TWI Annual Review - July 2008
Achievements in 2007
- Industry sector income growth >22%
- Support of industry sector with regard to issues arising from acetylene in a fire
- Supplier and Vendor Guide now has 50 entries
- Recruitment of new Members from China and India
- Successful joint industry seminar with the automotive team
- TWI facilities made available for industry sector events and meetings.
Future Plans
- Further membership recruitment in India and China
- Increase project activity in the sector including SCP, GSP and Collaborative
- Focus on raw materials producers
- Leverage Supplier and Vendor Guide
- Partnerships with industry associations
- Technology and market trends report for 2008
Case Study
When fire incidents involve acetylene cylinders there is a potential danger that heat can cause the acetylene to undergo an internal decomposition that creates further heating of the cylinder which may continue after the fire has been extinguished. As a consequence, current fire service control measures to deal with acetylene in fire incidents cause major disruption to roads, public transport, homes and businesses. Understandably, there is a great deal of debate between suppliers, local authorities and the fire service about how best to handle such incidents. TWI played a role in informing the debate by presenting an industry view in the form of a knowledge summary of the importance of acetylene to industry. This summary was provided to the stakeholders and examined the current uses of acetylene particularly in conjunction with oxygen and the potential alternatives. In short, the conclusion was that the unique combination of portability and flexibility of the acetylene-based process which, make it suitable for cutting, heating and welding mean that it is still an important tool to industry. |