Appliance Design - August 2007 - (Page 12)

NEWS WATCH USB. The new chip, the AL5100, will show up in external hard drives and cameras this year, the company says. The chips will connect to computers with optional wireless add-in cards, or dongles that go into USB ports. The technology is called ultra-wideband, or UWB, and uses frequencies far above those usually employed for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular phones and other wireless technologies. In theory, UWB can reach speeds of up to 480 megabits per second, equivalent to USB 2.0 cables, at distances up to 10 feet. INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS. The International Council of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Manufacturers’ Associations (ICARMA) established a working group to prioritize the development of global industry standards, pledged to promote intellectual property rights (IPR) awareness and collaboration, and developed a strategy to better promote their environmental stewardship efforts. The council established a group to regularly review the work of global standards bodies, prioritize global standards needs based on ICARMA member input, and to develop recommendations to global standards bodies on standard harmonization needs. To foster better protection of intellectual property, the council approved a policy in which it agreed to support protection activities at trade exhibitions, advance communication and training efforts to promote IPR awareness among the industry’s supply chain segments, and share protection strategies with local officials. ELECTROLUX LEADERSHIP. Gunilla Nordstrom has been appointed head of Electrolux Major Appliances Asia Pacific and Executive Vice President of AB Electrolux. Nordstrom succeeds Peter Birch, who is retiring. She will be a member of Group Management and report to President and CEO Hans Straberg. SAFE FUEL. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) has helped form the Alliance for a Safe Alternative Fuels Environment (AllSAFE), a coalition of consumer and user groups and manufacturing associations. Its mission is to assure that all new bio-based fuels such as ethanol and other renewable energy sources are promoted in a safe and constructive manner. HAIER BUYS PLANT. The Haier Group has agreed to buy a Thailand refrigerator plant run by Japan’s Sanyo Electric Co. According to published reports, Sanyo will withdraw from refrigerator manufacturing and Haier will produce refrigerators for Sanyo. The plant can produce as many as 1 million refrigerators per year. MIDDLEBY BUYS MP. The Middleby Corp. of Elgin, Ill., has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of MP Equipment Co., Suwanee, Ga. MP Equipment manufactures and distributes a variety of equipment for the food processing industry including breading, battering, mixing, forming, and slicing equipment. This acquisition expands Middleby’s platform in food processing equipment and complements the current lineup of cooking, chilling and packaging products under the Alkar and Rapidpak brands. WATERPIK ACQUIRED. EG Capital Group LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, acquired the Personal Healthcare Products For more Information Enter 105 12 applianceDESIGN AD12064Port.indd 1 August 2007 11/7/06 11:26:50 AM www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.pepiusa.com http://www.pepiusa.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - August 2007

Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch A Reed Switch is Simople, yet Versatile, and Designers are Finding New Uses for this Time-Tested Technology A Novel Actuation and Sensing Technology can Register a Light Touch, but Resist Blows from a Hammer Tracing the Source of Noise is Made Easier with Noise Source Identification Methods Appliance Noise can be Annoying, but Designers have Many Material Choices to Help Rein in the Racket Nanocomposites are No Longer a Technology for the Future. These Plastic Materials are Already on the Job A New High-Strength, Low-Density Glass-Microsphere Additive can Improve Plastic Part and Molding Performance A New Electromagnetic Weld/Bonding Process Helps Ensure Long-Term Integrity of Joints in Plastic Parts Snap-Based Technology Eases Installation and Makes Products More Serviceable Two-Part Silicone Adhesives Provide a Rapid-Cure Alternative to Traditional One-Part Silicones Classified DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: GAMA

Appliance Design - August 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.