Coal Makes a Comeback

The United States is returning to coal to generate electricity. Long-dormant mines are being reopened to gather coal, which generates most of the electricity in the country. Why is coal once again such an important resource?

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Coal Makes a Comeback

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"You load thirteen tons and what do you get?" An abundant, clean, affordable source of power in the United States.

The United States is returning to coal to generate electricity. Long-dormant mines are being reopened to gather coal, which generates most of the electricity in the country. Why is coal once again such an important resource?

* Abundance of supply and demand. Currently, 51 percent of the electricity in the United States is generated by coal power and demand for coal is increasing. In the next 25 years, demand for electricity is expected to increase more than 50 percent. Meeting this demand will require that an average of 65 new power plants be built each year.

Fortunately, the United States contains 274 billion tons of coal that can be used to produce energy for homes and businesses. The coal in the United States could last for 250 years, much longer than either oil or natural gas, and has been proven a recoverable reserve.

* A clean energy source. Coal as a clean energy source? How can that be? Between 1976 and 1993, 38 coal technology projects known as Clean Coal Technology, were conducted. One such technology is a NOX (nitrogen oxide) burner, which is currently used or being installed in three-fourths of power plants that use coal. The result of these

technologies was a decrease in emissions from coal-generated electricity. Between 1980 and 2001, emissions of sulfur dioxide decreased 38 percent. Nitrogen oxide emissions decreased 32 percent and emissions from particulate matter (PM-10), a mixture of solid and liquid particles found in the air, dropped 25 percent.

* Affordability. The cost of electricity allows businesses to remain competitive. Businesses spend less on transportation and generation costs with coal than with natural gas or oil. Coal never needs to be shipped across the whole country because mines are located throughout the United States. Furthermore, the cost of coal-generated electricity is approximately one-fourth that of electricity generated by gas, partly because the cost of coal is more stable than natural gas. As a result, more businesses are turning to coal as a source of power.

Quest Minerals and Mining (OTC BB: QMMG.OB) has acquired and re-opened mines in the southeastern United States that were closed due to a downturn in the price of coal. The company's focus is on properties that produce quality compliance coal. In addition to selling coal to utilities and industries, Quest is seeking metallurgical coal to be used in steel production.

Health and Safety-It Makes Good Cents

For every 1 dollar spent 3 dollars can be saved. Health and safety programs not only make the workplace safer but also save money for the business.

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small business,insurance claims,insurance discounts, business insurance discounts,small business forums,safety, health and safety

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Health and Safety-It Makes Good Cents

Data shows that small businesses that have health and safety procedures in place reduce their injury and illness costs by 20 percent and even up to 40 percent. Nearly 95 percent of business owners report that health and safety programs have a positive impact on the company's bottom-line according to a recent survey. Of this group, 61 percent say their return-on-investment is 3 dollars for every 1 dollar they invest in improving workplace safety. In addition, companies that have working health and safety programs in place have seen employee absenteeism drop in half.

A well planned health and safety program is obtainable even for small businesses. For example in this worst to first situation, a small manufacturing company was forced into putting a health and safety program in place or be shut down. They started by doing an audit, identified and controlled hazards, showed working procedures, and had to keep their injury rates below the national average for their sector. After they had implemented their health and safety program, they had many years with not one injury and saved more than $45,000 on insurance premiums. The company was even recognized with an award for their safety record. The owner, Rick, said "Our health and safety program has helped us protect our employees, maintain compliance, keep our vital employees working for us, and has saved us real money to put back into our company."

Health and safety is no longer just viewed as a good idea, but a crucial investment in the business' long term success. Mounting costs of unhealthy employees and the expense and disruption of staff turnover is turning many small business owners to health and safety. The payback in health and safety programs comes in the form of: improved productivity, fewer insurance and worker’s comp claims, less absenteeism, decrease in accidents, reduced staff turnover, higher employee morale, and leads to a better business reputation and customer loyalty.

Unhealthy and absent employees are costly. Businesses incur direct costs such as worker's comp payments, disability costs, replacement employees, equipment damage, and even lost productivity.

By having a health and safety program in place, employers also protect themselves from liability in employee's injury in being exposed to unidentified hazards in the workplace. Employers can be charged in injuries caused to untrained employees. An unhealthy may also threaten the safety of others such as fellow employees, the business owner, and even the customer of the business.

In starting a program, there needs to be commitment. Employers must get a feeling of the seriousness of this new procedure. The planning should be a partnership between the business owner and employees. To be able to actively engage all aspects of the on-going process in the business, the program should consider all of the major health risks in all of the areas of the workplace to meet the needs of all employees.

Deciding on whether to have a health and safety program should be clear. Health and safety issues in the workplace cost the business owner directly and even in lost opportunity. A change to making the business safer will lead to a more positive bottom-line.

For any questions or even help in getting started, drop us an e-mail at abbsafetynet@gmail.com.

Carton Sealing Tape Makes Securing Your Packages a Pleasurable Task

Carton sealing tape is just one of the many kinds of that highly useful range of products, tapes. Made of paper or plastic like polypropylene, carton-sealing tapes are self-adhesive, and secure the cartons in which you ship your products.

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Printed Tape, Vinyl Tape, Polypropylene Tape, Barrier Tape, Off The Shelf Tape, Bespoke Tape, Custom Tape

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Carton sealing tape is just one of the many kinds of that highly useful range of products, tapes. Made of paper or plastic like polypropylene, carton-sealing tapes are self-adhesive, and secure the cartons in which you ship your products.

They are typically two or three inches wide, and come in rolls of different lengths. The rolls are packed 24 or 36 or more per carton (which is then sealed with one of these same kinds of tapes!) The glue used for providing adhesion might differ depending on the strength of sealing required.

Different Kinds of Cartons and Sealing Tapes

There are lightweight cartons, heavyweight cartons and cartons falling between these two in the matter of weight. Then there are single wall cartons, multi-wall cartons and corrugated cartons. There are also over packed cartons that tend to bulge and under packed cartons that tend to fall in awkward shapes.

If all sealing tapes were produced to maximum specifications (of material and adhesive strength) to handle all the above carton situations, it would be overkill. It will push up the costs for simple packaging needs. The cost of the superior kinds of sealing tapes tends to be two to three times that of the simple varieties.

For lightweight single wall cartons packed normally, the comparatively inexpensive variety of carton sealing tape will be quite enough to secure it during short transits. On the other hand, a heavyweight multi-wall or corrugated box that is under packed will need the best kind of sealing tape to secure it for a longish trip.

Carton sealing tape suppliers thus supply different kinds of tapes in different price ranges. The tape material used could be strengthened with blends and weaves, and the glue could be faster sticking with very high bonding strengths. A normal sealing tape might have a tensile strength in the range of 20 pounds while the higher grades might have 35 pounds or more.

Carton Sealing Tape Pricing and Features

Carton sealing tapes are made with paper, polypropylene, PVC, UPVC and other materials, including blends. The glue can be acrylic, synthetic rubber adhesive and such. Widths are typically 2 inch or 3 inch. Each roll can be, say, 110 yards.

Tapes differ in their tolerance of temperature ranges, color, water resistance and resistance to splitting, peeling, cracking and drying.

They come packed with different numbers of rolls per carton. There might be 24, 36, 72, 144 and more rolls per pack. You are likely to get lower prices per roll if you order the higher roll cartons.

The carton sealing tape can be a clear transparent tape, or colored in specific colors. They can be overprinted with handling instructions or promotional messages.

Conclusion

Carton sealing tape is just one kind of the many kinds of special purpose tapes available for different applications. They come with different characteristics and in varying prices depending on such things are the strength of material used, and that of the glue. The tape requirements vary depending on such things as the package weight, type of carton material used and other factors.

Choosing A Name For Your Company... That Makes Sense...

One of the most important things your company needs is a name. Your name will be the very first thing that almost all of your customers see from you -- long before they meet you, they'll have responded to something (or someone) that told them the name of your business.

So What?

So, if you're planning on running a professional operation, don't call it 'A1 Supplies' just because you want to be listed first in the phone book. You have to pick a name that says something abo...

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One of the most important things your company needs is a name. Your name will be the very first thing that almost all of your customers see from you -- long before they meet you, they'll have responded to something (or someone) that told them the name of your business.

So What?

So, if you're planning on running a professional operation, don't call it 'A1 Supplies' just because you want to be listed first in the phone book. You have to pick a name that says something about you and your business, and that people in your target market will be able to say without feeling stupid.

The Professional Name.

If you're running a serious business targeted at other businesspeople, you'll probably want to keep the name sober, but memorable. A good formula is your surname, followed by what you do: 'Smithfield Tailoring', or 'Watson Engineering'. You might also want to add the name of the town where you live: 'Watson Engineering Anytown'. Little things can make a big difference: 'Watson & Associates Engineering' or 'Watson Engineering Co.' both sound quite good, for example. Don't use your first name, though -- it sounds terribly amateurish. Would you rather deal with Ted's Office Supplies or the Johansson Office Supplies Co.?

Another approach is to leave out your name altogether, and simply become 'Anytown Engineers' or 'The Anytown Engineering Co.'. This makes you sound like the first choice locally, especially if your main competitor has the name of another town nearby in their name.

The Corporate Name.

They sound quite bad, I reckon, but there's a still a place for them -- mainly if you want to deal with the big companies that this kind of name appeals to. Simply think of a word to describe your business and translate it into Latin. Then add the word "Consulting", if you want.

The Trendy Name.

If you're going for a more young or technology-savvy market, you might want a less formal name. Names of this form should be kept to one word, and preferably written in lowercase, URL-style. Another common trick is to make '.com' part of the name. Notice the difference between 'Fun House' and 'funhouse.com' -- the Fun House doesn't sound all that much fun, does it?

The Playful Name.

You'll be surprised how many people will love your name if you just decide to name it after an animal, and use that animal in your logo too. If you don't have much of a marketing budget, this is a good way to get a quick brand identity -- if you choose the panda, for example, then people start associating you with pandas, and you can have panda-pattern designs on your stationery and decorate your office with bamboo. Don't underestimate the power of this, seriously.

The Shortened Name.

One naming method that seems to be especially well-used by the big hitters is to take two words that describe your business, shorten them both, and make it one word. So you end up with Fedex (Federal Express), or Microsoft (Microcomputer Software). This is good for suggesting what you do without having an overly lengthy name.

The Random Name.

If all else fails, a great way to make up a name is to just string together sounds that you like until you come up with a made-up word. This can be a surprisingly good way to come up with a name -- and it will be completely unique.

Make It Easy.

Whatever you do, though, make sure your business' name is easy to pronounce and spell. If your surname is hard to say, don't use it. If people seem to have trouble spelling a made-up word, come up with something easier. You'll lose out on an enormous amount of word-of-mouth business if people have to write your name down just to communicate it to each other.

Check for Others.

Once you've got some ideas, make sure you check that no-one else is already using them. It will be expensive to get halfway through starting up a company only to find that the name you wanted is already taken. Also, you'll have trouble establishing any kind of Internet prescence with an over-used name, if that was part of your plan -- if your name is too common, you won't stand a chance of getting yourname .com.

Business Marketing Mistakes: 3 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Every Business Manager Makes

Your idea of marketing may be costing your business big bucks. Learn what the three biggest marketing mistakes every business manager makes. By avoiding these pitfalls, you will make your marketing efforts more meaningful and effective.

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marketing mistakes, marketing, business manager, marketing budget, help or hinder, business, 7 Marketing Mistakes, Terri langhans

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Who hasn’t let a typo slip by or misspelled the CEO’s name or printed the wrong phone number somewhere? Those marketing mistakes don’t warrant an article. In fact, just one word of how-to-fix-it advice is sufficient: proofread!

Here are a few more important marketing mistakes that just about every business manager out there makes, along with a recommended fix that will help you attract more business and get better results from your marketing, regardless of how big or small your marketing budget is.

Mistake #1: We think that marketing is something we 'do'.

"We need to do some marketing." It’s the first thing you think when you need to boost business. Problem is, when you think of marketing as something you 'do', you’re usually thinking about publicity, direct mail, flyers, email, ads and promotion. Marketing is much more than merely promotion, and it’s rarely a quick fix.

The real fix is to expand your definition of marketing. Instead of thinking of it as something you 'do', think of marketing as anything that helps or hinders the sale or use of your product or service. This includes: your location, the attitudes of the person who answers the phone, your name, pricing, policies, proposals, personality and more.

Before you write a promotional word, do a 'help or hinder' once-over. Make a list of what’s helping you attract business and what’s getting in the way. Figure out what obstacles you can quickly fix or remove? What 'helps' can you enhance or spotlight? Until the help-or-hinder homework is done, working on promotion is premature.

Mistake #2: We breathe too much of our own exhaust.

We are such big believers in our businesses that we can’t wait to show it off. We admire our attributes and inhale our excellence. Then we exhale it all into our marketing communications. The problem is, when you do that, your marketing is all about you. And people don’t care about you. They care about themselves.

If your marketing is going to get any response at all, the first thing it must do is connect to something prospects care about. Connect before you convince. Try this four-step exercise:

1. Describe your products and services. Get the exhaust fumes out.
2. Identify one or two attributes or attraction factors.
3. What is the benefit, the need or the want, that is satisfied by those attributes?
4. Why is that benefit important, personally, to the target audience?

For example, Joy dishwashing liquid (descprition) has real lemon (attribute) that cuts grease and leaves dishes shinier (benefit). What a nice reflection on you! (Connects to what a mother cares about.) Connect to what people want. Not to what you do.

Mistake #3: We all look alike.

A bank is a bank is a bank. Realtors, lawyers and consultants are a dime a dozen. The list goes on. But here’s the good news: the more two businesses look alike, the more important each difference becomes, and the more impact even the tiniest difference will have on setting you apart. Why?

Consider identical twins. What’s the first thing you do when you meet a pair? You try to find a little something to tell them apart. The same is true for your business. Your prospects are looking for a point of difference (just about anything )they can use to set you apart from your competition.

To find your points of difference, start with your points of contact, or 'touch points' in your company. Make a list. Business card, fax cover sheet, invoice, phone greeting, front door, home page, etc. Then look at what the competition does and ask yourself how you can do it differently. Just a little bit will make a big difference, because your prospects are looking for them.

For now, try the Help or Hinder, Connect Before You Convince and Find Your Points of Difference tools to make your marketing more meaningful and effective. Be wary, too, of unrealistic expectations, faulty research, deadly bullet points and lack of follow through-- four other common marketing mistakes.