Zhengzhou Textile Machinery and MAE S.p.A. cooperate to develop carbon fibre carbonisation plant

Founded in 1949, ZFJ is a key enterprise directly managed by China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach), a subsidiary of textile manufacturing giant China National Machinery Industry Group. The company exports its products to over 70 countries and regions, supported by a well-established international service network.

MAE is a globally recognised manufacturer of carbon fibre production plants, with extensive experience in engineering design. Its expertise covers the entire production chain: from licensed technologies for precursor production (suspension and solution polymerisation, solution preparation, wet and dry-wet spinning, solvent recovery, and waste precursor solution recovery) to the supply of complete carbonisation lines for fibres based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN), cellulose, pitch and other types of precursors.

MAE created in 2005 its own operating branch in Shanghai. In 2021, the company based in the Italian northern city of Piacenza announced it would carry out a contract in China for a total of 73.5 M euros (RMB 560 million), for the construction of plants dedicated to the production of carbon fibre. 

Also in 2021, the company opened the MAE Museum, located at MAE’s Italian headquarters. It is a museum about #carbonfibre, built largely out of carbon fibre, both new and recycled, pursuing a circular approach to design.

Know-how integration

The agreement provides for collaboration between the parties, focused on integrating their respective technical skills while respecting each company’s area of expertise. The transfer of knowledge will be based exclusively on technological know-how already present in both companies.

The main areas of cooperation include:

Joint development and production of carbonisation lines for the conversion of #PANprecursor fibres into carbon fibres, aimed at optimising production efficiency and product quality.

Integration of technical resources and research and development activities to address technological challenges in the construction of machinery used in carbon fibre production plants.

Creation of exchange and training programmes for technical personnel to promote the growth of interdisciplinary teams.

This strategic partnership aims to generate mutual benefits. ZFJ will be able to further strengthen its technological capabilities in the carbonisation plants sector, reinforcing its position in the value chain of new composite materials.

The collaboration responds to the growing demand for carbon fibre in high-tech sectors such as aerospace, automotive (new energy vehicles) and wind energy. The agreement combines Italian engineering with established Chinese industrial capacity and quality standards, with the goal of making a tangible contribution to the technological advancement of the new materials sector. 

photo: ZFJ-MAE2

source: Jeccomposites

Every sales team wants more leads through Marketing

Every sales team wants more leads.

But not everyone has a system.

They treat pipeline like it's supposed to magically appear.

Send some emails. Post on LinkedIn occasionally.

Hope marketing figures it out.

The teams that are actually hitting quota have a repeatable process:

→ They know exactly who they're targeting

(not "mid-market SaaS" - actual companies with specific triggers)

→ They have daily non-negotiables

(50 personalized touches, 10 discovery calls booked per week minimum)

→ They track what converts

(not activities - actual reply rates, meeting show rates, opportunity creation)

The difference shows up fast.

Ask a rep how they're generating pipeline.

If they have a real system, they'll walk you through it in 30 seconds.

List building. Outreach cadence. What's working. How they're improving it.

If they don't, you'll hear "working my accounts" and "staying busy."

Pipeline isn't about hoping harder.

It's about having a process that compounds every single week.

What's one thing in your lead gen system that's actually working right now?

Activate to view larger image,

source: Haris Halkic

Does only win the race

The world is full of Critics and Talkers.

But Doers are the ones who actually win.

I used to be a chronic Talker.

Big plans and Google Docs.

You know the type - maybe you are one right now.

We've all been in meetings where we've come up with the perfect plans...

But then nothing actually comes from it with zero action.

I stayed in that "Talker" zone for years.

The reality is nobody cares about that potential.

They care about your proof of work.

The shift from Talker to Doer was pretyyy uncomfortable.

But it legitimately changed my career trajectory.

If you're stuck as a Talker (or even worse, a Critic!)

These are the steps I'd take:

1. Start Before You're Ready

↳ Your first attempt will be rubbish. That's the point.

↳ I posted on LinkedIn for 6 months to crickets.

2. Set "Ship Dates"

↳ Deadlines = something you can move.

↳ Ship dates = you publish regardless of perfection.

3. Build Your Proof-of-Work Portfolio

↳ Critics have opinions. Talkers have ideas.

↳ Doers have a body of work that speaks for itself.

4. Embrace Public Accountability

↳ Tell people what you're building. Publicly.

↳ The fear of looking like a Talker will push you to deliver.

5. Actions > Intentions

↳ Track what action you took this week.

↳ That could be one post, a project start, etc.

The career impact of being a Doer is mental:

Your personal brand builds itself (through actual work)

Opportunities find you (people want to work with Doers)

You develop real expertise (not theoretical knowledge)

Look at the crowds in that image again.

Critics: Enormous crowd.

Talkers: Still quite large.

Doers: Tiny group.

That scarcity is your opportunity.

Which group are you genuinely in right now?

Be honest in the comments 👇

♻️ Repost to inspire someone to start doing the thing.

source : Thomas Pearce

4,000 years before Gore-Tex, they invented... Oh my God! Then the world almost forgot

 4,000 years before Gore-Tex, they invented... Oh my God! Then the world almost forgot.

In the brutal cold of the Arctic—where a single mistake with your clothing could mean freezing to death or drowning in icy water—Indigenous communities created something modern science still marvels at: waterproof, breathable fabric.

But they didn't use petroleum products or laboratory chemistry.

They used intestines!

The Inupiat of Alaska, the Yupik of Siberia, the Inuit of Greenland and Canada—Arctic peoples across thousands of miles developed the same ingenious technology independently. They turned the intestines of seals, walruses, whales, and even bears into garments so sophisticated that when Western scientists finally studied them, they found engineering principles that wouldn't be "invented" in factories until the 1970s.

Here's the problem they were solving: Arctic hunters spent hours in kayaks on freezing water. They needed protection from rain, ocean spray, and wind. But they also needed to stay dry from the inside—because in subzero temperatures, sweat is as dangerous as seawater. If your clothes trap moisture against your skin, hypothermia kills you just as surely as falling through ice.

First, hunters would carefully harvested intestines from freshly killed seals or other marine mammals. The intestines had to be cleaned meticulously—any remaining organic matter would rot and destroy the fabric.

Then came the preparation. Seamstresses (this work was almost always done by women, and they were deeply respected for their expertise) would wash the intestines repeatedly in cold water. Then they'd inflate them like long, translucent balloons and hang them to dry in the cold Arctic air.

When fully dried, the intestines became a thin, papery material—translucent, lightweight, and remarkably strong. A single intestine might be 6-10 feet long. Seamstresses would cut them into strips and begin the painstaking work of stitching them together.

This wasn't just sewing. It was waterproof engineering.

The stitching technique was crucial. A regular seam would leak. So Arctic seamstresses developed specialized waterproof seam methods—overlapping the strips precisely, using sinew thread, sometimes coating seams with seal oil or other natural sealants. Each stitch had to be tight enough to prevent leaks but flexible enough to allow movement.

A finished parka might use intestines from dozens of animals, contain thousands of individual stitches, and take months to complete.

The result? Garments that weighed as little as 85 grams—about the weight of a smartphone but could keep a hunter dry through hours of ocean spray and Arctic storms.

These weren't just rain jackets. They were survival tools as essential as harpoons or kayaks. A hunter travelling in a kayak absolutely needed a gut parka. One wave over the bow, one miscalculation in rough seas, and wet clothing in Arctic water meant death within minutes.

source : sowmya misra

We are extensions of nature itself

We are extensions of nature itself.

Look at a lung, then look at a tree.

Both follow the same fractal blueprint branching structures designed to maximize surface area for efficient gas exchange.

A tree creates oxygen; a lung draws it in.

A tree also filters and purifies air, preparing the very breath our lungs depend on.

In essence, a lung and a tree are the same evolutionary idea, expressed in different forms: living networks trading gases to sustain life.

Spiritually, they are twin symbols of the same universal intelligence reminders that every breath links us to the planet.

Nature speaks in patterns. What does this one say to you?