition member Free Press, said in a statement.
According to AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham, the blocked messages were the result of a “technical glitch” that affected “a range of URLs,” and not just the DearAOL.com address.
“A number of companies and organizations contacted AOL today about this hardware glitch. Our postmaster and ops team identified the problem and it has been fixed,” Graham said.
AOL’s explanation makes more sense than the coalition’s scenario. Given the volume of messages processed and the levels of filtering of its messages, there are bound to be occurrences like this. The DearAOL petition has been circulating freely through AOL’s e-mail system since February, so it seems a bit odd that the company would suddenly decide to begin blocking them two months later. The fact that the “glitch” was resolved within hours indicates AOL was responsive to the problem, so it seems that the coalition is once again tilting at windmills.
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Flipkart, one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies, is up for sale once more. The Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale 2022 is take place from 23 to 30 September 2022.
More details are available on Flipkart’s Big Billion Days 2022 special page.
For the six-day shopping extravaganza, big discounts have been advertised. Customers will receive an instant 10% discount on ICICI Bank debit and credit cards, as well as Axis Bank cards.
Customers who pay using a digital wallet can also get a Paytm cashback incentive from Flipkart.
Micromax, Infinix, Oppo, Vivo, and more companies will announce new devices before the deal goes on sale. Flipkart handles all these new launches.
At this moment, it is uncertain what the various models from each brand will be. However, we can anticipate all of these models to be available during the Big Billion Days promotion.
Several of the discounts, including the iPhones, have been confirmed by Flipkart. iPhone13 is currently available for ₹69,000 and will be discounted further during the promotion period.
Flipkart has announced that the Motorola Edge 30, which is now priced at Rs 30,999, will be available at a discount price of Rs 22,799. Similarly, the Poco M4 5G, which is normally priced at Rs 15,999, will be discounted to Rs 12,999 during the Big Billion Days event.
Flipkart has not published all of the smartphone deals. During this deal, Flipkart is also providing discounts on Pixel 6A and iPhone models.
According to speculations, Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale would include a significant discount on the Google Pixel 6A. The Pixel 6A will be priced at Rs 27,699. When it was first released in India, it was priced at Rs 43,999.
The variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage costs Rs 27,999. This essentially indicates that the Pixel 6A will receive a Rs 16,300 discount. However, Flipkart did not disclose any other information.
However, this offer might be depending on bank cards. Other deals may be available in addition to this one.
Flipkart has also launched an exchange offer in which consumers may get a Rs 2,000 discount while swapping an old smartphone.
Customers will now be able to purchase mobile protection plans beginning at Rs 299 from the e-commerce site.
Nothing Phone (1), another popular device, will be available in India for Rs 28,999. The smartphone is presently available on Flipkart for Rs 33,999.
Customers will receive an Rs. 5,000 discount on Nothing Phone (1). This discount is only available with a bank card. The listed price is for the 8GB RAM 128GB storage variant.
The Pixel 6A and the Nothing Phone do not include a charger. As a result, you will have to pay more money to get the charger.
Soundbars and smartwatches can get up to 70% off. The Dizo brand wireless headset is on sale at a 60 percent discount.
Up to 40% discount on selected Intel laptops. Some models offer up to 70% off smart TVs.
Up to 50 percent discount on fridges and up to 70 percent discount on home appliances. The discount will be for selected devices.
Each day throughout the Big Billion Days, fresh promotions will be presented at 12 p.m., 8 a.m., and 4 p.m.
These days will include Rush Hour and flash deals. Some items may emerge in flash discounts for a limited time at exceptionally low prices.
Flipkart, the country’s top e-commerce giant, is once again selling Thomson Smart TVs at a massive discount.
Thomson, a French consumer electronics firm, has released a new QLED TV series in India, with prices beginning at Rs 33,999. Thomson’s 50-inch QLED TV costs Rs 33,999, the 55-inch costs Rs 40,999, and the 65-inch costs Rs 59,999.
The latest QLED TVs boast a Dolby Vision system with HDR10, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, a 40W Dolby Audio Stereo Box Speaker, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM, and a dual-band (2.4 & 5 GHz) Wi-Fi and Google TV are additional important features. The new TVs have an Air Slim design with no bezels.
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Swiss food products giant Nestle S.A. (OTC: NSRGY) has announced plans to spend up to $2 billion to cut plastic waste, but CEO Ulf Mark Schneider said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that shareholders have nothing to worry about: The green goal initiative will be balanced with $2 billion to address consumer demands that their food products be both healthier and less damaging to the environment.
“We said right from the beginning we are going to make this earnings-neutral, so we are going to find other ways and other efficiencies in our manufacturing and supply chain to make up for this,” Schneider said. “Now, you could say those efficiencies could have been flown to the bottom line, but for a food and beverage company and a consumer packaged goods company, it’s important to stay relevant to its consumers. Consumer tastes are shifting fast. They want to know their consumer packaging is not causing environmental concerns, and so this is all about staying relevant to today’s consumer.”
For Nestle, it’s all about scaling up. Their goal is for all their packaging to be recyclable by 2025. Schneider noted that it’s not even necessarily about whether or not millennials want the company’s specific products. Consumers want healthier products, he noted, but they also want them to have less of an environmental footprint.
“People trust good brands but they want to be sure their products meet their expectations,” he said.
Nestle’s $7 billion deal with Starbucks a year and a half ago is a signature deal and another high-growth area. The company plans on growing with Starbucks over the next two years with a pipeline of new products because “we know people want to be entertained by something new every day, every year.”
Pet food is another of Nestle’s signature high-growth categories and is well-positioned to take advantage of two notable trends, Schneider said. The first involves the “premiumization” of pet food products in the Western world and “caloric conversion” in growing markets where pet food is replacing household scraps. “Both of these trends are on fire,” he said.
Plant-based food also represents a multiyear growth opportunity, and Nestle wants to be at the forefront as a core food company. The company offers a yellow-pea-based product in America and a soy-based product in Asian markets. According to Schneider, Nestle is the only company offering two unique plant-based food products to different markets to better meet local tastes. “They both taste great,” Schneider said.
Is a deal with McDonald’s coming? Schneider says he “would like to be helpful” but can’t comment on specific clients. Broadly speaking, the company is interested in working with fast-food chains.
Interestingly, because the company is committed to local manufacturing, it hasn’t seen significant disruptions as a result of the trade war between the United States and China. Nevertheless, their stance is pro-trade. “Finding a deal is better than not finding a deal,” Schneider said.
Schneider also struck a note of optimism about Brexit. Because the deal didn’t turn out to be a “hard exit,” it will be completed in a more orderly fashion, and as far as Schneider can tell, it doesn’t look to disrupt Nestle’s operations and supply chain.
Nestle placed second in FreightWaves’ inaugural Shipper of Choice Award last year. That designation is all about being a good partner, and it often goes beyond the movement of goods. The tributes come from companies that a shipper has worked with across the supply chain.
Being named a Shipper of Choice can come from things as simple as providing bathrooms and coffee for drivers, or being transparent about dwell times and minimizing detention. It also means working to improve elements of the supply chain that have a bearing on goods movement even if they aren’t specific to transport services.
Nestle has been at the forefront in such efforts as well. In June 2018, Nestle and XPO announced they would build a 638,000-square-foot distribution center in Leicestershire, U.K. that will contain a “next generation logistics environment” to test future initiatives for Nestle’s brands, combined with a “joint innovation laboratory” for XPO and Nestle technology teams. Such a project is the first of its kind for both companies. The center should open sometime in 2020.