RCom in Trouble - Aircel Merger

Reliance Communication Company owned by Anil Ambani is facing a crisis. Already indebted to the tune of 45000 plus crore rupees there seems no hope for a turnaround. 

The company's core business revenue is dropping drastically on all fronts - voice and data. The steady decline is attributed to  customers switching to other service providers and stiff competition for RIL Jio. The company has reported losses subsequently from last few quarters due to reduction in usage affecting revenue per customer. The company has failed to retain or increment its mobile broadband customers.    

The shares of ADAG companies have shown a constant downfall. RCom has to service its debt in order to retain its position in the market somewhat. RCom Aircel merger which has been approved by concerned bodies will assist in business recovery hopefully. This will come in form of demerger with Aircel & Dishnet Wireless Limited. This transaction will substantially reduce RCom's depth as well as Aircel's depth.         

The merger will result in making it one of India's largest private sector companies. After the merger RCom will hold 50% share in Aircel Ltd. 

Thermal Paper Rolls & Ribbons

In earlier times written communications were limited to pen and paper. Then later the typewriter was invented which changed the way we communicated. With the introduction of fax machine and then the printers this made communication far more dynamic.  In the offices and restaurants the use of printers has been extensive in recent times.  

Office products constitute office stationery, custom business forms, and gadgets both  electronic and manual. All modern hi tech offices have been computerized and hence material required for offices has changed as well. 

Printers are extensively used in offices, earlier it was the dot matrix printer then later ink jet and laser printers were introduced. 

Color Thermal Printers 

Colored thermal printer imparts impression on paper using wax based ink. The ribbon travels along the paper right under the printing head and in the process leaves color impression due to heat and chemical change. The paper used in such printers is called thermal paper or thermal paper rolls. The paper is special in the sense that it is coated with chemicals that change color and impart impression when heated.

Cartridges 

Cartridges used in these printers are main accessories of printing systems without these components printing would not be possible. Due to their limited life they are constantly in demand in offices. 

The cartridges and spools all contain ribbon laced with ink. The ink leaves a desired impression on paper used for printing. In case of thermal printers the ink changes color as desired before imparting and impression on the thermal paper or rolls.  Added advantage of cartridges and printer ribbons is that they can be refilled. 

Thermal Printer Ribbons 

Thermal ribbons come in three different types: 

Wax Used for printing on paper label and business forms customized as per need. 

Wax + Resin Used on smooth coated paper labels they produce fine results and the image is more durable. 

Pure Resin Pure resin ribbons are used to print on plastic labels, polypropylene, polyester and vinyl. The color is black but red and blue colors are also available. The quality depends much on plastic material used. The ink adheres to the surface of the plastic label and durability depends upon the type of plastic used. Pure resin printing is most durable water resistant and can stand strong sunlight. 

Thermal Paper Rolls 

These are used in printers, adding machines, cash registers, credit card terminals in hotels, restaurants, offices, retails stores. The rolls are sold in various size according to the applications.   

Due to decrease in cost the application of thermal paper rolls has become widespread in various businesses. Hence they are manufactured is large volumes all over the World.    

Office Stationery Business - Tough TImes Ahead

One of the consumed products the office stationery industry is constantly facing instability. This is so especially in case of manufacturers. The market is dependent much on local regions for those manufacturing non branded items. 

Even for brands the instability factor remains. Constant incursions from low cost imports and competition from generic play a major role in reducing profitability. Hence innovation and research are key factors that define success. The industry is dependant upon new products that skip over the existing competition to make a killing.     

Bulk manufacturing and supplies are strategic in maintaining profitability in face of stiff competition. Economic down fall or recession can also hit hard.  

Trends and technological changes do impact sales of traditional stationery products, especially those that are paper based. Electronic communication and Internet has reduced consumption of paper based products.  Increasing use of computers, laptops, PDA and mobile further impact the growth of this industry. 

Increase in business activities and educational institutes are the stabilizing factors that could end up mitigating losses or reduced profitability. This is applicable to Asian markets where schools and colleges are mushrooming. In developing economies mushrooming enterprises is aiding in sales of office stationery products.     Warding of local competition by implementing smart marketing strategies and increasing exports could yield spectacular results for  agile manufacturers.  

Lifestyle changes increase demands of products that constitutes stationery in contemporary times. But this is more beneficial in case of other sectors catering to personal, family and social demands.  

Hence the picture is not as bleak as it appears to be. Since the onus has shifted to new product development those with flair for research and innovation will continue to survive and flourish. 

Steel Industry in China

Steel production increased rapidly during the post World War 2 era. Many countries developed at a rapid rate with amazing construction booms. Steel making process involves use of iron ore and scrap. The process includes exclusion of impure element like nitrogen, excess carbon, sulphur silicon etc. In order to obtain various grades of steel elements like vanadium, manganese, nickel and chromium are added during production. The introduction of Bessemer and Siemens Martin processes revolutionized production globally.     

The capital reforms under Deng Xiaoping gave a big boost to Chinese industrialization.  lagging much behind the global steel industry the reforms brought about a paradigm shift and augured production.   

By 2011 China became the largest producer of steel in the World. The production rose to over 680 million tonnes accounting for forty five percent of global production.This despite stiff competition by major players and unstable prices of raw material. As per the trend in almost each sector the industry experienced prices rise within this period.  

The production continued to peak until its decline on year 2016 which resulted in stock market crash in that country. This came about as a result of other countries exports specially from Russia and Ukraine. 

The largest steel producers in China are Hesteel Group with production being 31 million tonnes which is much below Arcelor Mittal. The latters is the largest steel producers in the World with 116 million tonnes. Other major producer of this commodity are Jiangsu Shagang, Ansteel and  Baosteel groups. India ranks fourth in production of steel and is undergoing a rise in production along with new entrants like Brazil and South Korea.     

Moving Industry Outlook USA

The moving or translocation industry is dynamic as a large number of residents, workers, soldiers and businesses move from one State to another or locally.   

Like all industry the moving industry experience the change. It is highly dependent of the state of economy, industrial outlook, trends and paradigm shifts that govern life in US. These are not the only factors that   make people relocate locally or in the other states of the country. 

Some other factors that make people shift from one place to another or from one destination to another are: 

Seeking cheaper accommodation

Move into own Household

Job transfers

Marital status change

Leaving education institutions

Retirement

Health reasons

Natural upheavals 

Social Insecurity

Discrimination

Rentals

Proximity to work place

Proximity to school/college or university
Expanding accommodations

According to trends more than eighty percent move within the state. About twelve percent move outside the state while the rest migrate to another country. In US annual translocation is approximately forty three million people. This constitutes seventeen percent of population of  USA. Hence the number of people on the move every year is one the rise due to the factors stated above,.     

As per American Moving and Storage Association the movement in various sectors took place as follows: 

24% Military
Corporate 39 %
Individual or Residents 35 % |
Leaving the rest to Federal Government employees.    

The constant demand in the industry has seen establishment of new moving companies big or small. With the rise in relocation the logistic, storage and transportation companies have also experienced growth.
 

 

   

Industry: Biotechnology in Nascent Stage

The industry defers from conventional pharmaceuticals is in the use of natural materials for composition of drugs, fmcg and household utilities.  The drugs are manufactured in a living ecosystem comprising of microorganisms, plants and even cells.

Laborious research, innovation are the key factors in reaching the pinnacle that spells success. Since new discoveries of drugs (biopharmaceuticals) and products fuel the demand leading to growth and gains.  Nevertheless the industry being in a nascent stage the market is volatile at times discouraging investors and stakeholders.  The products are expensive and hence invite regulatory pricing at times from the governing bodies bent upon providing cheap medical care to their citizens.  

In order to reach the market the products must pass strict regulatory mechanism comprising of tests and trials. Amny drugs find it difficult to pass through clinical trial stage costing the concerns hefty amount.   

In India the industry has picked up pace and experiencing high YoY growth. India has high number USFDA approved plants. The acronym stands for US Food & Drug Administration a body that regulates edibles and drugs among others.   

India is emerging as the top base in clinical trail and research segment. The country has an advantage in necessary skills,  infrastructure, cost effectiveness and developed R&D base. Though it has a marginal share in the contemporary global biotech industry the projected growth is promising.   

Structural Steel - Product Reuse & Recycling

Structural Steel is used in construction with added advantage over tradition construction methods. This form of construction is gaining ground day by day as fabrication industry advances. The new technology uses lightweight structural steel to fabricate building parts. These parts are made in units and not at construction. Eventually they are installed at the construction fitted at suitable junctures on the building being built.    

Product Re-use

This is one of the greatest advantage of lightweight steel. At the end of its life it can be reused as new product in buildings under construction.  In case of re use no processing is involved.  The steel structures are reused more in some sectors than the others.   

The discouraging factors are lack of standardization, difficulty in assessment of composition and quality after end life dismantling from its earlier incarnation.   

Design for reuse

Use bolted connections this allows easy dismantling 

Provide easy access to connections 

Keep the steel  free from coatings or coverings for proper visual assessment. 

Minimise the use of fixings to structural steel use clamped fittings.

Use long-span beams

The recycling and reuse enable reduction of adverse impact on the environment with added cost benefit. Steel being hundred percent recyclable and a high end recovery rate has to be kept that way.

Scrap recycling is also on the increase as an eco friendly practice.  During prefabrication raw material waste does occur but this can be easily collected and recycled.   

The two aspects combined are leading the World to a more sustainable development.