Industrial Info - Navigating the Currents of Chang

On this edition of "Navigating the Currents of Change," Randy Godet, Industrial Info's vice president of Food & Beverage Industry Research, speaks with Tom Fordham, who has had years of experience in the Sugar Industry, including the development of regional sugar production and the construction of processing facilities across the world.

The North American Power industry had a "roller-coaster" year in 2011, driven by an "onslaught" of new regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Washington, D.C), according to Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's manager of North American Power. But the industry's project spending rose in 2011 to about $76 billion, and further gains are expected in 2012 and beyond as big-ticket items like the Vogtle and Summer nuclear expansion projects are scheduled to begin construction.

A September 2011 massive blackout that briefly interrupted production at Chile's copper mines and plunged a majority of Chile's population into darkness demonstrated the fragile state of the Chilean electric system. And the need for investment in the Power sector extends well beyond Chile, as strong demand for Metals & Minerals and the rise of consumer economies have stretched generators and transmission systems across Latin America. Kallman Worldwide will hold an international energy exhibition and conference next May in Santiago, Chile, to spur greater investment in all aspects of Latin America's electric business. Tom Kallman, president and chief executive at Kallman Worldwide, was interviewed by phone from Santiago after he secured support for the trade show from Chile's energy minister.

Sales, marketing and strategic planning professionals who operate in the North American Power Industry now have access to a unique new online product, Industrial Info Resources' North American Combustion Turbine Generator Market Share Analysis, that can accelerate go-to-market planning for equipment manufacturers and service providers. Shane Mullins, IIR's Vice President of Product Development, Gordon Gorrie, IIR's Vice President of Energy Product Development, and Shaheen Chohan, IIR's Vice President of Global Analytics, discuss how this new tool was developed and how it will save users time and effort in preparing marketing and sales forecasts.

North American industrial manufacturers dramatically increased their project spending in 2011, and the industry's outlook for 2012 is even brighter, according to David Pickering, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Industrial Manufacturing Industry. Driven by healthy increases in spending on auto manufacturing and rail projects, the industry is on track to double its spending on capital and maintenance projects this year compared to 2010 spending. Looking forward, one x-factor for 2012 spending is whether U.S. consumers will continue to buy electric and hybrid vehicles now that gasoline prices have dipped back under $3 per gallon in some markets.