February 2006

Book early to enjoy summer school fun in France

Young European designers, engineers and materials scientists who have graduated on the past 10 years, or who are studying for a higher degree, have until the end of next month to take up opportunities to find out what powder metallurgy is about, or enter the fruits of their research in a contest to find the best theses of the year.

The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) is once again offering its Summer School and some short courses designed to offer participants from all parts of the EU an advanced teaching of PM's advantages and limitations by some of the leading academic and industrial personnel in Europe.

The event, which this year is being staged at the Mecure Grand Hotel in Grenoble in France, is also a rare opportunity to stimulate direct technical discussions by young scientists and engineers who are interested in broadening their knowledge through interaction with experts.

Running from 24 June to 2 July, the programme will be divided into two main parts. First, the Summer School, which runs from 24 June to 30 June will use a mixture of formal presentations, lectures and group workshops to give a good understanding of the subject. This will be followed by the two-day short courses, which this year offer a choice of either Hardmetals or Modelling. They are designed to focus on the industrial application of the technology.

articipants will each be given a bound volume of lecture notes and other free educational material. The school includes some laboratory work at the local university and a couple of site visits.

The cost, to include accommodation, meals refreshments and relevant documents, will be e195. The fee will include one year's junior membership of the EPMA which allows the participants to obtain discounted rates at the Euro PM conference and exhibition - at Ghent in Belgium in October. Grants towards reasonable travel costs will also be available. The courses will be presented in English.

Details are available at www.epma.com/pmtrainingcourse but the event is likely to be oversubscribed by the closing date for booking of 31 March.
Another important date not to be missed is 12 May - the entry submission date of the Powder Metallurgy Thesis Competition 2006, sponsored by Höganäs. The competition offers prizes at both Masters/Diploma level and Doctorate/PhD level. Prizes on offer are e750 for the winner of the Masters category and e1000 for the winner of the Doctoral category.

Diamond anniversary marks CM’s 60 years

New Jersey-based CM Furnaces is celebrating its diamond anniversary marking 60 years of making high-temperature laboratory and production furnaces. The company shipped its 4000th furnace last year.

CM makes high-temperature batch furnaces capable of operating up to 3100°F and continuous pusher furnaces that can ramp up to 4000°F.

Furnaces are used in the ceramics, glass and nuclear industries, as wll as metal injection moulding and powder metallurgy. High-temperature PM furnaces are used to make products from tungsten carbide, refractory metals, and stainless steel. Jim Neill, vice president of sales and marketing, reported that the MIM market is showing more growth than traditional PM.

New face; cold wind for GM

A slashed annual dividend and cuts in benefits for senior executives were two of the immediate likely results of a new face on the board at General Motors (GM). Jerry Yorke, an aide to the company's largest individual shareholder, billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, brings to the job a wide experience of the motor industry and corporate finance and enjoys a reputation as a ferocious cost-cutter.

Last year the company lost $8.5 billion. One of the proposals the board will have to consider is the proposed sale of a controlling stake in its profitable finance subsidiary, GMAC, which could realise $10 billion to $15 billion,
Mr Kerkorian owns nearly 10 per cent of GM and has been a longstanding and outspoken critic of the board's handling of the company as it has lurched from one crisis to another in the past year. One Detroit observer commented: "They have to do something to turn things round. The Japanese have already eaten Detroit's lunch; now they are starting to nibble at dinner."

New name, same image for Pacific

Pacific Sintered Metals has changed the name of its parent corporation to PSM Industries. PSM makes PM parts, fully dense products, PM tool steel and high-speed steel products, metal injection moulded (MIM) parts, and PM steel carbide billets.

PSM Industries operates four divisions: Pacific Sintered Metals in Los Angeles; PolyAlloys, also in Los Angeles; Bestmetal Corporation in Woodstock, Illinois; and Superwear Technology in Newburgh, New York.

"The Los Angeles division will continue to carry the Pacific Sintered Metals name as it has for the last 49 years," says Craig C. Paullin, president. "Over the years people have referred to us as either Pacific Sintered or PSM, so it will not be a difficult adjustment to the new name.