Industrial Development - a Conclusion

Industrial Development - a Conclusion

Industries… that is what it is about. What were the industries of the past, and what are the industries of the future? Industrial Development as we know it today began in the 19^th century with the Industrial Revolution. Methods of mass production, as well as more advanced transportation such as the train, made it so that products and services could now be available to a wider spectrum of consumers, first locally, and then worldwide. Consider the described industries only as examples, but there could be many more. Aerospace, Navy and Defense also developed significantly in the 20^th century, but they required a much higher level of government intervention. Only superpowers that invent a large part of the budgets in government development (such as the US or the ex-USSR) have been support long term development in therese fields.

Now consider the whole concept of Industrial Development. How is it achieved? At a higher level of government intervention. Only superpowers that invent a large part of the budgets in government development (such as the US or the ex-USSR) have been support long term development in these fields. Now consider the whole concept of Industrial Development. How is it achieved? At a higher level, it is impossible not to consider the impact of government intervention on industrial development. A country wants to develop a Navy industry, what does it need? Infrastructure, a tax frame, investments, a long term strategy, international contacts, are all things that must be provided by the government. However, the most important of all and a concept not understood by the majority of the population is that it is only through entrepreneurial spirit that industries can be developed. The government creates the conditions to favor or to stance industrial development, but it is the entrepreneurs who are creative enough to come up with great inventions. How many patents does a country have? Does the government have any concrete measures or plans to encourage patent development?  One of the biggest areas of opportunities for most countries is to establish a stronger link between the private and the public sector. Universities should act as true innovation houses, producing scientific knowledge but also building the bonds with the private sector. The government has the long term perspective that the private sector does not. Companies must earn money fast, to have a positive cash flow. A certain amount of the budget is always allocated by R&D, but innovation at a very high level can only be accomplished in collaboration with the government. In “The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths”[74] focuses on the complementary view between a dynamic, innovative private sector. The author reveals that every technology that makes the iPhone so “smart” was government funded: The Internet, GPS, it’s touch-screen display and the voice-activated Siri. Apple based itself in these discoveries, and leveraged on them. And that is how it should be. Scientists should work on the long term and get good salaries, and their discoveries should be picked up by the private sector to work innovatively. Consider the impact of each individual industry since the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Coal has served as fuel for transportation for steam engines and trains. In the beginning mine workers worked under bad conditions, but eventually their rights were recognized through unions. A 100 years ago coal was the main source for energy, but today it is moving towards 25%. Wood, one of the most historical resources, evolved into an industry with the appearance of mass production. Amazing advances have been found in wood, especially when it comes to the establishment of factories for paper processing. It is an industry that creates thousands of jobs, and very lucrative for the countries that are blesses with this exquisite natural resource.

The Utilities Sector has historically not been lucrative, but more of a service sector both for public and public use. Water, Electricity and Gas distribution are usually subsidized by a government and taking a loss. They are the most necessary industries and have huge growth potential in underdeveloped countries. However, they are not the most lucrative. Oil, even if available for centuries, began as an industry with the advent of WW1. It constitutes today the world’s main fuel. It is used for cars, but also trucks, planes, lubricants. Regardless of the oversupply due to the Shale Oil Revolution, the world will still have high demand for oil. Alternative energies though, such as wind, solar, etc, will slowly compliment and replace it. When and up to which level remains to be seen.

The Railroad came to replace horses and became a cheaper and faster transport medium. It became the most popular and cost-effective way of transporting merchandise. Subway trains and electric rails followed, concluding in high-speed rail running at speeds above 200 km/h.

The Aviation Industry changed the way people travel, Intercontinental flights making it easier to establish international business routes. WW2 saw the development of jet, rocket propulsion and radar technology. Aircraft manufacturing became an industry of it’s own, developed countries producing from passenger planes such as the Boeing 747, the Supersonic Concorde Jet and the Airbus, to sophisticated war machines such as the F-117 such as the Stealthfighter.

The Software Industry, which I consider the Industry of the Future, was developed quite recently. Whereas the concept of Computer was developed much earlier, it began to popularize in the 1950s. Software was incorporated in the 1960s, when low-priced microcomputers were incorporated into the market. The personal computer was introduced in the 1970s, when desktop computing was introduced for workers at the  office, with the introduction of the AS/400 screen. In the 1980s, programming became a full time job, introducing Graphical User Interfaces and coding in C and Delphi. In the 1990s, the Internet changed the way we communicate and the global communication landscape including electronic mail, instant messaging, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls, two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with it’s discussion forums, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites. The 21st century has seen the rise for hosted software, called SaaS or software-as-a-service were the software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted (also called “on-demand software”. In today’s world, having the strongest IT industry is key to a country’s supremacy.

Robotics has also been one of the stars in modern societies. Whereas robots have existed since the beginning of modern civilization, the 20th century saw the blossoming of robotization. The first industrial robots implied a giant robotic arm for the automotive industry and were installed in General Motors in the 1960s. Advancements in the Robotics field led to Artificial Intelligence by automating activities that previously done by people. An example is the assembly line that handles all of it’s production. The Swedish-Swiss group ABB represents an example of a global player specialized in robotics. The industry has seen many advances and promises to extrapolate it’s influence in the near future.

Telecommunications has developed itself as an industry since the 19th century. The telegraph, an invention that can read electrical signals, had wires that extended across over miles. The first telephone was used to transmit voices over shared party-lines. WW2 saw advances in telecommunications such as the handy talky and that was created to communicate to other radio wave devices. Networks were developed to share the processing power of one computer with multiple users. The mobile phone was invented in the 1970s, and evolved rapidly until today’s smart phone. Satellites made it so that TV signals and phone-calls now had global coverage. GPS uses satellite as a reference point to calculate geographical positions, and to pinpoint any ship, or submarine in the Ocean, and to even measure mount Everest. Telecommunications appear as one of the main areas of development for strategic position at a national level, and is surely one of the areas that will be key for development in the near future.

I have shown you how industrial development has evolved significantly in the last century and a half. These are new industries that didn’t exist before, but were based on pre-existing conditions. Natural resources for fuel such as Coal, Oil & Gas will still be important but will not play such a big role in a country’s economy. Water and electricity distribution are crucial, but are usually subsidized and represent a loss for a country’s finance. Consider the example of Gold & Silver. In the past, precious metals were a symbol of a country’s riches. Today, even if still valuable, they do not represent such a big portion of a country’s economy. Same for wood, which still creates thousands of jobs. The Railroad, which 100 years ago represented one of the major industries in the Dow Jones Index in the US, today is almost inexistent. The Plane industry, which was only experimental in the beginning of the 20th Century, has evolved into the Aerospace industry and is a constant driver for innovation. Finally, Software, Robotics and Telecommunications appear as the key to success for any economy in the future. They should be the main focus of any economy, and will represent a larger share in world commerce. The NASDAQ Index, founded in 1971, is composed by the top technological companies in the US. Who will create the new Apple, Google and Facebooks? In the past, Natural Resources and Transport were the most important industries. In the future, the big bet should be on Technology. The countries that understand this will position themselves in the top charts. Who will succeed NeXT?    

Telecommunications Industry

Telecommunications Industry

Telecommunications means mediated communications (any communication that has a technology between the sender and receiver). The history of telecommunications began with drums in Africa, were complex messages were sent over vast distances. Smoke signals were also amongst the first methods to communicate visual messages over long distances. This messages were conveyed by intermittent clouds of smoke.  In 1451, the printing press was invented, which replaced hand manual-writing, being a one to many motor communications. In the 1790s, the first telegraphy system with a 136-line between Leon and Paris. In 1847, the Telegraph was created which can read electrical signals. Soon those wires extended across the US, and transatlantic telegraph cable runs 2000 miles under the ocean. The telephone, invented in 1876, made telecommunications personal by transmitting multiple voices over shared party-lines. In 1880 Graham Bell came up with the first wireless phone call and lead to today’s fiber-optics.

An icon of telecommunications is the Eiffel Tower[70] is named after Gustave Eiffel, was constructed as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair and is a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Construction began in 1887, the base pillars are oriented with the four points of the compass. 132 workers assembled 18,000 parts on site in over 2 years. Until 1909, the tower was lit by gaslights. Today it is illuminated by 336 spotlights. It is a vital communications link with 120 antennae. The tower has been used for making radio transmissions since the beginning of the 20th century. Today, radio and digital television signals are transmitted from the Eiffel Tower.  

WW2 saw also huge advances in telecommunications, such as the handy talky that was created to communicate to other radio wave devices. Before 1957, computers only worked on one task at a time. This is called Batch Processing. This was quite ineffective. With computers getting bigger and bigger, there had to be stored in special cool junks. Programming at that time meant a lot of manual work. And a direct connection had to be installed so the developers can work directly on the computers. At the same time, the idea of time sharing came up. This is the first concept in computer technology to share the processing power of one computer with multiple users. The Arpanet’s development began in 1956. Universities were generally quite cautioned about sharing the computers. Therefore, small computers were put in front of the main frame. This computer took over control of the Network activities, while the mainframe was in charge of the initialization of programs in data files.

The Smart Phone began itself as a mobile phone is the piece of technology that has had the biggest influence on society. The true origin of modern mobile phones were handheld radio transceivers in the WW2. However, this supported only a limited number of simultaneous conversations and these things consumed a hell lot of power. In 1965, the technology advanced with AT&T giving the world the improved mobile phone service or IMTS. The first hand-held mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper in Motorola. It was a prototype that offered 30 minutes of prototype and took 10 hours to recharge. These phones made use of G Networks. The first Smart Phone was the IBM Simon which function as a mobile phone, a pager and a fax machine. It also had a calendar, address book, clock, calculator, notebook, e-mail functionality and a touch screen with keyword. SMS kicked off in 1992 and full mobile capabilities were introduced in 1999. 3G Network was then introduced and a few years later Smart Phones were taken further with a black box device which was the 5810. In 2007, Apple’s introduction of the Smart Phone changed things forever. They are used for everything between Surfing the Web, playing videogames, watching maps and playing videos. Television is the most important means of distributing information on a global basis. Before satellite, TV signals did not go very far. The signals only travelling straight lines, so they will quickly trail off. Phone calls to far places were also a problem. Setting up long cables over long distances or underwater is difficult and expensive. A Satellite is an object that orbits other object. With satellites, TV signals and phone-calls are sent upward to a satellite that almost instantly sends a signals back down to different locations back down to Earth. During the Cold War, on October 4th 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite called: Sputnik 1[71]. Four months later, the US launched Explorer 1[72] into orbit. A communication for navigation. GPS uses a satellite as a reference point to calculate geographical positions. GPS has been used to pinpoint any ship, or submarine in the Ocean, and to even measure mount Everest. Today there are around 3000 satellites operating orbit today. The large amount of satellite today creates space junk, space debris and trash.              

By the year 2020, an entire generation will have grown up in a primarily digital world. Computers, the Internet, mobile phones, texting, social networking – all will be second nature to them. More than half of the employees at bigger corporations will work on virtual project groups. The six major disruptions that will drive the most change in telecommunications by 2020 are:

1.     Integration: The content contest Connectivity is capturing an ever-smaller proportion of the information value chain, while content, service and product deliverers capture ever-more.

2.     IoT: The traffic explosion This internet of things, or Thingification, will add billions if not trillions of new connected data sources globally by 2020.

3.     Mobility: The great wireless migration Global growth of mobile connectivity is far outpacing hardline connectivity. This makes sense, as most growth is occurring in the developing world and amongst poorer populations.

4.     Saturation: The search for growth As they retire, boomers will enter retirement communities and assisted living facilities which are fully digitized in order to be as efficient as possible.

5.     Security: The network is the threat As custodians of the networks, carriers play a pivotal role in fighting the new threats that are emerging. Customers will begin to expect, then demand, more proactive protection from the entire internet value chain, and carriers will be expected to support these expectations with a range of technical and operational innovations.

6.     Ascension: Skynet finally gets real These space-, balloon-, or drone-based systems will provide high-quality broadband access to anywhere and everywhere in the world, they’ll do it affordably, and they’ll likely start arriving around 2020. Stay tuned, the Telecommunications Revolution has just begun.

Robotics Industry

Robotics Industry

As described in the chapter “Technology in Ancient Civilizations – Greek”, robots have been with us for thousands of years, so robotization is nothing new. However, the 20th century saw them come to a whole new level. A Czech writer Karel Capek coined the term robot in 1920, which were humanoid machines designed with the intention of helping people. A robot is non-other thing than a machine designed to accomplish a task. They are machines that use their programming to make decisions. Robots have sensors for input, control systems for decision-making and end effectors for output. Sensors have to be able to detect things like images and sounds accurately. Effectors have to be flexible and fast enough to do what we need them to do, and the control system has to make all the necessary decisions to get the sensors and effectors working together. There are so many kinds of robots that these can vary considerably but that’s In 1925, a mechanical trumpeter was created. In 1937, Elektro became one of the first humanoids. In 1963, the Rancho Arm was the first computer controlled artificial robotic arm. In 1979, RB5X was built with the ability to navigate independently. Other examples include: AIBO ´(1) is a iconic series of robotic pets designed and manufactured by Sony (1999), ASIMO[65] was designed to be a multi-functional mobile assistant, with aspirations of helping those who lack full mobility (2002), Hydra[66] was a blue box-shaped robot that competes in the Roaming Robots (2005), Reem B[67] is the latest prototype humanoid robot built by PAL Robotics in Spain (2008).

Factory work can be repetitive and often involves lifting heavy stuff. The world’s first industrial robots Unimate Kawasaki (created by George Charles Devol[68]) was installed on a General Motors production line and in New Jersey in 1961, which implied a giant robotic arm for the automotive industry. An Industrial Robot is a mechanical device that is automatically controlled, versatile enough to be programmed to perform a variety of applications, and re-programmable with a large works pace, several degrees of freedom, and the ability to use an arm with different tooling. Soon other companies installed their own robotic arms. The IBB 6 was the first electric industrial robot that was controlled by a microcomputer, with 16 KB of RAM, it was programmable and could display four whole digits with it’s leds. It was designed and manufactured by Sony (1999), ASIMO[65] was designed to be a multi-functional mobile assistant, with aspirations of helping those who lack full mobility (2002), Hydra[66] was a blue box-shaped robot that competes in the Roaming Robots (2005), Reem B[67] is the latest prototype humanoid robot built by PAL Robotics in Spain (2008). Factory work can be repetitive and often involves lifting heavy stuff. The world’s first industrial robots Unimate Kawasaki (created by George Charles Devol[68]) was installed on a General Motors production line and in New Jersey in 1961, which implied a giant robotic arm for the automotive industry. An Industrial Robot is a mechanical device that is automatically controlled, versatile enough to be programmed to perform a variety of applications, and re-programmable with a large works pace, several degrees of freedom, and the ability to use an arm with different tooling. Soon other companies installed their own robotic arms. The IBB 6 was the first electric industrial robot that was controlled by a microcomputer, with 16 KB of RAM, it was programmable and could display four whole digits with it’s leds. It was a crucial step towards developing robots that were easier to program. In order to advance in the field of robotics, engineers had to get into the field of Artificial Intelligence. It is any attempt to robotize activities usually associated with humans: translate languages, play chess or recognize objects. In the 60s, even if AIs were getting better at reasoning tasks, it was incredibly difficult to actually get the programs to interact with the real world. The robot’s picture is also about recognizing objects so they can react to things and situations in real time. By the late 1970s, they had developed algorithms that allowed cameras to recognize edges and shapes by using visual queues like highlights and shadows. In 1981, the first robots got the gift of vision implementing a system called Consight, in which different robots can use 6 different auto-parts as 1400 hours moved by a conveyer belt. Today, factories have installed an assembly line that handles all of it’s production.

An example of a company that leads change in the robotics field is ABB Group[69]. A Swedish-Swiss group, ABB is the world’s largest builder of electrical grids and is active in many sectors, it’s core businesses being in power and automation technologies. It is engaged in industries such as are electrification products, discrete automation and motion, process automation, power grids, corporate and education.  The robotics industry has advanced a lot in the last few years, bringing a huge acceleration with continued development and improvement of industrial robots. The industry has seen an incredible amount of innovation and improvements, while we enter an era of robotics, one where collaboration between humans and robots is a reality. Recent advances have enabled a generation than can safely work NeXT to people.

Software Industry

Software Industry

The concept of software was developed well over 100 years earlier, in 19th century England. Charles Babbage[58] came up with the Analytical Engine, which is claimed to being the world’s first computer. The Difference Engine was more complex than anything at the time, a machine that could solve second-level differential equations. Alan Turing[59] conceived the Turing Machine in 1935, or Decision Problem, which involved the relationship between mathematical symbols and the quantities they represented. Designed by John W. Mauchly[60], the first electronic computer was the ENIAC, which included the calculation of ballistic tables, which were needed in enormous quantities to help the artillery fire their weapons at the correct angles. But what is Software?[61]. Computer software, is that part of a computer system that consists of encoded information or computer instructions, in contract to the physical hardware from which the system is built. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all information processed by computer, programs and data. Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be realistically used on its own. Software refers not just about programming and programming languages. But about producing and selling the products made by programming (languages) as well. In the beginning of so called “Information Age” computers were programmed by “programming” direct instructions it. This was done by setting switches or making connections to different logical units by wires (circuitry). The first programming was done by typing in 1’s or 0’s that were stored different information carriers. In the early 50’s programmers started to let the machines do apart of the job. This was called automatic coding and made live a lot easier for the early programmers. The first company to provide software products and services was Computer Usage Company in 1955. The word Software did not appear in print until 1960s. The industry did not expand until the early 1960s, almost immediately after computers were first sold in mass-produced quantities. In the early 1960s included Advanced Computer Techniques, Automatic Data Processing, Applied Data Research, and Informatic General. The computer/hardware makers started bundling operating systems, systems software and programming environment with their machines. When Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) brought a relatively low-prices microcomputer to market, it brought computing within the reach of many more companies and universities worldwide, and it spawned great innovation in terms of new, powerful programming languages and methodologies. New software was built for microcomputers, so other manufacturers including IBM, followed DEC’s example quickly, resulting in the IBM AS/400 amongst others. The industry expanded greatly with the rise of personal computer (PC) in the mid-1970s, which brought desktop computing to the office worker for the first time. In the following years, it also created a growing market for games, applications, and utilities. DOS, Microsoft’s first operating system product, was the dominant operating system at the time.   AI[62] is the intelligence exhibited by machines. An intelligent machine is a flexible rational agent that perceives it’s environment and takes actions that maximize it’s chance of success at an arbitrary goal. But for this to make reality new programming languages were needed. And strange enough these languages were developed parallel to the other languages, languages that could mimic intelligence.

Programming became an 80 hours a week job, and in the late 1980’s the Graphical User Interfaces were created by the same manufacturers that made software like C, Delphi, Clipper VO, and other languages to expedite the creation of software. Though this kind of interface stemmed from as early as the 1960, the idea never took off until the early 1990’s. The drag and drop interface was introduced by the MacIntosh, and changed the world of PC’s forever. During the ARPANET project, networks were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s using a variety of communications protocols. Led to the development of protocols for internetworking, by which multiple separate networks could be joined into a single network of networks. In 1982, the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) was introduced as the standard networking protocol on the ARPANET. In the 1980s, the work of British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee on the World Wide Web theorized protocols linking hypertext documents into a working system, marking the beginning of the modern Internet. Since the mid- 1990s, the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of near-instant communication by electronic mail, instant messaging, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls, two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with it's discussion forums, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites. The global communication landscape was almost instant in historical terms: it only communicated 1% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunications networks in the year 1993, already 51% by 2000, and more than 97% of the telecommunication information by 2007. Growth continues today driven by ever greater amounts of online information, commerce, entertainment, and social networking. During the 1990s, much attention was paid in the IT industry to outsourcing, or the phenomenon of contracting out all or part of IT function. High costs made it so that it was cheaper to develop in low cost countries, growing to a whole new dimension known as “offshoring”. Data communications and voice telephony costs are now so low, and bandwidth so broad, and the Internet so ubiquitous, that it is a simple matter to run an applications development center offshore. In the early years of the 21st century, another successful business model has arisen for hosted software, called software-as-a-service, or SaaS[63] is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. It is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software”. SaaS is typically accessed by users using a thin client via a web browser. It is part of the nomenclature of cloud computing, along with infrastructure as a service, platform as service, desktop as a service, managed software as a service, mobile backend as service, and information technology management as a service. The Software Industry is today going through major transformations; some will call it a digital revolution. The increase in the mobile applications, the ease of use, the inspiration of the cloud. The amount of data that is driven through the organizations, connect and analyze concerns is causing a fundamental shift in the software industry. The consumption of technology has been so that the consumer tolerated the risk, but today the consumer wants to pay for value and technology when they actually use that. Today, technology is crucial to success in our everyday life. In the Future, technology will be ALL. The countries that have the strongest IT industries will prevail over those that are underdeveloped, or don’t understand the impact of technology in everyday’s life. 

Aviation industry

Aviation industry

The Wright Brothers[50] were the pioneers and creators of aviation. They produced their own scientific tables and introduced the principle of aileron control. Their early experiments were with qliders. In 1900 they built the first model at Dayton, Ohio. Where during the Autumn months their first qlider tests were made, they returned to Dayton and built their own motor and plane. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first successful attempt of man to fly a heavier-than-air power-driven machine. The Wrights in 1904 and 1905 continued to demonstrate that man could fly, but not until Wilbur Wright’s flight at Le Mans, France, on August 8, 1908 was the last doubling skeptic convinced. Cranking the 25 horse power motor of the Wright airplane. A modern plane has been flown with 7200 horse power. The early Wright machines started from a rail and landed on skids. After 1904 they were catapulted by means of a falling weight. Hauling up the weight that catapulted the plane from the rail. Wilbur Wright remained aloft for the astonishing time of 55 minutes and 37 seconds, a world’s endurance record with a passenger.    The first aircraft carrying passengers was the Airship, which took to the skies around 1900s. The Zeppelins, as they were called, inspired the development of Airship technology. Up to WW1, Aircrafts were used for photography and recognizance missions. Instead of wood, planes became made of aluminum and became more powerful. The first passenger planes were actually seaplanes, since in the early days of travel few runways were available. In June 1919, Alcock and Brown flew a Vickers Vimy bomber across the Atlantic[51], displaying the advances in engines achieved during the WW1, setting the seeds for a whole new industry: Air Transport. Pioneering airlines were established in the 1920s, but in the beginning suffered difficulties. Trips around the whole world began, with the establishment of air routes. Britain led the revolution with the most advances technologies and planes, breaking speed and distance records. In the 1930s, Hitler’s rise to power meant the expansion of the industry in Germany. Howard Hughes, an American business tycoon, formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932 and designed several of the groundwork for modern Aviation. The Hercules[52] is a good example, a monster airplane that could land on water. The Constellation[53] was one of the most outstanding passenger aircrafts at the time, which was a plane to fly the Los Angeles to New York route in 8 – 9 hours. It served domestic routes, but also served commercial transatlantic services. WW2 saw the advent of bombing airplanes, their killing capacity reaching enormous proportions. Aircraft Carriers[54] dramatically changed naval combat in WW2, because air power was becoming a significant. Passenger Aircraft only became a reality after WW2, where great advances were made in Aviation, and Aircraft manufacturers began to convert new found technologies to civilian application. Jet, rocket propulsion and radar technology were developed. In 1945, a minor aircraft manufacturer named Boeing became the rising Aircraft manufacturer in the world. They developed new technologies that allowed for pressurized cabins, aerodynamic designs, new metals, larger sizes and turbojets capable of supersonic speed. Boeing saw a rising interest in Intercontinental flights, that were comfortable, safe and fast. Airline companies then looked for more affordable aircraft for a larger market.

By 1947, the sound-barrier was broken and regular transoceanic flights became a reality. In the 1950s, Boeing introduced the B-52[55] and this bomber was equipped with 8 turbojets engines intercontinental range and a capacity of half a million pounds.   By 1958, the Hawker Hunter[56] became one of Britain’s top Jet Fighter designs. In entered service as a maneuverable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. The Jet engine allowed airlines to pursue the goal of cost effective travel. It was almost universal in combat aircraft, with the exception of cargo, liaison and other specialty types. By the 1960s all large civilian aircraft were also jet powered, leaving the piston engine in low-cost niche roles such as cargo flights. They are used to jet engines power jet aircraft, cruise missiles and unmanned aeriel vehicles. In the form of rocket engines they power fireworks, model rocketry, spaceflight, and military missiles. In 1963, a small jet aircraft called the Lear Jet became a reality. In the 1970s, the Boeing 747 was presented and became the most successful model ever created. The Supersonic Concorde Jet and the Airbus followed. Airbus began as a consortium of aerospace manufacturers. The French developed the Airbus A300, but was persuaded. European aircraft manufacturers were aware of the risks of such a development and began to accept, along with their governments, that collaboration was required to develop such an aircraft and to compete with the more powerful US manufacturers. The Airbus Corporate Jets markets and modifies new aircraft for private and corporate customers. In the 1990s, a flying wing was designed and the use of composite metals. This spurted the appearances of crafts like Lockheed Martin’s F-117[57] Stealthfighter. Airtravel is the fastest method of global transportation and a major pillar of warfare, and is the safest means of travel available.   

RailRoad Industry

RailRoad Industry

In the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, horses were used as transportation medium. The use of horse to carry material and people across the roads meant a long and painful ride for both the traveler and the owner of the goods. The cost of transportation was limiting growth, and there was a need for a low cost way to transport goods. In the 1800s, canals were human made artificial waterways, with improvements to natural rivers meant for the transport of raw material. By 1750 there were 1400 miles of navigable waterways and canals were an obvious addition. New canals were built in England turning the cost of coal by half. Canals made the cost of transportation faster and cheaper. Coal became more affordable; mines could supply more of their product. Canals became the major form of infrastructure that linked cities around the world. The steam engine helped supply coal mines and factories with power. Although transport by water was cheap it was a slow process, and had to endure harsh weather conditions. Besides the size of the canals will limit the size of boats that use them. Originally intended as a way of transportation for coal in mines, Railways appeared as an option to water and eventually developed as a means of transportation for people as well as raw material. Canals transport had to cut their wages to compete, both falling dramatically. The load of transport from canals dropped by 2/3s, and some canals struggled to compete. The steam engine, patented by James Watt, was key to the development of a train system. A Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of the power in the 18th and 19th centuries. Eventually, steam gave way to electricity. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways and rapid transit systems came into being. Starting during the 1940s the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. A growing long distance category is high-speed rail, which runs at speeds above 200 km/h. Japan’s Shinkansen[49] (“bullet-train”) commenced operation in 1964, and was the first successful example of a high speed passenger rail system. The highest speed currently attained in scheduled revenue operation is 350 km/h on the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail and Wuhan-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway systems in China. France’s TGV, Germany’s Inter-City Express and Spain’s AVE are other examples. In most cases, high-speed rail travel is time- and cost-competitive with air travel for distances that do not exceed 500 to 600 km. As travel distance increases, the consideration becomes less of the total cost of operating an airliner and air travel becomes more cost-competitive.  

Oil Industry

Oil Industry

What is crude oil? It is a mix of hydro-carbons of different lengths, these molecules contain hydrogen and carbon, and come in all kinds of sizes and configurations. It forms naturally from decomposed prehistoric plants and animals. Most of today’s energy needs are fossil fuels: Coal, Oil and Gas. These are non-renewable resources and took years to form. 2 billion years ago marine organism and microscopic animals and planets dies and settled on the ocean floor. Beneath other sediments in the Ocean and in the absence of oxygen, these fossils change into a substance called: Kerogen. Under heat and pressure Kerogen gradually changes into oil & gas. The whole process takes at least a million years. The constant movement and pressures of Earth squeezes oil & gas through the spaces between rocks. Some of the Oil & Gas reaches surface and seeks out naturally into land of water. Oil Reservoirs are formed, which are like vast sponges filled with Oil & Gas. To find deposits, geologists use techniques such as Seismic Surveys, Gravitational Surveys and Geological Mapping. New technologies, such as 4 dimensional projections and sophisticated renderings of rock structures are improving the way to find conventional oil and gas deposits. In today’s world, the challenge is to tap into unconventional Oil & Gas or alternative and renewable sources of energy from Biofuels, or the sun.  Oil has always been known to mankind, and it is surely the most famous and recognized natural resource. Due to their burning characteristics, the Babylonians dipped their torches in Oil and pitch. In drilling wells for water the Chinese came upon oil 600 years ago. Their power facilities remained limited and primitive. The American-Indians used oil as a medicine and ointment. In the 1800s, oil (that was used for lamps), started to become scarce after demand for artificial lamp was increasing. In a 1859 an oil well was built and started operations in Pennsylvania, USA. On August 27th, Edward Drake[46] and his associates began a new era that shown that oil in substantial quantities could be obtained by drilling. The oil boom led to towns and facilities being built in the region. Expertise in oil began to be on high demand. Wagons transported the oil to the nearest shipping points, which was replaced in 1865 for the first oil pipeline. Through refining plants, oil was divided into 2 main products on demand: illumination and heat for homes, and heavy lubricants. Gasoline quickly rose to prime demand with the rise of the automobile with the introduction of the internal combustion engine provided a demand that has largely sustained in the industry to this day. Availability of oil and access to it was introduced in WW1, with the introduction of motor transport, tanks and airplanes. Until the mid-1950s coal was still the world’s foremost fuel, but after this time oil quickly took over. In the 1970s following energy crisis in 1973 and 1979 and due to extensive media coverage, concern was brought that oil was a natural resource that will eventually run out. Today, 90% of vehicle fuels run oil, and petroleum makes up 40% of total energy consumption in the United States. It is used for vehicles and is the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world’s most important commodities. The top three oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia and United States. About 80% of the world’s accessible reserves are located in the Middle East.    

The Shale Oil Revolution, however, has changed the game in the Oil Industry. Fracking, or horizontal drilling, is leading the US to be energy independent, it’s oil production surpassing Saudi Arabia’s and becoming an Oil Exporter again. Floods of oil in the market means pressure on the offer side, which brings the prices down in the short term (as explained in “Revolution 4.0 and the Man of Tomorrow – Post-industrialism, Inequality and Knowledge Based Economy”), but in the long term even more as the world realizes that Oil is not a scarce but a very abundant resource. What was scarce was cheap oil, but not thanks to Shale there will be abundant cheap oil as well. In the future, fossils fuels will be more and more replaced by alternative energies. According to Elon Musk[47], Owner and CEO of Tesla, fossils fuels will not be the first source of energy in 15 years. Now, there have been talks about alternative energies and the replacement of oil, and much has been done. This time it looks like it is for real, with one of the world’s best entrepreneurs leading the change to fight for a shift in the industry in hopes of improvement as well global climate. Whether the adoption of the electrical vehicle will be fast or not remains to be seen. Consider that vehicles consist not only of cars, but also trucks, busses, transports, etc. Oil is also used in chemical industry and for lubricants. Today, there is a downturn in the oil markets. My view is that in 15 years, the world will still have high demand of oil, but maybe not for the same industries or the same functions. With the Shale Revolution and the oversupply of oil however, the price remains to be seen. But there always be some sort of demand for oil, probably not at the same pace though. Consider though that CO2 emissions are hurting the planet’s ozone layer. If we are smart, like Elon Musk, we the people of Earth will try to transition to an eco-friendly fuel system.  It is the best way to save as all.

Utilities Sector

Utilities Sector

The Utilities Sector includes companies considered electric, gas or water utilities, or companies that operate as independent producers and/or distributors of power. They are historical industries that constitute the backbone of any healthy economy. I will discuss these 3 very different sectors separately. Electricity: Imagine a World with no Light. Electricity has been around for an eternity, but not until the time Dales in Greece did it come under human attention. Dales discovered static electricity by rubbing animal fur on amber. In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin[41] reintroduced electricity to the public through his famous kite experiment. His experiment with the kite included a kite with a key tied to the end of the string which was connected to a Leyden jar. When the lighting struck the kite, the electric current travelled down the string through the key, and into the Leyden jar (an old fashioned battery). Thomas Edison[42] was the inventor of Direct Current Electricity and the light bulb. He founded General Electric Light Bulb Company in 1887, which was later incorporated in General Electric Company. Nikola Tesla[43] worked for Edison, before founding Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing. The company installed electrical arc light-based illumination systems, and came up with Alternating Current (AC) electricity rivalling Edison’s Direct Current (DC). Tesla built his first Power Plant at the Niagara-falls. In the beginning economies of scale made it so that large electricity plants were built around cities, which in turn contributed to city development. Later on it was economically feasible to send electricity over long distances. In the beginning, all companies competing where privately owned, and un-regulated. Later, regulation of all private electric companies and to the assignment of specific territories to these electric companies. Today, thanks to AC Electricity, we can now spread power all over the world. We have TV, Computers, we have IPods, and better medical equipment to help those who are sick.    Water: Knowing about the potential of their vast natural resources, in the early 1800s American Venture Capitalists were constructing mills to harness their rivers power, steamboats to move quickly on the river, and canals to substitute for when the need was too big as to rely on the natural landscape, that would improve the country’s transportation and business. Around 1810, Spinning Frames were imported from the UK and installed by a group of Venture Capitalists who also installed Industrial Textile Mills which resulted in higher levels of production and manufacturing. Artificial rivers were used as canals since at the time there were no trains.

The installation of canals led to the explosion of population of inner cities in the US, since they provided massive shipping transportation inside the country. They allowed massive amounts of cargo to be transported. Steamboats dominated the rivers and spread throughout the waters, business booming on the sides of the rivers. Mills produced a revolutionary amount of goods and products ready for a new national and global economy, steamboats allowing the movements of goods to happen faster.      The Water Utilities Industry today includes companies that provide drinking water and/or wastewater services to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the economy. Most countries run it as a natural monopoly, and the result is usually run as a public service by a public utility which is owned by local or national government. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficiency of operations, because prices are fixed by public utility commissions. Large companies have economies of scale in operations and the ability to raise capital for infrastructure improvements. Small companies can compete successfully in certain environments, but it is typical that the Water Utility Industry is subsidized and run by the government and taking a (usually heavy) loss. Natural Gas: it is a naturally occurring chemical, primarily made of Methane (CH4). It’s purity makes it an environmentally friendly fuel. The natural gas we use today began as microscopic plants and animals living in the ocean tens of millions of years ago. As they thrive they absorb energy from the sun, which is stored as carbon molecules in their bodies. When they die they sink to the bottom of the Sea and recover after layer and layer of sediment. As these plants and animals became buried deeper in the Earth over millions of years, heat and pressure began to rise.

The amount of pressure and heat transformed the matter into Natural Gas. After Natural Gas was formed, it tended to migrate upwards through tiny pores and cracks in the surrounding rock. Some natural gas goes to the surface and is kept in deposits, which is where we find them today. In 1859 Edwin Drake[44] drilled the first commercial well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, striking Natural Gas and Oil, marking the beginning of the Natural Gas Industry. In the 1800s, Natural Gas was used exclusively as Fuel for Lamps, for ex, to light local city streets. The Bunsen Burner[45] showed how Gas could provide Heat for cooking. After the 1890s, the Street Lamps were converted to Electricity, forcing Gas producers to look for new markets. Natural Gas was originally obtained as a byproduct for oil production. Since it was view as to costly to produce, much of it was burned by flaring at the warehouse. Improvements during the WW2 opened Natural Gas to new markets, thanks to Pipeline Networks. Still, Oil was the main fuel for decades to come.

Shale Gas was already discovered, but was deemed expensive to harness. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) was introduced as innovative techniques to reach these deposits. Thanks to the Shale Gas revolution, Shale Gas has dropped to a ¼ of it’s price 10 years ago. The US alone has more than 100 years supply of Natural Gas. It is used as a versatile form of clean energy. Common uses include heating home and powering hot water heaters. Compresses gas (CNG) is a power that can be used for cars, trucks, etc. It is a clean and abundant alternative to Natural Gas & Coal. With a variety of new technologies, it is the energy of the future. When I think about the Utilities Industry, I think about the game Monopoly. You can purchase the Electric and Water Companies, but have an insignificant influence in the game. In the past, the Electrical Industry was a huge player. As explained in my book “Change Hard – Why Corporations Rise and Fade”, most industries of the past have disappeared of have reshaped. General Electric, the only surviving company of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from the beginning of the 20th Century has diversified into segments such as: Appliances, Power and Water, Oil and Gas, Energy Management, Aviation, Healthcare, Transportation and Capital. Meaning, it’s core business is not electricity anymore. Electrical distributors are today more associated with the industry, but as mentioned before usually run at a loss. Water and sanitation also run mainly under government and follow the same fate. And the Gas industry, as attractive as it looks, does not offer as big margins as before since the Shale Gas Revolution. Still, all these industries are a necessary and vital part of any functioning economy. In later chapters, I will explain HOW to take benefit of these “dying” industries… in the 21st Century.  

The Wood Industry

The Wood Industry

The Wood Industry[39] refers to forestry and timber trade, and the production of primary and secondary products such as wood pulp or paper industry. Carbon is a renewable resource that can be found in all living material. With the energy from the sun, carbon dioxide is transformed to carbo-hidrates, which are the material for tree growth. Through this process the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is stored in carbon compounds in trees and forest land. Carbon dioxide is also stored in wood products from the forest, such as the house you live in or the book you read. When the product from the forest come to an end and are used as fuel or decomposed the carbon dioxide comes back to the atmosphere, but the same amount of carbon dioxide will be taken up by the growing trees. Since the beginning, civilization has stood on the firm foundation of wood. Rude stones, obelisks, skins, cave drawings, papyrus recorded the dawn of history. The Chinese invented paper 2060 years ago, an invention that only reached Europe in 1690. The making of paper needs huge plants. It requires thousands of skilled workers, the kind that builds permanent thriving communities. It needs the investments of tens of millions of dollars in buildings and machinery and technical equipment, and these must be sure on the source of raw material they can depend on. The proper use of forest areas has become the first concern of a great industry.

This gives landowners a regular cash flow on which they can depend for regular income, giving employment to tens of thousands of people providing revenue in wages, and taxes.   Wood is one of the most adaptable materials on Earth, and much more usable than we think. Heat, Shelter, Furniture and now Skyscrapers, have high demand for Wood, which is projected to increase over the NeXT half century. Wood has many uses, like solid wood products. Timber is a major industry worldwide, the main exporter countries being[40]: US, Canada, Brazil, Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Russia, India, China and Indonesia. They create jobs in small cities and communities all over the country. Forest is harvested every day, but more forest must be of course created after harvesting. The forest resources have actually increased and will continue to do so in the coming years, being a renewal resource for coming generations. The Wood industry involves technology, design and growth opportunities. The latest technology is used to produce products such as Skateboards, Arcade Machines, Musical Instruments, Guitars, Pianos, anything you run into. Wood can be used for woodwork and floors, constructions and packing, glue lamp floors. Technological advance has is so that now harvesters, which are very advanced machine with computers and electronics, are used to optimize the

harvest. Trees are cut with the machinery to be dragged to the decking area, where they are de-limbed and sorted by product. The trees are then loaded to a truck, and hauled into the market. Simulators are used to evaluate different harvesting methods. X-Ray scanner can also be used to analyze the logs. The machines are tested by testing the product which they make, like studies for paper and moisture resistance. The user is the final judge, in a continuous improvement process. A climate responsive system sprinkling system to avoid fungi attack on the logs during the summer. The growth of trees takes time; it takes 15 to 20 years from the time the seed pushes through the ground until it is mature enough for harvesting. With Network production, the Wood Industry is on a direct path to the Industry 4.0. The machines are smart, and independently control production. Information flows are efficiently organized and motorized by a production control system. The central element is the Smart Work piece, which tells the machine how it has to process. Every work piece is individual, and is created as a digital component in a virtual world and all specifications and parameters.

That is where the work piece is given an identity and communicated by the system component by the barcode. The panels automatically fed in the production process. Humans monitor the seamless production process. Network production makes it possible to be efficient and tailored to the customer, in order to move away from mass production and towards customized products.

Gold and Silver

Gold and Silver

Gold and Silver are the most well-known recognized precious metals. They have been mined, crafted and used by civilization around the world since recorded time. Their rarity makes them most desirable for coins, jewelry and artwork. Joining Gold and Silver in the family of precious metals are the lesser known, and even more rare elements referred to as the platinum metals[35]: platinum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium and iridium. I will focus on the history and uses of Gold and Silver, as examples of industrial development based on precious metals.  Gold[36] artifacts were already found in the Balkans region from the 4th millennium BC. Egypt and especially Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. The Nubia river had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. The primitive working methods included fire-setting. Large mines were also present across the Red Sea in what is now Saudi Arabia. Exploitation of gold in the south-east corner of the Black Sea is said to date from the time of Midas, and this gold was important in the establishment of what is probably the world’s earliest coinage in Lydia around 610 BC. From the 6th or 5th century BC, the Chu (state) circulated the Ting Yuan, one kind of square coin. New methods for extracting gold on a large scale were developed by introducing hydraulic mining methods, especially in Hispania from 25 BC. The European exploration of the Americas was boosted by reports of the gold ornaments displayed in great profusion by Native American peoples. Consider though that gold was abundant in America, so it did not have so much value for the Natives. In Central America, cacao was used as currency instead of gold coins.

Gold has many applications. It is used 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments and 10% in industry.

-         Jewelry: it is altered and molded in different alloys. The gold jewelry industry is today a 23.7 USD billion industry.

-         Investment: it is stored in the form of gold store in bullion coins or bars as a hedge against inflation or other economic disruptions.

-         Electronic connectors: the most important industrial use for gold is the fabrication of corrosion-free electrical connectors in computers and other electrical devices. Gold is used in the connectors of the more expensive electronic cables, such as audio, video and USD cables.

-         Non-electronic industry: gold solder is used for joining the components of gold jewelry by high-temperature hard soldering or brazing. Gold can be made into thread and used in embroidery. It is also a good reflector of electromagnetic radiation such as infrared and visible light, as well as radio waves.

-         Medicine: In medieval times, gold was seen as beneficial for the health. In reality, only salts and radioisotopes of gold are of pharmacological value. Gold alloys are used in dentistry, in tooth restorations.

-         Food and drink: gold nanoparticles are used as food additive. Gold leaf, flake or dust is used on and in some gourmet foods, notably sweets and drinks as decorative ingredient.

-         Currency: gold coinage has been widely used as currency. A monetary system known as the gold standard was introduced in the 1960s, a certain weight of gold was given the name of a unit of currency. Silver[37] on the other hand possesses the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The mining of silver began some 5000 years ago. Silver was first mined around 3000 B.C. in Turkey. It was very valuable for the Greek, in the 1200 BC, and about 100 AD, Spain became the capital of silver production. Several major silver mines were discovered between 750 and 1200 AD, including the Germany and Eastern Europe. The 500-year period from 1000 and 1500 AD was one of significant growth thanks to improvements in production and technology. The Spanish conquest of the New World led to mining of the silver element that dramatically eclipsed anything that had come before that time. Silver has many more applications than Gold. Consider that silver is not only much more abundant than Gold, but is also not as beautiful and relucent. Let us take a look at it’s applications:

-         Currency: in the past, silver coins where used as currency. Fiat currency was backed by gold until the USD came off the gold standard in 1971. Silver coins are still minted by several countries as commemorative or collectible items, but they are not in general circulation. -         Jewelry: Silverware is one of the most traditional uses: cutlery, tableware, bowls, candlesticks and such). Silversmiths specialize in working silver, making jewelry, silverware, armor, vases, and other artistic items. 

-         Solar Energy: it is used in the manufacture of crystalline solar photovoltaic panels. Silver is also used in plasmonic solar cells. Silver is the reflective coating of choice for concentrated solar power reflectors. -         Air conditioning: using a first layer of Silver, the most reflective substance on Earth, researchers have invented a mirror-like panel that, when mounted on a building, acts like an air conditioner. 

-         Water purification: it is used in water purifiers. It sanitized water and eliminates the need for chlorine. Silver ions are also added to water purification systems in hospitals, community water systems, pools and spas, displacing chlorine. 

-         Dentistry: it is used alloyed with mercury to make amalgams that are widely used for dental fillings. -         Photography and electronics: electrical and electronic products use silver for it’s superior conductivity, such as high quality RF connectors. 

-         Glass coatings: silver is used in metal coating for reflective telescope mirrors. Silver-coated polyester sheets, used to retrofit windows, are another popular method for reducing light transmission. -         Other applications: silver alloys are used in the construction of high-quality musical wind instruments of many types, such as flutes, brass instruments and trumpets. Silver is used to make solder and brazing alloys. 

-         Biology: silver stains are used in biology to increase the contrast and visibility of cells and organelles in microscopy.  

-         Medicine: it is used into wound dressings, and it’s use as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. -         Investing: silver coins and bullion are used for investing, for ex, on the stock markets, including mining or silver streaming stocks, or silver backed exchange-traded funds. 

-         Clothing: it inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi on clothing, such as socks, and is also added to reduce odors, and the risk of bacterial and fungal infections.

Gold mining has changed dramatically in the last 150 years. In the days of the Gold Rush[38], a person could pan in a stream for nuggets of gold. Today, mining is a large scale activity that involves a lot of talented man and woman, large Earth moving equipment, and sophisticated processes. Today, gold mines contain microscopic particles invisible to the eye. Many tons of rock have to mined and processed to produce gold that you can see and use. Before mining begins, exploration has to happen. Geologists study rocks and make maps of the region. The area is drilled to find where gold is concentrated. The area is blasted, and then hydraulic shovels are used to load the rock in trucks. Blocks are mined out separately and delivered by trucks to a specific area of the mind sites for placements in a waste rock facility. Eventually all processes ends-up in a solution called the slurry, which moves through a series of tanks containing a mixture of solution. The gold is mixed with carbon and put into a solution. The gold is then recovered through a process, and then burned to form gold bars. 

In the case of silver, 80% is silver is used for industrial purposes. The action begins down in the mine. Blasts occur in the mine and ore piles are taken to the surface, to achieve consistent amount of content, per kilogram of ore. The ore goes into the crusher, where it is finally pulverized into pieces. A conveyer transports the crushed ore to the ball-mill, at which point the ore pieces. Inside the mills, the ore is turned into powder. A water circulation system flushes the silver rich powder out of the cylinder and into large tanks which keep the water moving. The silver is dissolved in a solution, and finally a layer of black powder is done. After burning off, silver and other metals are separated. Only silver is left after burning off all the other metals. The liquid is poured into bar shaped moles, from which silver bars are then extracted.

Gold and Silver have been with us since the beginnings of civilization. They were the greed of man, who killed, raped and slaughtered to get their hands on it. They were a symbol of status and power. They also reflect the changes in modern society. 150 years ago man moved to the West Coast in the US in the gold fever. Gold and Silver mines were highly valued. Coins were used as currency, and blocks were stored in banks to back up the currencies. Eventually, fiat currency (or paper money), replaced them. Today, Gold and Silver can still be acquired in Stock Markets. They are used as hedging to cover from risk in turbulent markets in a maneuver that is called “Flight to Quality”. They still represent a significant portion of the economy in the states where they are located, but not as important as before. Moreover, they do not create that many job positions. Gold and Silver will continue to remain with us with all their uses, but the “Era of Precious Metals” has ended a long time ago.