A GSM server that can call for pickup when a rubbish container is full or for service in case of technical error. This is now reality, in the wake of successful testing of a GSM-equipped rubbish compactor located at a Swedish Coca-Cola factory. Ragnsells, a refuse collection company, hopes that this spells an end to unnecessary transports and service calls for half-empty containers. With thousands of containers its service area, the company also expects significant environmental benefits through fewer, better-planned transports. The technology is now being introduced onto the international market by the company's development partner, Unwire AB, specialists in telematics and positioning.

In industrial pulp and paper processes, the consumption of fresh water can be reduced by employing counter current water flow arrangements and efficient water separation between the various process stages. The effluent from the processes will then be highly concentrated, but by utilising new evaporation technology, significant cost savings can be achieved. Two evaporation methods, mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) and multi-stage evaporation (ME), are applied to the evaporation process. The operational costs for multi-stage evaporation are low, since low-grade surplus heat from pulping and stock preparation can be used as an energy source. The system is marketed by Hadwaco Ltd Oy of Finland and Andritz AG, who recently signed a co-operation agreement.

The Swedish companies Unwire and Teligent today announce the start of a strategic product collaboration within mobile positioning services. The joint venture means that Teligent's P90/E telephone platform will provide the foundation for all orders integrated with Unwire's positioning server, EPAC. The partnership opens the way for new positioning based mobile telephoneservices.

Up to now, according to the Swedish company DataSoft Systems (DSS), using infrared light (IR) for transferring data has often demanded extensive programming. The company has therefore developed and patented a new module containing all the necessary hardware and software to permit easy conversion of serial data to infrared light signals. The converter is said to meet the complicated IrDA world standard for infrared communication. This makes it simple to solve a range of data communication problems without the need for separate IrDA programming.

More and more gingerbread biscuits are being exported from Annas Pepparkakor AB in Sweden. 70 years after its foundation the company is now the world's largest manufacturer, producing over 2 500 tons annually. This is the equivalent of an impressive 500 million gingerbread biscuits. Half of these already go to international partners in a couple of dozen markets. The giant Swedish department store IKEA is one of those who have contributed to this export success.

Ensocoat SBS board, which is manufactured by Stora Enso Packaging Boards, has been selected as the principal card material for the Hallmark Cards in the Dutch market. The choice was based on the board's brightness, good stiffness and overall service together with the company's aim to cut costs. Stora Enso Packaging Boards and Hallmark Cards Nederland B.V. signed a long-term partnership agreement in December 1999. The wholesalers are Bührmann-Ubbens.

New packaging application has been launched on the European sausage and cured meat packaging markets. Sausages and cured meats can now be packed in a paper-lidded vacuum pack which provides the same barrier properties as aluminium or plastic. The superior printability of the paper lid contributes to enhancing the appeal of the product on the shop shelf.

A muesli package which does not require an inner bag was launched on the market in Norway this autumn. This is a CTMP based packaging concept designed for Europe's extensive muesli and breakfast cereal market to guarantee good barrier properties. Stora Enso Packaging Boards' Performa Barr board is now used in all the muesli packs of Regal Mölle's Bajas product family.

The launch of a series of square and rectangular tubes in sizes up to 300 x 300 mm and 400 x 200 mm by Stalatube Oy will open up novel applications in the transport, building, offshore and heavy engineering industries. The stainless steel hollow sections offer the prospect of stronger bearing steel sections in construction applications and lighter vehicle body designs.

The National Pension Insurance Fund (The 6th AP-Fund) and the venture capital company Emerging Technologies invest 9.3 million Euros in the Swedish company Linq, which is opening up an office in London shortly. Linq has developed the product family LinqPortal for complete corporate portals, a fast growing market in both Europe and the U.S. The corporate portals bring all the information and functions that earlier were spread all over the intranet and other technical systems together, and in that way makes it clear and useful. This makes it possible for big companies to function as small companies where all the information is shared between the co-workers.