EoW September 2012

News Corporate

Two new faces at Simufact

Contract win for AFL in South Africa A UK manufacturer of fibre optic cable for power utilities, AFL Communications has secured a major contract with electricity company Eskom of South Africa, to supply and complete end-to-end communication systems, together with installation, supervision and final testing and commissioning. AFL is to supply optical ground wire (OPGW) to Eskom, and will be responsible for the installation of OPGW on green field sites and for retrofitting existing overhead lines with the OPGW system. Commercial director of AFL, Steve Maederer, said: “AFL has extensive experience and capabilities on complex projects like this.” The contract covers both the transmission and distribution aspects of the Eskom business, with projects in place across South Africa. While carrying out the projects, AFL will work with the local South African workforce, passing on a wide range of skills to employees of local installation companies. Eskom estimates that, over the contract’s five year duration, up to 11,000km of OPGW may be required to accommodate the planned routes.

Simufact global operation provider of software and services in the area of process simulation in the manufacturing industry, continues to grow. With Dr Ulrike Beyer as project manager joining technology, and Volker Mensing as director marketing and communications, the Hamburg-based company has expanded its competence with two more skilled experts. Simufact already appointed Dr Ralph Bernhardt as the new director research and development in January. Dr Beyer (41) will focus on business development in the area of joining technology. She studied mechanical engineering and industrial engineering at the Technical University of Chemnitz and graduated summa cum laude with her PhD on multi material joining. Engineering, a

▲ ▲ Volker Mensing

Subsequent to her employment at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology in Chemnitz and at T-Systems GmbH in Berlin, Dr Beyer worked from 2006 to 2012 as scientific assistance at the TU Chemnitz. In her new position she will pay particular attention to the numerical simulation of mechanical, chemical and thermal joining technologies. Volker Mensing (46), as the new director marketing and communications, takes responsibility for the development and internationalisation of the company’s communication and marketing activities. He holds a graduate degree in education and as a PR adviser (DAPR) and has been engaged in public relations and marketing in the IT sector for more than 15 years. Before he joined Simufact, he held the position of the head of the marketing and communications team at the Hanover-based, German-Indian IT service provider TUI InfoTec. Prior to that, he was director of communications at Werum Software & Systems AG in Lueneburg for more than nine years. Simufact Engineering – Germany Website : www.simufact.com

AFL Communications – UK Website : www.aflglobal.com

▲ ▲ Dr Ulrike Beyer

16

www.read-eurowire.com

September 2012