Seawork 2014 sails ahead

30 April, 2014

A few weeks before Seawork 2014 – to be held from 10 to 12 June at ABP Port of Southampton – the organiser of the on-the-water commercial marine exhibition, Mercator Media, reports that it is experiencing a surge of sales to exhibitors. Now in its 17th year, demand for sites in the halls, on the Quayside and on the pontoons has outstripped all previous years. At the end of March, the Seawork sales team reported that, of the 60 berths, only four finger berths remained available and, of 250m of Quayside, a mere 30m remained unsold. It is a similar story in the three exhibition halls. Andrew Webster, CEO of Mercator Media, commented: “Despite demand leading us to expand the exhibition by 15 per cent into Hall C and along the Quayside for 2014, sales of sites are being confirmed at a rate that leaves no doubt this year’s Seawork will be bigger than ever – and the diversity that represents will deliver yet more visitors. Commercial marine professionals know that Seawork is the place to find out how to make their business operate quicker, slicker and more profitably.” All five continents represented Among the expected catalogue of 600 exhibitors, the representation from overseas is already good with all five continents represented and a particularly strong showing from European maritime countries, including the Netherlands (13 exhibitors) and Scandinavia (12). The layout of the exhibition, which includes special interest Pavilions for diving, maritime security and renewable energy, has proved popular with exhibitors and visitors, with the Ship Building and Ship Repair Pavilion enjoying a spate of enquiries in the first quarter of the year. The Small Business Enterprise Zone, which extends to over 100 stands, is also proving popular, as it offers a cost-effective entry point to the commercial marine industry for start-ups and SME’s with all the benefits of an internationally recognised, targeted exhibition. www.seawork.com

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Linde Hydraulics and Eaton continue to expand global strategic alliance

30 April, 2014

Linde Hydraulics and the Eaton Corporation are extending their global strategic alliance ahead of schedule. As a result of this extension, the agreement – which has been in existence since 2010 – will be systematically expanded and oriented towards achieving further international growth. In the future, the collaboration will also centre around extending the two companies' product lines and expanding sales channels, as well as focusing on the regional presence of both companies. The continued cooperation ensures that customers of Linde Hydraulics and Eaton can enjoy access to the entire range of products and services offered by both companies, which include the high-pressure axial piston pumps, high-pressure axial piston motors and valves from Linde Hydraulics, as well as the medium-pressure axial piston pumps offered by Eaton. To date, the way in which both companies' regional offerings have been linked together has produced spectacular results – and these products and services are set to be brought even closer together in the future. In particular, the two partners plan to combine their strengths in the emerging markets of South America, Southeast Asia (including Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia) and India. Improved access In the future, customers in these markets from the construction, agriculture, material handling, mining and industry sectors will have significantly improved access to all types of technology relating to hydraulic systems as well as to the comprehensive range of services. This level of access will be possible due to the fact that, in these regions, the independent distribution channels of Eaton and Linde Hydraulics are also set to offer each other's products and services. The cooperation between the two companies, which has thus far proven very successful, will also continue in the regions of Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa. Thorsten van der Tuuk, executive vice president sales, marketing, research & development at Linde Hydraulics, commented: "We are looking forward to further developing the successful cooperation between Linde Hydraulics and Eaton in the future. By extending and expanding our cooperation along with the additional regional distribution capabilities of our Asian partner Weichai Power, all customer groups will benefit from an extremely comprehensive and globally available product and service network.

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Eriks UK awarded Top Employer Certification for second successive year

30 April, 2014

Eriks UK has maintained its high levels of employee engagement and development with Top Employer Certification for the second successive year. The certification, from the Top Employer Institute, is recognition of the outstanding working conditions available to employees in the company and continued commitment to developing its people. The Top Employers Institute globally certifies excellence following a comprehensive audit of each applicant company’s human resources policies and practices. In the UK, Eriks joins other certified blue chip companies, including Bentley, Lloyds of London, Orange, Rentokil and St Gobain. Eriks achieved high marks across all major categories and, according to the judges “demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving for optimum employment practices and to develop its employees.” Specifically, Eriks scored highly for its employee communication, particularly its participation structures, forums and internal groups including the use of social media as a communication tool. The judges also highlighted the company’s development initiatives including its use of job rotation programmes, graduate development and its coaching and mentoring programmes. Denny Wood, human resources director for Eriks UK, commented on the award: “We are delighted to once again be recognised as an outstanding employer by the Top Employer Institute. The accreditation is the result of considerable planning and hard work which has created our industry-leading HR and benefits structure and the communication channels, which ensure that all employees are aligned with our corporate objectives and feel part of the Eriks team.”

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Major organisations offer career opportunities at The National Engineering & Construction Recruitment Exhibition

29 April, 2014

Many major engineering employers, taking a positive outlook on growth prospects, recently looked for their next generation of staff at the National Engineering & Construction Recruitment Exhibition (NECR), held at Birmingham’s NEC on 4 and 5 April.

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