The World of Custom Trucks: Spectacular Working Show Trucks from Europe and the United States
The CV Show 2013 sees the return of DAF Trucks to Hall 5 at the NEC together with the complete renewal of its market leading truck range which has been developed to meet the exacting standards of the new Euro 6 emissions legislation as well as delivering maximum transport efficiency and industry leading low costs …
The CV Show 2013 sees the return of DAF Trucks to Hall 5 at the NEC together with the complete renewal of its market leading truck range which has been developed to meet the exacting standards of the new Euro 6 emissions legislation as well as delivering maximum transport efficiency and industry leading low costs of operation.
More customers than ever are expected to visit the expanded DAF stand, number 5C81, which will feature a full line-up of Euro 6 trucks destined for the UK market ranging from 7.5 to 44 tonnes GCW. The new DAF truck range promises to attract a lot of attention as will the display of PACCAR engines which meet Euro 6 emission levels.
All the details will be revealed when DAF unveils its new model line up on the morning of the opening day of the Show, on 9th April 2013.
Well, we ve made it 3 weeks as dog parents and so far we re doing pretty well. Sabrina still has the occasional accident in the house, but for the most part she does a good job. She is learning not to chew on everything and hasn t yet nipped at Ella, which is amazing. She still isn t much of a barker. She only barks when she wants our attention (like if we ve left her outside longer than she feels is necessary, or if she thinks it s time for us to get out of bed and we re still sound asleep) or when she s around other dogs. Other than that she s pretty quiet. All in all, Sabrina is a great addition to our family. Joe and I are amazed at how a little 11 pound ball of fur just has a way of making everything better. As crazy as it sounds, in a lot of ways she makes me feel like our family is complete (of course on the other hand she also makes me want another baby then she wakes us up at 2 am to go outside and I m glad we re out of that phase of life). Ella loves having a dog and Joe and I think it has been really good for her. She takes a lot of responsibility with feeding Sabrina, and will discipline her if necessary. Most of all, it s shown Ella that the world doesn t revolve around her. It has been good for Joe and I to have someone else to tend to when Ella thinks we need to drop everything and help her. It has also been a great distraction during bath time. Sabrina spends the entire bath just sitting on the floor of the bathroom and if Ella starts crying she ll go over and lick her fingers. It s really sweet. Ella continues to be the awesome kid that she is. She s reading really well and only needs help on the big words. During church she even tries to read the bulletin. The only problem with that is that she hasn t yet mastered the art of reading silently. She still loves kindergarten and all that it has to offer. Today I have her second Parent/Teacher conference. While I m confident that Ella is doing great and the teacher will have nothing but nice things to say about her, it s hard not to be a little nervous. Today marks the 100th day of school for this year, so they are having a little celebration in class. Ella has to bring 100 items to show her friends, so she chose to take 100 paper clips. Ella has also prepared all of the Valentines to take her friends at school. The school has pretty strict rules about not allowing candy into class rooms, so we opted for pencils. Ella chose each one specifically for her friends, so I know they will enjoy them. That s really about it here in the Murray house. Other than a horrible cold that we ve been passing around, there isn t too much happening. I’ll be sure to let you know if anything exciting happens.
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By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
Formula One will add another chapter to its nomadic and disjointed history in America this weekend when Circuit of The Americas and a pig farm welcome the motorsports world s elite, Texas-style.
Opening practice for Sunday afternoon s latest/greatest edition of the United States Grand Prix is scheduled for 10 a.m. (EST) Friday on a 3.4-mile, 20-turn permanent road-course that opened to rave reviews during an invitation-only First Lap Ceremony in Austin last month.
Open-wheel icon Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 World Driving Champion; actor/racer Patrick Dempsey and Lotus F1 Team test driver Jerome D Ambrosio joined a group of drivers from various North American series turning laps on a layout designed by Tilke Engineers & Architects.
It s everything I expected, and more, said Andretti, who hot-lapped in his 1979 John Player Special Lotus. You can tell that there was a lot of thought put into the design of this course. The track is extremely technical, with 3.4-miles of real estate to learn. With each and every lap, the driver learns a little bit more.
But quite honestly, I think the track is phenomenal. It has all the features that race car drivers are looking for, as far as giving them the opportunity to overtake other drivers in the tighter corner. But then it widens out so there s plenty of room to maneuver. So bottom line, there should be some really terrific racing out here in the months and years to come.
Fort Worth businessman/racer Don Istook, one of four drivers from the Pirelli World Challenge series invited by the tire manufacturer, nearly ran out of superlatives after a 10-lap stint.
You already felt like you re there where history is going to be made, said Istook, owner/driver of The Arc Audi TT RS he campaigned in 2012. I mean, you go to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) or the old Riverside (Calif.) road- course and you go to Daytona wow, what history there. Well, this is a place I felt like right off the bat there will be history
Mario Andretti says the new F1 track in Austin is world class.
made in racing in the United States at this track. And that one of the first few cars to turn wheels on the track was World Challenge.
It is a perfect surface. It is state-of-the-art the best track in the United States without ever turning a wheel on it. It s smooth and safe, with plenty of runoff room before you would hit a barrier or something. All around the track it s that way. You could put a rookie on that track and it d be hard for him to hit something without being really, really stupid.
The track s signature turn or element over time, Istook said, might become the front straight heading into Turn 1. The main straightaway, with grandstands and suites all across, is uphill at the end, which means you don t hit your brakes as hard, Istook said. And it s an off-camber, decreasing-radius corner. The track is increasing/decreasing-radius corner, decreasing/increasing-radius corner, off-camber, little short straights _ it s going to be a challenge. It s a driver s track. It s not one where you re going to get bored. You re going to be busy out there.
As far as a signature turn, there s not a corkscrew (like Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California) but Turn 1 is pretty neat because you go uphill so much and nail the brakes with confidence because the car s going to slow down and into a left-hander, about a 120-degree corner going downhill.
Turns 6 through 9 comprise COTA s esses, a series of twisties commonly associated with The Glen.
Turn 10 is a neat corner, Istook said. You re going to fly through there, you re going to be flat-out _ you can let your car walk-out. You can t see it, but you re going downhill a little bit. Turn 11 levels-out and is a second-gear (left-hander). The back straight (down to Turn 12) is probably 3,500-feet or so fastest part of the track. I got up to 145 mph right there in my Audi. With a little work, we ll get up to maybe 150. And if we re at 150 a Formula One car is a lot faster than that.
Turns 13 through 15 feature two kink-like right-handers back-to-back and a left-hander exiting Turn 15 into a carousel-style section that takes a driver into Turn 18. Turns 19 and 20, a pair of left-handers, lead back to the start/finish line of a layout with maximum elevation changes of 133-feet. Track width varies from 39 to 52-feet.
I ve been to 50 racetracks in this country, said Istook, whose shop specializes in Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen performance modifications. I like Miller Motorsports Park up in Utah. Miller is pretty open, there s a lot of times you can relax at Miller. This one, going down that straightaway maybe you can relax a little bit, but that s about it.
Istook said fans will be impressed with the number of grandstands located around a layout accommodating 120,000, as well as aesthetics right down to the landscaping. It was almost race-ready when we got there (Oct. 21), Istook said.
By location, COTA never will be confused with a downtown street track. The 970-acre site is located along the State Highway 130 corridor near Farm-Market Road 812, about two miles from Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Anyone who has driven into either Watkins Glen or Martinsville (Va.) Speedway is aware that the you can t get there from here warning applies.
The problem is going to be getting to the track, Istook said. There s not a lot of good ways to get to that track. And outside the track, there s a pig farm. Right at the main entrance to the track pig farm! I don t think that ll last. I m sure they ve (COTA management) been trying to buy it. I think once they (the farm owners) get overwhelmed by the traffic (and noise) (selling) would be the real smart thing to do.
Istook is hopeful World Challenge will compete at COTA as a support series when the Australian V-8 Supercar Series makes its scheduled North American debut May 17-19, 2013.
Once they get some hotel facilities around there, where people can stay relatively close it ll be a while, Istook said. But they ll come because they will have this track used 30 to 40 weekends a year for things like tire-testing. Teams will want to come there to test and spend money.
John Sturbin can be reached at email@example.com
Geesinknorba and DAF Trucks join forces to showcase their products and services at Poleko / Komtechnika 2012. This international trade fair for environmental protection will be held from 20 23 November in Poznan, Poland, within Poznan International Fair.
Featured on the stand is a Geesink 22H25 rearloader mounted on a DAF CF FAN chassis. Since its introduction in 2003, the GPM has established itself as a reliable and productive rear loader in the toughest conditions. Equipped with the popular GCB 1000 lifting device operators can empty most 2- and 4 wheel containers they can find on their route. It can also operate in open back mode for easy loading of bags and bulky waste. The unique Geesink pressing mechanism crushes big pieces of waste without problems.
Since its launch in 1999 the sales team of Geesinknorba has sold a large number of Geesink rearloaders in Poland. It s expected that the market will grow due to new waste collection regulations.
Algiers to Anzio with 72 and 111 Squadrons: An RAF Engineer Officer’s Experiences in North Africa and Italy with 239 Wing DAF During World War II @ translogistics.co.uk
Russian rail assets are changing hands at high speed as the government relinquishes its grip on the sector and new, privately-owned players compete for ownership of railcar fleets.
Sistema, an oil to telecoms, retail and healthcare conglomerate, has thrown its hat in the ring by making a whopping Rbs23bn ($742m) bid for SG-Trans, a state-controlled liquefied petroleum gas railcar operator.1
Sistema only unveiled plans to go into transport a few weeks ago and has moved quickly to make good on its promise. At a privatization auction on Thursday, it took SG-Trans against competition from four specialized railcar operators, with a winning bid that was more than twice the Rbs10.67bn starting price. Government approval is required before the acquisition is finalized.
Among Russian railcar operators, SG-Trans is a big fish in a small pond, focused entirely on the transport of LPG, used to generate heat and light and to manufacture petrochemicals. The company controls 14,600 specialized LPG railcar tanks close to half the entire Russian fleet and accounts for more than a third of the 12.7m tonnes of the product transported on Russian railways each year. Long-term relationships with Russia s biggest LPG producers including Rosneft, Lukoil, Novatek and Sibur form the backbone of SG-Trans business, which earned a net profit of Rbs404m in 2011 on revenues of Rbs8.5bn.
Nevertheless, a company of this size won t make much impact on Sistema s bottom line and SG-Trans could require substantial investments and efforts to improve efficiency. Most of its fleet was built in the 1970s and 80s and urgently needs modernisation.
However, even if LPG transport is only a niche market, its importance is set to grow. Russian oil companies, under pressure from the government to stop flaring associated gas, are expected to step up production of LPG. And new LPG export terminals under construction on the Baltic will provide an outlet for exports not just of Russian supplies but of transit volumes from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as well.
Sistema is already eyeing other rail transport acquisitions and plans to bid for the government s remaining 25 per cent stake in Freight One, Russia s biggest rail cargo company, at an auction expected to take place in October.
Russian Railways began divesting of Freight One last year, selling a 75 per cent stake in the company to UCLH, the transport group controlled by Vladimir Lisin, a Russian metals billionaire.
It is not clear what UCLH thinks about Sistema s arrival on the scene. UCLH paid $4.5bn slightly above the starting price for its Freight One stake and is known to want full control. Signaling determination, Sistema said this week it would raise funds on international markets to fund transport acquisitions .
More opportunities to acquire rail transport assets are likely to crop up amid ongoing consolidation of the sector.
Evraz2, the Russian steel maker, announced plans this week to sell its transport division, following in the steps of Metalloinvest which sold its railcar fleet to GlobalTrans3, a London-listed freight company, earlier this year.
Sistema has been building its presence in the oil industry since acquiring Bashneft4, a mid-sized Russian oil producer, in 2006 and is likely to focus on oil and gas transport assets. A partnership or buyout of an existing oil railcar operator should not be ruled out.
Although it may appear that Sistema paid too high a price for entry to the rail transport sector, it s too soon to condemn the SG-Trans acquisition, Troika Dialog said in a research note on Friday:
We recommend taking a passive stance on Sistema s stock until the company s ultimate goal became clearer.
Russia: Bombardier finally finds partner5, beyondbrics
Russian IPOs: rail freight operator NefteTransService shunts its way into line6, beyondbrics
Globaltrans on track to expand7, FT
Russia rail: wary of the Chinese8, beyondbrics
- ^ ft.com/marketsdata (markets.ft.com)
- ^ ft.com/marketsdata (markets.ft.com)
- ^ ft.com/marketsdata (markets.ft.com)
- ^ ft.com/marketsdata (markets.ft.com)
- ^ Russia: Bombardier finally finds partner (blogs.ft.com)
- ^ Russian IPOs: rail freight operator NefteTransService shunts its way into line (blogs.ft.com)
- ^ Globaltrans on track to expand (search.ft.com)
- ^ Russia rail: wary of the Chinese (blogs.ft.com)
It is estimated that about 41% of the world s idle container fleet is laid up in China, South Korea and Russia while 27% is laid up off Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
A record number of ships are lying idle due to the recession in world trade, amounting to about 2.6% of the world fleet. This has had a detrimental effect on freight rates.