MONEYMAKERS
WOODY GOODY: It may not be real wood, but the success of the medium density fibre board (MDF) - manufactured under the brand name of NUWUD by Nuchem Limited in Tohana, Haryana--- means it has found its own niche in the market. So much so that other top names like WIMCO and the Modi group are getting interested in setting up their own MDF units. The eco-freindly MDF is manufactured out of agro-forest wastes like cotton and sunflower stalks, and from eucalyptus, poplar and acacia trees. In the case of NUWUD, 25 per cent of its production'is being set aside for exports.
ACCOLADES FOR ZENECA: With the introduction of British-based drug firm Zeneca's Accolate, asthmatic patients may soon have another cure for alleviating their misery. Accolate, awaiting US Food and Drug Administration's approval for entering the American market, scores over the other asthma drugs as it is in the form of a pill and does not require any inhaling device. Tests on more than 3,006 patients have revealed that it reduces the morning asthma attacks. For Zeneca, Accolate is its first entry into the highly lucrative anti-asthma market. TRUCKERS DELIGHT: Environmental Concept Truck (ECT) - this is what lorry manufacturer Volvo calls its latest product. And with good reasons. Life has become tougher for truckers in Sweden ever since a new legislation restricting noise and air pollution came into effect. Companies have been spending on research to develop new engines for reducing emissions, cutting noise and improving fuel economy. ECT packs in all this and more.. It runs on hybrid power, and its gas turbine is charged by ethanol, the cleanest of all fossil fuels. Also, it boasts a cabin equipped with sophisticated communications and navigation systems which help to cut congestion and improve running efficiency.
GEEP GOES DEEP: From manufacturing dry cells to propagating tissue culture and greenhouses: that is where Geep Industries Syndicate Limited, known for its range of dry cells, flash lights and lamps, is headed. Geep's Rs 11.35 crore new venture, assisted 'by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation, will have technological backing from Israel's , Bickel Biotechnology International Limited. The project - to come up in Haryana's Rohtak district - will be producing 132.3 lakh soft plants, 39.93 lakh hardened plants and 5.12 lakh cut flowers.
COAL'S THE- GOAL: China's state- owned Shenhua Group Corporation has been entrusted with the task of developing the Shenfu-Dongsheng coal mine - the nation's largest - and improve the railway lines, port facilities, power stations and ships that will use the coal which is produced there. The mine has a quarter of China's known coal reserves of 223.6 billion tonnes. The project is expected to cost US $7.3 billion and a total production of 60 million tonnes of coal has been envisaged for the year 2010.
CURE-ALL: Decks have been cleared for Panacea Biotech Limited (which has 2 manufacturing units in Delhi) to get an Indian patent for Nimulid, its drug for curing inflammation, pain and fever with minimal side effects. Most such anti-in-flammatory remedies usually engender side effects like gastric disorders. Panacea also has plans to manufacture polio vaccine at its plant which is to come up in Punjab.