CEO says ATI plant is 'game changing' (US)CEO says ATI plant is 'game changing' (US) R.A. Smith National is providing construction staking services for a new hot rolling mill for Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) Allegheny Ludlum Corporation (Credit Photo @ R.A. Smith National) Allegheny...

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ATI's $1.1B  new hot strip mill to be completed by the end of 2013 (US)ATI's $1.1B new hot strip mill to be completed by... While most steel mills are closing and dismanteling ATI Allegheny Ludlum is rebuilding their Brackenridge Plant with a state of the art Hot Rolling Mill,  (Credit Photo @ Garry Sprague)  May 12, 2012 ...

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DEW to invest 50 M€ to up grade it's Secondary Steelmaking (German)DEW to invest 50 M€ to up grade it's Secondary Steelmaking... Die Deutschen Edelstahlwerke (DEW) in Witten sind " Weltmarktführer " in Sachen Edelstahllangprodukte (Credit Photo @ WAZ FotoPool ) Die vor einem Jahr von den Deutschen Edelstahlwerken (DEW) angekündigte...

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ThyssenKrupp considers selling Brazil, Alabama steel mills (US)ThyssenKrupp considers selling Brazil, Alabama steel... A red hot slab of steel emerges from furnace number one Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 in the hot strip mill at the ThyssenKrupp steel mill in Calvert, Ala. . (Credit Photo @ Press-Register/Bill Starling) ThyssenKrupp...

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UK Deputy Prime Minster's jobs fund doesn't generate enough jobs (UK)UK Deputy Prime Minster's jobs fund doesn't generate... Nick Clegg, right, talking to Graham Honeyman, left, chief executive of Sheffield Forgemasters, another company to benefit from the Regional Growth Fund (Credit Photo @ PA & This is Money) Nick...

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QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Demonstrate Ferrium® S53® Alloy in MH-60S Helicopter Rotor Shaft (US)QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Demonstrate Ferrium®...   Charlie Kuehmann, President and CEO of QuesTek, commented: “We thank the Navy for this Phase II award, and the opportunity to further demonstrate how Ferrium S53 can reduce operating and life cycle...

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CEO says ATI plant is ‘game changing’ (US)

Category : Strategy

R.A. Smith National is providing construction staking services for a new hot rolling mill for Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) Allegheny Ludlum Corporation (Credit Photo @ R.A. Smith National)

Allegheny Technologies Chairman, President and CEO Richard J. Harshman told shareholders Friday the specialty metals producer could add $2 billion in revenue by 2016, with the $1.1 billion investment in its Brackenridge plant generating some of that growth.  “This is really a game changing investment,” Mr. Harshman told the investors gathered at the Omni William Penn, Downtown. The new rolling mill at Brackenridge will replace a 55-year-old one when construction is completed at the end of next year. Once it is commissioned in the first half of 2014, the new mill will enable the company to produce wider stainless, specialty alloy and titanium sheet on the same equipment. Mr. Harshman said it will streamline manufacturing, reduce costs and open up new markets that demand wider sheet. “Without that investment, our flat roll business is in a gradually going-out-of-business mode,” he told reporters following the meeting. The Brackenridge plant employs more than 1,000 union and salaried workers, more than a Continue Reading

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ATI’s $1.1B new hot strip mill to be completed by the end of 2013 (US)

Category : Actualités

While most steel mills are closing and dismanteling ATI Allegheny Ludlum is rebuilding their Brackenridge Plant with a state of the art Hot Rolling Mill,  (Credit Photo @ Garry Sprague)

 May 12, 2012  – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — A $1.1 billion hot strip mill that Allegheny Technologies Inc. is building at its Brackenridge Works should boost employment from the 1,000 workers there now, CEO Richard J. Harshman said on Friday. The mill — to be completed by the end of 2013 — will produce new products and open new markets, and the Downtown-based steel maker’s Western Pennsylvania operations will become more secure over the next 25 to 30 years, Harshman said after the annual shareholders meeting at the Omni William Penn Hotel. “It’s an important investment. Without that investment, our flat-rolled products business gradually is in a going-out-of-business mode,” he said. “It’s the future opportunity for that segment of our company, which is, at this point, the largest segment of the company.” ATI has shifted in the past decade from a traditional stainless steel company to what Harshman calls a “hybrid” that also produces specialty metals such as titanium and nickel-based alloys targeted for the aerospace, oil and gas, electric energy and medical device markets. Revenue grew from $1.9 billion in 2003 to $5.2 billion last year after a dip during the recession. With the new mill, ATI will be able to produce wider steel that is in demand now for products such as tanks and tubes. The mill will use instruments that better control temperatures during processing — and thus turn out a more uniform product at thinner gauges, if needed. “This is a very efficient mill, a lower-cost mill with a quicker manufacturing cycle time,” Harshman said. Considering Continue Reading

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DEW to invest 50 M€ to up grade it’s Secondary Steelmaking (German)

Category : Actualités

Die Deutschen Edelstahlwerke (DEW) in Witten sind ” Weltmarktführer ” in Sachen Edelstahllangprodukte (Credit Photo @ WAZ FotoPool )

Die vor einem Jahr von den Deutschen Edelstahlwerken (DEW) angekündigte Modernisierung der Sekundärmetallurgie läuft auf Hochtouren.  In den Grund wurden Stützen für das Fundament einer Halle eingelassen, in der künftig der Stahl im Elektrolichtbogenofen nachbehandelt wird. 50 Mio Euro will DEW investieren, die größte Investition seit 20 Jahren. Dazu zählt die neue Entstaubungsanlage 1, die im Sommer in Betrieb gehen soll. Es wurden Abluftrohre mit 3,60 Meter Durchmesser montiert. Der erste von zwei Filtern ist zu 70 Prozent installiert. Es folgt der Continue Reading

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ThyssenKrupp considers selling Brazil, Alabama steel mills (US)

Category : Non classé

A red hot slab of steel emerges from furnace number one Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 in the hot strip mill at the ThyssenKrupp steel mill in Calvert, Ala. . (Credit Photo @ Press-Register/Bill Starling)

ThyssenKrupp AG will consider selling its steel mills in Mobile and Brazil in the midst of rising production costs and a slump in demand, company officials announced today. Chief Executive Officer Heinrich Hiesinger said in a statement that the company’s Steel Americas division — which includes a carbon steel plant in Rio de Janeiro and a carbon steel processing facility in north Mobile County — is the company’s “biggest challenge.” “We continue to believe that both plants will hold leading positions in their respective markets in terms of technology and conversion costs,” Hiesinger said. “But since the plans for the project were made, the economic parameters both in Brazil and in the USA have changed from our original assumptions.” The local facility, which employs 1,800 people, processes and finishes slabs that are initially produced and shipped from the Brazilian plant.  The company said it faces rising production costs with higher labor expenses and ore prices and overall inflation. Meanwhile, the company pointed to slow demand in Continue Reading

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UK Deputy Prime Minster’s jobs fund doesn’t generate enough jobs (UK)

Category : Economie

Nick Clegg, right, talking to Graham Honeyman, left, chief executive of Sheffield Forgemasters, another company to benefit from the Regional Growth Fund (Credit Photo @ PA & This is Money)

Nick Clegg’s flagship scheme to boost economic growth ended up spending more than £200,000 on generating one job. The Deputy Prime Minister’s £1.4billion project aims to create or safeguard 328,000 posts. But it will result in only 41,000 full-time positions over the next seven years, a report by the National Audit Office reveals. The average cost of jobs created by the Regional Growth Fund was £33,000. However, this figure has varied between projects from under £4,000 per job to an astonishing £200,000-plus per post. The auditors found that the fund could have generated more employment since being set up two years ago, but a ‘significant’ proportion of the money has been given to projects which offer relatively few jobs for the sum invested. Their report found that 27 of the least Continue Reading

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QuesTek Wins SBIR Phase II Award to Demonstrate Ferrium® S53® Alloy in MH-60S Helicopter Rotor Shaft (US)

Category : Recherche & Développement

 
Charlie Kuehmann, President and CEO of QuesTek, commented: “We thank the Navy for this Phase II award, and the opportunity to further demonstrate how Ferrium S53 can reduce operating and life cycle costs, enhance reliability, and reduce environmental impact. We also thank our project partners for their active participation applying new materials to help improve the performance, capacity and durability of critical products and platforms such as the MH-60S helicopter.”
 
April 24, 2012,  EVANSTON, IL, April 24, 2012 – QuesTek Innovations LLC has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to demonstrate QuesTek-designed Ferrium® S53® as an improved steel for Navy helicopter rotor shafts (i.e. masts), and specifically on the MH-60S helicopter designed and manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Prototype MH-60S helicopter rotor shafts will be fabricated from S53 in a cooperative effort by the Navy, Sikorsky, QuesTek and key industry suppliers. The 2-year contract is valued at $749,832. The overall objective of this project is to reduce life-cycle and maintenance costs of Navy helicopter rotor shafts by increasing fatigue life and reducing corrosion. Alloys currently used for Navy helicopter rotor shafts such as 4340 provide high strength but offer limited resistance to corrosion, which may result in corrosion condemnations during overhaul and repair. S53 provides greater strength and fatigue resistance than 4340, and also significant resistance to general corrosion and stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Applications for S53 beyond helicopter rotor shafts include landing gear, pins, rotary actuators, drive shafts, and other power transmission components in high-performance, corrosion-sensitive applications. Two commercial Continue Reading
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Sandvik opens the world’s largest mill dedicated for steam generator tubing (US)

Category : Actualités

Sandvik CEO Olof Faxander and Sandvik Materials Technology president Jonas Gustavsson officially open the mill (Credit Photo @  Sandvik)

Culmination of a significant investment program in future tube production, Sandvik has officially opened the world’s largest dedicated mill for the advanced manufacturing of stainless steel and high nickel alloy tubes for use in nuclear power plant steam generators at its facility in Sandviken, Sweden. The new mill utilizes the latest state-of-the-art technology, including innovative advances in equipment design from tube manufacture, annealing, final finishing, inspection and despatch. All contained within one dedicated production facility. Officially inaugurating the new mill, President of Sandvik Materials Technology Jonas Gustavsson said, “The energy sector is a key segment for Sandvik and we see a lot of interesting opportunities for nuclear and steam generator tubing.” The investment not only strengthens Sandvik’s position as leading global supplier of seamless nuclear steam generator tubing, it also provides the company with the flexibility and manufacturing capability to satisfy the requirements of the rapidly growing nuclear power industry. Work on the site commenced in 2010 and has involved over 150 people and 330 specialist suppliers up to its completion. At over 340 meters long and covering an area of approximately 12,000 square meters, the new mill is the equivalent size of two soccer pitches. It incorporates a fully automated flowline, in which the layout facilitates greater flexibility with short set-up and lead times. A fully integrated computer control system ensures optimum utilization of the automated production process from start to finish. “Sandvik has for many years been a world-leading manufacturer of steam generator tubes for the nuclear industry,” explained Jonas Gustavsson. “Today, Continue Reading

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Bohler boosting high speed steels wires output in Virginia (US)

Category : Strategy

 
Bohler-Uddeholm  USA Headquaters a  135,000 square foot corporate office, processing and distribution facility located at Elgin Corporate Center in Elgin. (Credit Photo @Elgin development)

ELGIN, IL APRIL 18TH, 2012: Bohler-Uddeholm Corporation, Elgin, IL has just announced the expansion of the high-speed steel edge wire capacity at its South Boston, Virginia manufacturing facility. This investment will more than double the edge wire capacity, and will include the latest technology in edge wire production. The estimated project Continue Reading

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Advanced Manufacturing: Made in America…Again ?

Category : Economie

 Art Kracke, vice president of R&D and business development at ATI Allvac, on photo, 3rd from left  (Credit Photo @ The Atlantic)

What’s the state of manufacturing in America today? ”Dull, dirty, and dangerous” are the words that first come to the minds of students at University of Michigan, says manufacturer Art Kracke, vice president of R&D and business development at ATI Allvac and a man who repeatedly asks the difficult question. But the four panelists of the session titled “Advanced Manufacturing: Made in America…Again?” – of whom he was one – would disagree.  

What’s the state of manufacturing in America today? “Dull, dirty, and dangerous” are the words that first come to the minds of students at University of Michigan, says manufacturer Art Kracke, vice president of R&D and business development at ATI Allvac and a man who repeatedly asks the difficult question

All spoke positively about America’s manufacturing base and optimistically, too, about its future. Strong intellectual property rights, access to capital, access to talent (especially entrepreneurial talent) – all of these constitute notches in the belt of US manufacturing. So-called “Advanced Manufacturing” is not just the future of creating things in the US, Continue Reading

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Dynamet Technology Approved By Boeing As Qualified Supplier (US)

Category : Actualités

Plasma Arc Melting (PAM) Ti-6Al-4V Slab (Credit Photo @ Navy Metal Working Center)

Dynamet Technology, Inc. (Burlington, MA) has received qualification approval from Boeing for the supply of Ti-6Al-4V alloy products for structural components on commercial aircraft.  The Dynamet advanced powder metal (PM) manufacturing technology involves the cold  consolidation of blended elemental titanium and alloy powders and vacuum sintering, with or  without subsequent hot isostatic pressing, to produce powder metal products in basic shapes and  near-net shape product forms. After years of development and qualification effort including establishing design allowables from Dynamet supplied material, a Boeing Material Specification has been released with Dynamet Technology as the only qualified manufacturer for PM Ti-6Al-4V product for Boeing  Commercial Airplanes. This major milestone now permits Boeing Commercial Airplanes and  their component supply chain to begin the process of substituting the PM Ti-6Al-4V alloy  product as an alternative to machining from standard grades of Ti-6Al-4V, for Continue Reading

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Improving Aluminum Alloy (US)

Category : Recherche & Développement

With the majority of the Airbus A380 fuselage and 50% of the Boeing 777 made from aluminum, improving its performance is critical. (Credit Photo @ INS News Agency)

The aerospace industry has used aluminum and its alloys for parts and skins for decades. Today it is the most common material used in the industry; used in the manufacture of advanced commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus 380, and military aircraft such as the Boeing UCAV or the Boeing F/A-18 E/F  This is because aluminum, heat-treated to relatively high strengths, machines and forms easily to complex shapes and low weight. Commonly employed for wrought products with thicknesses of 0.6mm to 250mm are aluminum alloys in the 7000 series. Used extensively for stringers and other structural requirements are extrusions of 7075 and 7050 alloys, as well as some 2024 and 2014 alloys. Clad and non-clad sheets of 2024, 7475, and 7075 find use for wing and fuselage skins, bulkheads, and other structural elements. Commonly used to fabricate large ribs and bulkheads, particularly in military aircraft are large forgings of 7050 and 7040. To minimize the cost of large forgings, many manufacturers are looking into mill heat-treated 7050 and 7040 plate. This eliminates heat treatment after machining, allowing machining of parts to net shape. Unfortunately, there is a significant property variation through the thickness of thick plate. Heat-treating of aluminum requires stringent controls. Development of a series of specifications, by airframe manufacturers, suppliers, and heat-treaters is to achieve repeatable results, and to provide a quality product. The most widely used specification is AMS-2770 “Heat Treatment of Aluminum Parts.”

Aluminum Heat Treating

Classification of aluminum alloys are as either heat-treatable or not heat-treatable, depending on whether the alloy responds to precipitation hardening. Showing greater solubility at elevated temperatures, than when they are at room temperature, are heat-treatable alloy systems – such as 7000-, 6000-, and 2000-series materials. Use of controlled precipitation of the solute at room Continue Reading

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100 years of stainless steel: Developed in Krupp’s research labs in Essen and first patented in 1912 (US)

Category : Histoire de la métallurgie

After four years of development work in Krupp’s laboratories, the physicist Professor Benno Strauss (on Photo)  and his co-worker Dr. Eduard Maurer found the formula for non-rusting steels which are insensitive to water and humidity (Credit Photo @  Wolfgang Stark )

Stainless steel is an indispensable part of our everyday lives – at work, at home or at leisure. The foundations for its global use were laid 100 years ago. On October 18, 1912, a patent was granted for the “production of articles requiring high resistance to corrosion”. This was a quantum leap in material research, and it was followed two months later by a patent for the “production of articles requiring high resistance to corrosion through acids and extreme strength”. After four years of development work in Krupp’s laboratories, the physicist Professor Benno Strauss and his co-worker Dr. Eduard Maurer found the formula for non-rusting steels which are insensitive to water and humidity. The steels in use at that time were either chromium or nickel steels, which were difficult to process and susceptible to corrosion. The addition of specific amounts of chromium and nickel, heat treatment and a reduction in the carbon content resulted in the patented V2A material. This material 1.4301 was the first commercially produced stainless steel and still accounts for more than a third of the stainless steel produced worldwide. These were the origins of the NIROSTA (from the German nichtrostendender Stahl – non-rusting steel) brand, which was registered in 1922. Gradually, the austenitic grades were followed by the development of the other members of the stainless steel family – ferritic, martensitic and duplex grades. The burgeoning chemical industry of the early 20th century especially needed steels with high resistance to acids, but the new material was also used in the food industry and for household white goods. At the industrial exhibition in Malmö, Sweden in 1914, products of stainless steel were presented to the public for the first time. In 1919 a further patent was granted in the medical field for the “production of artificial internal parts for human and animal bodies made of stainless steel”. The new material also became increasingly popular with architects. The Chrysler Building in New York (built 1928-1930) was the first to feature stainless steel roof cladding, which still shines like on its first day. Stainless steel was also used in the facade of the world’s tallest building, the “Burj Kalifa” in Dubai which was opened in 2010. Since the 1950s in particular, flat-rolled stainless steel materials have Continue Reading

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Brossoit, Zanin, and an All Star Speaker Panel for TITANIUM 2012 (US)

Category : Salons & Expositions

Eric Zanin, (left) the senior vice president and head of materials and detail parts procurement for European aerospace giant Airbus, and Benoit Brossoit (right) , United Technologies Corp. (UTC) Vice President of Operations, Hartford, CT, will serve as distinguished speakers at TITANIUM 2012, the 28th annual conference and exhibition, hosted and organized by the International Titanium Association (ITA). TITANIUM 2012, which will be held Oct. 7-10 at the Hilton Atlanta, 255 Courtland Street NE, is designed to suit the needs of titanium industry professionals, suppliers, customers and stakeholders.

DENVER, May 8, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ –  The gathering offers a broad spectrum of information on the latest business, technology and market trends in the global titanium industry. The event is a forum for panel discussions, workshops, presentations by industry and financial experts, as well as a venue for international networking opportunities. Sponsored by RTI International Metals, Inc., Pittsburgh, Zanin will provide an overview of the global aviation market and Airbus’ recent development and near-term growth plans. He also will discuss how Airbus’ procurement strategy is designed to maximize business opportunities.  The titanium industry is anxiously awaiting the commercial launch of the Airbus A350 and A380 jetliners, which are slated to be introduced in the 2013-14 timeframe. According to estimates made last year at TITANIUM 2011, the titanium content per airframe for the Airbus A350 and A380 will be 70 and 80 metric tons, respectively. As a result, Airbus’ titanium demand is expected to reach 20,000 metric tons by 2015, up from 11,000 metric tons in 2011 and an estimated 13,000 metric tons this Continue Reading

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Airbus Inks 10-Year Titanium Extrusion Deal With Plymouth Engineered Shapes (US)

Category : Market

 
(Credit Photo @ Plymouth Engineered Shapes)
 
Semi-Finished Titanium Airframe Extrusion producer Plymouth Engineered Shapes announces that it has been awarded a new contract from Airbus. The scope of the ten-year agreement includes titanium extrusions which will be utilized throughout the programs for the A350 XWB, including A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1000.  In support of the Airbus contract and to ensure its continued success as a Semi-Finished Titanium Airframe Extrusion producer, in November 2011 Plymouth Engineered Shapes announced an expansion plan. A $12.1 million capability and capacity investment is planned for its aerospace-focused titanium shapes operation at Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Plymouth’s president & CEO, Donald C. Van Pelt Jr., stated that “the Hopkinsville plant has been successful since its early days, due to the quality and drive of the people here and their ability to make challenging super critical components for aerospace and industrial customers.”  “We have a long cooperation with Airbus and are excited to be awarded this contract as the aerospace market surges forward amidst this period of increasing worldwide air passenger traffic,” said Continue Reading
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Gerdau investing $21.6M in Monroe steel plant ‎

Category : Actualités

(Credit Photo @ Citizen Patriot)

MONROE — A large steel supplier has announced plans to put $21.6 million into its Monroe plant, bringing the total investment there to nearly $150 million over the past two years. Gerdau Special Steel North America said the latest investment will increase the plant’s straightening and quality-inspection capabilities. The company, a subsidiary of Brazilian steel manufacturer Gerdau, is based near Jackson, Mich. In recent years, it has been investing heavily in its North American operations, including Monroe. “We are expanding our capabilities to meet the growing demands of our customers so we can continue to be their supplier of choice,” Jack Finlayson, president of Continue Reading

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Aubert & Duval les Ancizes met le cap sur l’emploi

Category : Entreprises

(Credit Photo @ News Auvergne)

Enfin une bonne nouvelle sur le front de l’emploi ! Aubert & Duval a décidé de lancer l’opération Cap vers l’Emploi 2012. Le site industriel des Ancizes organise cette initiative originale de recrutement en direction des demandeurs d’emploi en partenariat avec Pôle emploi, la Région Auvergne, le GRETA et l’AFPI. Le site auvergnat, à la recherche d’une centaine de personnes en 2012, s’investit avec Pôle Emploi pour permettre à 50 demandeurs d’emplois éloignés de l’univers industriel d’accéder aux métiers de la métallurgie. A l’issue d’une formation rémunérée de deux mois, les personnes retenues se verront proposer des opportunités au sein des services de production de l’entreprise.

200 personnes embauchées en 2011

“Porté par la croissance de ses marchés de l’aéronautique et de l’énergie, Aubert & Duval connaît une croissance continue depuis plusieurs années, commente la direction. Pour accompagner cette forte dynamique, l’entreprise s’est engagée dans une politique volontariste d’investissements dans des moyens de production ultramodernes (UKAD, Four IV 30, Usinage…) et a lancé une campagne de recrutement conséquente”.  Selon Aubert & Duval, 200 personnes ont pu être Continue Reading

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Infighting threatens University of Missouri’s nuclear program (US)

Category : Recherche & Développement

Sudarshan Loyalka, curators’ professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri, explains one of the experiments being conducted by students studying emissivity of various alloys. (Credit Photo @ Columbia Daily Tribune)

Inside high-tech engineering labs at Lafferre Hall, University of Missouri students are preparing for the future of nuclear energy production. They’re simulating accidents, such as last year’s nuclear reactor disaster in Japan, and trying to figure out just how far radioactive particles can travel. Some are testing graphite materials expected to be used in fourth-generation reactors. One student is trying to come up with a formula future engineers might use to predict and prevent problems from happening in the first place. This is the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute, a graduate-level program at MU that has been ranked first in the country for productivity and has a worldwide reputation. It’s also the institute MU administrators want to dismantle in exchange for a more interdisciplinary nuclear science program. And it’s an example of how politics and personalities sometimes trump achievement in the world of academia. Administrators this year announced they were closing NSEI, a decision that caught the professors, students and alumni by surprise. Some close to the situation think the decision reeks of retaliation: For more than a decade, one of NSEI’s senior professors has been tangled in fights with administrators, namely College of Engineering Dean James Thompson. “The action was enormously irresponsible, and it was a personal vendetta,” said Eddie Adelstein, an associate professor of pathology and longtime observer of MU’s administrative culture. Professionals in a tightknit community of nuclear engineers say the whole state might suffer as a result.

A question of commitment

MU administrators announced March 12 that NSEI would cease to exist as of March 15. Although faculty members were caught off guard, administrators argue that talks about the future of the program have been going on for years. Students, parents, alumni and professionals complained, though, and the pushback was enough to make administrators tweak their plans. NSEI will stick around until the last student graduates, including those starting next year. After that, it’s unclear what will happen. Negotiations between Provost Brian Foster and the four core professors are under way. A month after the initial announcement, Ameren Missouri and Westinghouse Electric Continue Reading

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Vanadium: A Strengthening Alloy Charged With Potential (US)

Category : Economie

(Credit Photo @ Seeking Alpha)

Vanadium is a grey transition metal that is currently used as a strengthener in steel alloys. Surging growth in the global steel industries will keep conventional demand for vanadium strong, but new upcoming applications for the metal, such as vanadium-redux batteries and lithium-ion batteries, is where the real potential for growth lies. Demand for vanadium is expected to more than double from current levels by the year 2025, according to TTP Squared Inc. We try to cover the context of a commodity, in this case vanadium, and we encourage investors to do their own due diligence Continue Reading

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Perryman acquires titanium Medical Forgings Supplier (US)

Category : merger & acquisition

 
Frank Perryman, president and CEO, and his brother, COO Jim Perryman Jr. (Credit Photo @ Robin Rombach/Post-Gazette)
 
WILMINGTON, Mass., May 04, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Accellent Inc. (“Accellent” or the “Company”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accellent Holdings Corp., has entered into an agreement to sell its facility located just outside of Pittsburgh in Houston, Pennsylvania (the “Facility”) to The Perryman Company (“Perryman”), also headquartered in Houston, Pennsylvania. Substantially all of the Facility’s employees will become employees of Perryman effective upon completion of the sale, which is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2012. Donald Spence, President and CEO of Accellent, stated “This sale allows Accellent to better focus on its core medical device markets Continue Reading
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PCC Expands Aerostructures Capabilities With Acquisition of Centra Industries (US)

Category : merger & acquisition

 

Precision Castparts worker inspects an aircraft engine part. The company is benefiting from an upswing in the aerospace business, which accounts for more than half its sales.(Credit Photo @ JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES )

CAMBRIDGE — Centra Industries, one of this area’s most successful and rapidly growing aerospace companies, has been sold to Precision Castparts Corp. of Portland, Ore. While Centra may have a new owner, it will be business as usual at the Cambridge-based company which has two plants on Cherry Blossom Road. “Our entire leadership team stays in place, including myself,” Centra president David McIntyre said Monday. Centra is keeping its name and will act as an “autonomous operation” of Precision Castparts, he added. The price of the transaction, which was announced Monday and is expected to close before the end of June, was not disclosed. McIntyre, Centra’s majority shareholder, said the sale was made because the company needed to expand to remain competitive and compete for larger projects in the aerospace industry. “Centra still is a fairly small fish in the sea,” he said. “We were seeing opportunities that were just too big for a company our size.” Aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Bombardier, Airbus and Lockheed-Martin, all customers of Centra, are looking to partner with larger and more integrated Continue Reading

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Universal Stainless Reports Strong First Quarter 2012 Results (US)

Category : Entreprises

  • Sales Increase 25% to Record $74.6 Million.
  • Quarter-end Backlog Remains Strong at $101.3 Million

 BRIDGEVILLE, Pa., April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. (Nasdaq:USAP) reported today that sales for the first quarter of 2012 were a record $74.6 million, an increase of 25% from the first quarter of 2011 and 20% above the 2011 fourth quarter. Operating income for the 2012 first quarter was $9.7 million, which was 39% higher than the first quarter of 2011 and up 38% from the fourth quarter of 2011. As a percentage of sales, operating income for the 2012 first quarter was 13.0% compared with 11.7% in the first quarter a year ago and 11.3% in the 2011 fourth quarter. Net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $6.3 million, or $0.86 per diluted share. This included a benefit of $0.07 per diluted share due to state income tax adjustments. It also included an after-tax loss of $0.2 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, attributable to the ramp-up of the Company’s North Jackson facility.  In the first quarter of 2011, net income was $4.4 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, including $0.04 per diluted share of acquisition expense for North Jackson.  Net income was $4.3 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2011, including $0.13 per diluted share of North Jackson start-up expense. For the first quarter of 2012, the Company recorded negative cash flow from operations of $3.8 million due to its investment in working capital to support increased sales activity and the ramp-up of its North Jackson operation. Capital expenditures were $9.7 million, including $7.4 million for the North Jackson operation. At March 31, 2012, the Company had total debt of $103.9 million, or 35.7% of total capitalization. Shipment volume for the first quarter of Continue Reading

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Aubert et Duval à Pamiers face à la croissance aéronautique

Category : Entreprises

L’outil de l’essor, la nouvelle usine et la presse de 40 000 tonnes à Pamiers. (Credit Photo @ La Depêche ).

Environ 250 personnes seront embauchées dans les prochaines années sur le site Aubert et Duval de Pamiers pour faire face à forte croissance du marché aéronautique. On se souvient des années tristes. On licenciait à l’Usine ! L’aéronautique était en panne, on prédisait un avenir empêtré dans le brouillard et les commandes en berne. C’était il y a six ans. Un passé qui appartient presque au siècle dernier ! L’aéronautique contre toutes les prédictions des tristes extralucides a redécollé, portée finalement par le renouvellement des flottes. Et cet envol a entraîné avec lui Aubert et Duval. 250 emplois créés en 18 mois ! On s’attend à autant de création dans les années à venir. Une usine qui va bientôt fêter ses 200 ans à Pamiers, et qui compte aujourd’hui 1 040 salariés (intérimaires compris). « Les perspectives de développement sont du même ordre que celles que nous venons de connaître ! Une croissance de près de 30 % par an. Et nous l’espérons un doublement du chiffre d ‘affaire de l’usine » Joseph Bertin, le « patron » local d’Aubert et Duval a rappelé cet état de choses aux salariés réunis pour la traditionnelle remise des médailles du travail. Certes, le responsable local de la CGT Gilles Pont en a profité pour rappeler que les bonnes nouvelles devaient aussi se concrétiser dans les faits au plan salarial et qu’autour de la table des négociations, la vie de l’entreprise n’était pas un long fleuve tranquille Quoi qu’il en soit, le ciel s’est dégagé dans l’aéronautique et Aubert et Duval a profité de l’aubaine. « Nous avons le devoir de profiter pleinement de ce marché en forte croissance, il faut monter en production et être capable de financer cette croissance ! Mais attention, il faut se préparer à l’avenir, car la conjoncture ne sera pas toujours aussi favorable » Certes, si Aubert et Duval est un fournisseur de poids d’Airbus et de Boeing, l’entreprise n’oublie pas que du côté chinois et russe, on monte aussi en puissance et que naîtront là-bas les concurrents de demain. « La compétition monte, rappelons nous que de grandes presses vont démarrer au Japon, aux États-Unis ! Il faut pérenniser notre entreprise ! »

« Nous allons investir 20 à 25 millions d’euros chaque année sur le site de Pamiers. Il faut monter en production, nous sommes sur un marché en forte croissance »

Joseph Bertin, Plant Manager du site : Aubert et Duval Pamiers

Un centre de recherches à Pamiers

Cette pérennité elle passe par la recherche et une des bonnes nouvelles de cette année, c’est le projet de développement sur le site de l’usine à Pamiers d’un centre de recherches autour des nouveaux matériaux qui entrent peu à peu dans la construction aéronautique et dans l’industrie de l’énergie, (elle représente près de 30 % de l’activité Continue Reading

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Steel recycling facility workers in counselling after man’s death (US)

Category : Sécurité

 
Jamie Wilson, international director of operations for Steel Pacific Recycling: “It’s very challenging. It’s not easy to deal with something like this.” (Credit Photo @ Adrian Lam, timescolonist.com).
 
Operations at the plant have been suspended since Saturday afternoon when a 35-year-old man died in an accident while operating a system of conveyor belts used to separate leftover material from recycled vehicles. The man, originally from Nanaimo, has been with the company for three years. His name has not been released because police had still not notified his family members out of province by Sunday night. About six employees were working when the man died on Saturday afternoon but all 25 employees of the Victoria facility will be given the option of grief counselling, said Caroll Taiji, a spokeswoman for the company. “It’s a small unit, it’s a close-knit company — the kind of culture where this has a very big impact on people,” she said. “The very big focus is getting everyone together, looking everyone in the eye and making sure they’re OK.” WorkSafe B.C. and the B.C. Coroner Service are investigating the incident. There have been few details about how the man died or if any workers were nearby and witnessed the death. “Everyone looks out for each other, so this is going to be very hard for people because they have a sense of mutual responsibility for each other’s safety,” Taiji said. The company’s four worksites on Vancouver Island — in Campbell River, Duncan, Cassidy and Victoria — will review their safety procedures in the hope of preventing any Continue Reading
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Super student – Caroline Goddard (US)

Category : Metallurgistes

Rolls-Royce has a strategic partnership with three main universities – Swansea, Birmingham and Cambridge, each focusing on a different area of research. Cambridge mainly looks at the superalloys. These materials are used in the high temperature regions (high pressure compressor and the high pressure turbine) of a jet engine (and gas turbine) as they maintain their strength at high temperature, higher than that which other materials in the engine can tolerate. Caroline being presented her award by IOM3’s President Jan Lewis.  (Credit Photo @  IOM3)

Caroline Goddard, 23, won the prestigious Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) 2011 A T Green Award for the best ceramics student. Her final year project for her Masters in Engineering (MEng) at the University of Manchester, was based around the comparison of thermally sprayed coatings and those made via the sol-gel process for solid oxide fuel cells materials. Following this, she is undertaking a PhD at Cambridge University, in collaboration with Rolls-Royce.

Where did you study and what qualifications do you have?


I did an undergraduate Master’s in Engineering (MEng) at the University of Manchester in material science and engineering with industrial experience for Volvo Aero and HotDisk, based at the University West in Trollhattan, Sweden.

Did you always want to enter engineering?

Not consciously. My father studied engineering as did my grandfather so it isn’t surprising that I ended up in a similar field. From a young age I liked science and design and technology but I didn’t start being interested in materials until my A levels. I have always liked how in engineering your work can help to further the development of technology and make a difference to the world.

What is your current role and what does it entail?

I am studying for an industrially funded PhD in metallurgy at the University of Cambridge focusing on the jet engine. I have just started a PhD at Cambridge University working on the development of nickel-based superalloys in partnership with Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce has a strategic partnership with three main universities – Swansea, Birmingham and Cambridge, each focusing on a different area of research. Cambridge mainly looks at the superalloys. These materials are used in the high temperature regions (high pressure compressor and the high pressure turbine) of a jet engine (and gas turbine) as they maintain their strength at high temperature, higher than that which other materials in the engine can tolerate. Even so nickel-based superalloys can only survive when thermal barrier coatings and cooling systems are used. By alloying with a variety of elements, the superalloys can be refined for particular components, in particular sections of the engine and their temperature capability can be maximised. The discs in the Continue Reading

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Special & Tool Steels Maker DEW at full Capacity (German)

Category : Market

 

 ” We are currently at full capacity,”  Peter Kühn, head of the Forging and Rolling  Plant   at DEW, Witten . (Credit Photo @  Walter Fischer / WAZ Photo Pool)

Focus :

  • DEW produces 170.000 T/year  of  tool  & Stainless Steels
  • 1,900 employess at Witten and 4000 overall.
  • 100 T of molten steels used per hour.
  •  ” We are currently at full capacity,”  Peter Kühn, head of the Forging and Rolling  Plant   at DEW, Witten .
  • 26,000 t of steel rolled every month at Witten.
  • The workers can produce forgings with 1.10 meters in diameter or wires to only 0.8 mm of diametrs.
  •  Scrapes are recycled and remelted.
  • Tool steels, engineering steels, stainless and acid-and heat-resistant steels are specialty products  exported from witten to world market
  • Mandrel bars for example. That’s up to 26 meters long steel rods with different diameters is an exemple of Witten Plant Special Products.
  • Demand for Mandrels  in emergents markets : China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia increases to a level that never seen before,  said DEW spokeswoman Melanie Biskup.
  • DEW Witten produtcts also special steels  like surgical Instruments, Plates for Wind Power Industry, tool Steels for PET Bottles ,  Molds for Automotive Market and  products for aerospace Market.
  • Chromium and nickel in the ambient air measurements are according to the State Environmental Office declined around the plant, even under the more stringent limits from January 2013.
  • Since late 2010, the work of Witten about 2700 tons of CO 2 saved – there was even an award from the Foundation for the Environment and Labour.

 AA

 (German)

Witten.Sie sind der größte Arbeitgeber der Stadt mit rund 1900 Mitarbeitern vor Ort und 4000 insgesamt. Im Bereich Werkzeugstahl und Edelstahl-Langprodukte sind sie Weltmarktführer. 177 000 Tonnen Werkzeugstahl produzieren die Deutschen Edelstahlwerke (DEW) an der Gasstraße pro Jahr. Es ist warm. Es ist laut. Es riecht verschmort. Was da so verschmort riecht und zu Hause einen mittleren Alarm auslösen würde, das ist der Zunder. Der haftet auf den rotglühenden Stahlblöcken und wird mit Wasserdruck beseitigt. Wir stehen im Walzwerk der DEW an der Block-/Grobstraße und sehen zu, wie die schweren Walzen die Rohblöcke in dünne Stränge pressen. Denn Stahl ist weich. Stahl ist biegsam, schmiegsam. Er muss nur zuvor auf rund 1300 Grad erhitzt werden. Das passiert im Drehherd-Ofen, der 100 Tonnen glühenden Stahl pro Stunde ausspuckt und dafür über 4000 Kubikmeter Gas pro Stunde verbraucht – das ist so viel, wie ganz Witten insgesamt verfeuert. „Wir sind zurzeit gut ausgelastet“, freut sich Diplom-Ingenieur Peter Kühn (51), Leiter der Block-/Grobstraße und der Schmiede Witten. 26 000 Tonnen Stahl werden hier pro Monat gewalzt. Die Arbeiter können Schmiedestücke mit 1,10 Meter Durchmesser herstellen oder Draht ziehen, der nur noch 0,8 Millimeter Durchmesser hat. Auch diese Bandbreite macht ihnen weltweit sonst keiner nach. Mit einer speziellen Schneidemaschine werden die langen Stahlblöcke auf Maß geschnitten – genau so, wie der Kunde es wünscht. Durch den heißen Stahl fährt das Schneidemesser wie durch Butter. Abfallende Reste werden recycelt und wieder eingeschmolzen. Denn die Wittener gießen den Stahl selbst, den sie weiter verarbeiten, in der weltweit einzigen vertikalen Stranggies-Anlage.

In Übersee gefragter als je zuvor

Sind die Stränge auf rund 700 Grad abgekühlt, werden sie in Haubentransportern zur Weiterverarbeitung nach Krefeld gefahren. Das sind Spezialtransporter mit einer Abdeckung, die an Eierwärmer erinnert und auch genau so funktioniert. „Je wärmer der Stahl am Standort Krefeld ankommt, desto besser“, sagt DEW-Sprecherin Melanie Biskup Continue Reading

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Schmidt + Clemens : A strong start to the new year (US)

Category : Entreprises

Dipl. Ing. Jan J. Schmidt-Krayer and Dr. Henning Kreisel – production/ totals (Credit Photo @ Schmidt + Clemens)

The Lindlar-based Schmidt + Clemens Group (S+C) today presented its results for the past financial year. The 2011 financial year was not an easy one for the Group, but succeeded in closing with a satisfactory result. In a very mixed market environment, sales turnover grew by 24% to €289 million (previous year: €233 million). Profits, however, fell short of expectations. With a figure of €124.4 million, the balance sheet total remained largely unchanged (previous year: €124.8 million).  “A major contributor to the success of the business was once again the Spun Casting Division, which especially in the petrochemicals business is excellently placed,” reports Jan Schmidt-Krayer, Managing Partner of S+C. “Märker GmbH, which already ended the previous year on a successful note, was also able to reaffirm its upward trend in 2011.”  “Following two weaker years, the revenues saw a recovery,” states Dr. Henning Kreisel, Managing Director of the Group. “While we managed to increase sales of the Group by 24 percent, the margins failed to match our expectations. With the start of the current year, however, this situation has also changed. Especially in Spun Castings, business in the first quarter was running at full power, and the results, too, are on a reasonable level“. Jan Schmidt-Krayer is also looking with optimism into the future: “Our capacity utilisation is currently very good, and the current level of inquiries is highly promising.” The very mixed and, in some cases, unpredictable economic developments of the year 2011 endorse the strategy adopted by the Schmidt + Clemens Group. “Rather than working as classical producers and processors of stainless steel, all our companies are growing into problem solvers with a Continue Reading

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China steel mills too big to fail – or succeed (US)

Category : Economie

 

More than 5,000 workers at the Hanzhong Steel Company in the northern province of Shaanxi went out on strike on 14 February demanding higher pay. Workers complained that they had to work weekends and holidays and yet their average monthly wage was still just between 1,000 yuan and 1,500 yuan, barely enough to live on. (Credit Photo @  China Labor Bulletin)

Focus :

  • The big state-owned steel mills are motivated not so much to seek profits but to seek government support,” “There is actually no mechanism to put them out of business, no sense of the survival of the fittest, and that is probably the biggest problem facing the sector.” Jiang Feitao, a steel policy researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
  • Chinese steel mills have expanded ferociously since the country began introducing market reforms in 1978.
  • annual crude steel output rose 9 percent last year to a record 683 million tons
  • The country now produces 45 percent of the world’s steel and has 6 of the world’s 10 biggest producers.
  • While many analysts acknowledge that growth could slow, they also say that demand is nowhere near its peak
  • Chinese steel mills with a surfeit of high-end capacity and the equivalent of $400 billion in debt, leading to a drain on profits.
  • Chinese steel sector lost money in the first quarter of 2012
  • demand to slow to 4 percent this year
  • The top Chinese steel maker, Baoshan Iron and Steel, also known as Baosteel, saw a 43 percent slump in 2011 net income, while Anshan Steel posted a loss of 2.15 billion renminbi, or $341.2 million.
  • Last year, a standard deposit in a Chinese bank would have earned 3.5 percent in interest. Average returns on equity from the steel sector were 3.51 percent, but were as low as negative 7.98 percent at Anshan Steel.
  • The biggest Chinese producers have borrowed heavily to pay for new equipment, while small, private mills have commandeered smelters across the country to fill the low-end niche.
  • Beijing has criticized the private sector as “blindly expanding
  • The focus on consolidation has created a vicious circle, analysts say, with smaller private mills expanding as rapidly as possible to avoid becoming merger targets.
  • China has urged its largest mills to buy overseas mining projects to help bring down costs of raw materials, but the mills have proved reluctant to do so because of high prices
  • Some are seeking to build steel plants in other emerging markets.
  • National steel association routinely points to an increase in international protectionism. Brazil, Europe and the United States, for example, have all added anti-dumping taxes on Chinese products.
  • The domestic market is expected to remain the primary focus of the industry.
  • “China is still in the middle of a construction period, and demand for steel will at least remain strong,” said Henry Yu, the founder and chairman of General Steel.
  • Despite recent losses in the steel industry, bankruptcies are not expected to be widespread,
  • Specialists say that problems in the industry will not be solved until Beijing ends its desire to create state-owned Goliaths rather than address underlying political problems.
  •  Chinese steel giants, which have benefited from cheap loans and easy access to lucrative contracts, have served the needs of local governments, hiring hundreds of thousands of workers.
  • The steel sector could develop very steadily as long as there is no great policy interference,” Mr. Jiang  from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

AA

ANCHENG, CHINA — In a ramshackle township in Shaanxi Province, Communist Party banners urge workers at a nearby steel mill to seek “progress” and avoid making “backward steps.”  The slogans on the red banners highlight difficult times for the Chinese steel sector, which has seen margins plummet and has racked up a mountain of debt as it tries to serve the twin masters of the state and the market. Beijing has tried to address problems in the steel sector — which accounts for 3 percent to 4 percent of gross domestic product — by forcing state-owned mills to consolidate or to migrate toward more complex, higher-value goods. If there is one solution the country has not pushed, it is allowing the worst performers in the steel sector to go out of business. Nor does that seem likely in the steel industry, which Mao Zedong identified nearly half a century ago as a symbol of Chinese economic and political prowess. “The big state-owned steel mills are motivated not so much to seek profits but to seek government support,” said Jiang Feitao, a steel policy researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “There is actually no mechanism to put them out of business, no sense of the survival of the fittest, and that is probably the biggest problem facing the sector.” Chinese steel mills have expanded ferociously since the country began introducing market reforms in 1978, and annual crude steel output rose 9 percent last year to a record 683 million tons. The country now produces 45 percent of the world’s steel and has 6 of the world’s 10 biggest producers. While many analysts acknowledge that growth could Continue Reading

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A History of China’s Steel Industry (US)

Category : Histoire de la métallurgie

Steel has been central to the self-image of the People’s Republic of China since the famous mills of Anshan and Benxi in China’s northeast rustbelt were liberated from Japanese occupiers in 1945.

Following is a potted history of the sector since 1949.

THE SOVIET MODEL, 1949-57

  • 1949 steel output: 158,000 tonnes
  • 1957 steel output: 5.35 million tonnes

In 1949, China had only 19 steel mills and seven working blast furnaces. Total output in war-ravaged China stood at just 158,000 tonnes, six times smaller than 1943, when Japanese-built mills in Anshan and Benxi worked at full tilt. If China’s new rulers were to succeed in developing the sector, they would have to do so from within the ruins of the northeast. What followed was a rapid period of expansion based on the Soviet model, with major expansion projects launched. Total production increased to 1.349 million tonnes by 1952, breaking the 1943 record set during Japanese occupation. In the first Five-Year Plan period of 1953-7, a total of 3.45 billion yuan ($546.40 million) was spent on steel industry infrastructure, 13.9 percent of the national total, bringing total output to 5.35 million tonnes.

THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD

  • 1958 steel output: 5.9 million tonnes
  • 1965 steel output: 12.2 million tonnes

“It is not good for us to name ourselves as the most superior in the world,” said Chairman Mao in 1958, “but it is not bad to become the number one steel producer.” Thus began Mao’s obsession with overtaking the west. Mao predicted China would produce 150 million tonnes of steel a year by 1967, higher than the United States. In the Great Leap Forward campaign that followed, industry was encouraged in every corner, field and backyard of China. Urged to do everything to meet state targets, farmers melted down tools, pots, doorknobs and cutlery to produce steel in Continue Reading

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POSCO Adopts Concierge Marketing Strategy (US)

Category : Market

The concept of Concierge Marketing originates from the service industry and emphasizes the importance of taking care of your customer like a private secretary. It can be a useful approach in strengthening client relationships in India and encouraging customer lock-in.  “You have got to stand out in an extremely competitive market; that`s the only way you can survive,“ said Mr. Gil Ho Bang, the M.D. of POSCO-IDPC.  (Credit Photo @ Posco Steel India )

The power of important decision-making rests with the top management in any organization. Providing top management with additional, custom-made services certainly tilts the odds in one`s favor.  POSCO-IDPC recently introduced the following practices as part of Concierge Marketing: the celebration of milestones achieved with the customer; providing P-info — information on price trends (iron ore, coal etc.); providing POSCO news and any other important news that might interest the customer; making presentations to customers in their area of interest; and Continue Reading

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Concierge Marketing : How to turn information into a marketing tool (US)

Category : Market

Some concierges are so good they end up being a point of difference for the hotel versus its competition. It’s this experience and a company’s willingness to share it that is the cornerstone of concierge marketing.

Buyers these days are buried in choices. A typical Google search generates millions of options. A harried grocery shopper looking for canned peaches, confronts dozens of choices. What’s a buyer to do? More to the point, what’s a marketer to do?  With overstressed buyers facing a sea of information, marketers are now starting to realize that providing more information isn’t the answer. Instead, more and more business owners are positioning their companies as concierge marketers.

Take a tip from the concierge

Most of us are familiar with hotel concierges; the helpful souls who are stationed just inside a hotel’s front door. They are there to answer guests’ questions about restaurants, shows or other local happenings. Their years of accumulated experience help guests cut through mounds of information and save valuable time and money.  A concierge can recommend the best restaurants because he’s been asked that question a hundred times before. So the hotel, as an added-value feature, offers the concierge’s services to its guests. Some concierges are so good they end up being a point of difference for the hotel versus its competition. It’s this experience and a company’s willingness to share it that is the cornerstone of concierge marketing.

What is a concierge marketer?

At the heart of it, a concierge marketer tries to simplify a buyer’s life. The concierge marketer offers a buyer helpful tips, tools and knowledge so the buyer can navigate through the mounds of available information and get straight to the point of making a knowledgeable decision. The best concierge marketer puts enough valuable tools in place so that the company positions itself as a wise and worldly counselor.

Some common tools

The first set of tools to consider as a concierge marketer are passive tools. These usually take the form of printed or online informational products. Using any of these, buyers can quickly get answers to their most nagging questions. These passive tools include:

  • Tip sheets
  • Booklets/pamphlets
  • Free downloads
  • Special Reports or White papers
  • Checklists
  • Buying guides
  • Frequently Asked Question (FAQ’s) sections

One company’s website, the Original Mattress Factory www.originalmattress.com , offers several helpful tools including a guide to sleeping mattress dimensions and a tips section that help a buyer choose the right sized mattress. At my website, www.emergemarketing.com, I offer a “Marketing Lingo” section with over 200 common marketing terms and their definitions.

Interactive tools

But good concierge marketers don’t just offer these passive tools and call it a day. Instead, they give more. They offer Continue Reading

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