Latest news with #TechnicalServices
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Mayor defends water tariff increase while providing free water to vulnerable families
Left: Ilembe District Municipal Manager Sazi Mbhele, Mayor Thobani Shandu, and Director of Technical Services Ncingisa Mbole at the media briefing on Wednesday to clarify budget decisions. Image: Supplied As part of a response to the Democratic Alliance's demands for the 0% water tariff increase, the water-stricken Ilembe District Municipality has decided to supply 10,000 litres to poor households every month. In a R1.6 billion budget tabled by the district mayor, Thobani Shandu, on Tuesday, the municipality approved a revised 13% increase from 13.5%, which was initially proposed, dismissing the DA's demand as highly unreasonable. The mayor said it was not feasible not to increase the water tariff while Umngeni-Uthukela Water, which sells water to municipalities, has raised tariffs by 13%. Shandu said the municipality believes that more than 30% of the approximately 700,000 people living in the district will receive free water under the 10,000 litres cushion. The mayor said there would be a drive to encourage the poor households to register under indigent programmes so that their financial status would be assessed and be placed under the programme. 'It was impossible for us not to increase water tariffs while the water utility where we buy water from has increased. We were reasonable enough to at least increase our tariffs by the same amount. 'The DA must understand that we are a rural municipality with no less revenue collection, so we are like cities like eThekwini, which collect more residential and business rates, and those cities can easily reduce water tariffs and take money from other sources to cover water costs,' said Shandu. Out of this budget, the municipality set aside R357 million for capital projects, leaving the rest for operational costs. The municipality has a surplus of R14,6 million. Shandu said he believes the budget reflects a strong commitment to pro-poor service delivery, infrastructure development, and financial sustainability. Clarifying the qualifying criteria for free water, Shandu said all homes with a value of less than R130,000 of families with a combined monthly income of less than R50,000 will qualify for the free water programme. He added that the charges will also be capped at homes worth R5 million, meaning that even those families living in homes worth more than R5 million will not pay more than 13%. The district covers the three rural local municipalities of Ndwedwe, Mandeni, and Maphumulo as well as the semi-urban Greater KwaDukuza Municipality. In its response, the DA rejected the mayor's explanation, saying the party would force the municipality to reverse the increase through other mechanisms, including legal action. The DA's district constituency head, Sakhile Mngadi, who led the water march earlier, said the municipality's problem was irregular expenditure, which was picked up in the Auditor-General's report. Mngadi said that 15% of the budget went to fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the municipality shifts its poor financial management to the poor people by burdening them with avoidable tariff increases. [email protected]
Scoop
7 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Winemakers Reclaim Wine Quality And Value With New Molecular Filtration Tech
Hamilton, New Zealand, 28 May 2025 – A new precision wine technology is changing how winemakers address quality challenges and recover value from fault-affected and heavily phenolic wines. amaea, a New Zealand developer of custom-engineered molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), is gaining industry validation for its novel molecular filtration technology for precision wine remediation and palate fining. From premium winemakers in New Zealand to top-tier producers in California, amaea's selective, sustainable filtration solution, launched in late 2023, is being used to remediate and enhance wine quality. The proprietary MIP beads, imprinted with billions of binding sites, selectively target and capture unwanted molecules—such as pyrazines, ethyl phenols, and phenolic compounds responsible for sensory profiles—and remove them while preserving the wine's essential varietal character, color, and flavor. 'Winemakers face real challenges when unwanted, characteristics or impacts appear in their wines, that traditional methods cannot resolve,' says amaea CEO Aiden Tapping. 'Our molecular filtration solution gives them control to target and remove the compounds responsible for undesirable sensory profiles - without stripping away desirable characters. This recovers value, saves wine from being downgraded or discarded, and ultimately protects brand integrity.' Wines tainted by 'off aromas,' such as those caused by stink bugs or pyrazines as well as wines that require significant bitterness management pose a major financial challenge for producers globally. Over the past year, amaea RMx technology for remediating 'off' aromas and wines impacted by frost, pyrazines, Brettanomyces, MOG and other challenges, and amaea PFx technology for palate fining, have supported over 50 unique producers in treating more than 400,000 gallons/ 1.5 million liters of wine, helping them recover an estimated USD$3.5 million/ NZD$6.2 million in wine value in the past 12 months. 'It's fantastic to see the consistent validation from the industry, highlighting the versatility and value of our technology,' says Tapping. 'We've focused on giving some of the top winemakers the confidence to try our technology, even on small volumes. Now, on the back of customer success, we're gearing up for an increase in the volume of wines treated by both existing and new customers as our technology gains market traction.' Smart Polymer, Better Wines: Customer Successes amaea's technology has successfully helped top winemakers recover wine to its intended program, high-quality and value, showcasing a wide variety of commercial customer applications: Jackson Family Wines (US) has successfully trialled amaea to replace single-use fining agents by decreasing bitterness in hard-pressed white wine. Dr Caroline Merrell, Senior Manager of Winemaking Technical Services at Jackson Family Wines says: 'One area where we see a lot of potential is replacing single-use fining agents with reusable media, such as amaea's MIPs. During a recent trial, amaea's MIP treatment decreased bitterness and was preferred sensorially over wines treated with traditional fining agents. The results were impressive and will allow us to simultaneously improve quality in select wines while decreasing waste from single-use inputs.' Cleomont Vineyards (NZ) increased the saleable quality of wine where traditional methods couldn't resolve the issues. Faced with a particularly phenolic 2024 Marlborough Pinot Gris, renowned New Zealand winemaker and grower Digger Hennessy, the owner of Cleomont Vineyards, reduced the wine's excessive bitterness and enhanced its sweetness, with amaea's MIPs selectively capturing the offending phenolic compounds. 'The wine didn't need a huge treatment. It got rid of the very annoying bitterness on the back palate that we were struggling to get out. The MIP treatment made it a lot smoother and now I'm happy with it.' Marisco Vineyards (NZ) remediated a stink bug-affected wine back to its intended program. Marisco Vineyards celebrated an exceptional 2024 vintage. Yet, one block of Pinot Noir faced an unexpected issue when a species of Pentatomidae, commonly known as the Australasian green shield or stink bug, was found among some of the grapes. Traditional techniques for stink bug remediation focus on masking the distinctive vegetative aromas caused by the insects. However, amaea's highly selective technology removes unwanted molecules responsible for the undesirable vegetal and herbaceous traits. 'Having the ability to run wine through MIPs, knowing it won't physically change apart from removing the target molecules, is a massive plus,' says winemaker Alun Kilby, who sees endless potential applications for amaea's technology. Giesen (NZ) used amaea PFx in place of gelatin (a fining agent), to address bitterness in their 0% Merlot. Consulting winemaker Duncan Shouler, former Director of Winemaking at Giesen Group, supports technology, change and innovation in the wine industry to stay relevant and evolve. At Giesen, he saw an opportunity to use amaea PFx in their 0% Merlot. 'Typically, when you remove alcohol from wine, certain traits and characteristics start to stand out. For Merlots, the tannins become prominent, and the warmth and sweetness are lost. For palate fining, gelatin is traditionally added, which, though effective at softening phenolic content, isn't vegan-friendly and isn't entirely selective, which means it removes more than is intended. At Giesen, when introduced to amaea PFx, we saw a technique that enabled us to balance polyphenols without relying on animal additions; it was environmentally conscientious and had the potential to provide a more financially sustainable alternative to traditional fining practices.' Additional Applications: Remediating Smoke-Impacted Wine In late 2023, amaea launched amaea VPx, its smoke remediation solution, which uses tailored MIPs in a one-pass filtration system. A 2024 WINnovation Award winner, amaea VPx technology successfully removes the volatile phenols from smoke-impacted wine to a level that sits below sensory thresholds. To extend its position as a next-generation partner for quality-focused winemakers, amaea's MIP solutions, already commercially used in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, will launch in Australia later this year with a future focus on Europe.
Business Standard
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
RailTel Corp bags order worth Rs 25-cr from Andhra Pradesh Police Dept
RailTel Corporation of India announced that it has received a work order worth Rs 25.12 crore from the office of the Inspector General of Police (Technical Services), Andhra Pradesh. The order involves the supply, installation, and maintenance of an integrated security solution for edge devices for the Andhra Pradesh (AP) Police Department. The total contract value is Rs 25,12,94,570 and the project is expected to be completed by 25 June 2025. RailTel Corporation of India, a 'Navratna' central public sector enterprise, is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country, owning a Pan-India optic fiber network covering several towns & cities and rural areas of the country. The companys standalone net profit jumped 46.33% to Rs 113.45 crore in Q4 FY25 as compared with Rs 73.53 crore in Q4 FY24. Shares of RailTel Corporation of India shed 0.12% to Rs 384.85 on the BSE.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Several Insiders Invested In West Red Lake Gold Mines Flagging Positive News
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd.'s (CVE:WRLG) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders. Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Frank Giustra for CA$504k worth of shares, at about CA$0.72 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of CA$0.57. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$664k for 944.40k shares. But insiders sold 102.50k shares worth CA$74k. Overall, West Red Lake Gold Mines insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! View our latest analysis for West Red Lake Gold Mines There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying. There was some insider buying at West Red Lake Gold Mines over the last quarter. In that period insiders spent CA$34k on shares. But Vice President of Technical Services Maurice Mostert sold CA$10k worth. It is nice to see that insiders have bought, but the quantum isn't large enough to get us excited. Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that West Red Lake Gold Mines insiders own 13% of the company, worth about CA$25m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in West Red Lake Gold Mines and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with West Red Lake Gold Mines and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Of course West Red Lake Gold Mines may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
