Briefs	E-mail PagePrint Version

The United Nations says $20 billion in investment is needed to resolve an energy shortage in the Southern Cone nations of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile. Foreign direct investment from multinational firms in the region will be central to helping resolve the shortfall for a time period extending to the year 2008, says the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The ECLAC says in its recent report - "Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean - 2004 - that, despite $77 billion invested in the region in electricity and gas in the 1990s, foreign capital in the Southern Cone's energy sector did not meet expectations of higher generation capacity. Most of the money consisted of payments made by European and US firms for the purchase of assets being privatized by Latin American and Caribbean governments. The report also said regulatory changes and the entry of foreign firms raised expectations of an automatic improvement in the energy sector, but these expectations were not borne out in practice. Instead, the report said, generation and transmission capacity in the Southern Cone region still requires expansion. Additionally, hydrocarbon reserves must be increased and new pipelines need to be built. The reasons for the energy shortfall, said the report, include "macroeconomic imbalance" in Argentina and Brazil that led to drastic currency devaluations, which made it difficult to set realistic rates for public utilities; drought conditions in Chile and Brazil; and bottlenecks in supply, such as Argentina's inability to meet its contractual obligations to supply Chile with gas for electric power generation in 2004…

Gateway International Holdings Inc. has acquired Spacecraft Machine Products Inc. Spacecraft Machine Products is headquartered in Southern California and has been in operation for over 35 years. The company operates primarily in the Aerospace and Defense industries. Major clients include Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Boeing. Spacecraft also maintains clients in other industries including Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Imagineering Division. Last year through last January 31, Spacecraft generated revenues in excess of $2,000,000…

The Shaw Group Inc.'s Louisiana-based EMCON/OWT unit, which specializes in solid waste management solutions, has successfully completed a 1.6-MW landfill gas-to-electricity (LFG) turnkey development project at the Western Regional Landfill in Lincoln, California, for Energy 2001 Inc. The power generated is being sold to the City of Roseville, California through an agreement with the Northern California Power Authority. Facility components were designed in a modular fashion "to allow maximum operational flexibility and to allow that the facility can be expanded, depending on LFG availability and overall site development requirements," the company said.  Shaw has energy generation operations throughout the US and employs approximately 18,000 people at its offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region…

Palo Alto-headquartered Varian Inc. has reportedly completed the previously announced sale of its electronics manufacturing business to Jabil Circuit Inc. for $195 million. According to Varian Inc., the sale will allow the company "to advance its overall strategy of growing its scientific instruments and vacuum technologies segments by focusing on that core business."  Varian is a supplier of scientific instruments and vacuum operates manufacturing facilities in 12 locations in North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim…

Adept Technology Inc., a manufacturer of robotic systems, motion control and machine vision technology based in Livermore, has launched a new global vertical market business initiative. The new initiative will focus resources on developing vertical applications for customers in the telecom, data storage and automotive component markets. According to a company press release, the firm "plans to focus on working directly with leading customers in these markets providing direct sales, service and engineering to develop more comprehensive and targeted products, applications and services." Adept's product lines include industrial robots, configurable linear modules, machine controllers for robot mechanisms and other flexible automation equipment, machine vision, systems and software, and application software…

Mattel Inc. and the Mattel Children's Foundation announced today the launch of a three- year, global partnership with Special Olympics. Support will focus on the development of three programs, the Young Athletes Program, which will engage youth ages two through seven with intellectual disabilities, the Special Olympics "Get Into It" school-based curriculum, which will teach understanding, acceptance and involvement and Team Mattel, which engages Mattel employees as volunteers in the Special Olympics movement around the world. Funding for the first year will total $1 million. This global partnership will enable Special Olympics to expand its youth programs to every continent as well as create the largest global corporate volunteer team in the history of the Special Olympics movement through the creation of Team Mattel. Thousands of Mattel employees in nine international locations, including China, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Europe and the US will be active participants in local Special Olympics activities, the Southern California-based company said. The Young Athletes Program will expand its successful pilot project to twelve additional locations, six of those in countries outside the US, increasing the number of youth involved in Special Olympics on a global scale; and…

San Bruno-headquartered Worldwide Manufacturing USA Inc. has received a purchase order for 10,000 air-conditioning units for cars from Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. The contract is worth over $3 million and extends through January 18, 2006. The air-conditioning units will be manufactured at the company's newly acquired Chengde Science & Technology Co. Ltd. manufacturing facility. Worldwide and its two wholly owned subsidiaries, Shanghai Intech Electro Mechanical Products, and Chengde Science & Technology Co. Ltd., are located in Shanghai, China and Changchun City, China, respectively. Worldwide is an 8 year-old engineering firm specializing in international contract manufacturing and is a direct manufacturer of air-conditioning units for cars. Its customers include companies in the wireless telecommunications, aerospace, automotive, machinery, tools, home electrical, electronics, and toy sectors.

Go back, or read the latest briefs:

TRADE

empty