when competitors became a team when competitors became a team

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If you enter the following address in your web browser http://eu.eka.intra/sites/315/default.aspx you will find the Technology Scouting intranet page where you can read all about what the scouts are looking for and how to contact them. Technology scouts at Eka “The ideas are there, all we have to do is catch hold of them!” - reasons John Breese, head of the Business Development Projects and Business Intelligence unit. Since the second quarter this year, he has been leader of a group working specifically with Technology Scouting. ■”We work actively on tracking down ideas, evaluating and acquiring the rights we need to use them,” explains John Breese. The policy has been followed before, but by having a dedicated team working like this, the company hopes to increase the influx of ideas and of new technology. The concept has already generated results; the group has received about 30 projects after only six months, these now be- More reporting from Bohus 8 ekaecho | # 4 2007 ing evaluated, one of which has been delivered to the line organization for implementation. TECHNOLOGY SCOUTING WORKS as a complement to existing methods of developing company business. Other parallel activities, apart from R&D, include general business intelligence, the Eureka ideas system and the innovation program. ”Eka develops operations and products internally, but we need to keep an eye on technologies developing outside the company. We need to detect and evaluate opportunities and threats as early as possible, and when we find good ideas we need to ensure we have the right to use them.” Five others besides John Breese are now engaged in scouting. These are Hans Larsson, Global Marketing, Magnus Davidsson, Maria Norell, Technology and Engineering, Michael Persson, Product and Business Development and Scott Auger, Technical Marketing. ■■ ■ Incident reporting at Eka Chemicals, Bohus, Sweden has increased by 50 percent. At the same time, according to recently compiled figures, the length of time it takes to process these reports has been cut from 110 days to 40. Moreover, the prognosis for the whole of 2007 is looking good. ”This is very positive. We have been encouraging an increase in incident reporting and this, together with an improved reporting system, has produced results,” says Ann Lindgärde, Bohus site manager. ”And we are very pleased to have shortened the processing time so much. Reporting incidents is important preventive work, and by learning from incidents and taking appropriate measures, we hope to prevent serious accidents from occurring.” WHAT WE DO FOR ... PENGUINS ■ Everyone who has visited penguins at the zoo knows what fun it is to watch them diving and swimming in their pond. Although you might have wrinkled your nose because the water looks cloudy and the ”pool” is stained with an unpleasant looking blackishgreen substance. The problem is caused by algae growth. This in turn is caused by the nutritive substances in the penguins’ food and their habit of relieving themselves in the water. The latter is of course unavoidable, whoever heard of potty-trained penguins? To provide the penguins with more pleasant living conditions, and to make it easier for spectators to see them, the water needs to be cleaned. Chlorine, some might guess, would be the answer. But, although penguins might remind us of gentlemen in tails, their water cannot be treated with chlorine – chlorine makes penguins go blind. Instead we use a combination of hydrogen peroxide and UV light. This is the method in which the Slottskogen Zoo in Göteborg, Sweden has invested, buying their hydrogen peroxide from Hydrogen Peroxide Special Applications at Eka Chemicals. The zoo hosts 30 Humboldt penguins and last spring they were given a new pond fitted out with the same kind of treatment plant the seal pond was equipped with in 2003. The plant contains an “engine room”, through which flows the water which is constantly pumped round the pond. A continuous and small amount of hydrogen peroxide is added to the water. After which the water is treated with UV light in order to reinforce the cleaning effect. Previously, the pond had to be frequently emptied and cleaned out with high pressure hoses, a process now required far less frequently. Although the zoo uses 60 tons of hydrogen peroxide per annum (for treating both ponds) this is still a cost saving. And best of all – the penguins no longer have to be interrupted in their water acrobatics. Monica Rossing
Dollar affects profits Since 2002, the US dollar has weakened by a full 30 percent against the Euro and the Canadian dollar. Naturally, currency fluctuations of this order have a major impact on the competitiveness of countries and companies alike. ■ Theoretically, a weaker US dollar should lead to shifts in prices and costs, compared to e.g. Europe, by the same magnitude as the currency change. Subsequently, the effect of this ought to be increased exports from and decreased imports to the US. How does this affect our customers? Forestry industry players often have production costs in one currency and sales in another. Forest industry products are generally traded between regions in US dollars. A full 30 percent of world trade in paper and board is transnational, so the impact of currency fluctuations is considerable. THE MAJOR NET EXPORT COUNTRIES, that is, Canada, Finland, and Sweden are most affected. For Canada, the world’s largest forestry product exporter, the currency fluctuation has presented a considerable disadvantage and is a strong contributory factor to the extensive closures of recent years. This is one of the largest economic factors affecting Europe as well, where export represents 10 percent of production capacity, corresponding to 11 metric tons. The larger part of this comes from Finland and Sweden. Most paper and pulp products can be considered commodities, so currency fluctuations have a more direct effect on profitability than for specialized products. The mature markets of North America and Europe exhibit excess paper capacity and weak or declining demand for several grades. So despite its favorable currency position, due to declining demand and an under-invested industry, the US has not been able to take advantage of the situation. Instead, the excess capacity and increased costs of input goods of recent years have led to closures at a rate never before seen. Europe has also seen closures, which would normally give rise to a better balance between supply and demand, thereby allowing price increases. This expectation has, however, not been realized, not least due to the strong Euro, which led to reduced export opportunities, and by persistent excess capacity. If the current dollar-euro exchange rate holds, Europe will need to further rationalize the industry if it is to attain reasonable profitability. FOR PULP PRODUCERS, the reduced availability and increased cost of raw materials, together with other increased costs, has caused a dramatic rise in production costs. Since the dollar started weakening in 2002, the price of bleached long-fiber pulp has increased by an average of 46 percent while bleached short-fiber pulp has increased by 40 percent. For pulp exporters outside the US, however, most of this gain has been countered by the weak- BUSINESS $ A full 30 percent of world trade in paper and board is transnational, so the impact of currency fluctuations is considerable. er dollar. Canada in particular is very hard hit by the low US dollar exchange rate. CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS are often overlooked when describing the forest industry’s situation, despite being one of the key factors influencing the industry’s, and consequently our, profitability. PricewaterhouseCooper’s latest forest industry report shows the average return on working capital for the world’s 100 largest forestry companies to be no more than 5.1 percent for 2006. A generally accepted goal within the industry is a return of 10-12 percent. The report also ranks the depreciation of the US dollar highest in its list of the economic factors behind the forestry industry’s prolonged profitability problems. Lene Schack Head of Eka Business Intelligence ekaecho | # 4 2007 9
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when competitors became a team when competitors became a team

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