Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Catiesha Piersons dream to own a juice bar by the time she turned 30 had just come true, when everything stopped.

Pierson signed the lease on a space in Minneapoliss Longfellow neighborhood in March, just a couple of months before her 30th birthday.

Walls still needed to be built and paperwork filled out when the coronavirus effectively shut down Minneapolis. When schools closed, she had to balance starting a business while supervising her 10-year-old sons schoolwork from home. Then, unrest gripped the neighborhood where she lived and worked, after George Floyd was killed by police. The new business, called the Dripping Root, is located at 4002 Minnehaha Av., just 1.4 miles from the fire-damaged Third Precinct.

Everything in this neighborhood has been destroyed, said Pierson. I was super worried. Oh my God, is my business going to end before it starts?

Somehow, her building was left untouched, and now, Pierson is closer than ever to her goal. The Dripping Root is expected to open by August.

I see the Dripping Root as the rose left in the garden to bloom, she said. It stayed there for a reason, because it was needed in the community.

As neighborhood residents emerged each morning after the chaos to clean and rebuild, Pierson became hopeful her business could also help bring the community back together.

I dont know of any black-owned juice bars, she said. I think thats one thing thats going to bring people there of all races, of all cultures. Because there have been times that Ive gone places, and Ive been looked past. I didnt feel welcome there. My money didnt feel welcome there. So to have a place where nobody is going to get looked past, I think thats very important.

Fans and followers of her cold-pressed juices seem to agree. Since Floyds death became a worldwide movement, consumers have been looking for ways to champion black-owned businesses. Pierson has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. A GoFundMe campaign to help her complete construction is close to meeting its $70,000 goal. Artists are contributing murals. The wall and floor tilework are being donated, and Room and Board has offered to provide the furnishings.

Im so happy its coming together, Pierson said. The amount of support Im getting from all over I dont even have words for it. I literally cry at the happiness.

In addition to fruit and vegetable juices, look for very Instagrammable smoothie bowls, chia seed pudding and kombucha on tap when the Dripping Root opens.

A single mom, Piersons road to entrepreneurship was long and winding. She went in and out of a career in collections over a decade, with stints as an interior designer and cosmetologist. She always brought homemade juices with her to work, wherever it was. Colleagues took an interest, and so did followers on social media.

She started selling juice by word of mouth, and explored expanding to farmers markets. But rather than pay to use a kitchen, she decided to launch her own.

Despite the setbacks and delays, amid a pandemic and an uprising, Piersons still meeting her goal of owning a juice bar at 30.

My story is real, she said. I am a black woman. I am a single mom. All odds are literally supposed to be against me. And its happening.

@SharynJackson

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Delayed by pandemic and unrest, new black-owned juice bar coming to south Minneapolis - Minneapolis Star Tribune

New Brand Updates Reflect the Company's Mission to Bring Trendy, Affordable Furniture to Consumers across the Hawaiian Islands and United States

KAPOLEI, Hawaii - June 29, 2020 - For those who live on the Hawaiian Islands, affordability of a wide range of goods coming from the US mainland is a pervasive concern. And when it comes to trendy furniture options, high inflation rates and import costs can quash homeowners design dreams.

Enter Valyou. The Kapolei and Honolulu based retailer is an online furniture store leading the style and price revolution for residents on the Hawaiian Islands. Founders Efi Bisk and Shaul Rappaport set out on a mission to silence the long-held excuse that Hawaiians must suffer through paying higher prices for furniture and household decor options compared to their counterparts on the US mainland. And since the brand first launched in 2018, the response has been overwhelming, especially from young homeowners, renters, and interior designers looking for trendy design styles at fair prices.

With its stock on the rise as its popularity grows, Valyou has now updated its website and refreshed its brand look and vision as it looks to the future.

In its current product lineup, Valyou features furniture for living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms; home dcor products; and services such as home staging and interior design. All of Valyous pieces are designer-inspired, boasting higher quality and style than pieces at comparable price points found at big box retailers. A number of the brands products have garnered rave reviews, including the Valbed 2.0, a sofa bed lauded by consumers for its sleek look, high quality construction, and unparalleled comfort.

In terms of services, Valyous home staging and interior design services have also received high marks from consumers. Valyou currently partners with some of the premier names in home design and interior design on the islands to help bring clients design dreams to life.

So, what does the future hold for this fast-growing brand? While its online showroom has been its main platform for doing business, Valyou is now looking not only to expand the options offered in its online showroom but also to opening more brick-and-mortar storefronts across Hawaii, including the opening of a showroom in Honolulu in July 2020. Additional plans include partnering with other designer furniture brands to sell at a more affordable cost through Valyou and exploring distribution deals with Wayfair and Amazon.

At Valyou, we are committed to staying ahead of the ever-changing furniture market and interior design trends to offer residents of the Hawaiian Islands and United States beautiful pieces they can be proud to feature in their homes, all at an affordable price, said Efi Bisk, Co-founder of Valyou Furniture. Weve experienced incredible success thanks to so many Hawaiians that love our designs and the quality we offer. To our surprise, the high demand for our products and services has given us the opportunity to expand our efforts Nationwide, so we can continue to meet the design needs of our new customers while giving them exciting new furniture and dcor options, as well as interior design services, all delivered with the same excellent customer service and quality they have come to expect.

To learn more about Valyou and to shop their online showroom of quality, affordable furniture products, visit https://valyoufurniture.com/.

About Valyou

Valyou is leading the affordable furniture revolution for residents across the Hawaiian Islands and the United States. With its wide selection of living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture; home dcor items; and interior design services, Valyou is committed to a no-compromise approach in providing high-quality furniture at reasonable prices.

To learn more, visit https://valyoufurniture.com/.

For more information about Valyou or for media inquiries, please contact Eddie Castillo: (214) 537-7642, eddie@valyoufurniture.com

Media ContactCompany Name: ValyouContact Person: Eddie CastilloEmail: Send EmailPhone: (214) 537-7642Country: United StatesWebsite: https://valyoufurniture.com/

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Valyou Hits the Refresh Button to Keep Up with Growing Demands of Customer Base - Press Release - Digital Journal

Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.

Age: 51

Occupation: Designer.

Instagram: @jamesdieter

Hometown: Evansville, IN.

Studio location: Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Describe what you make: I make light fixtures. I think of them as sculptural in nature, using a vernacular thats developed through experimentation and invention, resulting in something beautiful. The collection is all technically unique, with proprietary connections and pretty much all parts made in-house. The fixtures range from sconce form to chandeliers, including pendants and hanging tower configurations.

The most important thing youve designed to date: My first lighting fixture after deciding to rebrand from my original lighting company, which was dform. That brand is made of textural patterned laser-cut wood veneer as light fixtures and screens. Moving away from wood, pina was the transitional design from dform to James Dieter, and represented a material departure but a structural familiarity. While this form had potential, I really wanted to go further and began working on a series of tetrahedron-based designs. The first of these was mobi. Maybe thats the most emphatic shiftmaybe its the most important. Mobi brough my ideas toward the tetrahedron form and chain structure, which many of the designs have somehow iterated from.

Describe the problem your work solves: I think about this all the time and can only conclude that Im creating problems rather than solving them. Or rather, creating puzzles in order to solve them. I enjoy the kinds of technical challenges that I create from abstract or visual ideas, and the need to find a way of bringing them into production. The work may fit into a designers composition of an interior, but my own interest is more in the process of invention, of finding a visual idea thats interesting to me and that, in order to execute it, begins a series of questions. The vision and the design decisionsmy responses to those questionsmutually change each other. Making something thats interesting as an object and a system, hopefully with the ability to surprise visually, is the goal. And these technical stumbling blocks are what make it interesting. Of course this process doesnt solve any real problems for anyone and I recognize its a privilege to be able to chase dreams. I think of the phrase useless beauty, if ones willing to accept the beauty part.

Describe the project you are working on now: Theres a current project with the metal fixture I look forward to seeing finished. Its an installation for a stairwell that spans three floors and spreads across three walls. Its the best possible installation I could ask for with the fixture, where its unusual geometry can really define the space. A single one is interesting, but seeing them arranged in groups, triplets, is really satisfying and Im very happy to have the opportunity.

A new or forthcoming project we should know about: In the studio, the next thing that Im interested in doing is more work with porcelain. I incorporated it into designs a season ago and hand-make the parts on-site. Ill be doing more with the porcelain, making a range of pieces that will be used in multiplessome conical, some flat. Im currently exploring those now and learning a lot about what will work. I expect to introduce some new work toward the end of the year.

This season in particular, were really proud of guston, which just received an NYCxDESIGN award for best lighting in the chandelier category. And just a couple weeks ago, we launched two pieces with Sight Unseen for their Offsite Online digital exhibition. I was happy to see their promotion put on pause in an effort to listen and give space to Black Lives Matter content. This is our first year showing with them and I feel good about itI want to be aligned with other design entities and institutions that are focused, if even for the first time, on this sort of awareness. Actually, Im conscious of my inclusion in this Designer of the Day series without it being alongside many designers of color. Should someone else perhaps be here? I pose that as a challenge to both of us.

What you absolutely must have in your studio: Periods of relative quiet. Colleagues nearby who will critique. Also a cashew and Spanish corn nut mix Im always running out of.

What you do when youre not working: My preferred recreation is swimming, but thats out of the picture right now as pools are all closed because of the pandemic. These days, I wander around a fairly small patch, just observing what the city is like and how its spirit has changed, or is coping. In reality, I spend most of my time at work, or at least in the studio. I may not be getting much done, but thats where I am.

Sources of creative envy: Ronan Bouroullec, whose work I see regularly on Instagram, and also the exuberantly prolific Jaime Hayon. The sensibility of Rei Kawakubos approach to form I find to be genius. Kinetic sculptors Jean Tinguely and Arthur Ganson. Richard Diebenkorn was another big influence. I spent years frustrated by my inability to be Richard Diebenkorn.

The distraction you want to eliminate: Streaming video is one but attempts have so far not succeeded. And theres no good segue but joking aside, the current occupant of the White House is a distraction I pray will be removed in November. Were facing so many problems that are compounded by incompetence. Id also say right now, its clear that a certain part of the populationthe white part that includes myselfhold a lot of inherent biases that need to be examined and addressed. Im moved by the state of the country and sincerely hope that strides will be made toward equality. That desire along with so many other concerns, the environment particularly, are endangered or hindered by bad governance. But on the hopeful side, this distraction from a chance at saving our future can be changed by voting in November.

Concrete or marble? Concrete.

High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.

Remember or forget? Im most prone to forgetting, but not happy about it.

Aliens or ghosts? The Netflix algorithm would say aliens.

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Designer of the Day: James Dieter - Surface Magazine

Over the past five years, direct-to-consumer brands that specialize in sustainable and organic bedding have become major players in retail. But companies like Boll & Branch, Buffy and Parachute have all approached product design with a back-to-basics idea, starting with just a handful of solid colorways. Adah Chan, the founder of the recently launched sustainable bedding company Baea, is doing the reverse: using a contemporary design ethos to inform an environmentally friendly product.

Adah ChanCourtesy of Baea

Before founding Baea, which is based in Hong Kong and London, Chan worked in product development at luxury textile company WestPoint Home. At the time, the brand held the license for Ralph Lauren Home, in addition to major retailers such as Bloomingdales and J.C. Penny. I was able to really learn how things were made, says Chan. But I also saw that bedding design hasnt changed much in decades. It hasnt evolved with contemporary interior design. Theres so much interesting design that hasnt been translated into the bedding thats on the market.

Chan left that position to help open an outpost of Designers Guild in Shanghai. In her native Hong Kong, Chan's mother owns a high-end home store that stocks European linen brands like Christian Fischbacher and Yves Delorme. I knew early on that I wanted to start a business like my mother, but I honestly didnt imagine it would be so close to home, she says.

While living in London in 2017, Chan was introduced to Catherine Reeves, a London-based textile designer who would become Baeas creative director. The pair shared a vision for a line of bedding that would encompass both high-end aesthetics and sustainable production. They started the design process in 2018 and began meeting with manufacturers last year.

Pillows and bedding from Baeas debut lineCourtesy of Baea

The Rocks bedding in Bronze from Baeas Collection lineCourtesy of Baea

Left: Pillows and bedding from Baeas debut line Courtesy of Baea | Right: The Rocks bedding in Bronze from Baeas Collection line Courtesy of Baea

Baea launched in February with two linesEssentials, starting at $99, and the higher-end Collection, which goes up to $760. While Essentials is more basic, featuring linens with a simple hemstitch or double row of embroidery in contrasting colors, Collection is inspired by nature and features three designs (Rocks, Meadow and Wild Meadow) in hand-finished embroidery. Our vision is to bring nature inside in a very modern way, says Chan. We wanted to take these natural forms, like the irregular shapes of rocks or tall grass blowing in the wind, and interpret them in a way that felt clean and contemporary. While each pattern is stocked in just two colorways, Baea offers a complimentary made-to-order service that includes custom color matching and tailored sizing. In hopes of courting designers, they also offer trade pricing. In the United Kingdom, Baea is already working with interior design firms Joyce Wang Studio and Millier London on creating bespoke linens for residential projects.

The brand uses Global Organic Textile Standardcertified cotton to produce their linens, which are woven in factories in Italy and Portugal, with the embroidery finished in the Philippines. Baea is intent on avoiding plastic, so the buttons on its duvets are made from vegetable ivory, which comes from the nuts of the tagua palm tree. We considered using mother-of-pearl, Chan says. But it just felt old-fashioned and not in line with the look we wanted to achieve. All of Baeas goods are packaged in reusable fabric pouches, and Chan is working on sourcing natural dyes for the embroidery threads, something she hopes to accomplish for next years collections.

The buttons on Baeas duvets are plant-based.Courtesy of Baea

Chan knows that bedding is a crowded field, especially in the United States, but she feels that the quality of Baeas product and the emphasis on design will set the brand apart to the discerning consumer. Were not trying to sell 20,000 sets of sheets a year, she says. Were not that company. Shes more interested in having her company be a sustainable alternative to a luxury brand like, say, Frette, than to compete with a company like Brooklinen. When it comes to a potential brick-and-mortar retail presence, Chan is trying to think outside of the obvious. Especially in New York and Los Angeles, we know there are a lot of options for shops that stock bedding, so were hoping that we could partner with a store that hasnt offered [full lines of] bedding in the past[a specialty retailer] like Roman and Williams Guild.

While bedding startups like Boll & Branch and Parachute have begun to expand into more all-encompassing home brands, adding mattresses and bath linens to their offerings, Chan hopes to stay centered on bedding. I do think of Baea as a lifestyle brand, but bedding will always be the canvas where our designs start, she says. Were focused on creating products that last and telling a story through our designs.

Homepage photo: Courtesy of Baea

Read more:
This brand is putting a luxury spin on sustainable bedding - Business of Home

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio has been monitoring the aircraft engine electrical wiring harnesses and cable assembly market and it is poised to grow by $ 110.00 mn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 3% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. AMETEK Inc., Amphenol Corp., Carlisle Companies Inc., HarcoSemco LLC, Melrose Industries Plc, Nexans SA, Radiall SA, Raytheon Technologies Corp., Safran SA, and TE Connectivity Ltd. are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Development of technologically advanced, next-generation aircraft components has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Aircraft Engine Electrical Wiring Harnesses and Cable Assembly Market 2020-2024 : Segmentation

Aircraft Engine Electrical Wiring Harnesses and Cable Assembly Market is segmented as below:

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43848

Aircraft Engine Electrical Wiring Harnesses and Cable Assembly Market 2020-2024 : Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our aircraft engine electrical wiring harnesses and cable assembly market report covers the following areas:

This study identifies use of smart glasses to assist engine wire harness and cable assembly process as one of the prime reasons driving the aircraft engine electrical wiring harnesses and cable assembly market growth during the next few years.

Aircraft Engine Electrical Wiring Harnesses and Cable Assembly Market 2020-2024 : Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the aircraft engine electrical wiring harnesses and cable assembly market, including some of the vendors such as AMETEK Inc., Amphenol Corp., Carlisle Companies Inc., HarcoSemco LLC, Melrose Industries Plc, Nexans SA, Radiall SA, Raytheon Technologies Corp., Safran SA, and TE Connectivity Ltd. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the aircraft engine electrical wiring harnesses and cable assembly market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Aircraft Engine Electrical Wiring Harnesses and Cable Assembly Market 2020-2024 : Key Highlights

Table Of Contents :

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Application

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19 - Aircraft Engine Electrical Wiring Harnesses and Cable Assembly Market 2020-2024 |...

Jeremy Close had a vision for the two-story fixer-upper he bought in Ottawa with an inheritance check.

Despite the house being nearly completely gutted, the disabled Marine veteran saw an opportunity to move his family of four out of his parents' 1,100-square-foot house.

He's been working on the house himself since October. Although he's spent his days and nights removing wiring and plumbing to safely restore the house, he realized he will need help both physically and financially if he hopes to move his family in before the school year begins.

That's where Habitat for Humanity of La Salle, Bureau and Putnam Counties is assisting.

Close reached out to the agency for assistance and has complied with the guidelines of the Habitat Veterans Build Program.

The organization has offered him overstock it has while working on its new home build on Catherine Street in Ottawa, including insulation, toilets, sinks, tile, electrical equipment and paint.

But there is so much thats needed, including volunteers to help, the organization said.

About 15 people attended an open house Saturday at the Ottawa Avenue home to drum up support for Close's project.

Habitat is asking for volunteers Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning Wednesday, July 8. Anyone wanting to help can contact the office at 815-434-2041.

"Reaching out for help was a hard decision for him," said his wife, Jordan Johnson.

Close admitted it was a wise decision.

"For anyone else out there in the same situation, I'd encourage them to reach out for help before you get too far in," Close said. "I've received so much help just in the level of information and knowledge people are sharing. It really saves you from doing something before you might have to go back and redo it."

Close is a lifelong resident in the Ottawa area and is a returning disabled veteran. He has completed tours of combat duty in the Haditha Triad and one involved in the retaking of Fallujah.

The inheritance he used to buy the house was from a family member and veteran who lost his life to PTSD.

Close plans to use the garage to set up a woodworking shop and business to provide for his family, which includes two children ages 4 and 1.

"This is a wonderful story and the kind of project we want to be involved in," said Sally M. Van Cura, executive director at Habitat for Humanity of La Salle, Bureau, and Putnam Counties. "We want to help out our veterans as much as we can."

When Close first floated buying the house, Johnson was apprehensive, she said. Now, she's seeing her husband's vision more and more, and she's not the only one.

Visitors at Saturday's open house were nodding along: "I can see it."

Continued here:
Habitat is helping an Ottawa veteran with his vision for a new home - MyWebTimes.com

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global silicon metal market is expected to grow by USD 675.35 million during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth.

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Aluminum-silicon alloys have witnessed a significant increase in demand from the automotive and transport industries. These alloys are popular because of their ability to exhibit a unique combination of characteristics, such as casting into complex shapes in combination with a favorable strength-to-weight ratio giving them an edge over cast irons. Moreover, they exhibit low density combined with good mechanical properties. Aluminum-silicon alloys are primarily used as castings. In addition, they are used for making sheets and wires for welding and brazing, and a few of the piston alloys are extruded for forging stock. Silicon is the key alloying element as it imparts high fluidity and low shrinkage, resulting in good casting ability and weldability properties. The low thermal expansion coefficient is used in pistons, while and the high hardness of the silicon particles is incorporated for wear resistance. Thus, the increase in demand for aluminum-silicon alloys will drive the growth of the market.

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43890

As per Technavio, the increased use of polycrystalline silicon will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Silicon Metal Market: Increased Use of Polycrystalline Silicon

The increased use of polycrystalline silicon is expected to drive the growth of the silicon metal market during the forecast period. Polycrystalline silicon, also known as polysilicon or poly-Si, is a high-purity, polycrystalline form of silicon, produced from silicon metal by a chemical purification process, and is used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry. Currently, polysilicon is used in the conducting materials in semiconductor devices, such as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET); however, it can be used for large-scale photovoltaic devices as well. The abundance, stability, and low toxicity of silicon combined with the low cost of polysilicon compared to single crystals makes this material ideal for photovoltaic production. Polycrystalline silicon does not require to be deposited on a silicon wafer to form a solar cell, rather it can be deposited on other cheaper materials such as glass, thus reducing the cost.

Factors such as the diverse applications of silicon, and the increase in the demand for aluminum will have a significant impact on the growth of the silicon metal market value during the forecast period, says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Silicon Metal Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the silicon metal market by application (aluminum alloys, silicones and silanes, solar panels, semiconductors, and others) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and MEA).

The APAC region led the silicon metal market in 2019, followed by North America, Europe, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as the high demand for aluminum alloys from the automotive industry, optimistic economic growth, easy availability of raw materials, cheap labor, and power costs.

Technavios sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Global Silicon Metal Market 2020-2024 | Increase in the Demand for Aluminum-Silicon Alloys to Boost Market Growth | Technavio - Business Wire

Never leave a fire unattended when heating up your house.

Heating your home during winter is associated with certain risks, such as electric shocks, burns, carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.

As the temperature drops, the need to keep your home warm increases.

Because heating equipment is a leading cause of home fires, you need to be sensible when switching on your electric heater, starting your gas heater or lighting a fire in your wood-burning fireplace.

In May, ER24 paramedics arrived at a scene where a couple had sustained serious burn wounds when their cooking fire flared out of control at a block of flats in Manor, Pietermaritzburg.

The man sustained burns over most of his body while the woman had sustained burns over both her legs.

Both were rushed to hospital for further treatment, says Russel Meiring, communications officer for ER24.

Also read:

Public warned not to go to sleep with imbawula in their homes

Heres how to minimise the danger.

To ensure you or members of your family arent injured by heating your home, remember this advice.

Never use camping heating equipment, such as a charcoal braai, indoors because of the major risks of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that is formed from the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing material.

Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when carbon monoxide builds up in your bloodstream.

When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, your body replaces the oxygen in your red blood cells with carbon monoxide.

This can lead to serious tissue damage or even death.

Because it is odourless, colourless and non-irritating, you wont even notice when you are absorbing carbon monoxide.

Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning include weakness, dizziness, confusion, nausea and shortness of breath.

If you think you or someone youre with may have carbon monoxide poisoning, get into the fresh air and call ER24 on 084 124.

Also read:

Adhere to these fire safety tips to prevent a fire emergency during the winter months

Keep flammable items (such as blankets and clothes) at least one metre from heat sources.

Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children and never leave candles burning if you go to bed or leave your home.

Check electrical wiring on heaters and dont use extension cords, multi-plugs or any device with frayed wiring.

If you use an electric blanket, make sure it does not have any tears or exposed wires. Do not leave it on while unattended.

Dont leave your open fireplace unattended as stray embers can cause a fire.

Ensure you have a protective screen around open fireplaces, never use it to dry clothes or shoes and never go to bed before putting out the fire.

Keep a window open when using your indoor fireplace or gas heater to ensure adequate ventilation.

Keep a small household fire extinguisher in your home and ensure everyone in the family knows how to use it.

See original here:
Heat your home safely this winter - Springs Advertiser

The Spirit of Alberta has been parked near Stettler, AB, since 2012 waiting for costly boiler repairs. Now, the repair project has begun and more donations are needed to finish the job. | File photo

Fuchsia Dragon| publisher@fitzhugh.ca

Work has begun on the Spirit of Alberta to bring it back to the rails.

The 75-year-old steam engine, which used to call Jasper home, has been out of service and parked near Stettler since 2012, waiting for costly boiler repairs.

The Rocky Mountain Rail Society had initially planned to conduct the repairs after raising the entire amount of funds needed, about $650,000, but have now decided to move ahead with the initial stage of the repair.

The initial stage will cost an estimated $50,000, money that has come from a combination of Alberta Gaming and Liquor Casino funding and private donations. It will see contractor dfBioiler Tube Industries of Edmonton remove about 100 boiler staybolts that require replacement. The staybolts provide strength in sections of the boiler while allowing water and steam free flowing room to move.

Those bolts will be replaced in stage two of the repair plan, which the society will work towards funding after completing the first stage. Stage three is the repair of the boiler patches and holes.

Rich Graydon, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Rail Society, said: We realize in the current economic situation it will be difficult to complete the project. We hope that our project will provide jobs for Albertans and demonstrate our commitment to doing our part.

To date, the society has raised and spent about $182,000 on the project, $132,000 of which was spent on conducting metallurgical tests and developing a repair plan over the last eight years.

It is incumbent on all Albertans and Canadians to do what they can in this time of economic need, said Graydon.

We hope that this small gesture will lead to other non-profit groups to look at their plans and encourage them to continue their missions.

The 6060 locomotive was assembled in Canadas Montreal Locomotive Works in 1944 and retired from active service in 1959.

It was saved from the scrapper by Jaspers Harry Home and placed on static display in Jasper in 1962 before being restored by CN Railway and used to haul steam excursions out of Toronto a decade later.

In 1980, the train was presented to the people of Alberta as a gift to commemorate the provinces 75th anniversary, and was restored by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society, participating in the Steam Expo in Vancouver in 1986.

In 1998, the locomotive began operations in partnership with Alberta Prairie Steam Tours in Stettler, Alberta. Its last year of service was in 2011. The Rocky Mountain Rail Society is now working to restore 6060 to service.

For more information on the Rocky Mountain Rail Society and locomotive 6060, go online to http://www.6060.org.

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Home battery storage has grown precipitously in recent years, but it still doesnt match the scale and accessibility of a home appliance.

Orison has been trying to change that since 2013. Now, the Wyoming-based startup ispreparing to ship its sleek, plug-in home battery panels in July for field tests in Australia, Europe and the U.K., where it has met the safety standards for operation.

We wanted to be more of a consumer electricity product, a simple solution for consumers, founder and CEO Eric Clifton said in an interview. The idea was an appliance that is not infrastructure, because the entire storage industry was still looking at it as infrastructure.

The formerly crowdfunded company announced Monday that it closed an $8.5 million seed roundand is opening up a Series A. Australian electricity retailer Origin participated in the seed fundingand signed a memorandum of understanding to put up to 4,000 Orison battery devices into customer homes starting early next year.

A full U.S. commercial launch is expected by years end, pending UL safety certification of the product model geared for the American grid.

Home battery companies aspire to make essential connected home devices. Shell subsidiary sonnenstuck its ecoLinx batteries in every living room of an apartment complex in Utahto emphasize the personal connection. But todays battery offerings still require specialized installation, permittingand utility involvement. Theyre a long way off from the experience of buying a TV or smart speaker.

Orison took a different approach. It will ship the components to a customer, who can then assemble them no piece weighs more than 28 pounds and plug the system into the wall. Once installed, the battery and a connected home energy monitor will coordinate charge and discharge around rooftop solar production and time-based utility rates. In an outage, the battery cant automatically island the home, but devices plugged into it will continue to operate.

The energy monitor costs $300 and the battery system costs $2,200 for 1.8 kilowatts/2.2 kilowatt-hours. That translates to a far less favorable system price per kilowatt-hour than Teslas Powerwall, which packs 13.5 kilowatt-hours for $6,500.

But Powerwalls require wiring auxiliary equipment and hours of installation labor, and Orison's product does not. That makes the all-in price more competitive on a dollar per kilowatt-hour basis. And Orison has the benefit of a considerably smaller entry-level price point, which could entice customers who want to try storage but dont want to drop upwardof$10,000.

With productsmade by the competition, you're looking at permits, you're looking at utility approval, multiple estimates of construction costs, Clifton said. Ours, literally, we can ship it to you within a week and you can be up and running. [] Its instant gratification.

Demand for this is still an unproven proposition because storage providers have not offered home batteries on a truly plug-and-play basis. But thats where Orisons crowdfunding episode comes in.The company had funded its early development with money from high-net-worth individuals and angel investors before it launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2016.

The Kickstarter campaign we did less for the money [and]more to show investors that consumers wanted the product, Clifton said. It drew 415 backers, who together pledged 700 percent of the target amount.

This unique approach to residential batteries comes with some tradeoffs. For one, rulesfor conventional battery equipment, such as eligibility criteria for Californias lucrative Self-Generation Incentive Program, werent written with appliance-based storage in mind. Orison is working with authorities to ensure its style of storage is treated like other types of storage, Clifton said.

More permanently, the micro-storage appliance model constrains the kinds of things Orison batteries can do.

In order to be an appliance, we can never export power beyond the utility meter, Clifton said.

But the batteries can reduce household demand to zero, reducing peak-hour electricity billsand helping utilities lower peak demand on their system. Thats not so different from networks of more typical batteries, which are linked into virtual power plants to respond to grid needs; utilities sometimes forbid exporting power, even when the batteries are capable of it.

Batteries installed for whole-home backup include an automatic transfer switch to island the house from the distribution grid. Orison, as a plug-in appliance, does not. But customers who need backup power for life-saving medical devices, for instance, can plug directly into the Orison panel, using it like a mini generator that doesnt emit fumes, Clifton said.

Australias grid dynamics create an opportunity that is well tailored to Orisons capabilities.

Generous early feed-in tariffs for rooftop solar led to a widespread build-out, but those payment schemes have dropped off. Adding energy storage lets customers put their solar to better economic use by shifting it into the evening hours, instead of exporting at a low rate.

It helps that the typical rooftop system in Australia is around 2 kilowatts, Clifton said; thats much smaller than the average in the U.S.and a much better fit for Orisonsstorage capacity.

Utility Origin generates power and serves retail customers, a business model known as gen-tailer. It competes for retail customers, trying to convince new ones to sign up and existing customers to stay. Offering a battery like Orisons to reactivate rooftop solar and reduce bills could help with that.

At the same time, Origin must source power for all its customers. Having a network of 4,000 batteries under its control means the company couldturn down demand during peak hours, reducing exposure to buying expensive power from the market during those times.

The companies are still figuring out what the pricing scheme looks like, Clifton said. Origin could sell the units to customers, for instance, or offer storage as a service. In the U.S., Vermont utility Green Mountain Power subsidized Powerwalls for customers if they grantedpermission to the utility to operate them for peak events. Other utilities pay customers for the use of home batteries via virtual power plants.

What is clear is that working with Origin gives Orison, with just a handful of employees based in Cody, Wyoming, a major distribution channel to an overseas market. A 4,000-unit network would be equivalent to more than half the residential battery installations in the U.S. during its record-breaking first quarter, according to the latest Energy Storage Monitor.

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What If Consumers Could Just Buy Batteries and Plug Them In? - Greentech Media News