New Mercedes-Benz SL Offers Electrochromic Auto Glass

by Scott on April 7, 2012

The new Mercedes-Benz SL roadster has just been revealed by the company, and it boasts a luxury feature that was a big hit when it was part of another car that the company had created: electrochromic or “smart” auto glass on its panoramic roof, which was also part of the Mercedes-Benz SLK that the company unveiled at the very start of the previous year.

Electrochromic auto glass is essentially a type of glass that has the capacity to transition from one color or opacity to another and back again, with the color or translucency change being triggered by an electric current. Electricity is generally the stimulus necessary for electrochromic materials—and there are in fact quite a number of them—to display this curious trait. To take a simple example of what happens, a small sheet or fragment of electrochromic auto glass of the type used in the Mercedes-Benz SLK might normally be colored dark blue but can turn into a clear, practically untinted piece of glass after a current is passed through it. Once it is in its “untinted” state, one need only pass another current through the glass to effect another change, this time to turn it back into the original dark blue shade. The color alteration is not permanent, but it is persistent, which means the current need not run continually to maintain one of the material’s forms.

Electrochromism is one of the most valued developments in “smart” materials, and has already been applied to things other than serial automobile manufacture, even in the field of transportation. For instance, the ICE 3 trains of the Deutsche Bahn have smart glass dividing the drivers’ cabins from the passengers’ sections. There have also been applications of electrochromic glass in construction, both for commercial buildings and residential ones, with it being dubbed as a smart type of privacy glass.

The smart glass that Mercedes-Benz uses for its cars is taken from the company Research Frontiers, which manufactures what it calls SPD-SmartGlass. The benefits of using such glass for automobiles are impressive: with a typical sunroof or moonroof, for instance, one has no choice but to suffer the possibility of baking heat when summer comes along, even if one does get the benefit of an open-roofed feeling during more clement days. With a sunroof that has the capacity of changing tint levels, however, there is the possibility of simply switching to a darker roof during sunnier or warmer weather, making for a more comfortable ride. Furthermore, with the SmartGlass being capable of rejecting over 99% of UV rays, you get the satisfaction of a healthier drive altogether.

The new Mercedes-Benz SL, with its smart auto glass panoramic roof, is going to be available this season in the United States.

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Bob and Ann Beranek Author Auto Glass Textbook

by Scott on December 16, 2011

One of the most respected people in the auto glass trade, Bob Beranek, has just published a book that was co-authored by his wife, Ann.  The two have created a textbook designed specifically to impart to the reader all the necessary information he could ever need for performing an auto glass installation.  The title of the book makes this purpose clear, as it is named The Complete Guide to Auto Glass Installation: A Textbook.

Beranek has been in the auto glass industry for a long time, and his choice of topic for this book is actually fitting if you know his roots.  He made his way into the car glass industry in installation, after all, when he started installing auto glass for a company in the early 1970s. The experience he got from working there shows in the textbook, as going through it gives the reader the impression of exhaustive knowledge having been set out in a friendly but still technically useful form.

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As most people in the auto glass industry know now, Beranek did not stay an installer working for another’s company for long: he eventually established a company of his own, and even went on to found AGU, also known as the Auto Glass University.  AGU is actually one of Beranek’s greatest contributions to the trade.

Beranek’s vision with AGU was to create an online resource that was also an educational institution that could be accessed by people in the industry and yearning to be in the industry.  The result was a complete online university offering for training and honing auto glass service skills.  The university splits subjects into courses to make them more accessible to students, and while courses and modules are delivered online, the university also assists with on-site training when requested.

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The AGU was only one more laurel on Beranek’s already well-decorated crown.  Beranek, as many people in the automotive glass trade know, is currently serving as the head of the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards Council’s Standards Committee.  Also known as the AGRSS, this is a key organisation for the industry, all the more because of its significant contributions in standardising practices, quality and procedures for auto glass repair and replacement services.  Beranek is both chair of this organisation’s  Standards Committee as well as a key member of the actual AGRSS Council.

All of this serves to indicate that the new auto glass textbook from Beranek is coming from expert hands, authored by someone truly well-known and established in the field.  While authors are not sufficient to indicate the quality of a book, they do rather help a person in figuring out its worth ahead of time, as one can more or less guess the value to be found in an expert’s voice to be higher than over an amateur’s.

Fullerton officer accused in Kelly Thomas killing will keep pension

by Scott on December 2, 2011

Fullerton officer accused in Kelly Thomas killing will keep pension

Presented by a Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney

By Abby Sewell, LA Times

A Fullerton police officer and former LAPD officer accused in the death of a homeless man will not have his $40,000 annual disability pension from the city of Los Angeles reduced.

The board responsible for overseeing fire and police pensions in Los Angeles voted Thursdayagainst launching a review of Jay Cicinelli’s disability pension. The vote followed an emotional appeal by Cicinelli’s father, who decried what he called “lies and mistreatment” of his son by Los Angeles Police Department officials.

Cicinelli lost an eye when he was shot while on duty as a rookie LAPD officer in 1996. When officials told him they no longer had a place in the department for a probationary officer with only one eye, Cicinelli went to court in an attempt to keep his job, but eventually accepted retirement with a disability pension of 70% of his salary.

Despite his disability, Cicinelli was hired as an officer by the Fullerton Police Department, where he worked his way up to the rank of corporal, eventually earning $88,544 a year. Cicinelli’s case came to the attention of Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Department staff over the summer when his name surfaced in news reports as one of six officers involved in a violent struggle that led to the death of a homeless man, Kelly Thomas, in Fullerton.

Cicinelli faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force in the case and has been placed on unpaid leave by the Fullerton department. A second officer, Manuel Ramos, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Four other officers involved in the case were not charged.

Pension department staff asked the board for permission to take the rare step of reviewing Cicinelli’s pension case to determine if his award should be reduced because he appeared to be working on patrol duty while collecting a generous disability pension. If the board had given the go-ahead for the review, a second vote would have been required to actually reduce the pension.

But the board voted Thursday, 5-3, to deny staff permission to launch the review.

Cicinelli’s father, John Huelsman, told the board that after Cicinelli was shot, LAPD officials at first touted him as a hero and said he would not lose his job over his injury, but then changed their tune and told him he could no longer work as an officer.

“All he wanted to do was remain an LAPD officer — that’s all he ever wanted to do,” Huelsman told the board.

Huelsman said that higher-ups at the LAPD had been aware from the beginning that Cicinelli was working as a Fullerton officer while collecting his disability pension.

“You guys may not have known about it, but [former Chief] Bernard Parks did. Everyone in command knew where Jay was,” he said. “Then all of a sudden he gets involved in something
over there … and the board is going to open it up and say we’re going to take a look at this, we didn’t know he was a cop.”

Some board members expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a procedure to identify disability pensioners who may be working in jobs inconsistent with their disability awards.

Department staff said they were looking at new procedures for identifying pensioners whose awards should be reviewed and prepare a report on the matter for the board.

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Reprinted in its entirety from Los Angeles Times

November 17, 2011

Fiji Termite Control Authorities Call Out for Early Lights Out for Coming Weeks

by Scott on October 28, 2011

Fiji is an island where termites are not alien, but a sudden resurgence of the creatures has seen termite control authorities calling for early lights out times for locals. According to the termite control officials from the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, locals should put their lights out or use low lighting at the times of 18:00 to 20:00 hours for the next three weeks at least.

The call was broadcast fairly recently, after huge swarms of the insects brought out cries from civilians for termite control companies. Only last weekend, various parts of the country were struck by clouds of the pests sweeping over and even into their homes, prompting residents of the affected areas to panic. Some of the places that were struck worst were Lautokoa, Tomuka, Saru, Natabua, and Tavakubu. The Biosecurity Authority, also known as the BAF, was swiftly called in to remedy the situation.

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The BAF decided to start lighting fires along with crews from the national fire agencies, and are also suggesting that residents do the same while putting out all electrical lights and lamps in their houses. The idea is to get the termites—who, like moths, are attracted to illumination—to fly into the fires and thus exterminate themselves. If there are other, harmless lamps nearby, however, such as electric lights and bulbs, the fires shall prove less effective, as the flying insects’ attentions shall be strongly divided.

Fiji residents have already taken heed of the cry and have begun to observe the measures strictly, turning off their household lights at the appointed time, which is when dark falls. Some of them also build fires in their yards, although authorities are cautioning that the residents who do this should always supervise the blaze. Unmonitored fires have the capacity to cause faster, worse damage than any swarm of termites can do in a single night, after all, so authorities are making sure to keep fire officials involved in the termite control process.

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Residents are also being advised to shut all apertures or entrances to their home, to prevent the termites from gaining access. While it is true that termites do not generally establish a nest in every structure they happen to enter, it is better to be safe. Officials say that locals should check the outsides of their homes for possible cracks, fissures, and other types of gaps into which termites can wedge. Windows should be shut at the swarming hours and doors closed firmly as well, else the termites fly into the house. Residents have been quick to follow the recommended termite control measures, according to the authorities, who are optimistic about the local communities’ chances of getting through this time with few damages.

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China’s 400 Richest List Includes 3 Auto Glass Execs

by Scott on October 27, 2011

The Forbes list of the top 400 Chinese ranked by wealth showed three auto glass industry members in the register.  Cho Tak Wong of the Fuyao Glass Industry Group or FYG and Yu Awu of the same made it to the selection of names occupying the top 100 slots in the list, while Lee Yin Yee, known as the founder of Xinyi Glass, joined them in the list.

All three Chinese businessmen have been instrumental in the development of the auto glass production industry in China.  Lee Yin Yee’s Xinyi Glass, for instance, is one of the biggest exporters in China and was also lauded by the Forbes report as one of the best and biggest value creators in automotive parts producers and suppliers.  In fact, in that particular section of the list (the one dedicated to the automotive parts sector), it stands alone as the only auto glass manufacturing company.

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Xinyi Glass is well known even to most North American auto glass repair businesses.  This is because the company held a staggering 12% share in 1997 alone for the global market for windshield replacement parts as well as for replacement parts for auto side windows.  Xinyi is a major manufacturer of replacement automotive pieces, and the rise in auto glass repair and replacement worldwide—which some attribute to the effect of the recession making people take better care of their old possessions and cars instead of buying new ones to replace them—has seen its revenues increasing by a large margin.  In fact, by December of last year, the company was already listed as the tenth top value creator in the world by the Boston Consulting Group.  The auto glass company also boasted a whopping $2.9B market value at that time.

Xinyi used to differ from Fuyao Glass in that it was the more export-focused company for some time.  When Fuyao Glass started to expand to other markets, however, it soon caught up with Xinyi.  Cho Tak Wong—who is #99 on the Forbes list—has been leading Fuyao in its drive towards bigger markets, and is partly responsible for the expansion that made the company one of the biggest auto glass manufacturers in the world.  At present, Fuyao is acting as a supplier of automotive glass to major auto companies like GM, Nissan, and Ford.

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The final member of the auto glass party for the Forbes list, Yu Awu, actually ties with Cho Tak Wong and also comes from Fuyao Glass.  However, Yu Awu has more than auto glass holdings funding his vast fortune.  The entrepreneur also has a share in a major Chinese jewellery company with his son, and he currently has an estimated net worth of about $1.2B.