Maritime History: Columbia Lighting the World; How Classification Can Make a Difference
I don’t remember when I discovered that the first application of lightbulbs occurred at sea rather than ashore. But when I dug a little deeper into the subject recently, I came across an interesting set of coincidences that shows how innovation often relies on simply doing, rather than endlessly talking about it. After Thomas Edison managed to make sufficient improvements to the lightbulb concept to have it show commercial viability in late 1879, he ended up in a chicken and egg conundrum.The lightbulb might be great, but to get it to work would require an electrical power plant.
Philly Shipyard Lays Keel for Fourth APT Tanker
Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI), the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA (Oslo: PHLY), held a ceremonial Keel Laying today for the fourth product tanker in a four vessel order for American Petroleum Tankers (APT), a Kinder Morgan, Inc. subsidiary. Keeping with long held shipbuilding tradition, coins were placed on one of the keel blocks before the 650 ton unit was lowered into place in the dry dock. Representatives from Philly Shipyard and Kinder Morgan were in attendance to place the coins as a sign of good fortune and safe travels. Philly Shipyard representatives included the 15 new hires that began orientation on Monday, January 9.
Messer to Debut MetalMaster Xcel
Messer Cutting Systems said it has answered the call from manufacturers that have been demanding a faster, more accurate way of producing cut parts. Messer’s MetalMaster Xcel features traversing speeds of 3,000 IPM, a robust design, with high acceleration drives. Multiple tools can be added including plasma beveling, oxyfuel, combination plasma/fiber laser cutting, drilling and marking coupled with OmniWin software. The MetalMaster Xcel is two machines in one. Using a plasma/fiber…
Investing in Arctic Russia’s future
Russian and Norwegian dignitaries, students and journalists turned out this week for education grant awards and cooperation signing ceremonies between StatoilHydro and schools in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. “This is a very important occasion for north-west Russia and StatoilHydro. We’re signing agreements to train local students for opportunities in the region’s emerging oil and gas industry,” said signatory Bengt-Lie Hansen, StatoilHydro president Russia. He was joined by Lyceum no.6 vocational school principal Grigory Shatilo in Murmansk and ASTU director Alexander Nevzorov in Arkhangelsk.
Bosch Rexroth Accounces Retirement of Michael Bickel
Bosch Rexroth Corporation announces the retirement of Michael Bickel, vice president and general manager of the company’s Mobile Hydraulics manufacturing facility in Wooster, Ohio, effective January 1, 2004. Bickel began working at the Wooster site in 1965 as a machine operator. He left the position when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following a tour of duty in Vietnam, Bickel returned to his position and attended night school, earning an associate degree in industrial engineering from North Central Technical College. He held a number of engineering and sales positions before assuming his current position as vice president and general manager of the Wooster facility.
