♦  The maintenance, service and repair group Deritend Industries aiming double its turnover to £50m by 2012 with a service expansion focusing on energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies. The company hopes to capitalise on initiatives such as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme to provide a green maintenance and consultancy service to traditionally “dirty” industry sectors. It recently received a £2m investment through the Government’s Capital for Enterprise Fund (CfE) initiative that backs companies with high growth potential.

♦  The world’s first IECEx Certificate of Personnel Competency has been issued to a person located in the UK. The personal and non-transmittable certificate provides proof that the recipient has the required competency (comprising qualifications and experience) to conduct work in hazardous areas, including area classification, installation, inspection and repair.

♦  The fan-maker Fläkt Woods has introduced a scrappage scheme for fans, offering a 10% discount to any customers replacing their old fan with its environmentally friendly Twist Wing fan, which can accommodate foot-mounted IE2-efficiency motors. It will recycle the replaced fans.

♦  A Chinese court has upheld a complaint by the Harting Technology Group that a Chinese manufacturer had copied some of its patented connectors. After four months of proceedings, the court confirmed the patent infringement, imposed damages on the counterfeiter, and ordered it to stop production and sales of the connectors.