Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted
Comprehensive Weather
Observation Systems to
Oman Airports
Vaisala will supply weather observation systems to six airports in the
Sultanate of Oman. The contract,
valued over nine million euros, was
awarded to Vaisala in the beginning
of December, and the deliveries will
take place between 2011 and 2014.
The weather observation systems
will be part of the extensive upgrade
projects on two international and
four regional airports in the Sultanate of Oman. Vaisala’s systems will
offer accurate and consistent online
weather information to various user
groups at the airports where realtime weather information is crucial
to ensure safety and efficiency.
“We are naturally very pleased
about this deal which continues our
good track record in the Middle-East.
Vaisala’s aviation weather systems
are used in all major international
airports in the area such as Dubai,
Abu Dhabi, and New Doha airport in
Qatar. Oman’s international airports,
Muscat and Salalah, will complement
this list perfectly,” says Kai Konola,
Executive Vice President, Weather
Critical Operations.
The systems to be delivered comprise of automated weather observing systems, sounding systems, wind
profilers and lightning detection
systems. All systems will be an integrated part of the airports’ air traffic
management networks supplied by
Indra Sistemas S.A.
Vaisala Moisture in Oil Transmitter Approved
for Installation in MAN Diesel & Turbo Engines
Vaisala HUMICAP® Moisture and
Temperature Transmitter Series for
Oil MMT330 has been approved for
installation in MAN Diesel & Turbo’s
engines. The MMT330 are installed
in the lubricating oil system of
MAN B&W two-stroke diesel engines.
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MAN Diesel & Turbo is a global
market leader for large diesel engines
used in ships. They have introduced
on-line condition-based water-inoil monitoring to their MAN B&W
marine two-stroke diesel engines to
protect the critical components from
the damages water contamination in
the lubrication oil can cause. Before
approving the MMT330, MAN Diesel
& Turbo conducted extensive testing
to identify a suitable water-in-oil
sensor and to verify the selected
sensor’s measurement accuracy in
actual engine installations.
Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted
Carbon Disclosure Project Measured Vaisala’s
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Long term risks and financial
uncertainty relating to the effects of
climate change are increasing, and
the international financial community
is recognizing the need for transparency in their risk assessments. To
generate much needed knowledge
on the effects of climate change on
businesses, the Carbon Disclosure
Project (CDP – www.cdproject.net)
collects greenhouse gas emissions
data and risk assessments from companies to form an extensive database
for investors.
The CDP is an independent notfor-profit organization, backed up by
a group of 534 institutional investors
with assets of over USD 60 trillion.
It holds the largest database of corporate climate change information
in the world with thousands of organizations measuring and disclosing
their greenhouse gas emissions and
climate change strategies through
the CDP.
Vaisala was invited to respond to
the CDP for the first time in 2010, and
gladly accepted the opportunity.
“We felt it was important for us
to demonstrate transparency and
insight into the risks and opportunities climate change introduces to our
company. We used a mix of direct
and indirect emissions equivalents
in accordance with the Greenhouse
Gas Protocol to calculate our emissions for 2009, and concluded that
our approximate carbon footprint
was roughly 10,000 tons of CO2-e or
carbon dioxide equivalents”, says
Vaisala’s Corporate Responsibility
Specialist Tomi Rintanen.
Vaisala’s response was highlighted in CDP’s final report for
having set clear targets for emissions
reductions. Action plan for the head
office in Helsinki, Finland is in place
to improve energy efficiency by nine
percent from a 2005 baseline by 2016.
New Transmitter for Energy
Management Systems in Buildings
Vaisala has developed a new costefficient and dependable solution for
humidity and temperature measurement in heating and ventilation
systems. The two- and three-wire
Vaisala INTERCAP® Humidity and
Temperature Transmitter Series
HMW80 are designed to combine
excellent stability with easy installation and reliable operation.
Installing a HMW80 transmitter couldn’t be easier – mount and
wire it, snap the housing closed to
cover the electronics, and you’re
ready to go. The HMW80 humidity
transmitters use an interchangeable capacitive humidity sensor,
which is insensitive to dust and most
chemicals. The transmitters require
no recalibration if the sensor is
changed, which means great savings
in overall maintenance costs.
Further information:
www.vaisala.com/HMW80
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Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted
Vaisala Lightning Detection
System to Electricity
Transmission Network in Russia
Vaisala provides a lightning detection
system to an electricity transmission
network in the Rostov Oblast area
in southern Russia to help minimize
power outages caused by lightning
strikes. The project is part of a large
electricity transmission modernization program for the Russian national
grid.
The system helps identify
lightning-induced transmission line
faults as they happen, which means
that repair crews can be dispatched
immediately to restore service. It
also provides an improved understanding of where lightning may
occur, making it possible to preposition the repair crews to minimize
outage time further.
The system comprises four
Vaisala LS8000 Thunderstorm Total
Lightning Sensors with related hardware and software. It has the capability to detect more than 90 percent of
all lightning strikes. It uses VHF (very
high frequency) technology to detect
and map the small pulses emitted by
cloud lightning events, and renowned
LF (low frequency) technology to
locate cloud-to-ground strokes within
250 meters.
The detection network will be
operational by the end of March
2011. The first system will be delivered as a pilot project to evaluate
how effective total lightning detection is for Russia’s transmission
system reliability and operations
support. Expected benefits are significant, as lightning causes some 50
percent of the power outages in the
Rostov Oblast area.
New Humidity and Temperature
Transmitters for Cleanrooms
Vaisala introduces new transmitters for humidity and temperature
monitoring in cleanrooms and
demanding HVAC applications. The
Vaisala HUMICAP® Humidity and
Temperature Transmitters HMT120
and HMT130 are designed to deliver
accurate and reliable long term
measurement data, which is the key
to high quality processes and end
products in life science and microelectronics industries.
The transmitters’ smooth enclosure finish is easy to keep clean and
the material is resistant to cleaning
chemicals used in Life Sciences. Furthermore, the product concept offers
28 185/2011
flexibility for easy installation on
the cleanroom wall with integrated
probe for room monitoring or with a
remote probe assembly for remote
installation in the ceilings, chambers
or air ducts.
They are also ideal to be used
in conjunction with Vaisala Veriteq
Continuous Monitoring
System, for monitoring humidity
and temperature
in controlled
and critical environments.
Further information:
www.vaisala.com/HMT120
Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted
Highway Advisory Radio
System to Idaho
Vaisala has been selected to provide
a Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)
system to the State of Idaho Transportation Department ITS Division in the
United States. The statewide system
will be delivered as a turnkey project,
and construction will start in April.
The project will include deploying 25 AM transmitters and 58 static
advisory signs advising motorists to
listen to the AM transmission at key
locations along Idaho highways. The
entire system will be controlled by
operators at the ITD Traffic Management Center in Boise.
When implemented, the system
will improve ITD’s ability to inform
motorists of roadway problems
particularly in the event of Idaho’s
changing weather. HAR stations are
often more useful than overhead
message signs, because they can
provide longer and more detailed
instructions to the driver. Typical
HAR messages include road conditions, chain control information,
traffic conditions, construction information, and child abductions.
Vaisala HM40 – New Generation
of Portable Humidity and
Temperature Measurements
Vaisala ushers in a new era in handheld humidity and temperature measurements with the introduction of
Vaisala HUMICAP® Hand-Held Humidity and Temperature Meter HM40.
Compact, robust and easy to use,
the HM40 is an ideal spot-checking
tool for various portable humidity
measurement needs from construction sites and HVAC applications to
laboratories and cleanrooms.
The HM40 features a user-friendly
large graphic display, easy-to-use
push buttons and a multilingual user
interface with 10 different languages,
which is simple and intuitive to use.
A graph is provided to indicate when
the measurement has stabilized, and
an interchangeable measurement
probe makes recalibration as easy as
can be – all that is needed is to plug
in a fresly calibrated probe.
In addition to measuring relative
humidity and temperature, the HM40
displays additional calculated humidity quantities for dewpoint temperature, wet bulb temperature, absolute
humidity, mixing ratio, and enthalpy
– all available in both metric and nonmetric units.
Further information:
www.vaisala.com/HM40
185/2011 29
Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted
Jan Hörhammer Retires
After 42 Years with Vaisala
Mr Jan Hörhammer, Vaisala’s Director
for Customer Relations, retired in
December after 42 years of service
in the company. During his long
career with Vaisala, Hörhammer has
been involved in countless activities
both within the company and in the
meterological community at large.
His limitless interest in and devotion
to his work has earned him a widely
respected position in the field of
meteorological monitoring.
Hörhammer started working for
Vaisala in 1968 as a customer training
and installations engineer, and has
since then built an impressive career
in various division management and
sales and marketing positions. He
was also a long-time member of the
Vaisala Management Group.
As one of the most memorable
experiences he cites four expatriate
years in Japan in the early 1980’s,
spent setting up Vaisala’s Japanese
operations. He was also one of the
key individuals involved in establishing the Association of Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry (HMEI)
in 2001.
But whatever position he held, customers always came first. Hörhammer says that finding a way to help
no matter what problem a customer
might have had was a matter of
honor to him.
“Technological development over
the years has of course changed the
way the business is conducted. What
has not changed though is the importance of having a good relationship
with the customer. Having trust both
between Vaisala and the customer
and between the persons representing the companies is the cornerstone
of the business”, Hörhammer states.
“Thus, I would like to express
my heartfelt thanks and send my
warmest regards to all customers,
scientists and colleagues that I have
had the privilege to meet and collaborate with over the years. Weather is
an interesting subject which brings
people together, like a family. Being
able to contribute in this field has
been an honor for me – thank you”.
Vaisala’s Oxygen Measurement
Business to SICK Maihak GmbH
SICK Maihak GmbH, a leading
manufacturer of sensors and sensor
systems for industrial process
automation applications, acquired
Vaisala’s oxygen measurement technology and business in September.
“The sale strengthens our strategy to focus on the chosen market
30 185/2011
segments of life science and high
technology, building automation
and targeted industrial applications.
We are pleased that we found such
a respectable buyer as SICK, who is
committed to serve customers and
invest in the technology and products further,” stated Kenneth Forss,
Executive Vice President, Controlled
Environment.
The transfer of technology and
know-how started immediately. Production is planned to be moved to
Germany at the beginning of 2011.
Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted Briefly noted
Contact the Vaisala News team
Sanna Nyström
Editor-in-Chief
For subscriptions, cancellations,
feedback and changes of address,
please contact the Vaisala News team
by sending an email to
[email protected]
185/2011 31