WITH TOUGH ECONOMIC climate making productivity more important than ever, fleet managers will definitely want to take advantage of the improved picking rates that can be achieved with the new NO20NE low level order picker from Cat Lift Trucks.
A 40 per cent longer operator platform with wide-access, angled corners makes it quick and simple for operators to get on and off the truck or to walk right through it when picking from both sides of an aisle, while improved acceleration makes travel times between picks shorter than ever.
Together, these features have been shown to result in a 20 per cent increase in picking productivity in real-life customer applications, compared to the older NO20S. Good ergonomics also contributes to productivity and here too, the NO20NE offers excellent credentials. In place of a traditional deadman pedal (which forces operators to hold a certain position to keep the pedal depressed), the whole operator platform on the NO20NE fulfils the same function, allowing drivers to adopt any position they like and shift as they please to find the most comfortable operating position during work.
The spacious platform also features a low-height step and ergonomically molded backrest to keep operators happy and comfortable at all times. An adjustable, automotive-style multi-function steering wheel allows the operator to carry out all the key steering, lift and lower functions with either hand, even when reversing, reducing fatigue levels and making for intuitive, error-free control. A conventional electronic steering wheel is also available, however, as is an optional drive-by-side function that lets operators control the NO20NE while walking alongside it, speeding picking cycles still further where picks are only a short distance apart. Safety is further enhanced by progressive steering and automatic speed control in turns, as well as a system that limits maximum truck speed according to the weight of load being carried – all included as standard.
The truck also features PIN code access and operator-specific settings for safety-critical parameters like acceleration and top speed. Unusually for a low level order picker, meanwhile, the NO20NE incorporates front LED lights as standard which come on automatically whenever the truck is started up, as well as button-actuated steering indicator lights. Combined with the truck’s new high-visibility styling, these make it almost impossible for other trucks or pedestrians to remain unaware of the NO20NE’s presence or intended direction. The serviceability of the NO20NE, too, is second to none. Power is provided by either a 24V 375Ah or 24V 465Ah battery, positioned behind the operator compartment for easy access. The truck’s AC motor provides excellent performance with service intervals at a massive 600 hours.
The NO20NE has also been designed to provide excellent access to all its components, speeding up servicing when it does take place. Customizing the new NO20NE is also simpler than ever before. A huge range of individual options is complemented by four different options packages, with different packages to suit list picking, radio frequency identification-based picking and voice picking, as well as a battery changing options pack that includes battery changing carriage and secured battery locking. The new NO20NE is just one of a wide range of top quality materials handling solutions offered by Cat Lift Trucks via an extensive worldwide network of dealers. The range includes electric, LPG and diesel powered counterbalanced trucks and an unrivalled range of warehouse handling solutions including pallet trucks, stacker trucks, low and high level order pickers, reach trucks and turret trucks.
Siemens Energy has secured a US$130mn order to supply gas turbine packages to Saudi Arabia. The components are to be installed in the Hail Extension II and Al Qurayat Expansion II power plants. The purchasers are the Alfanar Construction Company and Saudi Services for Electromechanic Works (SSEM) respectively and they will perform the project on a turnkey basis for the Saudi Electric Company (SEC) utility. Delivery of the components is scheduled for 2010 and 2011.
Power and automation technology group, ABB, has won an order worth US$89mn from the Saudi Electricity Company to build a new substation to ensure reliable power supplies for the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. The substation will be close to the financial centre and feed four smaller substations situated within the district. The project is expected to be completed in around 22 months.
Air blowers using internal compression instead of external compression can set a new standard for energy efficiency in the low-pressure market according to a new technical whitepaper from Atlas Copco’s oil-free air division. The whitepaper explains the differences between screw technology and the traditional ‘Roots’ type lobe technology and says that screw technology, which is used in Atlas Copco's ZS screw blowers, is on average 30 per cent more energy efficient. The manufacturer recently launched its full range of ZS screw blowers that are designed to improve energy efficiency for low-pressure applications and industries such as wastewater treatment and pneumatic conveying.
Plans for the zero-carbon Masdar City project are to be revised, with details of the amended master plan to be announced “imminently” according to Masdar's head of supply-chain management, Richard Reynolds. “We’ll finalise the revised Masdar plan fairly imminently, in the next two to three weeks,” Reynolds was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “We’d only built part of it, so it made sense to stop and revisit.”
Saudi Arabia has taken the first step towards becoming energy efficient by holding its first ever public stakeholder meeting, the initial step in certifying an energy efficiency project under the rules of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), in Jeddah recently.
Power generation equipment and services supplier, Alstom, has announced the strengthening of its renewables portfolio through a partnership with BrightSource Energy Inc. Alstom's move into the high-growth solar energy market comes in the form of an investment of up to US$55mn in BrightSource Energy Inc, with an equity stake that positions Alstom as one of the main shareholders in the company. 
A high level delegation representing the energy sector in Dubai has visited China to look at the latest global practices in the area of sustainable energy and the diversification of its sources. The delegation exchanged knowledge on the usage of conventional power plant technologies (using ultra super critical power plant-coal and synthetic gas) to generate electricity and produce desalinated water.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), a fund established by the government to aid the economic development of developing nations, has granted a loan to Bahrain worth US$50mn. The loan will be used to erect two electric transmission lines, of 220KV and 66KV each, to meet the increasing demand for electric power.
Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch (Transco) has placed an order with Siemens Energy to supply transformer substations and switchgear for the UAE power distribution network expansion project. The US$184mn order includes the turnkey supply of three 132/11 kV transformer substations and two 132/22 kV substations.
Power and automation technology group, ABB, has signed a service contract with the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) to provide maintenance for equipment and systems at the Gulf Interconnection Grid's newly constructed substations. The two-year contract is worth US$8.3mn and will aim to optimise the grid's reliability through regular maintenance and provide technical and emergency assistance when required.
Abu Dhabi is considering a proposal to use solar energy equipment on rooftops in the city to generate about 500MW of power, according to the executive director at the city's Executive Affairs Authority, David Scott.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable and alternative energy technologies and solutions initiative, has appointed the bidding consortium of Total and Abengoa Solar as a partner to own, build and operate Shams 1, the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant (CSP). One of Masdar’s flagship projects and the first plant of its kind in the Middle East, Shams 1 will directly contribute towards Abu Dhabi’s target of achieving 7 per cent renewable energy power generation capacity by the year 2020.
Oman has awarded France's GDF Suez a US$1.7 billion contract to build two power plants. A tender board official told Reuters, “GDF Suez has signed a 15-year contract with the government in a BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) model for which the company will spend 700 million rials."
An executive from state oil company Saudi Aramco has said that renewable sources could account for up to 10 per cent of Saudi Arabia's power output by 2020 with prices coming down and a regulatory framework in place.
ABB, THE LEADING power and automation technology group, has won an order worth US$38mn from the Saudi Electricity Company, Saudi Arabia’s national power transmission and distribution utility, to improve the efficiency of 22 power distribution substations.
THE MIDDLE EAST has the opportunity to become a boom centre for solar energy in the next 10 years, according to AT Kearney.
THE INCANDESCENT LIGHT bulb is disappearing from stores. It has long been superseded by a new generation of light sources. In tomorrow’s multimedia society colour displays the size of an apartment will generate crystal-clear images, and entire sports stadiums will be lit by high-performance lamps.
Technical Review Middle East - Issue Three 2009 Power 60 IN THE PRESENT economic climate the fact that renewable energy can cut pollution levels may not be enough. As Phil Desmond discovers, some recent innovations in the field of cellular communications are being promoted not just as being better for the environment than conventional fuels but better for business too.
ARAMCO’S “FAIR” PRICE of US$75 a barrel has not yet been achieved but the giant Saudi economy is still surging ahead, prioritising the creation of new homes and diversified jobs in industry, social and other services to satisfy the needs of a 26mn young and wealthy population which grows at two per cent-plus every year. This means continued rapid progress on the development of the new Economic Cities, further and accelerated petrochemical and light industrial diversification, and the Middle East’s largest by far programme of dedicated passenger- and freightline rail construction. 
