Hangzhou PUWEI Co., Ltd.

Where does recycled stuff go?

epuwei — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:13:37 CST

THE RECYCLING MARKET FAIR HELD every first Friday and Saturday of each month at all SM Supermalls has become a habit for many environmentally conscious shoppers who wish to dispose of their waste items properly.

A joint project of the SM Supermalls, in cooperation with the National Solid Waste Management Committee, Philippine Business for the Environment, Cenro Pasig, EPWD-QC and other government agencies, the event brings together shoppers and recycling companies. Shoppers bring their paper, plastic and electronic wastes which are, in turn, purchased by recyclers.

But what do recyclers do with the items that they buy?
It’s amazing how these are transformed into very functional products, and how trading these have a great impact on the environment.

With the recent Recycling Market Fair last Aug. 1 and 2 at all SM Supermalls, here are some Recycling 101 on how these products are reused and recycled.

Recycling paper

You’ll be surprised how Trust International Paper Corp., one of the participating companies at SM’s Recycling Market Fair transforms traded paper items into high-grade quality recycled paper that is used for newspapers and magazines, illustration boards, stationery products and photo frames.

How does this happen? The waste paper traded is sorted to ensure that materials unsuitable for paper-making are discarded. Sorted papers are then loaded, weighed and conveyed to the High Consistency Pulper (HCP) which converts it to a fibrous cellulose mass. Chemicals are then added to attain required brightness of pulp, after which bleached pulp is converted to quality paper at the paper machines.

The recycled paper is then reeled on a spool and transferred to the unwind stand for cutting and rewinding, after which the parent roll is trimmed into customer-ordered sizes. The rolls are then sent to the roll-wrapping machine for rolling, wrapping and labeling.

Recycling electronic waste

Customers who have traded their electronic wastes will be happy to know that HMR Envirocycle Inc., SM’s recycling partner, handles excess and obsolete industrial wastes in an environmentally friendly manner.

The company which is located in Cabuyao, Laguna, manages unwanted or surplus products by providing optimum recovery methods, as well as solutions to e-waste problems without endangering the environment. Through the HMR Group affiliates, wholesale, retail and auction operations become viable channels for the remarketing of reusable assets like spare parts, tools, shelvings and office furniture.

Reycling plastic waste

Did you notice that plastic products have identification codes consisting of arrows forming a triangular shape with a number in the middle? That code is one’s key to identifying the kind of plastic, which is the first step in recycling.

Water and beverage bottles, for example, are made of PET or Polyethylene Terephthalate Mineral; grocery bags, produce bags, food wraps are made out of LPDE or Low Density Polyethylene; and take-home boxes, egg cartons and CD cases are PS or Polystyrene products.

A wide range of products may be made from these plastic pellets—items for the home like baskets, chairs, trays; as well as construction materials like PVC sewer pipes, flooring and window frames. These can also be made into plastic bags, CD and video casette cases, garden furniture, fiber filling for sleeping bags and office furniture.

Recycled style

What is saved when recycling plastics? Recycling plastics conserves nonrenewable fossil fuels as plastic production, uses 8 percent of the world’s oil production. It also reduces consumption of energy, reduces amounts of solid waste going to landfill and reduces emissions of carbon-dioxide, nitrogen-oxide and sulphur-dioxide.

Tetra packs and colored magazine sheets are made into fashion items like bags and necklaces by Kilus Foundation, a multipurpose environmental cooperative. With a production capacity of 40,000 bags a month which are exported to the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Korea, providing livelihood for 200 families.

SM’s Recycling Market Fair is held every first Friday and Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m at all SM Supermalls nationwide.

Navigation on a Web site can make or break the site

epuwei — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:04:10 CST

Navigation on a Web site can make or break the site. In our day adage, people have less time - and less patience. People won’t use a Web site if they can’t find their way around easily. Navigation is essentially about two things: getting from one page to another and figuring out where you are. Basically, navigation tells us what’s on the site, and through hierarchy and display, it tells us what the site contains. Navigation reveals content. Navigation also tells us how to use the Web site, where to begin and what the options are. If done correctly, navigation should be all the instruction you need to quickly and easily maneuver around any Web site.

Common Site Navigation Challenges Faced by Companies

When it comes to the design of good Web site navigation, the main challenges faced by businesses today are as follows: Poor grouping of content (articles, product, etc); Inconsistent elements within a content group; Random ordering of elements;
Confusing labels (use of marketing terminology and technology industry jargon); Design and layout issues; and Measurement and performance assessment.

The last challenge, measurement and performance, is essential and critical, because, unless you’re able to measure navigation success, you can’t confirm whether there are problems and where these problems exist. Once measurement determines the problem, site issues can be resolved after confirming the “where, what and why.” And, once navigation performances improved, it is extremely important to be able to assess the results against the previous measurement to determine whether thepre-existing problems have been resolved.

Introducing the “Confusion Index”

How many times have you landed on a Web site hoping to find something specific, but found it to be much more difficult than you ever imagined? You may have reached your boiling point with frustration and left the site in anger, vowing never to return again. This happened to me almost two years ago, which ultimately led to the design of a new Web analytics method to measure what we term the “confusion index.” This index can be applied to home and gateway pages (also called “router” pages), but usually home and category pages, and works regardless of your site type (e-commerce, lead generation, media site, support site, etc).

The first step is to identify your key gateway pages, starting with the most popular ones in terms of traffic. Your best candidates are the home page and the top category pages, the pages that are not destination pages (product destination pages are product detail pages, article pages, etc.), and which contain links ton on-destination pages as well. From there, we can calculate the confusion index at two different levels: one on the gateway page itself and one for each hypertext link on the gateway page (as long as these links do not lead to a destination page).

Now that we’ve established that a gateway page is not destination page by definition, visitors going through this page should continue on and select one of the options offered on the page (e.g., subcategory link). If they don’t select one of the available options offered, that means the scent is broken. Scent is a term coined by analytics expert Bryan Eisenberg that means the site visitor has lost the scent on the trail to the information they seek. If the scent is broken from the page the visitor is sitting on, the behavior of such visitor will express itself as follows: Step back: The visitor feels he is at a dead-end, and he wants to step back and look at the other navigation options. Trigger an internal search: The visitor feels he is at a dead-end and doesn’t feel any of the previous options offered any solutions, yet he still thinks the Web site has what he is looking for, thus triggering his decision to start an internal search. Go to the contact or help pages: The visitor is at a dead-end, doesn’t know how to find whether is looking for and thinks that calling directly or sending an email to the company is the best option at this point. Navigate cross-category or cross-channel: The visitor thinks the original choice, to browse the current category, is wrong. The more the visitor dives into the category and sees the content adoptions offered, the more he thinks he is in the wrong area. By looking at the primary navigation, the visitor decides to jump intoed different category expecting a better result. Exiting the Web site: Because of frustration or lack of success, the visitor believes he is not going to satisfy his goal and decides to leave the site, which is the least desired behavior an done that should be avoided at all costs.

Real-Life Example of a “Confusing” Navigation Experience

Let’s see now how the confusion index works in a real-life situation. As you read through this next paragraph, think about your own behavior when you browse Web sites in search of something specific, and decide for yourself if your own experience relates to the confusion index scenarios described previously:

Recently, I was in the market for a Jacuzzi bathtub. I knew that one of the nationwide home improvement retailers had exactly what I was looking for, so I headed to the company’s Web site to look for more information. When I arrived on the home page, I started looking for the most relevant link. I thought I found it when I saw” kitchen and bath.” The next page displayed new links and the “tubs” link was, of course, my clear first choice. Surprisingly, there were no Jacuzzi tubs on the next page. Next, Tried “bath hardware,” but no luck there either. How about “spa”? Nope, struck out again! My frustration started to grow quickly. Out of options, I decided to use the internal search box and typed in “Jacuzzi tub.” I assumed this would finally get me to the end of my quest for Jacuzzi options. It didn’t - after all of this effort I only received this message: “Sorry, we couldn’t find any matches for Jacuzzi tub.” That was it. Goodbye.

Upon Review

Now, let’s review my behavior starting with the main category page (the “kitchen and bath” page). From that page, Clicked on three different links - “tubs,” “bath hardware” and “spa” - and in each case, I clicked the back button immediately because I couldn’t find what I was seeking. Finally, I clicked over to the internal search engine, but when I received no match for my query, I left out of sheer frustration. This behavior is pretty typical of people who can’t find what they are looking for online. As a result, we can build a Web analytics model to track the links that have higher instances of clicking on the back button, clicking to another category, clicking on the internal search link, clicking on the contact or help links, or leaving the site altogether.
Call to Action

By using Web analytics, you can easily design and build a custom report that tracks the confusion index on your gateway pages. This report can be used to closely monitor links with high scores that need to be fixed. For example, an 83 percent confusion index foray given link means that 83 percent of the time the link was clicked, the behavior of the visitor reflected confusion (such as clicking the back button or entering the site search field).

The best practices that I have used, with great success, over the years to improve navigation and navigational links with high confusion index rates are as follows: The name of the destination page needs to match the page name that was clicked on. It reinforces the fact that the site visitor is where he wants to be. It also forces Web designers and Web site architects to think hard about the labels. Use internal search as an asset and source of information to improve many navigation issues. On the pages with a high confusion index, track and analyze the internal search keywords that are typed by visitors. It is direct insight into the mind of your customers, and this data basically tells you what they are looking for and where on the Web site they looked but couldn’t find whey they sought. Make sure to leverage their language and nomenclature instead of your own. In those situations, don’t argue. Your visitors are customers, and they’re always right. Group the right products in the right category. If you aren’t sure in which category it best fits between two categories, put the product in both. On another Web site, I discovered that my “Jacuzzi tub” was not under “Indoors/Bathtubs and Showers/Bathtubs” where it logically should have been, but only under “Indoors/Bathtubs and Showers” (one category higher than where I searched). Given that this site offered their visitors direct access to the “Bathtub” sub-category, then of course I totally missed the “Bathtubs and Showers” category, and, as a result, was confused. Fortunately for the retailer, their site had a good internal search engine, and I was able to find my Jacuzzi bathtub.
The confusion index can be a powerful method of measuring ability of your Web site’s gateway pages. Such analysis has helped me and my customers achieve impressive results. For one customer, I was able to increase its home page penetration rate by more than 150 percent. And, by the way, for those who wonder if that darn “Jacuzzi tub” ever really existed at the nationwide home improvement retailer, the answer is yes. It was under “whirlpool tubs.” Food for thought: always use the visitor’s language and not just the manufacturer’s …unless you prefer to have a high confusion index.

Olivier Silvestre has been with Visual Sciences (formerly known as Web Side Story) since February 1999, occupying several upper management positions in marketing, e-business intelligence and professional services. Previously, he worked for several start up companies as well as large corporations like Sony. As Director of Optimization Consulting, Silvestre’s job is to help Fortune500 customers turn information into actions to maximize their online profitability. He is in charge of creating new customer data visualization tools and optimization services that drive ROI and improved communication for our clients. He also manages a team of vertical specialists who are practice leaders and subject matter experts across a diverse range of sectors ranging from media &publishing, commerce and financial services to travel and hospitality. Silvestre has published many analytics industry-related articles and is a regular speaker at industry events.
For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: Analytics Web Analytics

How to Find Suppliers in China?

epuwei — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:03:20 CST

Okay, now we know we are aiming at the good, qulified, reliable suppliers in China.

The first thing I do is to analyze my needs. What type of suppliers I m looking for, large company? a third-party suppliers? or small family-owned ones? It is very important to get the type of suppliers and my need fit each other.

Once I'v done the first step, I go on surfing on Internet, BUSYTRADE for example, do some research on lists of China-based suppliers. After narrowing down the lists match my business demands, I use software programs to input the data onto a chart which stores company names, contact info and company statistics and something I think might be useful.

After that it's the time to develop relationships with those Chinese suppliers. I usually contact them from those that get my most interests. I emailed, telephoned, or talked with them online. Well, the important thing here is keeping the conversation record. That would give a lot information one can never find on the company 'about us'. And another thing very important is to ask them weather or not they used to be done business with buyers from where I live.

Once all those background researching homeworks have been done, I would think about a trip to China to visit my suppliers. Nothing better than face to face touch. It's not a must, but just for my own good, for the money sake. I can use a holiday in China anyway.

Important Factors in Business with China Suppliers

epuwei — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:01:09 CST

There are several important factors that lead to success in business with Chinese suppliers. Money, the driving force, is a key factor and cannot be ignored. Finance is the backbone of business and without enough of it there is no point of continuing. By following a consistent mode of payment to Chinese suppliers you can make easy growth in your business. For that you are required to resolve all issues related to the terms of payment beforehand.

FOB Mode of Payment: You can resort to this typical mode of payment, which is generally known as Free on Board Hong Kong. In this process suppliers pay all expenses related to freight and carriage of goods, up to the port of Hong Kong and from Hong Kong the warehouse expenses are paid by you. The conditions related to payment are flexible and you can adjust them accordingly. Some common practices of payment include payment of thirty percent of goods value at the time of order and remaining seventy percent at the time of shipping of goods. With the money paid at the time of order, the supplier can easily meet the initial expenses on goods manufacturing. Apart from this general principle of payment you can resort to other modes also. However, payment of some percentage of goods value alleviates the problem of the buyer. As per your compatibility level with Chinese suppliers you can adopt any suitable mode of payment. You can also opt for wire transfer method of payment. For this you should first confirm the varying charges of banks for wire transfer. Different banks charge different rates.

Quality Control: After selecting the mode of payment and placing the order, next step is to determine the criteria about quality control of goods from Chinese suppliers. The criterion of quality control is fixed before the processes of manufacturing start. For this you are required to inform everything related to product like raw materials and manufacturing process, in advance to the Chinese suppliers. When product is finally manufactured you can either rely on quality control standard followed by the manufacturer or appoint anyone in your own company to check it. You can also give the task of inquiring about the quality control to a third party or person. Generally, buyers involved in having large scale business with Chinese suppliers prefer to spend maximum time on ensuring the quality of goods.

Mode of payment is an important aspect of any business, including business with Chinese suppliers. The much preferred mode of payment is FOB i.e. Free on Board. As per FOB the payment of all expense up to the port of Hong Kong are made by Chinese suppliers and after that the port expenses are paid by buyers. Common practice of payment followed for paying Chinese suppliers is payment of about 30 per cent of goods value at the time of entering into contract. The remaining 70 per cent is paid at the time of receiving the goods. Apart from it buyers can also go for other modes of payment like wire transfer. Another most important aspect in business with Chinese suppliers is to ascertain terms related to quality control. Due to this fact buyers spend most of their time in making certain quality control criteria to ensure that their expectations are met. The complete assurance about good quality of product in turn entails to the success of product in market. Therefore buyers entering into business transactions with China suppliers often go for long term discussions on quality control.

Aluminium softens as commodities slide

epuwei — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:43:12 CST

MUMBAI : Price of aluminium, the metal used widely in transportation, consumer durables and power distribution industries, has been reduced by Rs 10,000 per tonne from March 20, in line with international trends as commodity prices globally have declined after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates.

The cut, the third price revision in March and the fifth in two months, has been the most sharp so far, say traders, adding that the trend is more due to investment strategies than traditional supply-demand fundamentals.

Nalco, the state-owned aluminium company, took the lead as always, by cutting price of ingots last week by Rs 10,000 to about Rs 130,000 per tonne, underscoring a departure from earlier tradition when aluminium prices were revised monthly. Aluminium prices have been changed on March 11 and 1, and earlier on February 16 also.

“International prices of aluminium have been fluctuating and it’s very difficult to pinpoint any particular reason for that,” Nalco chairman CR Pradhan told ET. “But supply demand factors and hoarding to some extent are being attributed,” he added, ruling out any speculative activity.

Nalco, which is Asia’s largest alumina maker, has the capacity to manufacture 345,000 tonnes of aluminium metal in a year. Apart from Nalco, other aluminium producers such as Hindalco Industries and the Sterlite-controlled Balco too reduced prices after the cash settlement price on the LME declined sharply to about $2,850 per tonne from $3100, after investors pulled out funds from metals, crude and gold post the Fed cut rates and after funds were shifted to equity markets.

Although executives in Hindalco, India’s largest aluminium and copper company, declined to comment on the price cut, sources said the move was inevitable after the sharp fall in the LME. “We are following international trends,” they said. Balco executives too confirmed the cut.

“Metal prices are mainly driven by liquidity,” explains Sanjay Jain, a metal analyst with Motilal Oswal. “Prices of aluminium had risen sharply in the past two months and a correction was inevitable,” he said, adding that the Mumbai-based brokerage expects further correction in the metal, to about $2,500 per tonne.

Metal price trends have been in line with global commodities price movements. Gold, which had reached a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce last week, fell to a one-month low of $904.65 an ounce. The yellow metal, which was considered a safe haven compared to credit troubles in the US, was dumped by investors after the Fed cut interest rates by 75 basis points.

Similarly, crude oil was under pressure, dropping to about $100.33 per barrel as investors feared a slowing US economy would affect consumption. Shares of metal companies too reflected the concerns. Hindalco which ended on Monday down 0.7%, has shed 21.7% in the past month to Rs 153.85. Nalco, on the other hand has fallen 10.7% in one month to Rs 478.25 on the BSE.

Positive growth 22% in crude steel production by JSW

epuwei — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:41:08 CST

A growth of 22% in crude steel production has been noticed by JSWSteel Limited on comparable basis in Q1 FY 2008-09 includingproduction of Salem works for corresponding period. Other than thisthe company has also made remarkable growth of 18% in Rolled longproducts segments.
During the month of June, the production of HR Coils was lowerbecause of shutdown of Hot Strip Mill for 17 days formodernization. But after when the revamp was re-commissioned on29th June

You’re welcome to visit our corporate blog to get more information and to interact with us at http://epuwei.bokee.net/.

CN steel products export set record

epuwei — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:38:51 CST

China's export of steel products kept increasing in June and mightset a new record this year after three consecutive rebound onmonth-on-month basis.
According to Liu Yuan, analyst of Mysteel Research Center, domestic steel price witnessed a general decline in June, whileprice on foreign market was still firm. The price difference keptrising and ocean freight went down significantly. As a result, China's steel export volume is expected to keep growing in the restof the year.
The export volume was estimated to exceed 6 million tons in June,and is likely to decline slightly in July and August due to theweak demand from the oversea market, where summer vocation istaking place.
Analysts hold that there cannot be major change in the policy forthe export of steel products because the emphasis of the tradepolicy this year is only structural adjustment.

You’re welcome to visit our corporate blog to get more information and to interact with us at http://epuwei.bokee.net/.

Russia: world needs stable dollar

epuwei — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:34:32 CST

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday the global financial system needed a stable U.S. dollar as well as several other reserve currencies, potentially including the rouble.

"Such a multi-currency approach, when other reserve currencies co-exist with a stable, not weak dollar, we consider important," Medvedev told media outlets, including Tootoo.com, in an interview, a transcript of which was published on the Kremlin Internet site.

Russia, the world’s 10th biggest economy, runs over $0.5 trillion in gold and forex reserves and is preparing to launch its first sovereign wealth fund. The country does not take part in G8 currency discussions.

Medvedev said international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund were not coping well with the task of stabilising the world’s economy and needed to reform.

"Proposals (on reform) are being prepared by a number of countries... We are preparing similar proposals as well," Medvedev said.

Medvedev said he wanted to see fewer government officials and more independent directors on the boards of Russian state-controlled companies such as gas export monopoly Gazprom.

"I believe that in principle the total number of state representatives, people who are serving bureaucrats, can be reduced, both in Gazprom and in other companies," he said.

You’re welcomed to visit our corporate blog to get more information and to interact with us at http://puwei.bokee.net/.

Windows, Locks, Keys and Alarms (3)

epuwei — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:12:21 CST

Keys

Under no circumstances should you 'hide' your house key under a doormat, pot plant or other obvious place. If necessary, give a spare key to a trusted neighbour but do not give one to a tradesperson. Copies are quickly and easily made. Where added security is required consider a restricted key system.

Do not mark your keys with your name and address.You can mark your keys using the police property identification system.

Locks may be 'keyed alike' so that one key will open all doors and one key will open all windows.

Make sure you keep keys where you can reach them in a hurry - for example, in case of fire.

Intruder Alarms

Alarms should not be a substitute for good physical security but rather be an addition to it.

When buying an intruder alarm system consideration should be given to obtaining more than one quote so as to make sure you are getting the system you need.

Seek advice when installing an alarm.

There are several alarm components available including:

Movement detectors (ultrasonic, microwave infra-red) which react to movement and/or heat and can be placed in strategic locations around your home.
Magnetic Reed Switches, electro-mechanical devices that are activated when the electronic circuit is broken.
Duress or panic assistance in the form of a fixed button, coded pad pin alert, or a portable device connected to an alarm

A good alarm should include the following:

24 hour battery backup.
Comply with Australian Standards 2201.
Two tamper resistant sirens, one inside and one outside (satellite).
"User friendly" code pad and control box.
The installing company has technicians available every day throughout the year.
Installer uses 14/020 wiring (six core wiring).
12 month warranty on components and installation.

If monitored, the alarm system must include Austel approved dialler and wiring. The installer must be licenced.

No alarms are directly connected to a police station. Neighbours, friends or an alarm monitoring security company are usually relied upon to ensure an effective response (notify police if necessary) to the alarm.

Windows, Locks, Keys and Alarms (2)

epuwei — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:54:12 CST

Locks

Fit good quality deadlocks on solid-core external doors with strong frames, and maintain locks in good repair or have them periodically serviced by reputable and competent tradespersons.

A double-cylinder deadlock requires key operation from either side of the door. This is essential if the door has a glass panel within or adjacent to it.

Easy to fit key-operated locks, (capable of being keyed alike), are suitable for aluminium and timber sliding doors, sliding windows, double hung (sash), casement and hopper (awning) windows. These should be fitted as required and as directed on the packaging of the locks. Remember to use the nonreturnable screws supplied.

There are many brands of good quality locks available.

Locks for meter boxes and any gates to the meter box should be purchased from your local electricity board. This means householders can lock gates but electricity board staff still have access to allow them to take meter readings.