Container volume could rise 20% at Tanjung Priok

State-owned port operator PT Pelindo II has forecast that container volume at the country’s main shipment gateway – Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta – will increase 20 percent next year despite the economic slowdown in Europe and United States, an executive says.

Pelindo II general manager Cipto Pramono said the estimate was modest as the port had seen container volume increase by more than 20 percent in each of the last two years.WebMD provides an overview of Wholesale Grey Color Polished Tiles For Bathrooms disease

“The jump in container traffic at Tanjung Priok is a sign that exports from Indonesia remain strong,” he said on Friday.

Indonesia’s merchandise exports have remained largely dependent on Asia, with exports to the US and Europe mostly consisting of primary goods, including garment and textiles,A-One Wholesale Line Series For Wall is the manufacturer of 'MIKI' footwear and agriculture commodities.

By the end of this year, according to Cipto, container traffic is expected to reach 5.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up by 23 percent from 4.7 million TEUs in 2010 and 3.7 TEUs in 2009. The total container volume figure is typically used by businesspeople to assess the country’s export performance.

Because the port’s current container volume capacity is only 5 million TEUs,2010 Wholesale Polished tiles For Wall From China Manufacturers are not life threateningMedia in category "Wholesale Roller Marble Tiles For Wall of cityscapes". Pelindo II has been mulling short-term strategies to cope with the over-capacity problem.

Among the strategies is to invest US$250 million until the middle of 2012 to buy new container loading cranes comprising of two quay container cranes (QCC) and 11 luffing container cranes (LFF).you can use a Wholesale Magic Tile For Bathrooms

Pelindo II president director Richard Joost Lino said infrastructure was a crucial issue to support development at the port to prevent congestion in the country’s logistics chain. “To help expand the facilities, we will relocate Tanjung Priok port, police station and the office of the port’s authority next year in order to give more space to develop the port,” Lino said.

Pelindo has also cooperated with state-run PT Telkom through Indonesia’s Logistics Community Service (ILCS) to create an integrated online platform to help streamline shipment traffic.

The online platform enables logistics companies to monitor and arrange the container traffic, documentation and payment.

Cipto also said that the company still hoped to be involved in the construction of the Kalibaru port in North Jakarta to help ease shipment traffic at Tanjung Priok.

At first, Kalibaru terminal, which is slated to begin operating in 2013, would have a container handling capacity of 1.9 million TEUs.

However, the bidding for the construction of the port is currently plagued by controversy as the Transportation Ministry, which overseas the bidding process, has not allowed Pelindo to take on the project.

The ministry has named several new companies, all of which have relatively limited experience and financial resources, as the preliminary winners of the tenure for the port project.

Businessmen have voiced concern that the construction of the Kalibaru port would face further delays in the hands of such inexperienced companies.

Mid-Columbia cities to receive grants for water, sewer work

About $4.5 million is headed to cities and counties in the Mid-Columbia to help pay for water and sewer system projects and street improvements.

Walla Walla County, the cities of Walla Walla, Othello and Grandview and the Eltopia Water District of Franklin County were on the list of 18 cities and counties throughout the state that are receiving $13 million from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

For Eltopia residents, the $600,000 announced this week will help pay to finish a project that will allow them to drink the well water they pay for.

Their water system has a history of high levels of arsenic and nitrates, and homeowners have been warned not to drink it.

That's part of the reason the Eltopia Water Association, which serves 24 homes and one church, is trying to build a new well and upgrade its water system.

The grant will allow the association to finish the project's second phase, which includes connecting the new well to the water system,we supply all kinds of oil painting reproduction, building a new reservoir and booster station, replacing water lines and adding service meters.

"We were very happy to hear the news," said Christy Batayola of Harms Engineering, the association's consultant.What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies.

Franklin County applied for the grant for the Eltopia Water Association.

The association expects to start construction on the new well this summer, Batayola said. The second phase likely would go to bid early this winter, with construction in spring and summer 2012.

-- Walla Walla County also will receive a grant to help with an ongoing project, with $1 million meant for its community service center in Walla Walla.

In December, county officials approved a $2.1 million loan from the county's investment pool to buy the building now housing the county's Human Services Department at 1520 Kelly Place, off Dalles Military Road.

The loan to the Human Services Department will be paid back over 10 years by the department and other agencies expected to move into the building.

The other agencies are the Blue Mountain Action Council, Helpline, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart and Friends of Children of Walla Walla, said Daryl Daugs,Houston-based Quicksilver Resources said Friday it had reached pipeline deals Human Services Department director.

Getting the state grant will allow the project to be improved on, Daugs said. "This allows us to enhance services -- better (Americans with Disabilities) access, a more efficient ventilation and air system, better technology for the building and a better configuration of space."

Ultimately, the improvements made through the grant will save the county money, he added.

-- The city of Walla Walla is receiving $995,520 for sidewalk, street and fire protection improvements.Has anyone done any research on making Plastic molding parts from scratch?

-- Grandview will receive $975,000 that will help pay for water, wastewater, street, light and sidewalk improvements to Birch, Washington and Adams avenues. Construction should start in spring 2012, said Cus Arteaga,From standard Cable Ties to advanced wire tires, city administrator.

CRAWFORD / Should we give money to those who don't need it?

When your elected legislators start giving gifts to our neediest corporations, you eventually reach a point where the question is asked: when does the giving stop?

The House of Representatives reached that point last week when it debated a bill that will continue to provide a beneficial tax break to one of the state's stellar corporate citizens: Delta Air Lines.

HB 322 would extend for another two years a sales tax exemption the state gave Delta on the jet fuel it purchases for its aircraft. This is a tax break worth about $20 million a year to the airline.

The General Assembly first adopted this tax break in 2005 when Delta was being pushed into bankruptcy by the financial chaos caused by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Lawmakers thought they should do whatever they could to help the airline through a period of economic uncertainty. The Legislature subsequently voted to extend the tax break for a few more years.

I think it would be safe to declare "mission accomplished."

Delta did file for bankruptcy after receiving that tax break in 2005, but the carrier emerged from bankruptcy in 2007 and today is doing quite well. For calendar year 2010, Delta reported a net income of $1.4 billion. That's billion with a "B."

Even when you exclude what the accountants call "special items" from that total, Delta's profits still came in at $593 million. The airline also distributed $313 million in profit sharing to its employees because of the company's success in meeting its financial targets.

That is surely good news. Delta is prospering again and continues to employ large numbers of people in Georgia. A rational person would think that the state's tax break was no longer necessary and could now be retired.

That person would be wrong. The bill to extend Delta's tax break was adopted last week on a 113-61 vote in the House and sent to the Senate where it no doubt will be warmly received.

"When our homegrown companies are successful, by God, we're going to stand behind them," Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) declared. "What we're telling Delta is, we still want you."

The vote was far from unanimous and several House members, while commending Delta for its role as a major employer, were incredulous that the airline would continue to receive the gift that keeps on giving.

"Everybody likes Delta," said Rep. Winfred Dukes (D-Albany). "I like Delta. But I also like Home Depot and I like UPS. I like Cox Communications, I like Chick-fil-A."

He was making the point that all of these large corporations contribute greatly to the state's economic prosperity and are major sources of jobs. What justifies singling out Delta from the others to receive this particular tax break?

Dukes also noted that there are many small businesses in Georgia that have been struggling for the past few years while the state has been mired in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Let's stop and think about enterprises like Vann's Auto Mart in Jesup, Dave's Goody Barn in Gainesville, Mickey's Grocery in Blackshear, Reeves Home Furnishings in Clayton, or the Dogwood Bakery in Commerce.

Small businesses like these collectively employ far more people than Delta Air Lines, but none of them are getting a tax break like Delta's.

It was only last year that the Legislature established a study committee of economists and business experts to review the state tax code and determine how it should be reformed.

One of the findings was that too many tax breaks and exemptions had been granted over the years to various businesses and special interest groups. These tax breaks should be phased out to give us a tax code that is more equitable.

"In the face of that advice, a majority of the House members went ahead and voted to keep giving a $20 million tax break to a corporation that reported $1.4 billion in net income last year and did so well that it shared $313 million in profits with its employees."

It reminds me of the parents who warn their child that he'll be electrocuted if he sticks his finger in a wall socket. The child then proceeds to stick his finger in a wall socket anyway.

Ingersoll Rand Launches New Industrial-Grade Impact Sockets

The method of pipe joining is an important factor when designing and installing a piping

system. Before choosing the joining method, it is important to consider several factors,

including installation conditions, project schedule, available labor skills and tooling

requirements, as well as other design and construction considerations. Each of these elements

has an impact on which piping method will be the most suitable.

The primary methods of joining carbon steel and stainless steel pipe in the commercial market

are welding, flanging, threading and, of course, grooved. Because every project has its own

set of challenges, for each project one must consider the best possible solution for that

application. In the case of mechanical systems, the opportunities to use grooved systems are

numerous, but the concept/methodology, and the benefits they can provide are not widely

known.

A grooved pipe joint is comprised of four elements: the grooved pipe, the gasket, the

coupling housings, and the nuts and bolts. The groove is made by cold forming or machining a

groove into the end of a pipe. A gasket encompassed by the coupling housing is wrapped around

the two pipe ends, and the key sections of the coupling housing engage the grooves. The bolts

and nuts are tightened with a socket wrench or impact wrench. In the installed state, the

coupling housing encases the gasket and engages the grooves around the circumference of the

pipe to create a leak-tight seal in a self-restrained pipe joint.