UK Weekly News: The pace increases

Hello again,

Another busy week promoting Trotec and their upcoming attendance at IWEX, (International Water Exhibition), being held at the National Exhibition Centre between 24th – 26th May 2011.

In addition to the IWEX show, I am also looking at a Road Show during June/July where we can travel throughout the UK to different venues, showing the product range to invited audiences at each regional location. We are looking at venues on the South coast, in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Yorkshire and Scotland. We would like to use interesting venues if possible: I have been looking at famous football stadia, cricket grounds and historic and interesting buildings such as the Thames Barrier and old fashioned water pumping stations. More about the road show over the coming weeks …

For now I am working on an article for publication in the trade press in the UK and compiling a mailing list for pre-event publicity for both IWEX and the Road Show. I have nearly completed the entry of all of Trotec listings on the IWEX web site – have a look at it here!

See you next week!

Easy Rider: Spring Check For Your Motorcycle

Measuring Tyre Pressure On A MotorcycleHesitantly the first sunbeams warm us up and as the days grow longer you can really feel that spring is in the air… This is the time when bikers start becoming restless and yearn to climb onto their motorcycles to feel the freedom of the road in good ol’ Easy Rider style. But after a long and frosty winter you need to check your bike thoroughly before you can finally hit the road.

The best way to start is to clean your bike conscientiously to discover any damage like rust stains or leaks. When you’re done with cleaning, you should definitely check some technical details of your motorbike. This includes inspecting the battery, the oil level and the lighting, as well as a check-up of the brakes and brake linings. The tyres deserve closer attention: if you don’t ride your vehicle during the winter, it is wise to unload some of the weight off the tyres to guarantee that the tyres don’t bulge and still run smoothly. You should also make sure that there are no porous spots or cuts which could lessen your driving safety. The tread depth is another factor which is mainly responsible for the safety of your motorbike. A minimum depth of 1mm is required for motorcycles by law but the AA recommends a tread depth of at least 2mm so that you are prepared in case of wet roads for example.

And last but not least: the tyre pressure! Read More

UK Weekly News: Drilling and Tapping – a mystery explained.

UK flag and typical london sightsHello again,

Another busy week organising Trotec’s marketing push into the UK. We are well advanced with our preparations for IWEX:

I had a number of meetings last week with key suppliers. We have now designed and printed the leaflet that will be going in the May edition of Water Active.  7000 lucky readers will get a leaflet trailing Trotec’s appearance at IWEX between May 24th – 26th at the world famous National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Read More

Endoscopy: Scientists develop a disposable micro-camera

A Micro-Camera of not even one millimetre in size – this may sound like the latest James Bond movie rather than a real-life invention. Intelligence services, secret agents, espionage – this is what pops into my mind when reading about such a scientific breakthrough. Just imagine what agent 007 could do with such a camera? Or the CIA?

The truth is that such sci-fi fantasies could become true in a not too distant future: German scientists have now developed a prototype which could soon become the new standard in optical inspection.

a worker with an endoscope

The camera was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, in collaboration with Awaiba GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering. With minimal dimensions of only 0,7 x 0,7 x 1 mm, it still provides you with precise and pin sharp pictures: 25,000 pixel guarantee highest quality standards, which even make it fit for medical purposes. Also, an innovative manufacturing process allows the cameras to be produced many times more productive and thereby, of course, also a lot more affordable.

It could thereby be possible to produce endoscopes of impressive quality for such a low price, that they can directly be disposed of after use; the costly and time-consuming cleaning process in the aftermath then becomes obsolete. Disposable endoscopes – one day part of the basic equipment in any ER, lying right next to disposable syringes and disposable gloves?

For now, such high-tech endoscopes are still a pie in the sky. But Trotec already offers a wide selection of real-life – and no less impressive – measuring instruments for optical inspection.

As far as leak detection, piping examination and structural diagnostics are concerned, the expectations users have of a camera are slightly different anyway. A robust, long-lived workmanship is of higher importance here. For an endoscope, ease of operation and a flexible adaption to changing fields of application are more important than micro-dimensions and throw-away benefits.
Come and see for yourself: The Trotec Product Catalog displays the current state of the art in optical inspection:

We offer a broad range of endoscopes and videoscopes: for the amateur and the professional user alike, for the mechanic as well as for the building expert. Just take a peek: We have something for every need.

For we have the license to inspect. To optically inspect.

UK Weekly News: Meet Mr. Merrick!


Dear reader,

my name is Mick Merrick and I am a specialist in supplying equipment to the UK Utilities Industries.

I am working with Trotec, to help them get a foothold into the UK market. I started this process last month and I am already making progress.

The Trotec Group is an internationally operating trade and service corporation. It has subsidiaries, regional and partner enterprises in over 15 countries of the world. Their business network spreads from Heinsberg, the headquarters near Dusseldorf in Germany, to several countries in Europe and as far as to Hong Kong. This is the latest branch of the Trotec Group, which was established in order to control market development and distribution activities in the Asian market. With its own seminars, research and development divisions and service points in Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and China, the Trotec business is truly international.

Trotec had decided to expand its operations in the UK. I am leading that initiative and our first step has been to book space at the IWEX exhibition, part of Sustainability Live which takes place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham between May 24th – 26th. We will be located on Stand A10 adjacent to the drilling and tapping competition.

Trotec will be launching a range of equipment at this prestigious trade show and I will be updating this BLOG on a regular basis.

For now, Auf Wiedersehen!

My Home Is My Castle – How To Soundproof Your Existing Home – Part 2

left part of brick wall middle smiling builder pointing at device rightYour next-door-neighbours are having another one of their long, heated, high-pitched and highly emotional arguments; an intercity train thunders past at the end of the garden leaving a flurry of leaves and a trail of noise in its wake; a young child, all too evidently lacking any of the talent that the rest of Britain has allegedly got, forces a violin to make noises it wasn’t built to make and the banging and slamming and drilling and clanging that has been going on for months in the house next door shows no signs of abating.

Are these familiar scenes or do you know of any even more upsetting, maddening or horrific ones? What can you do if you find out that the walls of the flat that you have moved into seem to be made of rice paper, and what do you need to know, and do, to soundproof your inadequately insulated home and keep the noise and din from blighting your mornings, days and nights?

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My Home Is My Castle – How To Soundproof your Home – Part 1

joiner and road worker working digger in background woman holding her earsThe expression “My Home is My Castle” captures like no other the importance of having a home and what this means to the people who own such a home as well as the people who live in it. A home is a source of comfort, of cherished memories, and of accomplishment and pride – and it is a source of strength. You can rest and recuperate at home and you can enjoy the peace that surrounds you in your own four walls.

If it weren’t for the noise, that is.

Noise is all around us. Sometimes it seems there is no escaping it. Noise can cause countless complaints and illnesses – ranging from sleep disorders,  to high blood pressure and a variety of other stress related conditions.

And it’s something that is set to keep the courts busy –  nocturnal rows with rowdy neighbours, clashes with local establishments, local businesses and local authorities are keeping millions of people awake at night and stopping them from getting a good night’s rest. It’s no small wonder then that many people who are thinking of building a house show a keen interest in ways of making sure that their home is insulated against the hustle and bustle around us and that they are eager to stop their newbuild from turning into a home from hell.

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Why dry air is not good for you – whether you’re up in the air or down on the ground

left wing of an aircraft in the sky with turbine and two elegant humidfiers against the left marginWhen was the last time you boarded a plane? Do you recall experiencing any uncomfortable side effects during or after a long-distance flight? No, nothing dramatic like a sudden bout of amnesia and being blissfully unaware of who you are. Or a panic attack because you were strangely unable to peel off your graduated compression stockings. No, something less disturbing and something more familiar like a sore throat perhaps, a stuffy nose, dry, irritated, eyes and itchy skin or raw, red knuckles and chapped lips and hands?

If you have been a passenger on a transcontinental flight and you have experienced one, or two – or if you have been especially unlucky even all six of these symptoms –  then the chances are that you were suffering from the effects caused by low levels of humidity in the cabin of the aircraft that you were flying with.

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Flood damage: Competent advice and reliable assistance on the spot

a flooded street and water damage restoration experts

The Trotec Group offers a broad range of products and services all around climate conditioning, metrology and damage restoration. Especially in the field of flood and water damage restoration, we benefit hugely from this unique combination of competences, for this allows us to offer our customers full service from one single source. Professional equipment for sale, temporary solutions for rent and, above all, the competent advice our experienced experts can give.

This single-source approach guarantees a fast and reliable reaction to flood and water damage, especially when the worst comes to the worst.

In order to make it even easier for those people who are affected to get in touch with us, we have now launched a new service website that is explicitly designed to support those regions which have recently been hit by floods and high water: www.flood-damage-services.com is the site where local water damage restoration companies, resellers and rental services that supply the necessary equipment can get information about our product range. It is also where councils, local authorities and governments can seek advice on how the Trotec Group can assist the restoration process and make the clean-up operation more efficient and productive. For we have the experience which is vital in such situations – and we hope to be of assistance not only for the people in Germany, but also in every other country where devastating floods have turned the lives the citizens upside down.

There will always be natural disasters like floods and high water. But with the right preparation and a competent partner for the entire restoration process in the aftermath, reaction times can be reduced to a minimum and subsequent damage can be avoided – for the benefit of all people affected.

The Trotec Group is there for you when it matters most. We are everywhere you need us to be: wherever there is a demand, at any point of the globe and twenty-four-seven.


Visit our information website: www.flood-damage-services.com

There’s more to a dehumidifier than meets the eye…

a luxury yacht and a dehumidifier

What do a 120 metre luxury yacht and a dehumidifier have in common? Not a lot you might think. And in many respects you would be right. You won’t find many front rooms, basements or cellars large enough to accommodate a class II super yacht with three decks, two Monets and a celebrity chef on board, and only an intrepid explorer – or a fool perhaps – would even consider attempting to cross the channel on a dehumidifier (we’re not even sure if they would stay afloat – here’s another experiment which our dedicated and highly creative social media team might wish to contemplate carrying out– see “Cooking pasta and saving energy: A Test”).

Yet although there would seem to be little or nothing which these two very differently-priced objects – one costing anywhere upwards of a million dollars a month just to charter and the other only a mere 82 euros to buy – may have by way of similarity, there is a much stronger tie that unites the two than first meets the eye…

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