We are pleased to announce the appointment of our own Michael Scheepers as Group Manager, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications. Scheepers relieves the current Investor Relations Manager, John Polatz, on March 31, 2010.

Having completed his academic training in The Netherlands, Michael started at Cavotec in 2002, where he has since held several positions, including Marketing Assistant, Communications Manager, and his current post, Manager, Corporate Communications & PR. He is a Dutch citizen, resident in Switzerland and is fluent in English, Dutch, Italian and German.

You can find him posting here on the blog, or follow his twitter, mfscheepers or send an email to michael.scheepers@cavotec.com.

Earlier this month we announced our new Ports & Maritime cooperation with Vahle Group.  That announcement was picked up and published far and wide.  A few highlights below:

Port Technology International, March 9, 2010

Seaports Press Review, March 9, 2010

Transport Weekly, March 9, 2010

Your Cable Equipment News, March 10, 2010

Shipping China, March 17, 2010

Container Management, March 25, 2010

Photo credit: CNN.com

CNN reported the other day that couturier Elie Saab, whose clientele includes actresses Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, unveiled his design for a 117-meter superyacht at last month’s Abu Dhabi yacht show. The yacht, named “ES117,” will include 12 suites, a swimming pool, movie theater, helicopter, submarine, spa and gym.

“I always sought to represent my vision of modernity and elegance beyond the conventional limits of fashion,” Saab told CNN. ”Both haute couture and superyachts are distinctive examples of luxury. The project of a yacht is already a luxury.”

Here’s hoping that the luxurious ES117 plans to plug into onshore AMP electricity while in port.  After all, being “green” is fashionable too!

Opening the sail, photo credit: Plastiki.

Last weekend (Friday March 5) Plastiki – the latest eco-adventure we are following – set sail on the open seas for the first time.  It was a three day trial run to test everything from seaworthiness to the solar powered batteries and sleeping bags.

According to their blog, the Plastiki is “incredible because everyone has prepared her with so much passion and energy, so of course she is more than ready!”

Read more on the Plastiki blog.

We are pleased to announce the start of a cooperation with Vahle Group based on the intention to supply new innovative systems to customers in the Ports & Maritime industry.

Under this cooperation both Cavotec and Vahle will start to market systems to the Ports & Maritime industry in geographical regions where no prior exclusive representation agreements exists.

Based in Kamen, Germany, Vahle is the first company worldwide to develop an automated entry system into the container alleys without the need for additional manual connection to the conductor bar. Efficient, fast and reliable, quiet and environmentally friendly  - all characteristics of this new system.  The automated telescope arm is simply controlled via a touchpad in the RTG driver’s cabin; further advantages lie with the very short entry and exit times into the alley and in the low space requirements of the 2+2 power-rail assembly.

Our electric motorised cable reels complete the package. Pioneering electric cable reels for horizontal and vertical applications, we also produce a range of RTG ready cable reels and power connectors.

We hope you are as excited about this cooperation as we are.

We read in a recent New York Times article that Danish shipping company Maersk was proud that their container ship Ebba Maersk took over a month to steam from Germany to China – a week longer than it took two years ago.  According to Maersk, “that counts as progress.”

Why? Because Maersk cut down on costs by as much as 30 percent with reduced fuel consumption and achieved an equal cut in the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases.  Though contrary to natural inclinations in a society used to getting whatever they want, usually as fast as possible, in its corporate client presentation Maersk advises, “Going at full throttle is economically and ecologically questionable.”

The implications of this brave company’s environmentally responsible actions are vast. As the article explains, “planes could easily reduce emissions by slowing down 10 percent, for example, adding just five or six minutes to a flight” and “simply driving at 55 instead of 65 miles per hour cuts carbon dioxide emissions of American cars by about 20 percent.”

Though slowing down seems counter to the idea of moving forward, that is exactly what ships, planes and cars should do in the name of environmental efficiency.