PowerTALK

  • Stanley Black & Decker To Purchase Cub Cadet Maker and Excel

    Stanley Black & Decker has announced plans to buy the remaining 80% of MTD Holdings Inc.’s stock for $1.6 billion in cash after previously buying a 20% stake in 2019.

    In addition to lawn tractors such as the Cub Cadet, MTD also makes push lawn mowers, snow blowers, robotic lawn mowers, outdoor power equipment and garden tools.

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  • Briggs & Stratton Acquires SimpliPhi Power

    Briggs & Stratton has acquired SimpliPhi Power, a battery manufacturer whose technology can be found in many microgrids. Briggs & Stratton plans to speed its growth into the energy storage market through the acquisition.

    SimpliPhi manufactures ferrous phosphate batteries, management technology systems and plug-and-play power packs for residential, commercial and industrial customers.

    SimpliPhi Power started in the movie business, making battery packs and lights. The company…

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  • PM Launches Vehicle Scrappage Policy

    Aditya Kondejkar

    Vehicles will not just be scrapped by their age, but also if they are found to be unfit in automated testing. The vehicle scrappage policy will bring in investments of around INR 10,000 crore to set up 450-500 Automated Testing Stations (ATS) and 60-70 Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSF) across the country.

    Read The Article

    PSR Analysis: Under the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization program (VVMP), the government plans to set up between 450-500 automated vehicle fitness testing stations across India on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis involving private firms and state governments. A total of 60-70 vehicle scrapping centers will also be built; these stations will be situated no further than 150-200 kilometers away from any location in India. A total of seven agencies – including Tata Motors – have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government today for this project. Tata Motors’ vehicle scrapping center will be set up in Gujarat, will scrap both passenger and commercial vehicles and will have the capacity to recycle up to 36,000 vehicles a year.

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  • COVID-19 Variant Disrupts Supply Chain

    Akihiro Komuro
    Akihiro Komuro

    In Southeast Asia, where the delta variant of the COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, business activities are becoming stagnant. In response to government regulations and the rapid increase in the number of infected people, major Japanese companies such as Toyota and Panasonic have suspended production at some of their plants. In addition to the decline in local sales, the disruption of the supply chain has also affected production in Japan.

    Toyota has sequentially shut down all three of its plants in Thailand since July 20. The company has not yet decided when to resume operations because it has been unable to procure parts due to an outbreak of infection at one of its customers’ plants. Honda also shut down one of its plants in Thailand from August 3 to 5.

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  • Honda Staff Seek Early Retirement Amid EV Shift

    Over 2,000 employees at Honda Motor have applied for early retirement, as the Japanese automaker restructures its workforce to gear up to make more electric vehicles.

    Honda’s move is the latest in the trend among automakers to move away from the production and sales of internal combustion engines. Those employees account for around 5% of Honda’s full-time staff in Japan. Although Honda had not set a target, the number of applications has far exceeded its initial estimate of 1,000.

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  • Sinara May Dismiss 20% of Workers Because of Reduced Orders

    Maxim Sakov
    Maxim Sakov

    The machine building company “Sinara – Transport machines” (STM), says it may be forced to dismiss 20% of personnel because it has lost most of its orders from Russian Railways for cranes and other railway service machines.

    Sinara has lost 85% of the orders from Russian Railways for railway service machines. Because of decreasing orders from the railway monopoly, the main client of STM, 7,000 people on its plants have not worked since August. The total personnel number in STM is 32,000 people, so about 20% of its personnel is questionable. Now, the company is looking for a way to re-qualify these people

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  • KAMAZ Introduces Hercules Articulated Truck

    The first pictures of the new KAMAZ articulated mining truck have been published, showing a configuration of the truck with a 6×6 chassis. It will compete with the Caterpillar 740 and Volvo A40F.

    The articulated frame will increase maneuverability and off-road characteristics of the truck. Hercules will be equipped with a hybrid powertrain. The new truck will use a KAMAZ R6 engine of 450 hp, and the nominal output of every electric motor will be 517 hp. The load capacity of Hercules is 40 tons, and the full weight is 75 tons. A light option with 4×4 format and 25-ton capacity are also in the plans.

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  • Russia To Suspend Support of Domestic Auto Industry

    The Russian auto market’s increased demand for new passenger cars has caused inventory shortages, and these shortages have caused Russian authorities to suspend State programs of industry support.

    In May, for example, the number of the cars sold increased by 2.3 times, compared to same period in 2020. This growth is partly the result of pandemic restrictions last year. A total of 663,000 new cars have been delivered to the customers this year, up 39% from a year ago.

    Another reason for the shortage of cars in Russia is a shortage of semiconductor chips.

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  • Second FAME II Incentives May Spur EV Demand

    Aditya Kondejkar

    The amendments to the FAME-II electric vehicle policy were rolled out in the last month and manufacturers have lauded the efforts in adopting EV mobility in the country.

    Source: Financial Express. Read The Article  

    The government partially modified the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II. Further, it has included an additional demand incentive for electric two-wheelers to ₹15,000 per KWh from an earlier uniform subsidy of ₹10,000 per KWh for all EVs, including plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids except buses.

     This decision will increase subsidies for such vehicles by 50% under the FAME II scheme and be a game-changer in adopting EVs.

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  • South Korea’s SK and LG to Build EV Battery Plant in the U.S. Joint Venture in the Gap between U.S.-China Conflict

    South Korean automotive battery giants are moving into the U.S. market, with SK Innovation teaming up with Ford and LG Chemical with GM to promote the construction of an automotive battery plant. SK plans to invest about 300 billion yen in the plant to produce 22 gigawatt-hours of automotive batteries, enough to power 220,000 EVs a year, and in a joint venture with Ford, the two companies will invest 600 billion yen to build a giant 60-gigawatt plant.

    SK’s annual production capacity as of 2019 is only 5 gigabytes at its Korean plant. The capacity is expected to increase to 30 gigawatts in 2020 with the launch of plants in China and Hungary, to 85 gigawatts in 2023 with the addition of the US plant, and to exceed 185 gigawatts in 2025 with the addition of the joint venture with Ford. SK, a late entrant to the market, ranks sixth with a 5% share of the global market in 2020.

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