1 | ashmann

24 de September de 2009 to ● 3:54 pm

Launching new ventures

1. cogen plant @ Bukit Raya
2. blended cement brick in Seremban
3. biomass silica plant @UTHM
4. KUiK wall @ One Borneo
5. Fundings for research and innovation
6. SMART tunnel in KL
7. Carbon neutral ventures
8. Teaching factory and research lab
9. 1.my IT-Lodge @ Parit Bengkok

2 | ashmann

24 de September de 2009 to ● 5:27 pm

It was a blessing in disguise ! Who could imagine that the once deserted polytechnic is now the rising star among the 20 public funded universities in Malaysia, UTHM !

I was inspired by our beloved VC, Dato’ Mohd Noh bin Dalimin when he arranged a special meeting with the 98 staff who has served the early days in the same place when UTHM was the Polytechnic Staff Training Centre (PLSP)

I got a posting to work in Politeknik Batu Pahat (PBP) which has been closed down for several years for rehabilitation work. All ground floor slab sank due to structural design fault. The place was a mess with bushes all over the campus. Appeared to be a haunted place. Some staff were afraid to go to the back of the campus alone.

My family has to leave Jitra, Kedah where I have bought a small bungalow with plenty of space and a nice compound next to a playground. An ideal place for my children who were aged between 1 and 8.

I was without a second car. My wife and children were in Jitra then. Kamaruddin Khalid, Tarmizi Karim and Yusof Jamar agreed to fetch me to work. Our Principal, the late Sofian was good at house keeping with the tractor. He mowed the grass while we became part-time gardeners as well. The photographs taken were lost in the 2006 flood, when I left some of the old stuff in the Sri Gading experimental concrete structure, 10m3 of foamed concrete manually cast by a group of my undergraduate research students.

I filed my first patent for UTM in 2003 (PI 20033400) for foamed concrete containing biomass silica. Koh decided to register for PhD on foamed concrete under the supervision of Dato’ Abu Bakar Mohd Diah at UTeM. I co-supervise Koh and filed our first patent in 2004 (PI20044277) for UTHM for a precast composite wall system.

We leveraged on IT to share our passion and discoveries. Selected images were uploaded to http://www.it-lodge.com and http://www.ashmann.com. IT-Lodge series were published.

I focused on education while Earn Pin strived to create wealth. Our mission was to contribute to children deprived of education. We targeted for Cambodia. Fund raising was tough. A novel system was proposed on matching ad space owners and business owners. http://www.kumomo.com was created. The domain name was inspired by the name of a tree that heals. We managed to raise the fund for 2 Kumomo schools in Cambodia when we sold the domain name later on. Some interested events and development were posted in http://www.1.my.

We approached many potential investors on system development. We did not succeed after many attempts. I decided to spend some time away from BP to assist Earn Pin in the noble venture. I applied to go for sabbatical leave for 5 months in KL with G&P, owned by my UTM classmate. Tan Sri Jamilus, our lecturer in geotechnics was the Chairman of CIDB who also served G&P as the Chairman. While updating myself on geotechnics, I managed to follow up on several outstanding applications for grants.

I manage to secure TechnoFund of RM1.46 million for renewable energy and sustainable construction for the BCB group based in Kluang, led by Dato’ Tan Seng Leong. I shared the good news with my team members and the University management. I had a meeting with IBI, the MD of K-UTECH accompanied by Dr Gomez. Prof. Zarar was very supportive and wished me well.

However, there were obstacles. The agreement was not signed on time. I did not spend the money. I was determined to proceed with other alternative routes. The upstream was taken up by Dr Chngon renewable energy while the downstream on sustainable construction was funded by Johnny Cheah.

I constructed the KUIK wall with the permission of Dato’ Ismail Bakar on a piece of reclaimed land next to Evergreen. I made use of recycled materials such as crushed concrete cubes for the KUIK drain. The areas around the Materials Lab was cleaned up. The Chinese put up a million dwelling in 3 months after Szechuan earthquake on May 12 2008, just 3 months from the Olympics.

I emulated the Chinese government to put up the KUIK cabin to serve the homeless. It became an effective marketing tool for Alex, my vice president who intend to venture overseas with the lightweight concrete method (LCM). Earn Pin and I helped him create http://www.casthome.com and later on http://www.lcm.my. The impact was felt in a shart while as the search engine detected our posting and made us appear at the top of the list most of the time.

Alex sold his LCM system worldwide and made some good profit. He drives a new Benz now compared to those early days when he complained about his ailing business. Well. Earn Pin and I do not have share in Alex’s company. We did it because we treated him as a friend and a move to drive concrete innovation as I always mention in my speech to the members of the Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM).

Rehabilitation work in the Batu Pahat Polytechnic campus revealed thickness of concrete slab of up to a metre. As the concrete slab at ground floor sank, it was topped up with normal weight concrete which caused further settlement. I was thinking about altenative materials suitable for use on soft soil. It has to be as durable as concrete yet as light as timber.

In 1993, Evergreen Fibreboard was set up as our neighbour. I met the boss JC who shared his vision of turning agro wastes into wealth. I visited his plant and I noticed something I always wanted. Ash !

I told me that my passion is to turn ash into cash !

http://www.ashmann.com was created for the purpose. Materials characterisation revealed chemical composition and particle size suitable for durable concrete composition. Initial trial mix indicated promising results. I know Kidav who has developed fly ash blended cement, the Mascrete for APMC, later on bough over by the Blue Circle and subsequently changed hand to Lafarge.

The Polytechnic Staff Training Centre was set up in the same year. I was apponted by Prof. Zainal Abidin Ahmad as the Head of Development and Maintenance (HDM), responsible for numerous repair of leaking roof and damaged concrete structures.

It was alright for me as I held such respnsibility while I was the Head of Department in POLIMAS. I had to climb up roof tops to identify problems and propose viable solutions. You could not imagine such thing probably, as the same consultant was responsible for two projects. Same architectural and structural design was put up for both polytechnics, one in Jitra and the other in Batu Pahat.

Roof leakages were the same nightmare for both places. The concealed gutters were not designed to cater for the heavy downpour at both places. Blockages made things worst.

One fine day Prof. Zainal said “Lee, you are summoned by the King !”. I had to accompany the officials of the Ministry of Education to face the Public Account Committee (PAC) in Parlimen on the closure of PBP.

Jamaludin Jarjis (JJ) was the chairman and Lim Guan Eng was one of the members. Questions posed included solutions to the problems of students and laboratory equipment. We informed PAC that the students and some equipment were relocated to other polytechnics. Some costly and sensitive equipment were kept in cabin with round the clock air-con.

The structural engineers were charged for professional negligence. The case was settled outside the court. Indemnity were settled by installment to the government.

I do not wish to reveal figures of rehabilitation. In the early 80s, a polytechnic cost about RM20 million. Now that a single structure could cost 6 times more at the same place.

While serving as the HDM of PLSP, I attended meetings in UTM Skudai. On a special occasion I met Prof. Zainai Mohamed who encourged me to do PhD part time. He was the Dean of Graduate School then. I discussed the matter and my proposal with Prof. Warid Hussin who agreed to supervise me. I made a bold decision to register in 1996.

I had to pay fee without scholarship and research grant. I approached many companies for financial support without reply. One day I noticed an advertisement by Blacktop Industries Sdn Bhd about prestressed concrete pile. The factory was located in Semenyih. I called to make an appointment with the managing director, Mr Chu Ah Nge who got Datoship several years later.

The first impression can be deceptive. He dressed up very casually and appeared to be a simple person. He was personally cleaning up the factory compound. We had a good chat about concrete and construction. I learned that he planned to set up a plant to produce cement bricks.

I offered my service to test his products as I was the Head of Concrete Lab. He agreed and asked me to bill him for services rendered. I offered my services free and built up good rapport.

I updated such development to Prof. Warid and he asked me to try to get some financial assistance. I had monthly visit to Blacktop. I usually brought along test reports and relevant information such as standards and competitors in the market.

I asked if Blacktop could support the cost of travelling. He agreed without hessitation and wrote a cheque of RM10k on the spot. He also agreed to set up pilot plant according to the requirement of my PhD project.

It was my first research grant. To me it was an achievement of important milestone. I was amazed that the first thing Dato’ Ismail said to me was: “Hey Lee, I heard you have a grant from Blacktop”. I just wondered how he got to know this out of so many other important matters that he has to attend to.

In fact the same thing happened again when Dato’ Mohd Noh noticed KUIK wall and tried to use the material and method for projects within the campus.

I was impressed by his sincere effort to care for the staff and the local community. An exciting idea came across my mind. IT-Lodge @ Parit Bengkok !

We could provide for the needy families with clean water and train then to increase income and improve the quality of life while serving the community.

Some of the award winning poducts and systems developed by UTHM staff will be deployed at Parit Bengkok on te land owned by parties who have confidence on us. It will serve as living showcase and evidence of UTHM’s contribution to the community.

AJ IBS is a private enterprise recently set up by Said Omar who attended the Innovation Seminar in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2008. He believes that together, the Teaching Factory would succeed.

We had a few rounds of meeting with PPI and K-UTECH. A marketing office will be set up in the IT-Lodge @ Parit Bengkok, integrated with the 1.my Cafe.

3 | ashmann

25 de September de 2009 to ● 6:07 am

Are you joking ? Invest 1 million to make 1 cent !

It’s true. You need to invest 1 million in a cement brick plant and the profit for a piece of brick is just 1 cent during recession.

We have gone through those challenges and survived. We are able and willing to share with you the critical success factors in construction material business.

I manage to convince several licensee of KUIK wall IBS system because they realise that the return of investment could be 100 times faster as the profit for a piece of block is at least RM1.

I talk facts supported by extensive market survey conducted by consultants appointed by MTDC. I can show my potential licensee the production process and test reports plus numerous awards won since early 2000.

I quoted many success stories of CSM members. We are launching concrete entrepreneur development programme and CSM award for enterprise.

CSM has to serve and concrete and construction industry in order to survive and prosper.

The academics are not left out as we will soon launch our Journal on Concrete Engineering

4 | ashmann

25 de September de 2009 to ● 6:04 pm

While I was in Kedah, I noticed the common practice of open burning of rice husk. The effect was smoke and dust and the unsightly residue along the road. I suggested to Kok Kean to exploit renewable energy from rice husk. He owned the largest stockpile of rice husk in Malaysia, probably the oldest in the region. It was there since 1952, two years before I was born.

He was decisive. The first cogeneration plant which produced 450 kW was up and running on 18 August 1997. I was interested in the ash, which was about 10 tonne/day. It was black as the incineration temperature was high. The emphasis was on power generation rather than the quality of ash. White ash could fetch a price of RM1000 per tonne whereas black ash has to be disposed at about RM100 per tonne.

The unprocessed black ash was found to suitable for use in foamed concrete. The density was reduced and the quality was more consistent. Reduction of raw materials mean reduced cost.

I got a IRPA research grant to study the detail of incineration temperature on the morpholog of ash and its effect on foamed concrete. I filed the first patent in 2003 for UTM (PI20033400), after seven years of intensive study on the subject.

New terminology was created. Biomass silica was used in my papers. I emphasised on chemical composition and physical properties of ash rather than the type of raw material. Rafidah Aziz had openly criticised researchers of spending hugh sum of money on rice husk and its derivatives without much success. I did not wish to reveal the fact that the biomass silica contained rice husk ash.

Renewable energy has vast potential to improve the quality of life for the rural community. Dato’ Mohd Noh Dalimin, the VC of UTHM has made it happen in Sabah. Solar energy was harnessed to provide clean electrical energy for 80 houses in Long Pasia, Sabah.

I am now seriously thinking about providing renewable energy from biofuel. The idea is to park it at Evergreen and contra for a sum of money which we can contribute to the development of alternative renewable energy for IT-Lodge at Parit Bengkok.

I was advised to contact Kanaga fo MOSTI to find out the possibility of reviving the TechnoFund approved in 2007 but not spent. I emailed to Kanaga but without response. The next step is to make high level contact. We could talk to the Minster with the help of Dato’ Mohd Noh.

I am optimistic about the project because several of my dream structures have appeared. First, the drain surrounding KUIK wall, followed by the elevated water tower. Free and clean renewable energy is possible now. The existing potential energy from the elevated water tower could be conveted to kinetic enegy to drive a micro hydro system. The effect could be enhanced with the effect of siphon and coupling fly wheel. Just imagine that a very small amount of kinetic energy to maintain the momentum of the fly wheel which drives the micro turbine.

The water used can even be turned into RO water for industrial and domestic consumption. The whole idea is simply too exciting to resist. I decide to go for a CRADLE fund again. This is going to be my second attempt after the approval in 2002 for a web-enabled research management system. Wan Ching was the receipient then, she was the Director of http://www.1.my and I was the Research Advisor.

This time I shall bring in Dr Kok Boon Ching and Lee Theng Wei in my team. Dato’ Mohd Noh to be the Advisor. I remember that Dato’ is the Chairman of some renewable energy committee.

Several emerging technologies could be exploited such as the water distilling panel integrated with the unified thermal hydro monitoring (UTHM) system conceptualised by Theng Wei in his PSM project.

It could be my second experimental deployment of our patent-pending remote monitoring and alert system, the KUIK alert (PI20063060) to monitor power generation and water quality in UTHM. The experience gained will be useful for our IT-Lodge venture at Parit Bengkok.

5 | ashmann

25 de September de 2009 to ● 8:13 pm

Experimental results on biomass silica blended cement bricks were encouraging. We consistently achieved compressive strenth of more than 10 MPa. Dato’ Chu decided to go ahead with a pilot plant to produce blended cement brick in his new factory in Seremban 2.

I worked closely with Ken (Siow Kean Shyan), the General Manager of Blacktop to come up with a transportable silo for ash handling and transportation.

Four silos were fabricated. Two will be placed on the source of ash where a screw conveyor was designed and installed to facilitate ash collection. Once filled, it will be loaded onto lorry to be transported to the pilot plant. The silo will be tilt up to discharge the content to a hopper connected to a screw conveyor. The blended cement production system has to be reprogrammed to accomodate the biomass silica replacing up to 30% of cement.

Although 20% ash gave higher stregnth, durability research for more than 2 years indicated the optimum content is 10% for strength and durability. The findings were repeated in Johor in Teo’s plant. The findings were confirmed.

The TIA concrete mix design nomograph was then published.

For high strength grade 80 concrete spun pile, we achieved compressive strength greater than 100 MPa for autoclaved concrete. In fact ERL is supported by spun pile containing blended cement.

High stregnth concrete is suitable for precast concrete elements where high early strength is desirable. The reduction of size means economy and reduced dead weight.

6 | ashmann

25 de September de 2009 to ● 10:30 pm

The concept of homestay will be introduced soon in Parit Raja to cater for the need of UTHM students. Proper implementation of the projet is expected to spur economic growth to the area.

Such concept has been successfully implemented for universities in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to provide conducive accommodation at reduced cost. The congestion within the in-campus accommodation will be eased.

Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohd. Noh Dalimin was accompanied by Prof. Ir. Dr. Amir Hashim Mohd. Kassim, 20 heads of villages, community leaders and several senior academic staff on a 4-day working visit to Yogyakarta to gain experience on the project. They visited Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta.

A few show houses will be exhibited based on the land area available.
UTHM will facilitate such venture to ensure reasonable return of investment. UTHM can even provide advanced payment of rent to provide good cash flow to the owners.

With improved infrastructure such as road, drainage, water supply, sewerage, waste disposal and landscaping, the place can be turned into resort to attract tourists, similar to the Summer School programmes offered by Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard universities.
Such promotion can be posted online via a system of online travel guide
http://www.a4trip.com developed by Earn Pin, a UTHM alumni.

7 | ashmann

26 de September de 2009 to ● 4:19 am

Housing development in Parit Raja created demand for construction materials. Said Omar is keen to emulate Suprablock to create its own brand. He has registered a business AJ IBS to produce AJ Blok. Meetings with PPI and K-UTECH have been arranged after the submission of a letter of intent to UTHM’s assistant VC, Prof. Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

The meeting chaired by Baha decided that it is not appropriate to construct on government land. Said showed me his land in Kg Muhibbah, Peserai. I felt that it could be a good start with minimum cost.

He proposed to visit Johnny to look at the Suprafoam’s production process in KK. Johnny agreed the visit to be made on 2 October after his trip to Australia.

I have to prepare my 3 entries for PECIPTA, getting ready the exhibits by the first week of October. However, I must also make the Teaching Factory a success. The idea was proposed by Dato’ Mohd Noh and I agreed to make it happen, preferably without the use of government fund.

My business friendly approach kept the spirit alive. I am committed to spend time and money to let it take off with style. I reiterated my concern for AJ IBS to market the product.

We agreed to construct a showroom in Parit Bengkok which serve as the Marketing Office for AJ Blok. With IT infrastructure and clean water, the place has potential to run a Cafe.

Dato’ Mohd Noh may agree to serve as the advisor as we plan to construct on his land.

The concept is based on optimum utilisation of available resources. Production at Kg Muhibbah, marketing at Parit Bengkok and training at IT-Lodge @ KUIK wall.

Royalty and other terms relating to technology transfer will be formalised in an agreement to be signed between AJ IBS and K-UTECH in October 2009.

Based on a production of 10m3 per day, the projection of cash flow and profit was made in the business plan.

K-UTECH will take 3% of the gross sale for the first 3 years, but a minimum of RM30,000 in the first year. The amount will be increased to RM60,000 in the second year and RM90,000 in the third year.

Production system will be provided on leasing terms. Chemicals will be supplied at competitive prices.

Everything is set for the launch during GEW 2009 by Dato’ Mohd Noh. We are waiting for some good news of minimum order of RM1 million in the first year.,

8 | ashmann

26 de September de 2009 to ● 5:40 am

While envying my CSM members’ success stories on IBS, I am looking at the possibility of creating value. Not everybody will agree on unified branding strategy. Charles Yii in Penang will maintain his G Block while Johnny will claim territory on his SupraBlock. While Alex Liew registered his http://www.lcm.my, Hoo also got his LCM Bricks approved. Dr Gomez also claimed for his LCM, which mean lean construction management.

Well, I registered for http://www.lowcarbon.my, paving way for low carbon and carbon neutral ventures. Christine completed her PSM on the subject and our paper was accepted for publication in the first issue of International Journal on Integrated Engineering.

Suhaizad is writing up his Masters thesis on Water Permeability and Carbonation of Foamed Concrete. It is an attempt to establish a relationship between foamed concrete’s density and water permeability with carbonation. While the determination of density and water permeability can be conducted non-destructively, carbonation depth requires some form of drilling and extraction which is partially destructive.

The idea is to predict carbonation from density and water permeability of foamed concrete. The exciting part is to estimate CO2 uptake rate compared with normal concrete. It could be 40% faster.

We wish to promote foamed concrete IBS as a green construction material as it has the ability to breath and absorb CO2 ! Production of foamed concrete block and its applications are just like planting trees to earn carbon credit !

It is time for carbon rush !

Even the traditional moon cake has turned black in 2009 because it has the benefit to detox !

How amazing !

The world seems to be unfied with the changing life style with passionate use of Google, YouTube and Facebook.

1 Malaysia is born ! So was http://www.1.my to promote 1 Malaysia, 1 dream !

9 | ashmann

26 de September de 2009 to ● 9:58 am

The journey to success is often a mix of sour and sweet. Understanding the fundamentals form a good basis for proof-of-concept activities. Funding at this stage is difficult. To come out with a market leader, we need to study the existing products in the market. I shall proceed if the size of market is big enough. My benchmark is RM100 million. In Chinese it is called 1 Yee. Well, I like it because it is my first name.

My friends always tease me for not being able to strike even a million at 55 when I am supposed to retire from the government. I admit that I am a slow learner. It took me 10 years for a small step for the last 35 years. I got a Diploma in the 70s, first degree in the 80s, Masters in the 90s and PhD in the new millennium. With a bit of luck I got my promotion as Professor within 10 years after PhD. The next P is to be a P.Eng. I still need another 7 months of site experience to qualify for the professional interview. Niaga Sari has agreed to allow me to be on site for that duration in KL. I got the permission from my Dean to use my annual leave to fulfill that requirement. I shall strive to make it happen before I retire at 58.

Ash and aggregate are my favourite areas. I am passionate to turn ash into foamed aggregate for construction on peat. Prof DC of UEL requires high temperature of around 700oC to produce manufactured aggregate. Foamed aggregate is produced at temperature below 100oC. It has economical and environmental advantages. However, there are a few technical shortcomings to be overcome. Blended cement for geotechnical waterproofing applications offer the solution.

YB Bolhassan noticed my exhibit related to road on peat at MTE2009 in PWTC. I asked for RM3 million for 1 km stretch of trial embankment in Sibu. He has no objection and called Ir Safri of JKR Sarawak on the spot. Safri said there was no such allocation. YB assured me that he will try to get it from MOSTI.

Dato’ Ismail Bakar, the Head of RECESS led a team of researchers to meet Vincent Tang to support the venture. He is the Divisional Engineer of JKR Sarawak in Sibu. After my presentation, he suggested a 2.3 km stretch of road to be upgraded to a dual carriage way in Sibu. My estimate was RM10 million.

I experimented with the use of scrap tyres and foamed aggregate with encouraging results at RECESS. Two papers were accepted for presenttion and publication, one for MUCEET and the other for CIRAIC 2009. However, the reality is that RECESS is not located on peat. need to try the reinforced peat (REPEAT) concept in Sibu.

In order to establish the actual cost of construction, I approached the Shin Yang group and the Sabu group, both have construction projects in Sibu. Ernie, a UTHM alumni works for Shin Yang on the road to the Port. I need to construct at least 100 m to establish realistic cost data and the evaluation of technical performance. I am looking for RM300,000. I hope the cost could be shared between UTHM and JKR Sarawak.

A proposal was submitted to PPI for evaluation thorugh RECESS. Evaluation is scheduled for 2 October 2009.However, I shall accompany Dr Gomez meeting Johnny then. So I asked Koh to cover me in our defense for our proposal.

I am confident to be able to deliver given the opportunity because of the support from Shin Yang and Sabu groups. Dato’ Ismail has got a postgraduate student there to cover the research components.

The challenge now is to be able to design a system to meet the settlement criteria of around 200mm in 3 years. Modelling for immediate settlement, longer term consolidation and creep have to be carefully considered and quantified. I thought of seeking the advice of the Chinese professor who led the design and construction of the railway on ice in Tibet.

I hope the success of the project in Sibu will make RECESS a renowned authority for road and construction on peat one day.

10 | ashmann

27 de September de 2009 to ● 3:48 am

1Borneo claims to be the “First and Largest Lifestyle Hypermall in East Malaysia”. And KUIK wall made it to 1Borneo under the dynamic leadership of Dato’ Raymond Chan who has faith in local innovations. He shared his vision of development in Sabah with Johnny and I on several casual occasions at CitiTel Mid Valley on innovations in construction engineering. One could notice some similiarities between the three atriums in both shopping malls.

1Borneo is a mixed development project strategically located on 23.3 acres of prime land along Jalan Sulaman Highway, adjacent to University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) with close proximity to the state and federal administrative centres as well as mega townships and housing estates.

Located within Kota Kinabalu, 7 km northwards along the Jalan Sulaman Highway surrounded by lush greenery overlooking the majestic Mount Kinabalu and the Crocker Range, 1Borneo is set to be the ultimate shopping experience for locals and foreign tourists alike.

The Gross Development Value for the project exceeded RM1.2billion. Completed within a period of less than 3 years it deployed state of the art digital control and wireless access system for the centre courts. The project also prioritised the minimization of impact on the environment by investing close to RM42m for a TRANE Thermal Energy Storage System. Strict control on interior design and visual merchandising requirement where Parker Carroll Design Sdn Bhd (synonymous with KLCC) and our in-house Interior Designer Team oversees every aspect.

The largest component of the project is the shopping podium with a gross area of 1.3m sq ft. The 5.2m sq ft of the overall integrated component consists of 4 international & regional chain Hotels, Condominiums, Auto city, Seaworld, Handicraft & Cultural Centre, Spa & Fitness Centre, Amusement Centre, Bowling Centre, Cineplex and Gourmet Lane.  

The hypermall accomodates cluster of concept/flagship stores with over 22 mini and main anchor tenants, luxury watch boutiques, high end jewellery shops, leading international and regional fashion boutiques of over 100 brands totalling 300 tenants. Anchor Tenants – namely Parkson, Giant, Golden Screen Cinema, U Bowl, Boo Boo Land, IT World, Handicraft & Cultural Centre, Daiso, Terminal X, Chinatown, Food court, Toys R Us, 1Borneo Seaworld, Sen Q, Harris Bookstore, Padini, Cellini, Aussino, Vivencia, Pacific Lamp, Kamdar, Nichii Fashion, FOS, Fitness Centre, Spa. Over 70% of the total lettable space (including those owned by developer and leaseback lots from buyers) is achieved to maintain optimum control and performance with excellent trade mix and anchor tenants for every floor.  Fashion outlets ranges from Rolex, Cortina, Montblanc, Habib, Tomei, MO (Melium Outlet) created by the doyenne of fashion, Datuk Farah Khan; to the flagship “Tunestore” is in collaboration with Tune Ventures (founded by YBhg Dato’ Tony Fernandes), Roxy, Quiksilver, Esprit, CK Jeans, Nine West, Yen By Arthur, Edmundser, Celia Loe, Urban & Co to name a few. The Gourmet Lane boasts f&b outlets such as Dome, Starbucks, New York New York, Hong Kong Recipe, Bintang Lagenda to such staples as McDonald, KFC, Pizza Hut.

International and regional chain hotel groups – 4 hotels positioned at 1Borneo namely ACCOR (the world’s leading European brand in hotels) with Novotel (16 storeys, 263 rooms), Grand Borneo Hotel (16 storeys, 338 rooms), Courtyard Hotel (9 storeys, 160 rooms), the revolutionary hip Tune Hotels.com (4 storeys, 168 rooms), bringing the total to 929 hotel rooms at 1Borneo.

Condominiums – 4 Towers which include A&B (25 storeys, 399 units each), Tower  C (28 storeys, 119 units) , Tower D (over 12 storeys, 91 units); totaling 1008 units.

Autocity Showroom – 35,077 sq ft of space and 31,000 sq ft elaborate bonded warehouse cum car showroom to showcase the latest in exotic sports cars and luxury convertibles to all types of vehicles.

Oceanarium & Discovery Centre – 35,000 sq ft – the largest in East Malaysia will hold 750,000 million litres of over 500 species of marine life.

Handicraft and Cultural Centre – showcasing Sabah’s rich cultural heritage of indigenous arts, crafts & Malaysian-made apparels & products such as a collection of weaving tools, musical instruments, various ethnical garments and accessories as well as batik and handicraft making.  

Seamless transportation from taxis, bus shuttle service to & from Warisan Square (our sister property), an airconditioned bus terminal and helicopter services complete with helipad.

Ample carparking exceeding 3,500 bays for customer convenience replete with ramp for easier & faster access. 32 escalators, 4 travellators, 23 passenger lifts, 10 goods lift and a car lift.
Physically disabled-friendly facilities including 6 special lifts.

1Borneo is poised to be an icon for Sabah and shall herald a new era in the Tourism, Retail and Property sector.  

Warisan Square – the newest and trendiest shopping experience in Kota Kinabalu!

Standing gracefully on 3.75 acres of prime land in the heart of the capital city, Warisan Square is set to change the concept of retail shopping in the city centre. A “street mall” concept is exquisitely etched into its design and set up so as to create an integrated synergy between the shop office blocks and the central building. Set amidst the bustling city centre overlooking the vibrant tourism-belt “KK Waterfront” and the idyllic islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, it is the mall where city folks and tourists flock to for something new and hip.

Key international and regional retailers as well as café operators have gained a foothold into the KK retail scene with their first outlet here at Warisan Square.

Design & Concept
The “street mall” concept presents owners and visitors with unique leisurely shopping along the open-air area or the indoor air-conditioned shopping podium.

The charming open-air areas located in-between two adjacent signature office blocks are designed with fine contemporary details of quality floor tiles and street lamps, and public amenities, aimed at giving the best possible comfort and relaxation to people. There will be a string of kiosks with interesting selective merchandise and products to customers.

The indoor air-conditioned shopping podium at Warisan Square’s central building is endowed with enticing comforts and intent, reflecting a style that is very today. Within this central building are the 4-star hotel, the boutique hotel, retail shops and the multi-storey car park.

The central building comes complete with modern amenities such as lifts, escalators, smart security systems and broadband internet access. The shop office blocks are interlinked via skybridges to ease patronage from one area to the other.

Signature Office Units

44 units in 5 Blocks of 4, 5 and 6-storeys

Every block is equipped with CCTV security system

Units in 5 and 6-storey Blocks are equipped with lifts

3 open-air Bazaar Areas

Retail Outlets

Ground and 1st floor – Fashion stores of international, regional and local brands, specialty stores, concept stores, bookstore and many more

Street Mall Concept with Kiosks

Mercure Waterfront Hotel Kota Kinabalu

Managed by Accor – the world’s largest hotel operator

212 spacious rooms with spectacular sea and city views

Posh lobby and lobby lounge

Meeting rooms

Infinity pool at the rooftop which has magnificent views of the KK Waterfront and sea

Rooftop All-Day Dining, Rooftop Bar, and State-of-the-art Spa

Radius International Waterfront Hotel
Kota Kinabalu

Managed by Radiance Hospitality Group whose brands cover 5 star luxury hotels, 3 star hotels and resorts, budget 2 star inns and boutique “high tech” hotels

96 rooms and suites

Meeting rooms

Chic and trendy reception

Business centre

High-tech amenities

Retail Outlets
Warisan Square is set to become a distinctive retail landmark located in the city centre. With a total of 141 retail outlets stretching a total 102,677 sq ft of space, shoppers will have a rewarding experience of seeing new fashion brands and food chains arriving to the shores of Kota Kinabalu.

All retail and shop office areas are hotspots with broadband internet access.

The management team comprising talented and promotions and event-minded personnel with professional retail consultant will manage Warisan Square. There will be interesting events and promotions specially lined up to excite the city.

Warisan Square is a signature investment in Kota Kinabalu which achieved record breaking “100% sold out” status all within one day. Warisan Square. BE HIP … and all set to breathe new life to the city!

Developer: Ramajuta Properties Sdn Bhd
Land Owner: Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd

Source: http://www.1borneo.net

11 | ashmann

27 de September de 2009 to ● 5:12 am

SQUARE ONE is another prestigious project in Batu Pahat. It is strategically located in Batu Pahat’s new prestigious commercial centre, Taman Flora Utama. It is adjoined to Carrefour and surrounded by over 400 units of existing shop offices. The neighborhood consists of established mixed residential and commercial development such as Taman Bukit Pasir, Taman Setia Jaya, Taman Maju and Taman Sri Jaya, Taman Puteri, Taman Koperasi etc. McDonald’s Drive Thru 24 hour outlet cum restaurant, first of its kind in Batu Pahat is located within Taman Flora Utama. There are also 2 restaurants which also operate on 24 hour basis. Public amenities such as Pantai Hospital, Klinik Kesihatan Batu Pahat, secondary schools and primary schools are within walking distance. Therefore, SQUARE ONE at Carrefour will certainly become a popular shopping destination in Batu Pahat soon.

I have approached the owner, Mr Wong Boon Lang to request for a training place for Theng Wei. He was very kind to agree on the spot. He was also very generous in his training allowance.

The KUIK wall concept was introduced to his budget hotel project. Johnny delivered 10 pallets of Suprablock of density 1000kg/m3. Mr Wong require density of around 600 kg/m3. The delivered blocks were used therefore only for the ground floor.

During the industrial training in maintenance department, Theng Wei faced with many unexpected things. Power failure, vandalism, machine break downs and complaints from tenants are the usual problems.

The main challenge is to ensure the smooth and proper operation of the chiller system. Theng Wei stated in his report: “We need to make sure every area of the shopping mall is supplied with the ideal temperature without any uneven distribution of cold air in certain region, while at the same time; we need to consider the cost, outdoor ambient temperature and the needs of customer in order to adjust the settings of the chiller for supplying the suitable cool air.

We will receive complaints from tenant when their shop lots in Square One shopping mall is suffering from air-con problem. The problem have to be solved by locating the source of losses and the reason why the air supply duct is not providing the needed cool air.

During a power failure, we need to act in a very fast yet calm manner. Firstly, we need to identify the source of problem, whether the power failure is due to TNB, or the problem is due to the tripping of the circuit breaker, then only performing the appropriate actions to restore the power.

In order to deal with the electrical power system with full confident, we are required to study on the basic electrical system in building, such as:

1. TNB Incoming
2. HV Switchboard
3. HV Transformer
4. Main Busbar or Cable
5. Main Switchboard
6. Service Feeder
7. Distribution Boards and sub-switchboards
8. Protection (Circuit Breakers and Arrestors)
9. Power and Lighting

We also need to understand the common energy distribution of a shopping mall. Below shows the typical energy distribution of a small shopping mall.

Energy Distribution (Typical)

• Air conditioning 65%
• Lift/escalator 15%
• Lighting 12%
• Fans and pumps 5%
• Others 3%

Anchor Tenant:
Parkson Department Store, integrated/linked to existing Carrefour Hypermarket building.

Mini Anchors:
8-screen MBO Cineplex
Amusement Centre such as: INBOX karaoke, Game in the City by Small Small World, Pusat Hiburan Keluarga by Kingsoft World.

Gross area for 3 levels:
155000 square feet

Total numbers of retail lots:
72 lots

Total number of Car Park Bays:
Indoor 210 bays
Outdoor 250 bays
Carrefour 560 bays”

12 | ashmann

27 de September de 2009 to ● 5:30 am

Batu Pahat Rotary Club owns the One House that accomodates the Haemodialysis Centre. In 1993, the Chairman of the Centre was Ir TP Tay. Fund raising was necessary to provide subsdised treatment to needy patients. Cherie and I decided to assist by contributing showpieces and novelties made of sugar.

13 | ashmann

2 de October de 2009 to ● 7:38 pm

In an exclusive meeting over lunch in 1Borneo on October 2, 2009 with Johnny, the revival of TechnoFund for renewable energy and sustainable construction was discussed in the presence of Dr Gomez. The matte will be discussed in UTHM in official meetings led by the Assistant VC.

Meanwhile, the application for CRDF4a will be submitted by Supracoat to MTDC next year for the commercialisation of a blended cement for waterproofing applications. This is in line with the instruction of Dato’ Nathan and agreed by Ir Dr Zuhairi bin Abdul Hamid of CREAM.

14 | ashmann

2 de October de 2009 to ● 8:10 pm

Said Omar successfully completed the KUIK cabin on 30 September 2009. This is part of the preparation for PECIPTA 2009 scheduled to be held in KLCC on 8-10 October 2009.

KUIK cabin is fully insulated, including the roof and floor apt from the walls. The completed faciltity will be used as a conditioning chamber for foamed concrete research.

KUIK cabin is suitable for accomodating the homeless, which is now in greater demand due to the rampant incidents of natural disasters.

Another version of KUIK cabin is for use in exhibition which is truely lightweight, fast erection and dismantling.

15 | ashmann

3 de October de 2009 to ● 7:04 pm

Meeting on Teaching Factory @ UTHM is fruitful. Johhny to agreed to fund 40% of the venture. AJ IBS plans to set up a SupraBlock plant at Peserai, BP.

Facilities will be available to UTHM for training concrete entrepreneurs. CSM agrees to play useful supporting role for such programme.

Such arrangement is expected to benefit local community as environment friendly concrete products will be available at reduced cost.

The homestay project in Parit Raja is expected to create the demand.

16 | ashmann

6 de October de 2009 to ● 9:59 pm

PECIPTA 2009 is particularly memorable. It is the first time for me to exhibit three of my award winning research products – the KUIK cabin, drain dan panel. All are meant for the homeless.

The product development was supported by interested business and industrial entities. They are the lucky ones as I need to demonstrate market acceptance of the product and determine the size of market. Business decision can then be made based on establishment of the market.

17 | ashmann

11 de October de 2009 to ● 2:47 am

KUIK cabin was ompleted in 1 day 1 week before PECIPTA 2009. The coating and joint were both successful. I am planning to put up another KUIK cabin at RECESS during GEW2009.

The matter was brought up for discussion during CSM’s 5th Council meeting. It was agreed to put up a few cabins for CSM activities and branding.

Said Omar will be engaged to produce KUIK panel and erect cabin as licensed applicator. A show unit will be put up for the event where water distilling KUIK panel will be showcased.

18 | ashmann

18 de October de 2009 to ● 7:03 pm

ESP 2009 is great success ! RECESS has its impact in Sibu. A piece of land has been allocated for test site on peat in Sarawak. It makes sense to begin in Sibu as 70% of its land is peat.

A 30m trial embankment is proposed to be constructed on a housing project in 8 mile along Ulu Oya Road. The developer has encountered many problems such as excessive settlement of drains which require re-construction.

JKR Sarawak will be engaged to assist in the monitoring and verification of performance and cost data.

RECESS UTHM will partially fund the structural and geotechnical study of a novel system of road construction on peat, to be known as reinforced peat (REPEAT). Several award winning and patent pending research products will be deployed.

Results of study will be the basis for guideline and specification for construction on peat. With sustainable concerted effort from interested parties, Sibu could emerge as a model township for carbon neutral development with the deplment of renewable energy and sustainable development.

19 | ashmann

1 de November de 2009 to ● 9:09 am

The world’s grain stocks have dropped from four to 2.6 months cover since 2000, despite two bumper harvests in North America. China’s inventories are at a 30-year low. Asian rice stocks are near danger level.
Yet farm commodities have largely missed out on Bernanke’s reflation rally in metals, oil, and everything else. Dylan Grice from Société Générale sees “bargain basement” prices.
Wheat has crashed 70pc from early 2008. Corn has halved. The “Ags” have mostly drifted sideways over the last six months. This divergence within the commodity family is untenable, given the bio-ethanol linkage to oil.
For investors wishing to rotate out of overstretched rallies – Wall Street’s Transport index and the Russell 2000 broke down last week – this is a rare chance to buy cheap into a story that will dominate the rest of our lives.
Barack Obama has not reversed the Bush policy on biofuels, despite food riots in a string of poor countries last year and calls for a moratorium. The subsidy of 45 cents per gallon remains.
The motive is strategic. America is weaning itself off imported energy at breakneck speed. It will not again be held hostage by oil demagogues, or humiliated by states that cannot feed themselves. Those Beijing students who laughed at US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner may not enjoy the last laugh. The US is the agricultural superpower. Foes will discover why that matters.
The world population is adding “another Britain” every year. This will continue until mid-century. By then we will have an extra 2.4bn mouths to feed.
China and Southeast Asia are switching to animal-protein diets as they grow wealthy, as the Koreans did before them. It takes roughly 3-5kgs of animal feed from grains to produce 1kg of meat.
A report by Standard Chartered, The End of Cheap Food, said North Africa and the Middle East have already hit the buffers. The region imports 71pc of its rice and 58pc of its corn. It lacks water to boost output. The population is growing fast. It will have to import, and cross fingers.
The UN says global farm yields must rise 77pc, which means redoubling Norman Borlaug’s “green revolution”. It will not be easy. China’s trend growth in crops yields has slipped from 3.1pc a year in the early 1960s to 0.9pc over the last decade
“We’ve all heard the stark anecdotes: precious topsoil weakened by over-farming, dust clouds darkening the Asian skies, parched land becoming desert and rivers running dry,” said Mr Grice.
Since 2000, China has lost nearly 1,400 square miles each year to desert. Urban sprawl is paving over fertile land in the East. Water supply from Himalayan glaciers is ebbing. The Yellow River has been reduced to “an agonising trickle”. It no longer reaches the sea for 200 days a year.
Farmers are draining the aquifers. Environmentalist Ma Jun says in China’s Water Crisis that they are drilling as deep as 1,000 metres into non-replenishable reserves. The grain region of the Hai River Basin relies on groundwater for 70pc of irrigation.
China’s water troubles are not unique. North India lives off Himalayan snows as well. Nor can we take fertiliser supply for granted any longer since “peak phosphates” threatens.
One can be Malthusian about this. Grizzled commodity guru Jim Rogers certainly is. “The world is going to have a period when we cannot get food at any price, in some parts.” He advises youth to opt for a farm degree rather than an MBA, if they want to make serious money.
Mr Grice remains an optimist, believing that human ingenuity will rescue us. You can trade the “Ag” rally by investing in exchange traded funds (ETFs), but this amounts to speculation on food. There are ancient taboos against this practice.
Or you can invest in the bio-tech, fertiliser, and land services companies that will both make money and help to solve the problem. Monsanto, Syngenta, and Potash are popular, but trade at high price to book values. Golden Agri-Resources, Yara, Agrium, and Bunge are at better multiples.
Kingsmill Bond at Moscow’s Troika Dialog suggests the Baltic company Trigon Agri as a way to play the catch-up story in the Eurasian steppe. He likes sunflower processor Kernel, grain group Razgulay, and fertiliser firm Uralkali.
Strictly speaking, the world has enough land to feed everybody. The Soviet Union farmed 240m hectares in Khrushchev’s era. The same territory now farms 207m hectares. Troika says crop yields could be doubled in Russia, and tripled in the Ukraine using modern know-how. Africa’s farms could come alive with land registers, allowing villagers to use property as collateral for credit.
None of this can be done with a flick of the fingers. What seems certain is that the terms of trade between country and city will revert to the norms of the Middle Ages. Landowners will be barons again.

20 | ashmann

7 de November de 2009 to ● 10:09 am

Start-Ups Seek to Use Recycled Materials, New Methods to Reinvent Building Materials.

(Newark, California) — Amid buzz about algae biofuel and electric cars, some start-ups hope to use “green” technology to reinvent more mundane products like bricks and cement.

Workers at CalStar’s Newark, Calif., facility press the fly ash into a test mold.

CalStar Products Inc. plans to open a factory next month to make bricks from fly ash, a byproduct of coal burning. It claims to use roughly 85% less energy than traditional clay brick manufacturing, with an equivalent reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions.

The Newark, California, start-up is one of many companies scrambling for a slice of the “green” building market, projected to grow to between $96 billion and $140 billion by 2013 from about $45 billion last year, including materials, technology and labor, according to research firm McGraw-Hill Construction.

Currently, the start-ups face a difficult market. Construction spending has plunged, a result of falling home prices and commercial real-estate values. But “the construction that is occurring is more likely to be green,” says Michele Russo, a research director at McGraw-Hill Construction.

Some investors are following the same logic. Venture capitalists invested $465 million in the U.S. green-building sector in the first nine months of 2009, compared with $284 million in the year-earlier period, says market-tracker Cleantech Group.

“While the rest of the industry has retreated…green construction has actually grown,” says Paul Holland, a partner at venture firm Foundation Capital, which has invested in CalStar.

Other start-ups developing green construction materials include Calera Corp. and Integrity Block Inc., both in California, which make cement and concrete blocks, respectively. Icynene Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, has a foam insulation spray made partly from castor oil, a substitute for fiberglass insulation.

“Innovation is not necessarily discovering new things, but discovering how to use old things in a new way,” says Amitabha Kumar, CalStar’s director of research and development.

The process for making clay bricks—mining clay, forming it into bricks and firing in kilns using coal or natural gas—has remained largely unchanged for decades, though manufacturers have made improvements to reduce environmental impacts.

CalStar forms its bricks from fly ash—a gray, chalky byproduct of burning coal— and a proprietary stew of chemicals. During eight hours of steam baths, the calcium in the fly ash hardens, making bricks that look, feel and act like their clay counterparts, Mr. Kumar says.

CalStar says the bricks are designed to meet standards set by ASTM International, a standards-setting organization, for things like strength, durability and water absorption—and will be installed in buildings for the first time early next year. CalStar says the bricks will be priced competitively with commercial clay bricks. In Chicago, for instance, its bricks will sell for 53 cents apiece on average, compared with 55 cents on average per commercial clay brick, Calstar says.

Executives at the Brick Industry Association argue that CalStar’s fly-ash products aren’t bricks by definition, and question whether they’ll last as long as clay bricks. “No one knows how the fly-ash unit will really perform,” says Dick Jennison, the trade group’s president.

Richard Klingner, a civil engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin who sits on the ASTM’s panel for brick standards, says the ASTM’s standards don’t apply to fly-ash bricks. That doesn’t mean they are unsuitable for buildings, he says, “it just means that there isn’t a standard for them yet.”

The Environmental Protection Agency says fly ash is not hazardous and has advocated its reuse in building materials, though an EPA spokeswoman says the agency is reconsidering the classification this year. Most fly ash is mixed into concrete or disposed of in landfills.

CalStar’s Caledonia, Wis., factory will recycle fly ash from a neighboring Wisconsin Energy Corp. coal plant, making 40 million bricks annually and shipping only to nearby cities, to minimize carbon-dioxide emissions.

Cement maker Calera aims to capture carbon-dioxide emissions before they are released into the atmosphere. The start-up, is backed by nearly $50 million from Khosla Ventures.

In Moss Landing, Calif., Calera will pipe exhaust fumes from Dynegy Inc.’s natural-gas-burning power plant to its pilot facility, set to open this year, where it will flush the gas through seawater or brackish water. That will produce chalky substances it can use to make cement.

Producing one ton of traditional cement releases roughly one ton of carbon dioxide, says Calera founder Brent Constantz. But making one ton of Calera cement captures half a ton of the greenhouse gas. And like CalStar’s bricks, Calera’s cement is less expensive to produce than traditional cement, he says.

By:Cari Tuna

Source: http://www.online.wsj.com

21 | ashmann

4 de February de 2010 to ● 2:24 am

Condolences to the late Kng One Haw.

Your kindness will be remembered by us all

22 | ashmann

13 de March de 2010 to ● 3:53 am

Ontario’s coal-fired power plants and cement-manufacturing plants could soon be burning biomass crops grown by farmers.

Speaking at the Growing the Margins green energy conference Wednesday in London, Robert Lyng of Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said a study on the feasibility of switching to biomass in generating plants will be released next year.

Ontario’s Liberal government had vowed to shut down the plants — among the province’s dirtiest polluters — by now, but has extended their lifetime to 2014 when they’ll have to stop burning coal.

Lyng said two plants in northern Ontario could switch to burning wood pellets. But the largest plants — Lambton, near Sarnia, and the Nanticoke plant, could burn a combination of biomass and natural gas.

Lyng said burning biomass reduces carbon dioxide emissions 90% and would allow the plants to keep operating.

He said OPG could contract with farmers to provide hundreds of thousands of tonnes of biomass, from specialized energy crops such as switchgrass.

Martin Warmelink of Lafarge Cement said the company hopes to produce “green cement” by experimenting with burning bales of crops such as hemp, sorghum and non-food corn as a fuel source for a cement plant near Kingston.

Both Lyng and Warmelink said it will be a challenge to come up with a business model that competes with coal.

“Coal is really cheap. But when you compare biomass with other forms of alternative energy, it’s no too bad,” said Lyng.

He said biomass also produces less energy than coal, so it may be necessary to supplement it with natural gas at the generating plants.

23 | ashmann

21 de March de 2010 to ● 6:23 pm

The green movement focuses attention on numerous resources going to waste that could be turned into cost savings, revenue streams, and profitable businesses while saving the earth — wind power, solar energy, fuels from burning biomass. That sensibility signals an important new value proposition: From dust to dollars! Build innovation around existing but underutilized assets.

Waste was an industrial age motif. To have more of something than one could possibly use signified affluence and high status. That was the point of the impractical extra space at Donald Trump’s palace, Mar a Lago, or the hundreds of pairs of shoes owned by former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos. In that context, growth came from selling bigger portions, larger cars, and more of everything, guaranteeing waste. Of course, one person’s waste was another person’s waste management company; I know many immigrants who attained the American dream through scrap metal.

In today’s less-forgiving times, it’s not enough to hide conspicuous consumption behind gated communities, cloth coats, or vans instead of limousines, and to give up corporate jets and lavish parties. It is imperative (and good business) to better use underutilized assets, not simply to reduce waste.

Munch on some food examples. In Boston, order Peking duck, and get the skin and some meat. In Hong Kong, Peking duck includes the skin, meat, and broth in separate courses. In Beijing, Peking duck uses all of the above plus adds the bones — no waste. A Taiwanese executive friend who summers on Cape Cod visits the docks most mornings to ask fishing crews for the fish heads they discard. Creative cooks invent wonderful dishes out of leftovers, tossing the rest in the compost pile to enrich the soil.

Don’t take me literally. The idea is unlock the hidden value of something that would otherwise be wasted. Used tires — a major pollution problem — are being used by Cemex in road beds in Mexico and by Brazilian artists in Sao Paulo to create attractive, comfortable furniture.

Companies recycle cans and bottles but rarely create innovations out of them. An entrepreneur friend made watch faces out of discarded soda bottle caps, selling them as fashion watches (at high margins considering the zero cost of the bottle caps). Students in a high school chemistry class in New Hampshire collected used cooking oil from local restaurants to convert into fuel that they hoped would run school buses, while extracting the glycerin to make soap that they sold to fund their experiment. Talk about synergies.

What byproducts have hidden value? Companies are experimenting with carbon capture that can reduce carbon footprints while being used for carbonated beverages. Zoos have been particularly creative with the kind of waste-we-don’t-talk-about-in-polite-company (and I don’t mean composting toilets, although that might be a good idea too). Toronto and Singapore zoos took the lead in creating a profitable line of fertilizers for home gardens by processing and packaging animal waste under the brand name “Zoo Doo.”

Space often goes to waste. Companies can turn unused conference rooms into training centers for other organizations. Airports recognize that the areas between gates are retail sales opportunities; the Pittsburgh airport was among the first to be a destination shopping mall, not just a transportation platform. WPP grew to a global advertising giant from a company making wire shopping carts when managers realized the carts could hold advertising placards. Minute Clinics in CVS pharmacies offer routine health services in underutilized areas near aspirins and greeting cards. I’ve urged branch banks to give floor space to neighborhood merchants for displays and demonstration, building community value and bringing traffic to the branch.

Human energy can also be put to better use. Years ago I joked that communities could generate electricity by from runners on a giant treadmill. Then I discovered that this idea is the basis of actual experiments. Bicycles power computers for children in remote villages that lack electricity. So why not go further? What if every office had a health center connected to a generator? Employees could get exercise while displays show them how much power they are producing. Get fit and keep the lights on at the same time.

Of course, it’s also essential to better utilize the most underutilized asset of all in many companies: brainpower. Employee imagination could be used to search for trash, literal or figurative, with innovation value.

24 | ashmann

3 de April de 2010 to ● 4:15 am

lunar base could be built from waterless concrete composed entirely of moon dust, according to US researchers.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will next year scout out a good landing site ahead of the 2020 mission that will put US astronauts back on the moon.

A four-strong team will spend seven days on the lunar surface, but NASA hopes to eventually have long-term moon bases.

However, building permanent structures on the moon would be astronomically expensive, says Houssam Toutanji, a civil engineer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, US.

“It costs a tremendous amount of money to take even 1 kilogram of material to the moon,” he says. “Depending on who you talk to, the cost could be $50,000 to $100,000.”
Dry walling

Toutanji thinks those costs could be sidestepped by making concrete from moon dust, and moon dust alone.

Here on Earth, concrete is made from a pebbly aggregate bound together by water and cement. Lunar concrete could be made using plentiful moon dust as the aggregate, and binding it together using sulphur purified from lunar soil.

“You want the sulphur to be in a liquid or semi-liquid form to work as a binding agent,” says Toutanji, which requires heating it to between 130 and 140 °C.

Once cooled, concrete made in that way quickly hardens like a rock. “Within an hour you get an ultimate-strength concrete,” Toutanji says. “With normal concrete you have to wait seven days, in extreme cases even 28 days to get maximum strength.”

To test the properties of lunar concrete, Toutanji and Richard Grugel, a geological engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, also in Huntsville, used a simulated lunar soil.

They added 35 grams of purified sulphur to every 100 grams of dust and cast the mix into a number of small cubes about 5cm on a side. Those were exposed to 50 cycles of severe temperature changes, each time frozen down to -27 °C and then warmed back to room temperature.

Even after that treatment the concrete could withstand compressive pressures of 17 megapascals (roughly 170 times atmospheric pressure). If the material is reinforced with silica, which can also be derived from moon dust, this can be raised to around 20 megapascals.
Moon mixer

Peter Chen of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, devised his own form of waterless concrete earlier this year, using epoxy as the binder.

“Toutanji and Grugel are of course correct in stating that, due to the high cost of going to the Moon, the amount of material to be transported must be kept to a minimum,” he says.

Chen’s concrete would require a supply of epoxy to be shipped to the moon, he concedes, but says once that is done it is simpler to make.

As well as a device to scoop up the soil, and a mixer to combine the soil and the epoxy, Toutanji and Grugel’s concrete would also require a power source to bake sulphur out of lunar soil, and melt the concrete mixture, Chen points out.

But Toutanji thinks that those energy costs would still be lower than the costs of transporting raw material to the moon, although he has not worked out the logistics of powering the sulphur extraction and melting.

In the past researchers have claimed that temperatures of more than 1000 °C could be reached using solar furnaces that concentrate sunlight.

25 | ashmann

3 de April de 2010 to ● 4:16 am

BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR drivers have used many creative analogies to describe the experience of racing on the concrete at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Some have compared manhandling a 3,400-pound stock car around the high-banked .533-mile oval to flying a jet plane in a gym. Others have compared it to racing inside a cereal bowl.

Wayne Estes, Bristol’s vice president of events, heard another description from Ted Musgrave, a veteran on the Camping World Trucks Series.

“The first time Ted was at the track, he said that it felt like he was driving down an interstate road and then having the sensation of driving over a bridge,” Estes said.

Competing on concrete is a matter of taste. And it’s very much an acquired talent.

“It’s like everything else in racing,” Estes said. “Some people prefer the asphalt surface here, some prefer the old concrete and some prefer the new concrete.

“On a racetrack when you are going at 100 mph, you are going to feel bumps a whole lot more.”

Bristol Motor Speedway and Dover International Raceway are the only tracks on the Sprint Cup series with concrete racing surfaces. .

The curious case of concrete at Bristol dates to the late 1980s, when former track owner Larry Carrier began to experience problems with the old asphalt surface.

After several attempts were made to pave over and seal the crumbling chunks of asphalt, Carrier finally hired contractor Joe Loven of Kingsport, Tenn., to install concrete in 1992. Many drivers expressed their dislike of the concrete creation during a test session the week before Bristol’s August race in 1992. Nonetheless, the makeover became part of the Bristol experience.

Estes said that the advent of the tire wars between Hoosier and Goodyear in 1988 compounded problems with worn racing surfaces.

“Goodyear had always been able to play it a little safe when they were by themselves, but then Goodyear and Hoosier began to compete,” Estes said. “The tires began to have more grip, and that meant that they were grabbing the pavement more.”

The combination of more downforce, high speeds and steep banking gradually began to eat away the surface at tracks such as Bristol. Once their cars left the racing groove, drivers found formations of pellets and rocks. Blown tires, spins and other forms of mayhem often followed.

“When the cars went into the corners, the asphalt aggregate just wouldn’t stand up,” Estes said. “That’s why (Bristol) went to concrete.”

Bristol’s personality changed again in 2007, when track officials had a new layer of concrete put down. What was once a notoriously tight, one-groove track that featured a heavy emphasis on bumping and grinding suddenly became a technical test where drivers could run side-by-side.

Before Bristol was resurfaced in 2007, Estes said that many insiders questioned why track officials didn’t revert to asphalt.

“I can remember Brett Bodine saying that it looked to him that we had the perfect surface to put asphalt on top of,” Estes said.

Estes explained that the task of simply paving over the concrete is far from routine. Jeff Byrd, Bristol’s general manager, offered to hire a company to install pavement but only if it could guarantee that the surface wouldn’t need to be patched during a race.

“And nobody took Jeff up on that offer,” Estes said. “The surface has to be able to withstand the abuse that it takes when these tires dig in.”

Although some drivers and fans dislike the surface, it appears that Bristol will keep its concrete — bumps and all.

“As long as the cars are going as fast as they are and with the kind of downforce they have, I don’t see (the concrete) going anywhere,” Estes said.

26 | ashmann

23 de April de 2010 to ● 5:30 am

Pin’s Oasis Suite (B03-01) at Ara Damansara is to be finished with polyester concrete. Again the first of its kind !

With the publication of his book on IT entrepreneurship, he is now ready to create valley of prosperity for those passionate and determined to create value. UTHM trainees are among the first to enjoy such opportunity.

27 | ashmann

10 de May de 2010 to ● 5:10 am

Latest News CRH issues Interim Management State…>
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North / South America RSS email print Prof from Northwestern University will join MIT team working to make a greener concrete

May, 06 2010

RSS email print

(Cambridge, Massachusetts) — Hamlin Jennings, who is known among academic and industry researchers for his influential work on the fundamental chemistry of cement, will be the inaugural executive director of the Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSH), a research center established last fall at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation.

Jennings will leave a tenured faculty position at Northwestern University to lead the CSH, taking up his new responsibilities at MIT beginning July 1, where he will also hold the position of adjunct professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, administrative home of the CSH.

“Hamlin Jennings is widely recognized as a pre-eminent researcher and leader in the field of cement chemistry,” said Professor Andrew Whittle, head of the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “His research experience and intellectual stature, as well as his own passion for the goals of the Concrete Sustainability Hub make him the perfect person to take on leadership of this important new initiative. We are delighted he has agreed to join us at MIT.”

Jennings developed the first fully quantitative model of the nanostructure of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), the major component of hydrated cement. This model formed a basis for quantitatively predicting the mechanical properties of the material and linking these properties to the design of new materials. He currently holds appointments in civil and environmental engineering and in materials science and engineering at Northwestern University (NU), and was head of NU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2002 to 2006.

“MIT has assembled an extraordinarily gifted team of scientists and engineers with the express objective of transforming our understanding of a complete materials science approach to cement and concrete,” said Jennings, who is a native Bostonian. “While this is complex and ambitious, it will lead to new strategies for addressing global issues, such as improving durability and other properties while reducing the carbon and energy footprints. My goals and those of the CSH are so well aligned that even though it means leaving the stimulating environment of Northwestern University, it is an opportunity and an honor that I cannot refuse.”

The CSH was established in October 2009 with an initial grant of $10 million from industrial sponsors, with the goal of accelerating emerging breakthroughs in concrete science and swiftly transferring those research advances into industry. (The hub’s acronym is a play on the calcium silicate hydrate of cement’s nanostructure.) As executive director of the CSH, Jennings will provide intellectual leadership for the research center and seek to expand the center’s funding base.

“We are confident that the CSH researchers will advance scientific breakthroughs to make the manufacture of concrete and cement even more sustainable into the future, but the real key will be to translate that into industry practice,” said Julia Garbini, executive director of the RMC Research & Education Foundation. “Hamlin Jennings’ unique experience of working with academic researchers and the cement and concrete industries makes him an ideal choice to help us bring those research advances into practical application.”

Concrete is the most widely used building material on Earth. But the production of cement — its basic building block at the nanoscale — accounts for about 5 percent of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions, prompting industry leaders to seek ways to reduce that carbon footprint. Under the CSH umbrella, researchers from three of MIT’s schools, the School of Engineering, School of Architecture and Planning and Sloan School of Management, will engage in research activities to do just that.

“The cement and concrete industries have long been committed to not only producing our products in sustainable ways, but to see those products used in the most sustainable manner. The research undertaken by CSH will position our industries as leaders in the sustainable development movement,” said Brian McCarthy, CEO and president of PCA.

Research projects in the Concrete Sustainability Hub will fall under three areas: concrete materials science, building technology, and the econometrics of sustainable development. Projects in two of those areas are already in progress.

Work on the materials science of concrete is being performed by a research team called the Liquid Stone Team, which includes researchers from the departments of civil and environmental engineering, materials science and engineering, and nuclear science and engineering. The Liquid Stone Team is studying the basic molecular structure of cement in order to manipulate that structure to produce a “greener” concrete, possibly by swapping one chemical element for another to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing or by designing a stronger concrete that would require less material for construction projects.

In the building technology area, researchers involved with a project called the Edge of Concrete are developing a rigorous basis for quantifying the ecological and economic performance of concrete over the lifetime of structures and pavements built with this material, so that methods for improving concrete’s performance can be identified. The team includes researchers from the departments of architecture, civil and environmental engineering, and mechanical engineering.

The Portland Cement Association, based in Skokie, Ill., represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs. For additional information, visit http://www.cement.org.

The mission of the RMC Research & Education Foundation, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, is to support research and educational programs that will increase quality, professionalism and environmental stewardship in the ready mixed concrete industry for the benefit of the citizens of the United States. For additional information, visit http://www.rmc-foundation.org.

28 | ashmann

24 de August de 2010 to ● 11:20 pm

Visit the Kuala Bikam Industry is good experience for me. Met Ah Tong who was with the place when it started in 1991. Founders were Lim & Ooi, MSG. Focused on silica glass. Ceased operTION IN 2005 due to govt policy which is not trade friendly. Chong took over last year and revived. PP is for the dry process. Talking to Invest Perak to acquire 300 acres. Could develop into KBI Park ! Mr Tai of REKA ALC is to invest 40m. BioGen to venture into renewable enery and biomass silica. Green power is grey diamond is about to take off. Tighten your seat belt !

29 | ashmann

1 de September de 2010 to ● 5:26 am

Follow-up meeting is arranged by REKA Tai. Mr Look (0133480153) represented Vyncke Francis to meet Dato Terry Lee (0122222688) whose office is at level 6, Wisma Cosway next to Genting. Trader in bird’s nests and spirit. Khalil accompanied me.
Tai is more interested in biofuel now. !MW costs 2m Euro.
Need to look at carbon neutral development potential there.

30 | ashmann

8 de September de 2010 to ● 4:50 am

Papaya

No need to cry about scarcity of blueberries, strawberries, etc in SINGAPORE. We have our wonderful payayas, pineapples and bananas, and durians and mangoes are affordable.
Papaya was the only studied food found to halt breast cancer

Scientists studied 14 plant foods commonly consumed in Mexico to determine their ability to halt breast cancer cell growth. These included avocado, black sapote, fuava, mango, prickly pear cactus (nopal), pineapple, grapes, tomato, and papaya. They also evaluated beta-carotene, total plant phenolics, and gallic acid contents and antioxidant capacity. They found that only papaya had a significant effect on stopping breast cancer cell growth. (International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, May)
Papaya is a store-house of cancer fighting lycopene

The intense orangey-pink color of papaya means it is chock full of cancer fighting carotenoids. Not only beta carotene, but lycopene is found in abundance. The construction of lycopene makes it highly reactive toward oxygen and free radicals.
Scientists at the University of Illinois think this anti-oxidant activity contributes to its effectiveness as a cancer fighting agent. Epidemiological studies have indicated an inverse relationship between lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk. They showed that oral lycopene is highly bioavailable, accumulates in prostate tissue, and is localized in the nucleus of prostate epithelial cells.

In addition to antioxidant activity, other experiments have indicated that lycopene induces cancer cell death, anti-metastatic activity, and the up-regulation of protective enzymes. Phase I and II studies have established the safety of lycopene supplementation. (Cancer Letter, October 8, 2008)

Prostate cancer was the subject of a study in Australia that looked at 130 prostate cancer patients and 274 hospitalized controls . The scientists found that men who consumed the most lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables such as papaya were 82% less likely to have prostate cancer. In this study, green tea also exerted a powerful anti-cancer effect. When lycopene-rich foods were consumed with green tea, the combination was even more effective, an outcome the researchers credited to their synergy. ( Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007)

Isothiocyanates found in papaya restore the cell cycle to eliminate cancer

Organo-sulfur compounds called isothiocyanates are found in papaya. In animal experiments, isothiocyanates protected against cancers of the breast, lung, colon pancreas, and prostate, as well as leukemia, and they have the potential to prevent cancer in humans. Isothiocyanates have shown themselves capable of inhibiting both the formation and development of cancer cells through multiple pathways and mechanisms. (International Journal of Oncology), October, 2008)
Researchers in Japan clarified the mechanisms of action in a type of isothiocyanate found in papaya known as BITC, that underlies the relationship between cell cycle regulation and appropriate cell death. When cancerous cells die on schedule, they are no longer a problem. The researchers established that BITC exerted cancer cell killing effects that were greater in the proliferating cells than in the quiescent cells. Cancer cells that are proliferating are much more dangerous than cancer cells that are in a state of dormancy. (Forum of Nutrition, 2009)

Enzymes from papaya digest proteins including those that protect tumors

The fruit and other parts of the papaya tree, also known as the paw paw tree, contain papain and chymopapain, powerful proteolytic enzymes that facilitate chemical reactions in the body. They promote digestion by helping to break down proteins from food into amino acids that can be recombined to produce protein useable by humans. Proteolytic enzymes protect the body from inflammation and help heal burns. They do a good job of digesting unwanted scar tissue both on the skin and under its surface .
Research has shown that the physical and mental health of people is highly dependent on their ability to produce proteins they can use effectively. However, as people age, they produce less of the enzymes needed to effectively digest proteins from food and free needed amino acids. They are left with excessive amounts of undigested protein which can lead to overgrowth of unwanted bacteria in the intestinal tract, and a lack of available amino acids.

Eating papaya after a meal promotes digestion, and helps prevent bloating, gas production, and indigestion. It is quite helpful after antibiotic use to replenish friendly intestinal bacteria that were the casualties in the war against the unwanted bacteria. When the intestinal tract is well populated with friendly bacteria, the immune system is strengthened, and can better protect against flu and cancer.

Being a proteolytic enzyme, papain is able to destroy intestinal parasites, which are composed mostly of protein. To rid the body of intestinal parasites, half a cup of papaya juice can be alternated each hour for twelve consecutive hours with the same amount of cucumber or green bean juice.
Papaya contains fibrin, another useful compound not readily found in the plant kingdom. Fibrin reduces the risk of blood clots and improves the quality of blood cells, optimizing the ability of blood to flow through the circulatory system. Fibrin is also important in preventing stokes. Proteolytic enzymes containing fibrin are a good idea for long plane rides to minimize the potential of blood clots in the legs. People who sit at a desk all day might want to use proteolytic enzymes too.
Proteolytic enzymes are able to digest and destroy the defense shields of viruses, tumors, allergens, yeasts, and various forms of fungus. Once the shield is destroyed, tumors and invading organisms are extremely vulnerable and easily taken care of by the immune system .
Undigested proteins can penetrate the gut and wind up in the bloodstream where they are treated by the immune system as invaders. If too many undigested proteins are floating around, the immune system becomes overburdened and unable to attend to the other tasks it was meant to do. Proteolytic enzymes can digest these rogue proteins, freeing up the immune system .

Let’s ensure a slice of papaya every day in our diet. Papaya juice will be great.