Summer, graduation times and new colleagues

It’s time for school graduations and student celebrations again! A time of joy for many young people, with a long, long-awaited summer vacation in sight. This also applies to our own “Mekanex students”, Rehema Bedon Mwakaje and Justina Fredrick Mpulila, who we have previously told you about in the newsletter.

Rehema has studied civil engineering, and Justina electrical engineering. Both are now graduating from Mbeya University of Science and Technology in western Tanzania, near the border of Zambia and Malawi. We began our collaboration with the aid organization Help to Help in the fall of 2022. Through donations, the organization gives young people in Tanzania and Uganda the opportunity to continue their studies after high school.

Rehema and Justina’s graduation not only means new opportunities for them personally, but also for their families. Rehema comes from a farming family with four siblings, and Justina from a family with six siblings. Previous experience shows that Help to Help scholarship recipients support an average of 3.5 family members – and more than half also help relatives finance higher education.

Primary and secondary education is now free in Tanzania, which provides good conditions for more people to get an education. But post-secondary education still costs a lot – and this is where Help to Help and we as donors play an important role.

Would you or your company like to contribute? Please contact me or Help to Help directly.

Tanzania is going to elections this fall – an election that will be exciting to follow. Since 2021, the country has been led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first female president in Tanzanian history. She took office after her predecessor passed away from complications from COVID.

Whether she will be re-elected remains to be seen, but during her time in power, the country has taken steps towards increased democracy and legal certainty.

We at Mekanex have decided to extend our collaboration with Help to Help and will now support two more aspiring engineers over the next three years. We will come back to who they will be later.

A lot is happening in our world right now. For us who run businesses, economic development is crucial – and much is controlled by how the world’s largest economy, the United States, develops.

The debate over trade tariffs in recent months is now starting to have real consequences. There is great uncertainty when tariffs are raised and lowered from one week to the next. This means that many companies are waiting to make investments – which in turn slows down the economy.

A sad example is Hallberg-Rassy in Sweden. The company manufactures exclusive sailboats with long delivery times, and their largest market is the USA. When customers there don’t know whether they will be faced with a 10, 30 or 50% tariff – well, then the orders will not come in. The company has now given notice and laid off almost a third of its staff. Skills that are lost are often difficult to get back, even if demand increases again.

This is far from an isolated case. Similar scenarios are currently unfolding in many places, and the question is how much it will affect the global economy in the autumn. We will know more soon.

Despite the unrest in the world, our Swedish operations are still doing well, and we have stable profitability. During the spring, we have therefore recruited two new employees – a woman and a man – who will both start at our Swedish office this summer. We will introduce them in more detail in future newsletters.

In this issue of the newsletter, you will receive tips on what to consider when choosing linear guidance – and how HepcoMotion’s product selector tool can make the process easier.

We also present a new product from the Italian company Transtecno: compact, high-quality right-angle gearboxes, especially adapted for space-sensitive applications and with a very attractive price.

We have also spoken to three students from Mälardalen University in Sweden, who have developed a new clamping solution – using our components. Don’t miss their animation that shows how it works!

Finally, I would like to thank our customers and suppliers for an interesting and rewarding start to 2025. We wish you all a really happy and relaxing summer!

Please note that the Estonian office, the Swedish head office and the warehouse are closed during week 29 (July 14–20), the other summer weeks we are open as usual.

Enjoy reading!