The Swedish start-up Gatespace announced today that it has received $ 11 million in a first round of financing. The group of European and US investors includes: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Fuqua Venture Partners, European Equity Partners, Pythagoras Participations, Investment AB Bure and T-bolaget. The new funds enable rapid expansion of Gatespace's development of products for services gateways for intelligent residential, automotive and industrial applications.

Oral vaccine would be delivered by "bacterial robot" and be produced and sold for far less than other AIDS vaccine candidates

Using separate safety and welding helmets is felt by many to be heavy and awkward.Hörnell International is launching this spring a new solution that specifically combines these two products. It is based on the Speedglas 9000 automatic anti-dazzle welding helmet. The securing arrangement that permits the automatic welding helmet to be used together with an existing safety helmet relies on a newly-developed locking mechanism.

A completely new generation of automatic door openers has been developed by Besam Limited. The new universal Power Swing will be able to replace many older types of opener, since all previously required functions and performance are incorporated into a single model. This also meets the requirements of both the market and the authorities.

The market for milk-based desserts is undergoing a period of tough competition between different brands. New brands and flavour combinations appear on supermarket shelves every month. Valio, one of the Nordic countries' dairy giants, stands out clearly from the competition with its packaging choice. The company's Fanny line of custards is packaged in half-litre gable-top cartons from which the custard is easy to serve into dessert bowls.

A new series of vacuum conveyors manufactured in accordance with the USDA standard has been developed by the vacuum technology company PIAB. This series is designed to meet the stricter demands on processing equipment set by the food products and pharmaceutical industries.

An increased emphasis on noise reduction in industrial environments has been made by Hägglunds Drives. It is offering customers greater flexibility in noise control solutions in applications that employ hydraulic drive systems.

Good aroma barrier properties and a long shelf-life are crucial factors in the packaging of spices. Traditionally, spices have been placed in glass jars and even the board packs currently in use include an aluminium laminate. McCormick has adopted a new type of spice packaging on the Finnish market. This is the aluminium-free Performa CTMP board provided with Ensobarr coating which is said to guarantee spices a shelf-life of three years and good aroma-, moisture- and UV-protection properties.

ABB has introduced an integrated 12-pulse bridge rectifier module for its ACS 600 range of medium power AC drives. The rectifier produces a 12-pulse power supply that reduces total harmonic distortion (THD) by 80%, compared to conventional six-pulse supplies.

The Alta elevator is a new design developed for the next generation of super-tall buildings up to 500m (1,600ft.)in height. Introduced by Kone Corporation, based in Finland, it marks the trend towards increasing sophistication, speed and design in elevator technology.