MONEYMAKERS

WOODY GOODY: It may not be real
wood, but the success of the medium
density fibre board (MDF) - manufactured under the brand name of
NUWUD by Nuchem Limited in
Tohana, Haryana--- means it has
found its own niche in the market.
So much so that other top names
like WIMCO and the Modi group
are getting interested in setting up
their own MDF units. The eco-freindly MDF is manufactured out
of agro-forest wastes like cotton
and sunflower stalks, and from
eucalyptus, poplar and acacia trees.
In the case of NUWUD, 25 per cent
of its production'is being set aside
for exports.

ACCOLADES FOR ZENECA: With the
introduction of British-based drug
firm Zeneca's Accolate, asthmatic
patients may soon have another
cure for alleviating their misery.
Accolate, awaiting US Food and
Drug Administration's approval for
entering the American market, scores over the other
asthma drugs as it
is in the form of a
pill and does not
require any inhaling device. Tests on more than 3,006
patients have revealed that it reduces
the morning asthma attacks. For
Zeneca, Accolate is its first entry into
the highly lucrative anti-asthma market.
TRUCKERS DELIGHT:
Environmental Concept Truck (ECT) -
this is what lorry
manufacturer Volvo
calls its latest product. And with good
reasons. Life has become tougher for
truckers in Sweden ever since a
new legislation restricting noise and
air pollution came into effect.
Companies have been spending on
research to develop new engines for
reducing emissions, cutting noise
and improving fuel economy. ECT
packs in all this and more.. It runs on
hybrid power, and its gas turbine is
charged by ethanol, the cleanest of all
fossil fuels. Also, it boasts a cabin
equipped with sophisticated communications and navigation systems
which help to cut congestion and
improve running efficiency.

GEEP GOES DEEP: From manufacturing
dry cells to propagating tissue culture and greenhouses: that is where
Geep Industries Syndicate Limited,
known for its range of dry cells, flash
lights and lamps, is headed. Geep's
Rs 11.35 crore new venture, assisted
'by the Haryana State Industrial
Development Corporation, will have
technological backing from Israel's
, Bickel Biotechnology International
Limited. The project - to come up in
Haryana's Rohtak district - will be
producing 132.3 lakh soft plants,
39.93 lakh hardened plants and 5.12
lakh cut flowers.

COAL'S THE- GOAL: China's state-
owned Shenhua Group Corporation
has been entrusted with the task of
developing the Shenfu-Dongsheng
coal mine - the nation's largest -
and improve the railway lines, port
facilities, power stations and ships
that will use the coal which is produced there. The mine has a quarter
of China's known coal reserves of
223.6 billion tonnes. The project is
expected to cost US $7.3 billion and a
total production of 60 million tonnes
of coal has been envisaged for the
year 2010.

CURE-ALL: Decks have been cleared
for Panacea Biotech Limited (which
has 2 manufacturing units in Delhi)
to get an Indian
patent for Nimulid,
its drug for curing
inflammation, pain
and fever with minimal side effects.
Most such anti-in-flammatory remedies usually engender side effects like gastric disorders.
Panacea also has plans to manufacture polio vaccine at its plant which
is to come up in Punjab.