Clearly noise is still noise even in a recession so a big thank you to you as a valued customer, for your continued faith in our products and services here at IAC. These past few months, our people have been exhibiting in India, finishing aeroengine projects in Brazil and, this month, have been across the Atlantic to share our latest developments in design and engineering with our USA company. We are always looking to enhance or products to ensure more customers worldwide can solve their local noise problems more effectively. Our products continue to be in demand across all the sectors we serve for what, I believe, is the best value the market offers today.

Best wishes.

Brian Quarendon
Group President and CEO

IAC AVIATION COMPLETES UPGRADE TO ROLLS-ROYCE GEM FACILITY IN BRAZIL

IAC Aviation – a world leader in aero-engine testing – has successfully completed a major contract from Rolls-Royce Brazil for a GEM engine test facility upgrade at their facility in São Paulo, Brazil.

The contract was secured against stiff opposition from several competitors in March 2008, but with IAC being the UK Ministry of Defence’s approved Design Authority (DA) for GEM engine test facilities and offering a minimal risk solution including minimising down time for this key facility, IAC were chosen for this prestigious contract.

The key component to the upgrade was the supply of IAC’s latest LabVIEW based ADAS control and instrumentation system which will substantially reduce engine testing and data processing time. The proven IAC ADAS system is based upon commercially available hardware and software and hence offers Rolls-Royce Brazil enormous benefits in supportability, spares and reduced obsolescence. It also gives the potential for future expansion and upgrades. Many other systems were refurbished and incorporated into the new system.

Graham Lavis, Aviation Solutions Project Manager, said: “Of course, this is a critical facility for Rolls-Royce Brazil so the project management parameters were highly demanding. As DA for the GEM we obviously have an in-depth knowledge and were ideally placed to offer an optimum and low-cost solution, our experience of delivering key projects around the world helped in the smooth running of this project and we were pleased to deliver a first class, on-time, on budget project.”

For more information on IAC Aviation products and services visit www.iacaviation.com or contact Nick Smith on 01962 873204 nicks@iacl.co.uk

ACOUSTIC DOORS – 1M DOOR SETS SOLD, AND RISING

IAC’s acoustic doors are favourites with architects and specifiers around the world, and over 1m door sets have been installed since we were founded in 1949. Buildings all across the UK and in the Middle East number among our latest projects.

Much copied but never matched, IAC acoustic doors are in continual demand. Here is a flavour of the kinds of projects that are underway at the moment.

Six acoustic doors are being manufactured for the ground floor radio studios at BBC Cambridge – both single and double-leaf doors; all include vision panels, and some of which are fire-rated. BBC Media City Salford Quays Manchester is hot on its heels with special custom doors in manufacture at present.

High security sections of Microsoft Dublin’s new £400M Data Centre are the destination for IAC custom doors. This is Microsoft’s first Windows Live EMEA Data Centre in Europe and it is under construction on the Grange Castle Business Park, 10 miles from Dublin’s city centre. We are fitting 2 pairs of high performance back-to-back doors prepared ready for security access card units to be fitted by Microsoft; and one custom 3m-high, single-leaf emergency exit door. The installation will be completed by the end of February.

From Dublin to the Audissey Studio Project in Dubai. We are undertaking this in conjunction with Gulf Acoustic LLC, our middle-eastern partner on this occasion. The 7 of STC53 acoustic doors are being manufactured here in Winchester, UK and will be shipped shortly.

IAC has glittering list of theatres and arts centres worldwide amongst its clients and the latest is the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. The Edwardian school building that the Centre has occupied for 30 years is being redesigned inside by avant garde architects, Ash Sakula. It will contain cinemas, theatres, exhibition spaces, studios, café, award-winning bars, over 60 cultural workspaces and more. We are supplying 7 timber doors and 2 steel doors for a cinema, a theatre space and various locations on the upper levels.

On the industrial front, 8 of our acoustic doors – single and double leaf – are destined for the offices of Polish can-making giant, Can-Pack. Their massive newly-built factory in Scunthorpe, north-east England will turn out a staggering 2 billion 44cl cans a year for the British market.

For more information on our range of acoustic doors, visit www.industrialacoustics.com/uk and the Gallery, or contact Kane Watkinson on + 44 (0)1962 873000 kanew@iacl.co.uk

IAC’S ‘GROUP PRODUCT & ENGINEERING CONFERENCE’ IN NEW YORK

Global Test Facilities Manager, Graham Dale and Richard Lord, Engineering Manager from the European headquarters in the UK travelled to New York earlier this month to take part in a 3-day ‘Group Product & Engineering Conference’

They met with their IAC America counterparts Victor Clemente, Phil Hooser, Brian Schellati and Jon Weinstein, as well as General Manager, Ken DeLasho, to bring them up-to-date on the latest developments in engineering and sales issues regarding Test Chambers, Noise Barriers and Absorption Systems.

Graham’s presentations focused on the turnkey approach used by IAC UK in the construction of Anechoic Chambers. This side of the Atlantic, we take total responsibility for every aspect of chamber design, construction and commissioning - including foundations, dynamometers, fire protection, construction, HVAC, acoustics, weather proofing and even landscaping. Graham explained how, for the chamber end-user, this approach effectively eliminates the inevitable end-of-project ‘finger pointing’ and makes it almost ‘an offer they can’t refuse’.

Richard then went on to unpack the various aspects of chamber and component testing and explored with Victor how to take the UK’s automated Impedance Tube Data Acquisition System to the USA.

The conference also heard from Graham and Phil on various aspects of the design, performance and marketing of our sound barriers. In particular they shared the design details of the UK’s new ‘Face Fix’, and explored the potential benefits of adding this to IAC America’s barrier offering. This low-cost barrier design improvement not only renders the full face of the Z-Beam invisible but it also keeps horizontal and vertical reveals equal between panels. This aesthetic feature heightens the barriers’ appeal to architects.

“This conference was well worthwhile as it’s important to share design, manufacturing and operations best practice across the group. These continue to provide competitive edge and keep us up there as market leaders,” said Graham Dale.

For more information on Anechoic Chambers contact Graham Dale on +44 (0)1962 873000 grahamd@iacl.co.uk and for Barriers contact Scott Simmons on +44 (0)1962 873000 scotts@iacl.co.uk

ALSTOM CHOOSES IAC SILENCERS FOR FRANCE’S NEW-ERA NUCLEAR REACTOR

Alstom has awarded IAC Boet Stopson a €765K contract to supply silencer systems to what will be the first of France’s new-generation EPR nuclear power generation stations.

Nuclear power plants are now increasingly recognised as a viable power generation source in Europe. This new so-called EPR, or European Pressurized Reactor, is being built at a cost of around €4billion on Electricité de France's (EdF's) Flamanville site in northern France. This is one of only two EPR reactors under construction to date, the other one being at Olkiluoto in Finland.

IAC Boet Stopson will supply Flamanville EPR with acoustics on the prime emergency units, comprising full inlet and exhaust systems for the four 8MW generators. The inlet system consists of filtration system, pipes and silencers made of stainless steel. The exhaust system consists of flexible bellow, pipes and silencers made of carbon steel.

The scope also includes all of the design including the construction of a scale 3D model, plus the technical documentation – all to the highest nuclear standard specification requirements.

Jean-Jacques Rapez, Product Manager Special Silencers, said: “Our President Nicolas Sarkozy has already announced this month his decision to construct a second EPR. Having previously supplied other gen-sets suppliers with silencers for the Finland EPR reactor helped us to win this contract. This gives us a good stepping stone into more nuclear applications in the future.” Over three quarters of France's electricity is already generated by 58 nuclear reactors with the rest being exported to all its neighbours.

For further information on noise control solutions for all power and utility applications, contact Malcolm Hewitt on +44 (0)2476 546853 malcolmh@iacl.co.uk

ACOUSTIC WINDOWS FOR INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION

Leading industry and education names, Unilever and the Open University, are just two our recent clients using IAC acoustic windows to keep them ahead of the game.

Unilever like many other top brands run regular Focus Groups to fine tune their products offerings to consumers. As part of an upgrade to their research centre located in Leatherhead, Surrey, a series of one-way acoustic windows have been custom designed for their observation rooms.

The Open University in Milton Keynes has recently reassigned the rooms in which the Mars space probe was built. After being empty for 2 years, the space has been reconfigured to create a 3-room a recital and recording suite. IAC has designed, manufactured and supplied three 70 dB quadruple-glazed acoustic windows in the suite. The OU is the UK’s only university dedicated to distance learning. Offering over 600 courses, it has 150,000 undergraduate and more than 30,000 postgraduate students – in the UK and overseas.

For more information on IAC acoustic windows contact Kane Watkinson on 01962 873000 kanew@iacl.co.uk

IAC AND WELAN TECHNOLOGIES SHOWCASE ANECHOIC CHAMBERS IN PUNE, INDIA

IAC and our Indian partner company Welan Technologies mounted a joint exhibition stand at the Symposium on International Automotive Technology (SIAT) from January 21-24 in Pune, India.

The stand showcased IAC anechoic chambers several of which are under construction at two of India’s leading automotive manufacturers.

This biennial automotive Symposium is organised by The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) which is playing a crucial role in assuring the development of safe, less polluting and more efficient motor vehicles. ARAI provides technical expertise in R&D, testing, certification, homologation and framing of vehicle regulations.

The Show attracted delegates from across all areas of automotive engineering and technology. Eminent experts and authors present Keynote and Technical Papers to an audience of technologists, researchers and scientists from automotive and allied industries and academia from across the globe.

Lord Peter Mandelson, UK Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was guest of honour at the opening ceremony, alongside his counterpart from the Indian Government, Shri Sontosh Mohan Dev, Honourable Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

The theme of SIAT this year was Eco-Mobility focusing on Alternative Fuels, Automotive Electronics, Durability, Emissions, Engines, Materials, NVH, Safety, and Vehicle Evaluation, and, importantly for IAC, Automotive Testing.

“Our joint stand attracted a great deal of interest,” said Nitin Welanker, CEO of Welan Technologies. “This show is India’s only automotive show and so is a ‘must’ for anyone in the automotive engineering field. In all, many prospects visited us including a leader in automotive interiors interested in a chamber for testing seat noise; a Japanese car manufacturer for a vehicle test chamber; a compressor manufacturer interested in a test room, an Indian automotive manufacturer interested in an anechoic chamber for end of line testing of engines; and several major commercial vehicle manufacturers. The quality, performance and global reputation of IAC’s chambers are what set us apart.”

Graham Dale, Global Test Facilities Manager said: “Our trading agreement signed last summer with Welan Technologies has resulted in a wave of interest from Indian and Asian automotive manufacturers. We are already one of the leading suppliers in the anechoic chamber arena thanks to Nitin’s 25 years’ experience in the sector and his go-getter attitude. We are delighted with the results this trading partnership is bringing.”

For more information on IAC’s anechoic chamber test facilities contact Graham Dale on + 44 (0)1962 83024 grahamd@iacl.co.uk

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