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Laser industry reflects larger economic issues
NASHUA, NH––Last September at the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association’s (OIDA; Washington, DC) “Perspectives on the Optoelectronics Industry” forum in San Jose, CA, keynote speaker Henry Kressel of Warburg Pincus (New York, NY) noted that in today’s increasingly competitive global technology marketplace, innovation is critical to sustaining and stimulating growth.
Kathy Kincade andStephen G. Anderson
NASHUA, NH––Last September at the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association’s (OIDA; Washington, DC) “Perspectives on the Optoelectronics Industry” forum in San Jose, CA, keynote speaker Henry Kressel of Warburg Pincus (New York, NY) noted that in today’s increasingly competitive global technology marketplace, innovation is critical to sustaining and stimulating growth. “Cross–fertilization in technology is a key driver behind innovation,” Kressel said. “And continuous innovation creates continuous economic value. It trumps cost cutting as a long–term strategy.”
Innovation has long been a hallmark of the lasers and optics industry. Often accused of being too much a technology in search of an application, the last few years have seen this industry reinvent itself, taking manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and marketing cues from the semiconductor and consumer electronics industries. As has been the case since 2002, these new strategies––coupled with ongoing technology and product innovations (see “Photonic solutions find no lack of real–world problems,” Laser Focus World, December 2007, p. 97)––are beginning to pay off. In 2006, for example, nondiode laser sales gained about 10% over 2005, although price declines in diode lasers limited overall revenue growth for the laser industry in 2006 to around 2% (see www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/282527). But as the photonics industry has become more aligned with consumer markets, so is it more affected by the same factors as those markets––notably consumer confidence, consumer spending, housing and oil prices, trade imbalances, interest rates, and the value of the U.S. dollar.
As a result, despite a strong first half, the latter part of 2007 had its ups and downs. Coherent, for example, reported net sales of $142.6 million for its third fiscal quarter (ending June 07), a 4.6% decline from the third quarter of its FY2006 and a 6.3% decline from the second quarter of its FY2007. However, Coherent bounced back somewhat in its fourth quarter (ending September), with net sales of $159 million––an increase of 0.5% compared to Q4 2006 and 11.4% over Q3 2007.
“From a market perspective, we continued [in fiscal Q4] to see outstanding performance in materials processing, bioinstrumentation, and medical, resulting in an annual growth of 24.1% for material processing and 16.9% for the OEM components market,” said Helene Simonet, executive vice president and CFO of Coherent. “Compared to fiscal ’06, microelectronics sales declined 3.9%, primarily due to slow demand in the flat–panel–display market. The scientific market, whose annual growth was 5.5%, showed a strong fourth quarter, partially due to the revenue recognition of some large custom lasers.”
Suffering some of the same issues––weakening in the semiconductor and microelectronics markets––Newport reported sales of $109 million in the third quarter of 2007 (ending September), down 5% from the third quarter of 2006, although orders were about the same. In addition, the company anticipates sales for the fourth quarter to be in the $110 million to $115 million range. JDSU’s Commercial Lasers business reported net revenue of $19.9 million for the first quarter of FY2008 (ending September), down 10% from the previous quarter, and Cymer reported revenues of $382 million for the first nine months of FY2007 (ending September), compared to $406 million for the first nine months of 2006.
At the same time, 2007 was a banner year for some laser companies, especially those in the industrial sector. Fiber–laser maker IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA) saw a 32% increase in revenues for the first nine months of FY2007 compared to FY2006 (from $101 million to $137 million). QPC Lasers (Sylmar, CA) reported a 132% year–on–year increase in revenues for the third quarter of 2007 (from $930,000 to $2.2 million) and significant improvement in net loss for the quarter (from $8.3 million in Q3 2006 to $5.1 million in Q3 2007).
The Trumpf Group (Ditzingen, Germany) finished its 2006–07 fiscal year in mid–June with an increase in sales of 18% to €1.94 billion (US$2.8 billion). Sales in the Laser Technology/Electronics Division rose 8.2% to €474 million (US$695 million). Trumpf expects to realize further sales increases of about 10% to €2.1 billion (US$3.1 billion) for the 2007–08 fiscal year.
Similarly, Rofin–Sinar (Plymouth, MI, and Hamburg, Germany), reported net sales of $130.5 million for the fourth quarter (ended Sept. 30), up 12% from the previous year’s fourth quarter, and net sales of $480 million for the year, up 14% over the previous fiscal year. Sales of lasers for macro applications increased 20% to $248 million, while net sales of lasers for marking and micro applications increased 9% to $232 million.
Overall, the global numbers for 2007 are not quite what anyone expected. The industrial sector is on the upswing, fueled by new and growing markets, such as China and India, and by well–established veterans such as Germany. And the research market continues its steady growth––in fact, despite funding uncertainties in the U.S. for FY 2008, this sector showed rare double–digit growth in 2007. A slowdown in the microelectronics sector, on the other hand, put a damper on laser sales in many regions. Similarly, some segments of the medical market saw a slowdown in 2007 due to its dependence on consumer spending, although the market for certain dermatology and optical diagnostic products (notably optical–coherence tomography) has taken off.
While it has been obvious for a long time that the photonics market is far from being a homogenous entity, the conflicting trends evident in this year’s laser market survey serve to highlight the fact that many factors––both large and small––affect each market sector in vastly different ways.
Global revenue growth for all lasers for 2007 over 2006 came out at about 9%––within one percentage point of last year’s projection and something of a pleasant surprise given the mixed results of individual firms noted earlier. For 2008, we expect a global revenue increase of 7% for all lasers with total sales reaching $7.40 billion. Since we report revenue in current U.S. dollars, average price changes may result year–on–year from exchange–rate fluctuations that occur during the year. In 2007, the U.S. dollar fell to new lows in Europe (and elsewhere). It lost about 14% against the euro, effectively raising prices for Euro–zone laser manufacturers exporting to the U.S., while lowering the prices of U.S. exports.
Looking more closely at some of the macroeconomic factors, what was behind the uncertain performance of many laser companies? In part, it paralleled a similar flattening in micro–electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, which can, in turn, be blamed on cutbacks in consumer spending. But what prompted the changes in consumer behavior? According to Sam Kahan, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago, IL), the primary culprit is the U.S. housing market and, more important, the lending practices that fueled it the past few years.
“We had two stupendous years of growth in the United States, and world economic activity also expanded and spread out,” Kahan said. “Two to three years ago, the major engine for growth was the U.S. But now a lot more of the growth is self–generated in other countries. Japan is a bit better off, as is Europe, and the profile for China and India as engines for growth is good.”
The worrisome news, he added, is the decline in the housing market and the events of August, when the bottom fell out of the subprime lending market. Together these phenomena changed the overall perception of the housing market. “Prices are down, employment is down, and now sales of furniture, carpets, washing machines, and so on, are going down,” said Kahan. “So the concern is whether there is going to be more response in this regard because a lot of people’s wealth is tied up in their homes, which means they may become more cautious in general spending than before.”
In fact, consumer confidence in the United States hit a two–year low in October 2007, due primarily to higher fuel costs and the declining housing market. The Index of Consumer Sentiment was 80.9 in the October 2007 survey, down from 83.4 in the August and September surveys and significantly below the 93.6 recorded in October 2006.
On the flip side, while the U.S. dollar has weakened significantly in the last two years, this trend has had a positive impact on the trade deficit. According to Haver Analytics (New York, NY), in September 2007 the U.S. foreign trade deficit fell to $56.5 billion, the smallest since May 2005. This in turn had a positive effect on the U.S. gross domestic product, which grew 3.9% in the third quarter, higher than expected by the U.S. Commerce Department.
“The housing market has been weak but other sectors, such as trade and nonhousing business investment, have had growth, which is offsetting the weakness in housing and possibly even creating a net–net positive,” Kahan said. “But one other element in all of this is the question of what the consumer will do.”
And what the consumer will do has more impact on the laser and optoelectronics industry today than ever before, especially given the increasing role that these technologies are playing in electronics for applications ranging from gaming and handheld computing to laser TVs and miniaturized laser projectors.
“These days so many companies are just focused on today, but an innovative technology company cannot do that,” said Kevin Drehmer, general manager of Tessera North America (Charlotte, NC), a provider of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry, including advanced packaging, interconnect, and consumer optics. “You must have roadmaps that reach out into the future that are ever–evolving. Tessera has a seven– to ten–year vision, which means we are looking at things like consumer electronics and solar energy, but also at high–value–added opportunities.”
In fact, while there are clearly reasons to be cautious about the next 12 months, there is an undercurrent of technology and product development taking place in several emerging––and potentially large––markets. And this R&D surge should pave the way for the next wave of industry growth.
“What is striking is the tremendous number of new technologies being developed right now: photonic crystals, bright LEDs, solar energy, plasmonics, attosecond physics, laser ceramics for next–generation megawatt–level direct–energy weapons,” said Tom Baer, director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center (Stanford, CA). “There are so many breakthroughs on the technology side, but we are also at this point where it is not just technology for technology’s sake. This industry has woken up to the fact that we can have a tremendous impact on society. As a result, there is more innovation going on now in photonics technology than in my 30 years in this industry.”
One of the strongest of the “new” markets for lasers and optoelectronics is photovoltaics. At the 2007 SEMICON West conference, more than 160 semiconductor equipment, subsystems, and materials suppliers marketed their expertise in the burgeoning solar–cell/photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing sector. According to SEMI, the combined PV equipment and materials sector generated $3.7 billion in 2006, with polysilicon–driven materials accounting for most of the total. By 2010, the association forecasts the overall market will top $10 billion.
Another market with great growth potential for optical technologies is the life sciences. Sales of biomedical optics products tripled between 1995 and 2005 to $6 billion, and should increase fivefold by 2010.1 There are a number of reasons for this growth, including a convergence of market forces and technology advances; optical tools and techniques are now available to the medical community that enable diagnosis and treatments in ways never possible before. In addition, for the past seven years the United States government has committed more money to life–sciences research via the National Institutes of Health (NIH; www.nih.gov) and the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov) than to any other sector of R&D, including military and defense.
Outside the U.S.
The picture is slightly different outside the United States, although not dramatically so. Factors such as oil prices, the value of the U.S. dollar, and trade deficits affect economies in Europe, Asia, India, and elsewhere nearly to the same extent as in the U.S. At the G20 summit in South Africa in November 2007, finance ministers and bankers from 20 nations expressed concern about a slowdown in global economic growth, coupled with rising food and energy prices. They warned that turbulence in currency and financial markets will continue over the next 6 to 12 months as the global economy copes with near–record oil prices, rapid Asian growth, and a global credit crunch sparked by the crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
But as noted by Kahan and other leading economists and politicians, several geographic markets are gaining strength and influence on the global market––including Japan, China, India, and various parts of Europe. According to analysts, Asian stock markets have been among the world’s best–performing this year. Throughout 2007 international investors rushed to purchase stock in China, India, and the rest of Asia, although Japan’s stock market was less attractive for most of the year.2
Overall, the more stable Asian and European markets helped many laser and optoelectronics companies offset the sluggish U.S. economy in 2007, especially in the industrial sector (see www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/305722). While Rofin–Sinar saw its sales in North America fall 11% in FY2007 to $113 million, the company’s sales in Europe and Asia jumped 25% to $367 million. GSI Group Laser Division (Rugby, England) began manufacturing pulsed Nd:YAG lasers in Suzhou, China, to serve the growing market there for its 125 and 300 W industrial lasers; GSI says that Asia–based companies currently represent over 50% of the Laser Division’s customer base. Even smaller companies are leveraging the growth in Asia. In mid–2007 fiber–laser manufacturer IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA) opened an office in Beijing to provide local support and service for that company’s fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers in the region, while Qioptiq Singapore, a division of Qioptiq (St. Asaph, England) expanded into China with a $1.7 million investment to establish Changchun Qioptiq Co.
European optics suppliers also fared well in 2007. The Jenoptik Group (Jena, Germany) reported strong growth in the first half of 2007; while overall sales grew 12.8% to €254 million (US$377 million), growth in the Laser and Optics division was 20.4%. Präzisionsoptik Gera (POG; Gera, Germany)––which attributes a significant part of its growth to complex optical systems for applications in machine vision and metrology in the semiconductor, aerospace, and defense industries––reported sales of $8.5 million compared to 2006, which saw an increase of more than 25% compared to 2005.
The European defense sector also was buoyant in 2007. Optical projects contributed to the success of BAE Systems (London, England), thanks in large part to several major contracts with U.S. government agencies. Qioptiq (www.qioptiq.com), a group of optics companies that were part of Thales until 2005, continue to do well in defense–related areas. The company secured a contract to supply the Australian Defence Forces with Thermal Weapon Sights. In addition to its military business, Qioptic has been expanding its commercial optics capabilities, including establishing the new China–based operation and acquiring Linos, a German optics firm that generated €87 million (US$129 million) in 2006.
Another growth sector in Europe is the LED and OLED business, due in large part to some key collaborations. In February 2007, a Frost and Sullivan report noted that although Asia Pacific is the dominant region for the production of organic light–emitting diodes (OLEDs), technological development in the European region has enabled companies based there to maintain footholds in the global market. (For more on the European and Asian markets, see p. 12).
Focus on the numbers
Aside from the various forces at play in the markets, there are also important shifts occurring in the laser technologies, most notably the impact of fiber lasers on nondiode–laser markets, and the ongoing displacement of nondiode lasers by diode lasers for many applications, from medical therapy to the graphic arts. Growth of solid–state lasers continues, driven in part by an ever–wider array of output choices and by continuing improvements to the semiconductor pump lasers. Fiber–laser sales gained almost 40% from 2006 to 2007 and continue to challenge established markets, especially for industrial applications where most sales are not into new applications but into those previously served by other lasers.
The application groupings or market segments we use here are intended to make manageable a complex and interlocking picture of laser technologies and applications. Because of the complexity, the following discussion of the nondiode–laser market presents a necessarily brief look at some of the key segments from this year’s market review. Part II of the Marketplace Review 2007, published in February, will include a detailed discussion of the diode–laser market.
Semiconductor manufacturing continues to be a primary market driver in the laser and optoelectronics industry. Both Newport and Coherent, for instance, derive roughly 30% of their revenues from the microelectronics sector, while excimer–laser maker Cymer (San Diego, CA)––which makes lasers for photolithography––alone accounts for roughly 4% of all laser sales tracked in this report. Readers should note that in our efforts to gage the markets as accurately as possible we have adjusted the 2007 sales of excimers in this category based on information from Japan that was unavailable last year. This adjustment is incorporated into the accompanying tables but has not been used in the percentage comparisons made here with 2006.
As stated previously, both the semiconductor industry and the laser industry have become increasingly dependent on consumer spending habits. Mid–2007 forecasts from SEMI (www.semi.org) indicated that the semiconductor manufacturing market would grow only 1% in 2007, compared to 23% growth in 2006––although stronger growth is expected to return in 2008. According to SEMI, the semiconductor equipment market is expected to reach $40.9 billion in 2007, compared to $41 billion in 2006. However, SEMI anticipates 7% growth in 2008 and 4% the following year, reaching $45.5 billion in 2009.
In the traditional materials processing sector, the numbers for 2007 are more inspiring. According to David Belforte, editor–in–chief of Industrial Laser Solutions, economic expansion in Europe, driven by continuing growth in the German laser industry (the world’s second largest), is good but still expected to lag last year’s robust numbers. In Japan, 2007 numbers will be slightly lower than projections; while in China, the laser market is expected to lag behind last year’s 40% record growth, only because that number was so high. (For more on the industrial laser market, see p. 14).
Throughout 2006 and into 2007, Wall Street analysts were quite bullish about the market for consumer–based medical–laser applications––particularly wrinkle and hair removal. And it appears the hair–removal market is nowhere near the point of saturation; according to Millenium Research Group (Toronto, ON, Canada), 3.1 million laser hair–removal procedures were performed worldwide in 2006––a 22% increase over 2005.
Another growth sector for medical lasers is in diagnostics; according to a new market report from Laser Focus World and BioOptics World, the market for optical coherence tomography imaging systems is around $150 million and growing at an annual rate of 25% to 30% (for more information about this OCT market report, go to www.BioOpticsWorld.com).
Overall, according to our survey sales of nondiode medical lasers gained 11% in 2007 to reach $495 million and will grow another 11% in 2008. (For more on the medical market, see p. 15).
For 2007, basic research retained its rank as the third largest global market for nondiode lasers. In fact, revenues from lasers for photonics–enabled research projects jumped 13% in 2007 over 2006––a rare double–digit growth rate for this typically sedate market. This despite funding uncertainties surrounding the next fiscal year’s (FY2008 beginning Oct. 1) budget in the U.S. that center around disagreements between President George W. Bush and Congress over domestic spending levels. None of the FY 2008 appropriations bills providing funding to the government’s discretionary programs had been signed into law by late November. Although the final outcome is by no means certain, however, some funding increases are in the wings. The $459.3 billion FY2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, for example, increases DOD funding for basic research 4.5%, to $1.6 billion. This bill has passed both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and awaits the okay from the President.
Longer term, this market segment is becoming ever more ill defined, as the line between basic and applied research becomes increasingly blurred. Company–funded “basic research,” for instance, is typically applied research with a very definite commercial motive, so the relevant revenues may not always be captured here. Furthermore, the very nature of some of the applicable laser products has evolved to the extent that turnkey systems now enable researchers in fields like biology to use lasers in their studies that were previously inaccessible. Perhaps ultrafast systems are the best example of this trend: not so long ago, a femtosecond system required its own lab, whereas today’s ultrafast lasers can be quite compact. Revenues in this segment are expected to rise again in 2008 by 4% to reach $179 million.
Numerous important analytical techniques used in the laboratory rely on the properties of laser light. Because of its utility, the laser has become almost ubiquitous in instrumentation. Life–science research continues to dominate the market for instrumentation. One area in which interesting developments are taking place is DNA sequencing, according to Michael Tice, vice president of Strategic Directions International (Los Angeles, CA) and contributing editor of Instrument Business Outlook, published by SDi. Following the completion of the Human Genome Project, demand for DNA sequencing instrumentation continues to increase at mid–single–digit rates. Even so, the future use of lasers is not necessarily a sure thing in this segment. Although the dominant method currently involves the use of lasers to excite fluorescent tags on DNA molecules, second–generation systems using novel technologies are beginning to make their presence felt.
A typical example is the Genome Sequencer FLX system, released jointly by 454 Life Sciences (Branford, CT) and Roche Applied Science (Basel, Switzerland) at the beginning of 2007. Instead of being laser–based, this system uses a sensitive CCD detector to capture the chemiluminescence emitted by the DNA sample during the analysis. In March 2007, Roche announced its acquisition of 454 Life Sciences, followed in May by the announcement that the GS FLX had sequenced the complete genome of Nobel Prize winner James Watson at a cost of less than $1 million––a record for economy in DNA sequencing.
Other second–generation–sequencers still depend on lasers as part of their fundamental technology. For example, Agencourt Personal Genomics, acquired in July 2006 by Applied Biosystems (Foster City, CA), developed a system that uses fluorescence ligation to carry out laser–based fluorescence analysis in a massively parallel fashion, thus increasing analysis speed by almost two orders of magnitude.
Another analytical technology experiencing rapid development is confocal laser–scanning microscopy, which has moved from the lab of the academic microscopist into drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry, where automated systems carry out high–content screening of cells. Examples include the ImageXpress Ultra system manufactured by Molecular Devices (Sunnyvale, CA). The system includes four solid–state lasers (405, 488, 532, and 635 nm) and uses sophisticated image–analysis algorithms to automate the evaluation of results. Molecular Devices was acquired in March of 2007 by MDS (Mississauga, Canada). PerkinElmer’s (Waltham, MA) April 2007 acquisition of Improvision (Coventry, England) was another relevant development in confocal analysis. Improvision developed a powerful suite of imaging software tools that will augment PerkinElmer’s line of live–cell imaging products, such as the Opera LX, introduced in September 2007. The LX is an entry–level three–laser configuration of the more powerful four–laser Opera HEQS system.
Outside the realm of life science, there are other opportunities for lasers and optical components in the laboratory. One fairly traditional area of materials characterization is the analysis of particle size distribution, which has application in industries as varied as cement, metal powders, food, and pharmaceuticals. Two recent products that can measure down to 10 nm include Microtrac’s (Montgomeryville, PA) Bluewave, which uses a 780 nm laser and two 405 nm lasers, and the Partica LA 950 from Horiba (Kyoto, Japan), which incorporates a blue LED.
The graphic–arts market continues to migrate to a digital workflow paradigm, which in turn continues to impact sales of nondiode lasers––and not in positive ways. Red and violet diodes dominate laser–based applications in prepress and related printing processes, although there is still a market for diode–pumped solid–state (green) lasers in computer–to–plate (CTP) systems. In terms of laser suppliers to this market––which currently includes only three companies, Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa––Coherent dominates; 75% of the installed base of CTP equipment worldwide contains Coherent lasers, including 830 nm bar diodes, 830 nm fiber–coupled diodes, and its Compass green laser.
For the last few years, CTP has been the leading application for lasers in image recording, especially for large commercial presses that produce magazines, flyers, brochures, and so forth. While the U.S. has been the largest market for CTP technology in commercial printing, some changes are afoot, according to Rosemarie Monaco, president of GroupM (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), a marketing communications and consulting firm that specializes in the graphic arts. In particular, as the cost of violet diodes has gone down and the quality has gone up, newspapers have leap–frogged adoption of the higher–quality thermal CTP techniques and are now integrating visible–laser CTP systems into their printing processes.
“I see growth for violet diodes in the United States for CTP applications in the newspaper market,” Monaco said. “In Europe they’ve been doing this for a while, while in Asia the printing community overall is just beginning to make the transition to the laser technology. In fact, I see Asia as a growth market (for lasers) as well.”
Other segments of the image–recording business, such as digital photo–finishing, digital film writing, and printed–circuit–board imaging, remain viable for nondiode lasers, primarily blue and green solid–state lasers. There is also limited use of diode–pumped Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers (primarily for flexo engraving), but the total market for these lasers is less than 100 units per year.
Our latest numbers reflect these trends. In 2007, sales of nondiode lasers for image recording fell slightly; however, the 2008 forecast sees revenues in this segment rising 7%.
Entertainment & display
The international market for entertainment–based laser products continues to have a positive impact on nondiode lasers in this sector, although the strongest revenue growth is now coming from China, not Europe. However, according to Jim Hardaway, CEO of Neo–Laser, the laser lighting and laser entertainment business for Neo–Neon International (Hong Kong), and current board member and former president of the International Laser Display Association (ILDA; Orlando, FL), while unit sales are up there is pricing pressure, particularly for those lasers in the sub–2 W market.
“Between 2006 and 2007, there’s been an incredible boom globally for entertainment–based laser products,” said Hardaway, who is based at NeoNeon’s Heshan, China, production facility. “This trend cycle started in 2004 and has not peaked yet. However, the market is probably going to start experiencing saturation effects.”
In addition, since the introduction of the solid–state green laser in 1997, there has been a 10–year downcycle in price for entertainment lasers. The thrust behind all of this has been the increased China–based manufacturing of these lasers, which has affected the development of solid–state RGB and RGY projectors and led to the rapid decline in prices, according to Hardaway.
“Prices now are 20% of what they were in 1997, and there has been an 80% decline in price for green lasers in the sub–1 W market,” he said. “Unless some new technology comes into the entertainment marketplace, RGB, and RGY lasers could be seeing their last product lifecycles. This could lead to a natural realignment in the market and price stabilization.”
For lasers above 1 W, China’s quality control and consistency (in laser manufacturing) are not yet high enough to impact Western manufacturers like Melles Griot, Coherent, or Jenoptik, he added. In addition, the price differential between the western countries and China is not yet very large because the pump lasers and drive electronics still come mostly from outside China.
“The only cost benefit for manufacturing high–power solid–state lasers in China is the labor and that’s not a great differential,” Hardaway said. “So for 2 W and above people outside of China are still buying mostly from outside China. Inside China, service pushes people to purchase domestically, although there are still good opportunities for offshore companies.”
Another trend in the entertainment laser business is the introduction of multisource diode–laser projection systems, which could further affect sales of nondiode lasers (2 W and above) in the next couple of years. According to Hardaway, some companies (primarily in Germany) are combining 200 mW 440 nm diode lasers (blue) with 650 nm diode lasers (red) to create very nice white–balanced laser projectors for the professional market, such as theme parks, large production companies that do tours, large laser–show companies, and world–class nightclubs.
Our numbers for 2007 reflect Hardaway’s comments. While unit sales and revenues for nondiode lasers were both up 6% over 2006, in 2008 unit sales are expected to decline 3% and revenues are expected to decline 6%.
Given that 2008 is a U.S. election year, it is surprising to see how big of a hit certain parts of the U.S. defense budget took in the final FY2008 budget. Funding for defense–related R&D is on the decline; the FY 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, for example, calls for a $459.3 billion budget, with $12.8 billion going to three defense science and technology programs. This represents 2.78% of the total funding in the bill, down from 2.98% in FY2007 and 2.96% the year before.
According to Laser Focus World contributing editor Jeff Hecht, who tracks both the telecom and defense markets, the U.S. Armed Services are complaining that they have worn out a lot of equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it is not clear whether that includes laser equipment, or if money is being spent to replace it. In fact, the drain of money going into the war supposedly is affecting hardware spending.
As for missile defense, the biggest project is still the Airborne Laser (ABL), which was the subject of much debate in the U.S. Congress during 2007. Even so, despite proposed cutbacks of $400 million, the program is now expected to be funded at the requested level of $549 million in FY2008.
According to Hecht, the biggest part of the defense/national–security budget involving optical technologies is infrared equipment. One U.S. defense project that has run way over budget but has yet to be killed off is the Space–Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program. The U.S. relies on infrared satellites to provide early warning of enemy missile launches. In 1996, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) initiated the SBIRS program to replace the existing missile–detection system and provide expanded capabilities to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. DOD expected to field SBIRS by 2004 at a cost of about $4 billion. However, SBIRS has proven to be technically challenging and substantially more costly. The DOD thus implemented a parallel effort in 2006 known as the Alternative Infrared Satellite System. At this point, while both programs are still being funded, it is unclear how much longer the U.S. government will support them.
In terms of overall laser equipment sales, Hecht says the biggest dollar volume in the military market is still in rangefinders and target designators. There is also growing interest in technologies such as laser dazzlers, which utilize 532 nm (green) lasers or LEDs to temporarily “visually impair” individuals who are considered threatening or will not heed warnings to stop.
One interesting byproduct of the military conflicts in the Middle East and overall concerns about homeland security is that the U.S. government has turned increasingly to U.S. companies to supply key technologies. According to Drehmer, the military market has been a growth market for Tessera in recent years, a trend that should continue.
Quantifying the military and defense market for lasers and optoelectronics is always a challenge, given that so many companies and agencies are hesitant to reveal what could be construed as military secrets. Even so, as Drehmer and others have pointed out, this is a vibrant market sector. For 2007, revenue growth was significantly higher than anticipated––up 24%––although this trend is expected to level off to about 10% growth in 2008.
Market segments not specifically discussed above but that are listed in our tables include inspection and measurement, optical communications, barcode scanning, and data storage. Most of these are segments that have moved solidly into the diode–laser camp or involve a mixture of many smaller applications that do not lend themselves to a detailed discussion in the space available.
- D. Benaron, president, Spectros (Portola Valley, CA), speech at the 2007 Laser Focus World Marketplace Seminar.
- L.P. Norton, “Stocks Look Tasty in Japan,” Barron’s (Nov. 19, 2007).


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Since he was a teenager, John Paul Anderson has been an entrepreneur, starting a magazine at the age of 16. That journey as an entrepreneur has helped him to work with several multinational companies, develop websites and help businesses to keep ahead of the curve even during the pandemic.
Now, at 25, with multiple businesses and an e-book to his name, Anderson, who was born in Jamaica, is showing that the next generation of entrepreneurs is ready to take its place in the business world.
The next generation
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“People have said to me 'Why are you dressed so nice?' or 'Why are you working so hard?' and I would say, 'Why not?'”
He said the book focuses on three areas that break down the mindset for success.
“I started with exploring how to accept who you are and how to get real with current realities of your life, sort of an internal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.
"Then I broke down how not to be afraid to put yourself out there – to be a star.”
“Finally I looked at moving on. I talk about how to move to the next idea, which is constantly going to change.
“Success is like a ladder – it keeps taking you upward.”
Turning pain points to profits
Anderson had a huge dream of being an entrepreneur from day one, he said. But his business ventures have always come out of a need or a desire to address a certain pain point that he either experienced himself or had observed.
“I feel the world around me and I do recognise when I am having a challenge, and I ask myself, 'What do I have in my own toolkit?' And if I don’t have it, I find an opportunity to develop it.”
He said growing up in Jamaica, he always read the paper. When his family moved to Trinidad, Anderson went to school at St Mary's College. As a student, he started his magazine, Teen Link, out of what he saw as a need for a platform for people his age.
“My goal was to have a central point for teenagers to relate, have a voice and see themselves in TT. I realised that had not existed in any real way at the time and I took up that platform.”
He said the idea came from other magazines, one a Jamaican magazine called Youth Link, and another TT-based one, Teen Vibe. He said a friend of his who developed the local magazine mentored him on building it.
He also began developing websites around that age, doing his first for the mother of one of his friends who sold drapery. He said he did a course on sales online and through that course he learned to build websites.
“At the time it was definitely ahead of its time. It was colourful and bright. But looking back, I have definitely grown.”
From developing websites he saw a need to learn computer graphics and did internships at technology companies after school. His colleagues also taught him to use Illustrator and Photoshop.
“But I wanted to make an app, because I felt people didn’t really take me seriously as a developer for my age. So I created an app called Invoicer, which came out of another pain point of (not) being able to manage my own invoices. I listed that app on flipper.com and someone bought it from me.”
That same need to address pain points was what prompted Anderson to open Dou, a cookie-dough shop on Picton Street, Port of Spain.
“I was trying to expand from being a web developer to being an 'actual entrepreneur,' as I like to call it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this in any lane.
"I also wanted to bring something new to TT, because at the time I was pretty bored with the food selection... Edible cookie dough was not very popular, and neither were crazy, novelty desserts.
"Kids loved it. We had busloads of kids coming from all over to buy the dough.”
He braved the challenges of opening a brick-and-mortar store, including rent and building and production costs. He used revenue that he earned from his web development business to pay the rent and refurbish the building to suit his needs. He said it took him five months to finally open the shop, adding that his experience in promoting businesses online helped greatly in garnering interest and popularity for the company.
“From day one I knew I had to get the attention on the internet to flood the story. The modern-day philosophy is. 'Sure, face-to-face is great, but also the attention is going to come from online.'
"So even if I were in a mall I always thought that if I only depended on the traffic in the mall, I would have no control over the flow of foot traffic. It would just be what the mall does on the day. So with social media I was able to control how many people are going to come to that business.
“ When we opened it was all worth it, both culturally speaking – the impact we made was great; and we made a little revenue as well.”
His web development business, Hublab, also turned major profit, through working with companies like Bed Bath and Beyond and a shoestore, Aldo. He described it as a one-stop shop where new things could happen and experiments could take place.
He said during the pandemic, when it was thought no one would want to buy items online, he helped local branches of Bed Bath and Beyond make over $120,000 in revenue in the first two days of launching a virtual shopping website.
He said where website creation and online shopping is concerned, people want simplicity.
“I believe in elegant, powerful, simple drives, where the focus should be on the product and the ability of the customer to customise it and just click and acquire it. Everything else is a plus.”
You deserve success
Anderson said his focus is now encouraging people, especially from his generation, to believe they deserve success.
“Success should be normalised. It is that mindset of success that pushed me to start a magazine at 16. It was that mindset that caused me to think that I deserve to be a businessman and it led me to learning about website development and marketing.”
He said people deserve to feel successful because of their efforts, and if they do not feel that way they deserve a framework that would help them to get to the point where they feel they are a success. That has always been his vision.
“My peers should be able to say that they are successful because they finished university or because they are in the field of their choice.
“I started with a big vision and now it’s come full circle. A lot of people were sceptical, and a lot of people have worked with me to make my vision a reality.
"My experiences as a young entrepreneur have evolved for me to want to go beyond every other 16-year-old like me and focus on my Caribbean community. I want to teach them how their ideas can impact them and sustain and uplift their way of life.”

domain: news


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Impact of digitalisation to be studied
A MAJOR study on the impact of the digitalisation of the manufacturing industry is being commissioned by the Government to examine the opportunities and challenges that it presents the sector.
The contribution of the digital economy to the Irish economy was estimated at €12.27bn in 2015. It is estimated that this could rise to €21.4bn by 2020.
Direct employment in the digital economy is expected to jump by about 50pc between 2015 and 2020 and is estimated to be about 107,500 in 2020.
Against this backdrop, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation – now with the shortened name, the Department for Enterprise and Innovation – commissioned a study to identify the potential impacts, opportunities and challenges in the manufacturing sector and its supply chain arising from digitalisation, highlighting any variations across manufacturing sub-sectors.
“In recognition that digital advancement will play a key part in Ireland’s future prosperity, the Government has set out, through the Action Plan for Jobs, an ambition for Ireland to become a European leader in the digital economy,” the department said in a document tendering for an operator to carry out the study.
It added: “Digitalisation of the manufacturing sector will form a key part of this agenda.”
The objectives of the study include the need to establish the composition and economic importance of the manufacturing sector and its sub-sectors and describe the concept of digital transformation as it pertains to the manufacturing sector and its supply chain.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42


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Despite positive signs, local economy pales in comparison to others
Date: July 15, 2007
By Mark Wineka and Paris Goodnight
On paper -- the blueprints of developments yet to come -- Rowan County's retail future looks promising.
In Salisbury alone, two Charlotte developers continue to look seriously at building major retail centers. Local officials and businessmen claim the city finally could be on the brink of a commercial explosion.
"It's our time," says Lane Yates, a Rowan County native and developer who has made the busy Cornelius-Huntersville area his home base in recent years.
"Salisbury is due."
Past due would be a better way to put it.
In the past 10 years, while neighboring Cabarrus and Iredell counties have exploded commercially, Rowan County's retail growth has been underwhelming in comparison. Rowan County's rank in retail sales in the state has dropped from 20th to 28th since 1996-97, according to the N.C. Department of Revenue.
Between the 1996-97 and 2005-2006 fiscal years, Rowan County had retail sales growth of 6.5 percent, far below the state's overall retail growth of 42.5 percent. But the most telling numbers lie behind the retail development that has occurred in nearby Concord and Mooresville.
Cabarrus County's retail sales over the same 10-year period grew by 114 percent; Iredell's, by 82.1 percent. It's clear that Salisbury and Rowan County residents have contributed to the growing numbers in those counties.
Preston Mitchell, a senior planner for the city of Salisbury, calls it "leakage."
Rowan County shoppers are spending money in Concord and Mooresville and, beyond that, in Greensboro, Charlotte and Winston-Salem. But it suggests, Mitchell says, that additional retail in Salisbury would be supported by shoppers who are looking for more.
"There is leakage to these other cities simply because they have more to offer," Mitchell says.
The planner is quick to add that city officials are excited about retail developments on the drawing board and feel confident that Salisbury has attractive locations for retail and restaurant growth.
It's not that Salisbury's retail landscape hasn't changed in the past 10 years. Nationally recognized additions have included names such as Outback, Starbucks, Staples, Circuit City, Office Depot, Old Navy, Marshalls, Goody's, IHOP, Comfort Suites and O'Charley's. Numerous drugstores also have been built, including several new Walgreens and Eckerd locations.
Salisbury's downtown remains strong, and the Salisbury Mall and Innes Street Market -- two main retail centers -- continue to have high occupancy.
Belk and J.C. Penney anchor the mall, while Lowe's generates considerable traffic for Innes Street Market. Salisbury has a strong presence of new car dealerships and discounters such as Wal-Mart, K mart, Magic Mart and Big Lots.
Construction projects under way in Salisbury include a new Cracker Barrel next to Interstate 85, a strip retail center next to the Cracker Barrel and a new Gerry Wood Honda dealership on Jake Alexander Boulevard.
But still missing are names such as Target, Home Depot, Dick's Sporting Goods, Hecht's, Kohl's, Sam's Club, Best Buy, Olive Garden, Omega Sports, Farm Fresh, Red Lobster and others.
"I think we might be on the cusp of developing a lot more retail," says John Sofley, management services director for the city of Salisbury. "And most of the people I talk to would rather shop here."
Collett & Associates, a Charlotte retail developer, recently laid out its plans to partner with the Wallace family of Salisbury in building a 358,535-square-foot retail center at Julian and Klumac roads along I-85.
Collett & Associates typically seeks commitments from companies such as Home Depot and Lowes, Target, Belk, Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Dick's Sporting Goods and others. Its plans for the 45-acre tract in Salisbury call for a 130,000-square-foot home improvement store, a 68,000 sq ft department store and six other "major" tenants, not counting several outparcels.
Childress Klein Properties, a shopping center developer also based in Charlotte, has an option on 97 acres of Livingstone College property at Jake Alexander Boulevard and Brenner Avenue.
Key tenants in Childress Klein's other retail developments have included Target, Home Depot, Stein Mart and several different grocery stores. (Its tenant list at Afton Ridge in Kannapolis has included a SuperTarget, Best Buy, Marshalls, Ashley Furniture, Dick's Sporting Goods and Lane Bryant.)
A spokesman for Childress Klein Properties told the Post earlier this year that the Livingstone College property offers enough acreage for a regional type project. To date, the company has made a thorough traffic study of the area as part of its planning process.
Yates, who is developing the mixed retail-office-residential Salisbury Village off Jake Alexander Boulevard, says it will be interesting to see where the chips fall between the two Charlotte developers.
But the end result will be a new wave of stores featuring national retailers, Yates predicts.
It can only help projects such as his, Yates adds. The Charlotte developers have a national book of clients they are going after, and those not drawn immediately to them may turn their attention to Salisbury Village, he says.
"I absolutely love it," Yates says. "Growth spurs growth. It just brings that much more awareness to the town and city."
Rowan County's taxable sales for the first quarter of the year were $67.8 million, according to figures from the N.C. Department of Revenue. That's part of a pattern over the past year that saw sales from the three previous quarters zig-zag from $59.3 million in the final quarter of 2006, $65.6 million from a quarter earlier and $57.9 million from the quarter before that. A year ago, taxable sales were $68.2 million.
The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce provides a quarterly update for its members on such figures, which were called retail sales until the last report. That changed because some activity that isn't classified as retail still shows up as taxable.
The figures went down substantially last year when the Department of Revenue stopped tallying nontaxable sales, which would be from the service industry or fees to doctors or lawyers. Before that, Rowan's retail sales were up to $110 million in 2005.
Sofley, the city's chief financial officer, says retail sales in Salisbury have shown steady improvement since fiscal year 2004, when sales tax receipts were just more than $4 million.
For fiscal year 2007, the city has projected sales tax receipts of slightly more than $5 million and has budgeted sales tax revenues of $5.3 million for fiscal year 2008.
The growth has been steady, yes, but nothing that causes excitement.
"I'm happy that it's growing," Sofley says, "but if you look at local sales tax receipts for Rowan County compared to Iredell County or Cabarrus County, our numbers are definitely lower.
"We're not keeping up percentage-wise."
Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia in Charlotte, notes that retailers in general are seeing a split: high end ones are having much more success than the discounters. Because the discount stores like Wal-Mart are so price competitive, retail sales figures aren't going up as fast and in some cases may be falling because the stores can only make up so much in higher sales volumes.
Vitner says places seeing spikes in pricing are grocery stores and gas stations, which means people end up with less money to spend on items at retail stores. He noticed the last time he was coming to Salisbury that Rowan County had no Target, which he says appeals to a somewhat higher demographic.
"Salisbury is doing better now, but has gone through some lean years," Vitner says. "Charlotte is gradually getting there, but it's going to be a few more years."
He describes how traffic thins out just beyond Concord as he travels north to Raleigh, but he expects things such as the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis to have a noticeable effect once it's up and running.
"It's going to help a lot," Vitner says. "It's the best start of any research park in the country. It will have to spill over, people will be moving to High Rock Lake. ... It's just not going to happen instantly."
Dr. Jamie Slate, associate professor of economics at Catawba College, also noted in an e-mail the bright spot of the "nice multiplier effect from the biotech campus to come. Also, we are starting to see some NASCAR-related industry come into play, though the impact of that on sales will be minimal.
He says, "The retail-construction boom across the county line explains why numbers in Rowan lag a bit behind our neighbor. If I am living in Rowan and a brand new Dick's is basically across the line as well as a new Edwin Watts Golf at exit 49, I am more than likely going there for sporting goods and golf gear. My guess is that a portion of the increased retail rates in Cabarrus comes from Rowan citizens. That's a double whammy. We lose and they gain from us."
Slate also says the commuter pattern favors Cabarrus since more people are traveling from Rowan to Cabarrus. Vitner says Cabarrus saw the lion's share of growth coming from Charlotte in the 1990s, but he thinks even that has slowed somewhat.
Rowan County may be next in line for that kind of growth, with such drawing cards as the N.C. Transportation Museum, which has seen investment into it grow slowly but steadily over the years.
"Salisbury is a beautiful town," Vitner says. "The question is when -- some things can't be speeded up that much."
Rowan County's population numbers compared to those in Cabarrus and Iredell counties reflect what has been happening in retail sales. In 1990, Rowan County was considerably ahead of the other two counties in its number of residents. Rowan's population then was 110,605; Cabarrus, 98,935; and Iredell, 93,205.
But Cabarrus experienced a 32.4 percent population growth between 1990 and 2000 and has grown 20 percent more since then. Today Cabarrus' estimated population is 157,176, and Concord is more than double the size of Salisbury in population.
Iredell County grew by 31 percent between the 1990 and 2000 censuses and an additional 18.4 percent from 2000 to 2006. Iredell now has an estimated population of 145,232.
Rowan County grew only 3.2 percent between 2000 and 2006, and has an estimated population today of 134,538.
But Yates believes Salisbury's demographics will be noticed by retailers who have first gone to Concord and Mooresville. If those retail centers on the drawing board pan out, other growth will follow, Yates says.
"It's a monkey-see, monkey-do approach," he adds.
Bob Wright, president of the Chamber of Commerce, says activity is picking up, not just with announcements of developments going in but also in inquiries about the area. Many are from anonymous consultants working for others who are looking for spots ripe to develop along the I-85 or U.S. 70 corridors.
"There's an uptick in that," Wright says. "We hear around town encouraging signs."
He says one recent inquiry came from an out-of-state residential developer looking to put in a "massive investment," but he wanted more information on the retail development end first.
"I share facts about the potential here," Wright says.
The potential has always been there, but the reality is catching up, too.
"In my 12 years here, it's phenomenal," Wright says about the area on both sides of I-85 at Innes Street. "I compare it back then -- dilapidated, rundown buildings. Now look at it."
Wright says the payoff to come is from the money being put into infrastructure along the interstate with more lanes for traffic and sewer lines going in through a city-county partnership. He says other areas are envious of the amount of money being pumped into Rowan County's visible travel areas.
"I think you'll see all sorts of things along the interstate, not to mention along 70," Wright says.
Contact Paris Goodnight at 704-797-4255, or pgoodnight@ salisburypost.com
Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Lane and Sunny are expanding their interests to include more luxury Lake Norman real estate now, as the market for that beautiful lakefront area has gone through the roof. Lane and Sunny live directly on the lake, and he tells me there is nowhere in the world he'd rather be...


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Brands’ and retailers’ investments in technology-enabled shopping experiences are leading to higher consumer engagement and more conscientious shopping habits, according to new data from Avery Dennison.
A study conducted with audience insights company GWI of more than 6,300 apparel consumers in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, China, Mexico and Japan revealed that shoppers are highly engaged with tools like QR codes, RFID and virtual reality experiences when they visit stores. Across surveyed markets, monthly use of QR codes has seen a steady increase since 2018, even in Europe, where tech engagement has historically lagged. Two-thirds of global respondents said they are looking to these tools to provide greater transparency about the origins of the apparel they’re buying, while 60 percent said they’re interested in learning about how to properly care for their purchases.
The survey’s results show that the appetite for easy access to product insights and interactive experiences has grown, along with frictionless interactions facilitated by mobile checkout and digital receipts. In addition to becoming more conscious about consumption for environmental reasons, three out of four shoppers reported reducing their spending on non-essentials due to the rising cost of living and inflation.
“In a time of widespread technological, environmental, cultural, and organizational transformation, consumers are looking to brands and businesses to guide them through change,” Michael Colarossi, the company’s vice president of innovation and product line management, wrote.
Convenience, sustainability and circularity are among the most globally cited motivators for engaging with digital “triggers,” like tags and codes, the groups’ data showed. Notably, different regions value the technology’s ability to provide different insights. In China and Mexico, environmentalism is a strong driver in the use of these tools, as users are keen to gain knowledge about conscious wash care, recycling at the end-of-life stage, resale and repair. In the U.S. and U.K., by contrast, users are more interested in convenience in the form of self-service checkout and easy returns.
“These findings confirm fashion shoppers expect stores and products to be enhanced with smart digital solutions that will make their experience more convenient, informative and engaging,” Colarossi added.
GWI vice president Chase Buckle said the study “helps us to understand consumers’ collective headspace when it comes to the shopping experience—and shows changes in consumer sentiment” as shoppers ramp up their usage of technology. “Digital tools, from QR codes linking to product information to VR experiences will help retailers be more efficient, support consumers, and help the industry adopt new models for sustainability, transparency and circularity.”
Sustainability is a high priority with shoppers across the board, with a significant and growing awareness about the impacts of climate change, along with the importance of ethical labor standards. Shoppers in Europe and Mexico said they were more likely to scan digital triggers for information about human impact and labor rights.
Avery Dennison said digital identifiers hold “a great deal of potential in bringing the fashion industry toward greater levels of sustainability and circularity, particularly when products are given a unique identity.” Digital ID solutions drive efficiency through traceability and also give stakeholders instant access to data about a product’s lifecycle, from the mining and manufacturing process to its life with the consumer and beyond—”all areas of significant impact when it comes to meeting global environmental goals.” The technology could prove especially useful as new legislation in Europe and the U.S. takes hold with regard to sustainability and forced labor.
The research also showed that the NFT craze is still buzzing with apparel shoppers. More than half (51 percent) of the global consumers surveyed said they would be interested in creating a digital inventory of their wardrobes. Avery Dennison believes that has the potential to impact the secondary marketplace. Fashion shoppers in China, Japan and Mexico, where the market is rife with counterfeit goods, disproportionately said proof of garment authentication is a key reason they would utilize digital triggers.
NFTs represent another avenue for reaching male consumers, Avery Dennison’s research shows. Digital fashion is becoming increasingly prevalent in the metaverse and gaming worlds, and 47 percent of global consumers said they would buy digital clothing for their virtual gaming avatars. “On a global scale, male buyers compared to female buyers are more likely to engage with technology, especially the metaverse or virtual platforms,” analysts wrote. “This provides brands with a new opportunity to entice male shoppers.”


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Each time you pick up a prescription, your pharmacist might ask if you have any questions about how to take your medication or advise you about which other prescriptions might cause a dangerous interaction. Now, several local pharmacists, including Dr. Seung Oh, the pharmacy supervisor at Sharp Rees-Stealy Santee Medical Center, want you to also be cautioned that your medications could lead to potentially harmful reactions when combined with using marijuana, also known as cannabis.
In San Diego, the county records 29 marijuana-related ER visits every day. Marijuana-related medical conditions include cannabis-induced psychosis, severe vomiting, cardiac and pulmonary complications, contamination, allergies, addiction, and withdrawal. Additionally, marijuana and prescription drug interactions are increasing.
In response, 17 local pharmacies have come together to spread the word about the San Diego Marijuana Prevention Initiative, a program created to provide much-needed consumer information about marijuana and possible interactions with prescription medications.
Which drugs interact with marijuana?
According to Dr. Oh, he and the other pharmacists are neither advocating nor discouraging the use of marijuana. However, they want the public to know that just as pairing grapefruit with statins can cause a dangerous interaction, THC and CBD — chemicals found in marijuana and cannabis products, such as gummies and other edibles — can interact with prescription medications and lead to serious side effects.
These side effects can include bleeding complications, increased drowsiness, reduced heart rate and breathing rate, extreme confusion and memory loss, poor judgement, and aggression. THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, interacts with nearly 400 prescription medications, and CBD (cannabidiol) interacts with more than 540.
Common types of drugs that can have dangerous interactions with marijuana include:
- Sedatives — such as Ambien, Lunesta and Benadryl
- Anti-anxiety medications — such as Xanax, Valium and Librium
- Antidepressants — such as Zoloft, Prozac and Lexapro
- Pain medications — such as codeine, Percocet and Vicodin
- Anticonvulsants (seizure medications) — such as Tegretol, Topamax and Depakene
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners) — such as Coumadin, Plavix and heparin
“Currently very few — if any — pharmacies in San Diego provide information on drug interactions with marijuana products, but it is standard practice to include prescription label warnings about possible interactions with a number of other products,” Dr. Oh says. “While marijuana is legal for adults over age 21 in California, and medically recommended in some cases, it is rare to find consumer protections regarding combining prescriptions with marijuana.”
How the San Diego Marijuana Prevention Initiative will help
To ensure that San Diegans know of the dangers of marijuana use while taking prescription medications, thousands of people will receive information — in English and Spanish — about possible drug interactions. Patients will be referred to drugs.com to use as a resource to check for dangerous drug interactions between THC, CBD and their own prescription medications. They will also be directed to fill out a quick survey about marijuana and drug interactions to be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card.
“The use of marijuana can, at times, be confusing for the general public because it is legal for adults in California,” says Dr. Oh. “It is important to remember that THC can cause impairment, no matter how it is used, and marijuana can be dangerous when combined with prescribed medications. We want everyone to be aware about possible drug interactions so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones from harm.”
Talk to your pharmacist about possible drug interactions between your prescription medications and other products, food or drink items, and other medications or drugs, such as marijuana. Learn more about possible interactions at drugs.com.


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Congratulations to Flamingo Gardens on the launch of their new, mobile app, in partnership with Cuseum! Offering multimedia content and exclusive digital tours of special exhibitions, the new app will give visitors a more in-depth look at the exciting animals and plants they encounter at the botanical gardens and wildlife sanctuary.
Read their official announcement:
Flamingo Gardens has launched a new mobile app, powered by Cuseum, to enhance the garden experience for its visitors. The new Flamingo Gardens app gives users an opportunity to experience, learn and engage with the plants, trees, and animals on view at Flamingo Gardens by providing contextual multi-media content, including audio tours and videos of the exhibits, an interactive map, and a calendar of museum events and programs. The app also offers unique content related to Flamingo Garden’s special exhibitions.
The Flamingo Gardens app is available on the App Store and at flamingogardens.org/app


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Apple has defeated Google in the mobile space in Europe as iOS' market share grew in the second quarter, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
34.1 per cent of UK smartphone users during the quarter owned an Apple device, up from 28.5 per cent during the same period last year.The analyst firm said that the popularity of Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has helped iOS growth in the second-quarter.
However, the second quarter results show a drop compared with the first quarter, when iOS had 38.1 per cent of the market.
"Apple iOS returned to growth across all of Europe’s 'big five' markets, recording its first year-on-year gain in France since February 2015." Kantar Worldpanel ComTech's chief of research Carolina Milanesi said.
Meanwhile, this growth in Apple devices means bad news for its main competitor Google, as Android’s smartphone sales in the UK dropped to 53.2 per cent, compared to 60.6 per cent in the year-ago period.
Kantar business unit director Dominic Sunnebo said that Android has now experienced its strongest year-on-year share drop in Germany since the beginning of 2015.
"The size of the screen was the main purchase driver for Android buyers across all of Europe’s big five countries,” Sunnebo said. "Although screen size has grown in importance as a purchase driver since the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iOS buyers are generally driven by a wider list of factors, such as phone reliability and durability, as well as the quality of the materials."
The signs are also positive for Microsoft's Windows Phone this year as it claimed 11.3 per cent of smartphone sales in the quarter, up from 9.6 per cent the previous year.
There was also a marginal increase for BlackBerry which had 1.2 per cent of sales in Q2 2015, compared with 1.1 per cent the previous year.
Check out our Blackberry Priv hub for everything that businesses need to know about the smartphone.


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World Cup boost to football kit sales leads to 'very good' current trading for high street retailer JD Sports
Soaring sales of football shirts and other kit ahead of the World Cup helped high street retailer JD Sports boost trading.
The discount sports fashion retailer said the Brazilian tournament meant sales were so skewed that they should not be compared to last year’s figures.
It said sales in the 18 weeks to June 7 had been very good – but refused to say how much they had risen.
Cup boost: 'The build up to the World Cup has enhanced the trading performance of our most significant segment of the business, the sports fascias,' JD Sports said.
‘The build up to the World Cup has enhanced the trading performance of our most significant segment of the business, the sports fascias,’ the company said this morning.
‘As a consequence, precise like for like sales figures, at this stage, would be potentially misleading.
‘However we are certainly pleased with the underlying performance of this segment in the period to date,’ it added.
JD Sports said the rise in first half profits would be ‘satisfactory’.
Shares in JD Sports, which have almost doubled in the last 12 months, climbed 3 per cent, or 56p higher to 1,682p in mid-morning trading.
Analyst Kate Calvert at Investec said: ‘After a knockout 2014, JD Sports reports a pleasing start to the year.
‘The team feels giving sales numbers would be misleading as the World Cup build up has enhanced the Sports division's performance. Outdoor is described as “positive progress” and fashion “varied but encouraging”.’
She added: ‘A good England football performance would be the icing on the cake in the first half.’
The update comes only weeks after the shock departure of Barry Bown, who had been chief executive of the group since 2000 and with the business for more than three decades.
Despite his departure the company said it would not replace him, because the business is run day to day by executive chairman Peter Cowgill.
The company also owns outdoor chain Blacks and Millets, as well as Scottish chain Tiso.
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These days, many small business owners know all too well that the way in which they present themselves on social media platforms can end up having a huge impact on how they are perceived by consumers. With this in mind, the most popular social network in the world is now looking at rolling out some more methods it can use to help these companies to better present themselves.
In an effort to increase advertising revenues, Facebook is now trying to work with small businesses to help them to better harness the power of promotional posts that potential customers might end up seeing in their daily use of the site, according to a report from the Associated Press. The new effort, known as Facebook Fit, will not only work with companies online, but also in the real world, through workshops in five cities that will show entrepreneurs in the area the ways in which they can maximize the effectiveness of their advertising on the site.
“They don’t have enough customers,” Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer for Facebook, told the news agency. “This is their No. 1 problem and we can help them solve it.”
Not a new trend
Of course, there has been a tremendous push among many online companies to harness the potentially massive small business market in the last few years, so Facebook’s latest foray doesn’t come as much of a surprise, the report said. However, it is still incumbent upon those owners, and not the companies that give them the platform, to make sure they’re doing all they can to get the most out of any advertising they buy on those sites.
That’s not to say Facebook – which has 25 million small business users worldwide – hasn’t tried to make things easier, though, the report said. The company has revamped many of its small business offerings with an eye toward the mobile experience for those trying to put together and maintain pages their potential customers can access.
Owners who are thinking of getting more heavily involved in the social media realm should know that it often comes with a cost, either in terms of money or man-hours. As such, it might be wise to streamline operations somewhat ahead of time, such as by finding more affordable small business insurance coverage. Cutting costs for liability insurance, for instance, could go a long way toward helping a company’s bottom line.


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12 Food Trends That Will Be Everywhere in 2019
It’s safe to say that keto, poke bowls, rolled ice cream, and Filipino cuisine took over 2018. Though we’re just a few days into the new year, we can’t help but wonder which food trends might be up next. Thankfully, a bunch of studies and predictions have been made by Whole Foods, The National Restaurant Association, and more. Here, we’ve listed down the food items that are expected to reign in 2019.
From lab-grown to fruit-based alternatives, faux meat continues to have a moment for 2019. The Impossible Burger from Impossible Foods, made from heme protein, is going to be released in retail stores this year. While jackfruit is forecasted to take off as a meat alternative.
Whole Foods is also banking on faux meat but in the form of snacks. The report says, “Mushrooms like king trumpet will play a key role here, flexing their flavor and texture powers in tasty jerky, “pork” rinds and “bacon” snacks (used in both Pig Øut Pigless Bacon Chips and
A combination of Paleo and vegan, the
Right now, the interest in oat milk has surged so high that there’s already a shortage for the milk alternative. But don’t fret as it only takes 10 minutes to make a homemade version, and all you need are rolled oats, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and optional spices.
Whether as a side or a soup ingredient, mushrooms have, for the most part,
New meat cuts
This particular trend is one that’s carried over from last year. According to the National Restaurant Association, “on trend and inexpensive, shoulder tender, oyster steak, Vegas Strip or a Merlot cut” continue to be popular among restaurants and consumers.
Butter made from almond, cashew, and walnut ruled 2018, but this year a new offering is predicted to join these nut
One of the most surprising trends is chickpea-based desserts. It’s one ingredient that will be everywhere, from milkshakes, ice cream as part of the dairy-free movement. What’s more, chickpea is full of nutrients which makes it an ideal base for
The frosé can be traced back to 2017, but it never quite caught on as strongly as other drink trends. This year, however, is seen to be the frozen drink’s year. What makes this year’s version more interesting is the addition of a classic flavor: The Aperol Spritz.
Bread is making a comeback after years of carb-free trends. Out of all, sourdough is going to be strong this year, according to Pinterest. This time, bread baking at home is seen as the driver of the trend. Searches for baking bread rose to 413 percent from last year.
One of the biggest wellness trends for 2019
Coconut water has ruled the plant water market for years. Other plant-based waters made from artichoke, cactus, watermelon, maple, birch, aloe,
For sustainability, the star food trend is “ugly” produce. These include misshapen, deformed, and bruised fruits and vegetables. Start-up companies have picked up the trend to offer delivery services while grocery stores in other countries are offering “ugly” produce at a discount to encourage customers.


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Snapmaker, the 3D printer brand that had the second most funded and fulfilled 3D printing campaign on Kickstarter, has secured another crowdfunding success with the launch of the Snapmaker 2.0.
Having raised over $2M in only an hour on Kickstarter, the Snapmaker 2.0 is the latest generation of 3-in-1 3D printers from Snapmaker. Available in 3 models of different sizes – the A150, A250 and A350 – the 3D printers feature key improvements over the Snapmaker Original, released in 2017. Kickstarter backers will begin receiving their Snapmaker 2.0 orders in November 2019.
The Snapmaker community has always been passionate, and it is inspiring to see such a strong response to our newest 3D printer line,” said Daniel Chen, CEO of Snapmaker. “With the success of this campaign, Snapmaker is even closer to reaching our goal of fabrication devices for everyone that strike the perfect balance between high-quality and affordability. We can’t wait for our backers to get their Snapmaker 2.0s and start creating!
The Snapmaker 2.0 resonates with backers thanks to the modular design, thoughtful details, and highly requested features from the community, including:
- 3-in-1 capabilities for 3D printing, laser engraving and cutting, and CNC carving
- Compatibility with dozens of everyday materials such as leather and food items, to popular 3D printing materials like wooden PLA
- A modular design so users can easily upgrade their machine with new modules in the future
- High quality metal construction with aerospace-grade aluminum alloys
- A large workspace with each model of different sizes so you can make large projects or multiple smaller objects at once
- Intuitive touchscreen and software to control the printers, and also select and preview your projects


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Paytm’s IPO is going to launch today i.e. on November 8. Investors will have a chance to invest in it till the coming November 10. The IPO of One97 Communications, which operates Paytm, will open for investors on November 8 and close on November 10. At present, the IPO market is witnessing a very good growth. In the coming few days many companies are going to launch their IPO. Paytm is a leading fintech company providing digital transactions facility.
Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications is preparing to raise Rs 18,300 crore from the market through its IPO. The company’s IPO consists of issuance of equity shares worth Rs 8,300 crore and equity shares worth Rs 10,000 crore by existing shareholders under Offer for Sale (OFS). The company has fixed a price band of Rs 2,080 to Rs 2,150 per share for its shares.
With this, this IPO of Paytm will become the biggest IPO to be launched so far. Earlier in the year 2010, Coal India’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Rs 15,200 crore was the largest IPO in the country so far. Fintech company PayTm is eyeing a valuation of Rs 1.47-1.78 lakh crore. Paytm has stated in its draft prospectus that it plans to sell an equal number of new and existing shares.
Paytm has the largest number of customers in the merchant-payments market. It has over 20 million merchant partners in its network. According to the company, its customers do transactions worth 1.4 billion rupees every month. Let us tell you that even before the launch of its IPO, Paytm has raised Rs 8,235 crore from its anchor investors. Paytm had also decided to withdraw from the pre IPO round to launch its IPO early.


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Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is applauding the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) adoption of furniture safety standards, a critical step towards implementation of Senator Casey’s bipartisan Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act, The STURDY Act strengthens furniture safety standards to prevent furniture tip-over accidents, which cause an average of 19,400 emergency room-treated injuries each year as children are crushed, trapped, or struck by furniture, TVs, and appliances.
“For years, I have worked alongside parents and families to ensure that no one else endures the unimaginable tragedy of losing a child to a furniture tip-over,” Senator Casey said. “Now, because of my STURDY Act, manufacturers will be required by law to ensure that their furniture meets a strong, mandatory stability standard. I am proud to see the Consumer Product Safety Commission take this important step to implement the law so that families can breathe easier, knowing they can keep their children safe from tip-overs.”
This legislation changes the stability standard for manufacturers of dressers and other clothing storage units from voluntary to mandatory—requiring companies to ensure their products are tested for safety and stability before being sold. The CPSC’s adoption of the rule means that furniture manufacturers now have 120 days to become compliant with STURDY’s mandatory standard.
The?STURDY Act?has the support of a robust coalition of organizations, including consumer groups and Parents Against Tip-overs, and manufacturers and retailers like IKEA, the American Home Furnishings Alliance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Room & Board, Crate & Barrel, and Williams-Sonoma.


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South Korea's finance ministry said Monday the country plans to expand its service exports, including entertainment contents and healthcare, to US$250 billion by 2030 with the goal of becoming the world's seventh-largest exporter in the sector.
The amount marks a twofold rise from $130 billion in 2022, the world's 15th-largest, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government aims to reach the target of $200 billion by 2027.
"Considering high value-added benefits and job creation made by service exports, we need to secure new growth engines by vitalizing such exports that have been stagnant so far," the ministry said in a statement.
The proportion of service exports were about 15.9 percent compared with South Korea's total outbound shipments of commodities in 2022, remaining nearly unchanged from the 15.2 percent reported back in 2010.
According to the government data, South Korea's service exports primarily depended on transportation and construction in the past, which took up 47 percent and 14.4 percent, respectively, in 2010.
In 2019, however, the construction segment accounted for 26.1 percent, while tourism and information and communication technology industries accounted for 20.1 percent and 7.4 percent.
South Korea's exports of entertainment contents also posted an almost four-fold growth from $3.2 billion to $12.4 billion from 2010 to 2021, it added.
The finance ministry noted the blueprint came as South Korea has been focusing on supporting shipments of the manufacturing sector, with the country lacking a control tower that can manage the overseas sales of the service industry.
"We need to proactively utilize the full potential of the country's robust soft power, particularly 'hallyu,' alongside its strong competitiveness in manufacturing and IT sectors, as well as its notable achievements in economic diplomacy and free trade agreements," it added.
Hallyu refers to the global popularity of Korean pop culture.
To this end, South Korea plans to offer export finance of 64 trillion won (US$48.9 billion) through 2027, including 12 trillion won reserved for this year.
The government will review its tax policies to offer benefits to service providers that comes in line with those provided to commodities exporters.
The government said it also plans to have its export-related state firms, including the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, have the service sector take up at least 50 percent of its projects by 2027, compared to the current estimate of around 20 percent.
KOTRA will seek to foster some 400 exporters specialized in the service sector within the year.
The government will team up with local trading companies to find new business partners in emerging service sectors such as healthcare.
"We plan to support joint projects rolled out by the manufacturing and service sectors by expanding the on-going global partnering project that currently focuses on the materials, parts and equipment businesses," it added.
To expand its export portfolio, the government will harness trade agreements, as well as official development assistance projects to find more opportunities in the medical and technology sectors.
The government will have existing and upcoming pacts cover the digital sector to provide non-discriminatory treatments for South Korean entertainment companies.
Source: Yonhap News Agency


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Mobile operators join forces to boost recycling and reuse of phones
Under the new set of pace targets, operators aim to collect a minimum of 20% of new mobile devices distributed directly to customers through take-back schemes.
Under the new set of pace targets, operators aim to collect a minimum of 20% of new mobile devices distributed directly to customers through take-back schemes and ensure that all collected used mobile devices undergo repair, reuse, or transfer to controlled recycling organisations by 2030.
The operators include BT Group, Globe Telecom, GO Malta, Iliad, KDDI, NOS, Orange, Proximus, Safaricom, Singtel, Tele2 and Telefonica.
The GSMA found that a refurbished phone’s climate impact can be 87% lower than a newly manufactured alternative. If properly recycled or given a second life, more than five billion phones could be recovered. Additionally $8bn of gold, palladium, silver, copper, rare earth elements, and other critical minerals could be recovered and enough cobalt to produce 10 million electric car batteries.
The GSMA’s chief regulatory officer, John Giusti, said: “Most mobile operators around the world are already taking concrete actions to rapidly cut their carbon emissions over the next decade. However, mobile operators are determined to go further.
“We believe in the need to move to a more circular economy to reduce the impact of mobile technology on the environment and applaud the latest commitments from 12 leading operators to accelerate the transition to greater circularity. In addition to the environmental benefits, more efficient and responsible use of resources could lower costs and make devices more affordable for the unconnected.”
The new goals aim to propel the mobile industry’s transition away from the traditional ‘take-make-dispose’ model of mobile phone materials, aligning with the GSMA’s Strategy Paper for Circular Economy: Mobile Devices initiative. The initiative aims for the industry to launch devices with extended lifetimes, 100% recyclable and recycled content, reliance on 100% renewable energy, and zero waste.
The production phase of a smartphone contributes significantly to its energy cost, with manufacturing and mining operations accounting for 85-95% of its annual carbon footprint due to its energy-intensive nature.
According to a report from The Restart Project, the total carbon footprint in the manufacturing of mobiles is at least equal to the Philippines’ annual carbon emissions, a country of more than 100 million people.
Operators acknowledge the need for additional efforts to tackle concerns that hinder handset returns, including data privacy, the preservation of cherished memories stored on devices, and the desire to keep a spare device.
In 2019, a survey conducted by the Royal Society of Chemistry revealed that 51% of UK households possessed at least one unused electronic device, of which 69% intended to keep them as spares. Among those who chose not to recycle their electronic devices, 37% expressed concerns about data and security.
Over the past years, the global mobile phone replacement cycle has extended by 10 months, shifting from 24 months in 2014 to 34 months in 2021. This trend is projected to persist, with the refurbished mobile device market estimated to surpass $140bn by 2030, compared to $49.9bn in 2020, according to the GSMA.
Tele2’s head of sustainability, Erik Wottrich, said: “As the environmental and business benefits of implementing a circular business model are clear, I hope that many more operators around the world will join us in the ambition of zero waste and increased take-back rate by 2030.”


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***All times and dates were correct at the time of publication and are subject to change. Check your specific location before you head out!***
Springfield – Saturday November 21, 2020 @ 6PM (Map)
We are excited to jump into the holiday season early this year and bring all the joy and happiness that the Christmas season brings. Join us as we celebrate with our first ever evening edition of the Springfield Christmas Parade, sponsored by CHRISTMAS DONE BRIGHT on Saturday, November 21st at 6:00 p.m. The parade will take the normal route down Main Street from 10th Ave towards the courthouse and conclude at Springfield Middle. We cannot wait to see all the shops and businesses lit up for all to see. As Santa makes his way past the courthouse, our Volunteer of the Year, Laura Crawford of Lola Bean Coffee , will flip the switch on our Robertson County Christmas tree. Start spreading the news, Christmas is coming to town early this year!
Ridgetop – December 4, 2020
Theme – “Christmas Under The Lights”
Cross Plains – December 5, 2020 (Map)
This year’s theme is Cross Plains Crazy Christmas!
Greenbrier – 2020 Date Coming Soon (Map)
Do you know of any parades we have missed? Drop us the information in the comments and we will add it to our list. Find more local Christmas and holiday parades in Middle Tennessee and check out our Christmas Guide, full of all kinds of holiday ideas for fun.


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Isocyanate markets improved in Q1 2020 but as the COVID-19 outbreak reached worldwide markets the picture changed once again. In previous years, spring usually brings an improvement in demand in most sectors, but this year so far is a different picture.
In Q1, the US MDI market changed direction after months of price cuts on the back of long supply and weak demand. In March, several producers announced price increases to improve margins. There was relief in the market as most players had been struggling since mid-2019. Towards the end of March, the situation changed drastically due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Demand is declining due to quarantine measures and supply is lengthy once again.
The European MDI market has seen the same picture as the US. Following months of softness, prices improved in March. One major European producer had a planned turnaround in February and March, and this helped the upward movement. However, everything changed towards the end of March as Europe was severely hit by the epidemic. Several countries are now on lockdown and only essential markets are running. The construction and automotive sectors are heavily impacted by closures and April is likely to be very weak for most players.
In China, the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak led to markets trending downwards as transport was disrupted and the Chinese New Year holiday was extended for much of February. Downstream factories were not able to operate at full capacity and demand for MDI declined. Given limited demand, producers either paused or reduced production for most of February. In March, the domestic MDI market remained weak. Downstream sectors resumed production, but demand was limited, and production rates were low due to large stocks in warehouses. Most sectors are expected to resume operations in April and demand may now begin to recover.
The North American TDI market has been under pressure from producers to increase prices as margins have been low for over a year and the market has been expecting a price correction for some time. February saw some suppliers sending letters to buyers with price increase announcements. The market firmed in March in what appeared to be a change in direction following months of low prices. The change was short-lived, however, as the COVID-19 outbreak hit the US and markets started softening again. Automotive has been particularly hit by the outbreak due to its markets being weak to begin with.
The European market is not dissimilar to the US. In March, producers attempted to improve margins by raising prices. One operator had a turnaround which helped to push price increase initiatives. Demand began to see some improvement and the market expected to start seeing recovery. Towards the end of March, the situation changed as countries started to quarantine operations and lockdowns were implemented. Demand from automotive struggles the most as the sector has been weak for a long time and is now almost fully closed in Europe. April is likely to see further closures as the transportation of goods becomes harder due to border limitations, lower labor numbers, and further quarantines. The comfort industry is also severely impacted. Most plants are running at reduced rates and, even though some may be allowed to be open again, lack of demand and difficulty sourcing raw materials is likely to lead to further closures. April is increasingly looking weak as more plant shutdowns are expected to take place.
In China, under orders from the government, most Chinese downstream factories delayed the reopening of their plants, resulting in limited demand for raw materials. TDI prices decreased significantly with few transactions taking place in the market. In March, as the COVID-19 outbreak is showing signs of being contained, downstream factories had mostly resumed operations. However, as suppliers have high levels of stocks and end-user purchasing is limited, the price of TDI kept moving downward.
The North American domestic polyether polyol market has changed significantly over the last few weeks as the country battles the COVID-19 outbreak. Prices were firming on the back of improving demand and expected growth in March but now most sectors are slowing due to the epidemic.
The polyether polyols market has seen a significant change from last month as the COVID-19 outbreak continues in Europe. Supply disruptions during March meant prices firmed but this month market fundamentals changed dramatically. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, most foam plants are now either closed or running at reduced rates. March was a good month because most plants were running normally but as governments impose lockdowns, April is likely to be a difficult month for polyols.
The Chinese flexible foam polyol market faced limited demand from downstream industries leading to high levels of supply and difficulties clearing stock during March. The flexible foam market is expected to remain low as end-use demand was not showing signs of a strong recovery in the short term. Supply will remain more than demand for a certain period.
The market is difficult to predict for the short term due to the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak but most isocyanates markets are expected to remain weak. Further closures due to quarantine measures are expected and softening is the most likely scenario in Europe and the US. In China, plants are slowly restarting operations and demand is improving but not back to normal levels yet.
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San Diego's top wedding professionals have donated their services to start a REVOlution, and Red Letter Days Events is honored to participate!
REVOweddings, created by Suzanne Hansen, Sabrina Cadini, Kate Capshaw, Sharon Mintz, and Meaghan Schmaltz, provides the opportunity to support a person in need in our community through online biding for wedding services. This year, the proceeds will go to San Diego floral designer Peggi Walker (Metro Floral) who, this past September, was diagnosed with colon cancer.
REVOweddings' online auction will be open for bids April 16-30, 2010. Visit the site today to shop and get ready to bid!