2005 Archive
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January
Measuring up to success in the
race for advanced metals technology
Postgraduate work in the UK that earned its author a prestigious
award could have applications in the metal powder industry,
particularly in sintering...
New mG plant start-up in China
as Keystone considers its future
Italian PM parts maker mG miniGears of Padova has opened a
steel machining and P/M parts manufacturing plant in Suzhou,
China...
February
Inco gives $500 000 for tsunami
aid as Höganäs reports no casualties
Canadian nickel giant Inco and its 61 per cent-owned Indonesian
subsidiary, PT International Nickel Indonesia (PT Inco), have
announced a joint donation of 5 billion Indonesian rupiah
(approximately US $540 000) to relief efforts by the Indonesian
government to aid victims of the tsunami of December 26...
Höganäs up again
Swedish metal powder major Höganäs has reported
full year net sales for 2004 up 11 per cent at SEK 4162 million,
with income after tax of SEK 424 million, up nearly 20 per
cent on the previous 12 months, even though the company said
that the strength of the Swedish Krona in the international
markets had had a distinct negative effect...
GKN Sinter harvests praise at
John Deere
Deere & Company's Commercial and Consumer Equipment Division
has named GKN Sinter Metals, Auburn Hills, Michigan, supplier
of the year...
March
PF secrets plot smashed in US
as two are seized by FBI
Two former employees of Metaldyne Corporation based in Plymouth,
Michigan, were arrested last month by the FBI on a complaint
and charged with stealing trade secrets detailing the company's
powder-forging (PF) technology...
EPMA awards sponsored again as
Prague show heads for a sell-out
Metal Powder Report is once again to sponsor the European
Powder Metallurgy Association's Awards for Innovation in Powder
Metallurgy. Editor Richard Felton said: "After the success
of our award sponsorship at last year's World Congress in
Vienna, we reached agreement with the EPMA to extend it for
a further year to Euro PM2005 in Prague...
Inco predicts strong 2005 as
earnings treble in record year
A record year in 2004 saw Canadian nickel producer Inco treble
net earnings to $848 million or $4.48 per share, compared
with $276 million or $1.42 per share for 2003...
April
GKN profits slip on currency
rates but PM growth is strong
GKN plc, parent company of both powder manufacturer Hoeganaes
and GKN Sinter Metals, which is based in London, UK, announced
that sales of its powder metallurgy operations slipped 3.1
percent in 2004 to £589 million (about $1.1 billion)...
Kennametal makes move in China
trade with Tianjin plant
US hardmetal tooling giant Kennametal Inc, based in Latrobe,
Pennsylvania, has announced plans to build a new manufacturing
plant in China located in the Tianjin Economic Development
Area...
Titanium poised for spinal disc
move as orders pile up
Memphis medical technology manufacturer Medtronic Sofamor
Danek, has ordered production quantities of PM titanium composites
for artificial spinal discs from Dynamet Technology of Burlington,
Massachussetts...
May
PM Asia 2005: success for Shanghai
event points to China in 2007
Following the success of the PM Asia 2005 conference and exhibition
staged last month in Shanghai, Metal Powder Report and Elsevier
are to stage another event in China during 2007...
2004 results set powder producers
on course for better 2005
Metal powder manufacturers and some of their customers had
a good 2004 and seem set to build on their successes during
this year. For the world's biggest iron powder maker, Höganäs,
that meant a rise in net sales of almost 11 per cent to SEK
4.162 billion in 2004, with operating margins exceeding 15
per cent and return on capital employed - an important performance
indicator - beating 17 per cent...
Metaldyne heads for China with
two new plants
Metaldyne, the Michigan-based PM auto component manufacturer
that was at the centre of a China-related industrial espionage
investigation just three months ago, is expanding its presence
in China with the opening of two new manufacturing facilities.
One is in Hangzhou, and another will break ground in Suzhou
this summer. Both are in the Shanghai area, close to the heart
of the Chinese PM business...
June
New global giant emerges from
Austria - Japan PM merger deal
The shape of the Tier One automotive supply business is set
to be radically changed by the merger of the powder metallurgy
interests of two aggressively competitive corporations from
Austria and Japan. The
Makin Metal's copper set to
infiltrate Euro PM steel markets
Makin Metal Powders is positioning itself as the major supplier
of copper-based infiltrating powder for the European powder
metallurgy market from next month.
Research boost for FFC move
into high-value metals
Wider exploitation of the novel FFC electrolytic process for
manufacturing powdered metals has moved a step nearer to commercial
reality with a research agreement between Metalysis, the
Plansee slams REACH law as ‘unwanted
cost’
Europe's proposed REACH chemicals legislation was slammed
by Plansee's Michael Schwarzkopf at the opening of the 16th
International Plansee Seminar in Reutte, Austria.
July/August
German moves on to Mississippi
and CAVS - Smid 'to head CISP'
Professor Randall German is to leave Penn State and the Center
for Innovative Sintered Products (CISP) he founded to take
up a chair in mechanical engineering at Mississippi State
University and head the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems
(CAVS) which is located there.
Höganäs and QMP
increase capability and customer focus in China
European and Canadian powder metal manufacturers have increased
their technical capabilities in the Shanghai area with the
opening of a new QMP blending plant and the inauguration of
a Höganäs Technical Centre and new powder mixing
capacity.
Fraunhofer aims for MEMS link
with Japanese
With the research market in Germany flat-lining, the Fraunhofer
organisation is looking for more opportunities elsewhere in
the world. A new collaborative venture just agreed will see
Fraunhofer researchers collaborating with Japanese colleagues
from Tohoku University in Japan.
US - Italy link aims for new
thinking on injection moulding
A US-Italian industrial link could soon cut the cost of setting
up in metal injection moulding by introducing machines that
can handle a variety of media.
September
US auto giants turn in shock
2Q losses
North American auto manufacturers have produced second quarter
figures that paint a grim picture of both actual and underlying
performance, despite the apparently glowing results of employee-discount
incentive programmes aimed at clearing inventories and stimulating
production.
Hawk boosts sales but Q2 income
only flutters
Second quarter sales at Hawk Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio,
rose 11.8 per cent to $70.9 million. Income from operations
gained only 1.6 per cent to $6.2 million.
Plansee and MMC sign merger
deal to launch PMG
Plansee and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation have formalised
their PM joint venture by signing the agreement merging the
relevant pats of their businesses under a Luxembourg-based
holding company. The transaction is expected to be wrapped
up on December 1.
October
QNL seeks partners to develop
nano metallic materials
UK-based QinetiQ Nanomaterials Ltd last month used the launch
of a nanoscale aluminium/boron material suitable for applications
in automotive airbags, rocket motors and explosives to highlight
the company's need for partners to enable further development.
Change at the top as Sandvik
pays £1m to double Osprey's capacity
Sandvik Osprey is doubling production capacity of fine powder
for metal injection moulding (MIM) and other applications
at its Red Jacket Works in Neath, South Wales in the UK.
ALD bags Chinese atomiser contract
ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH successfully completed pre-acceptance
trials for a Chinese customer of a VIGA35 - vacuum induction-melting
inert gas atomiser - at their premises in Hanau, Germany.
November
Gibraltar moves into China with
atomiser deal
Gibraltar Industries, based in Buffalo, NewYork, has purchased
Curie Suzhou, a privately held manufacturer of atomised copper
and copper alloy powder in Suzhou, China.
HazenTec changes hands
The assets of HazenTec, L.C., Hazen, Ark., have been sold
to a private investment corporation whose shareholders are
connected to MNP Corp., Utica, Mich., a major supplier of
industrial fasteners.
Results up for Miba
Austria's Miba reported fiscal half-year results with sales
increased 7 per cent to e178.4 million. Based in Laakirchen,
the company has three groups - PM parts, bearings, and friction
products - and about 2,740 employees.
December
Voisey's Bay first ore success
for Inco
Canadian nickel producer Inco has achieved another major milestone
at its Voisey's Bay project in Labrador, Canada, with the
first shipment of nickel concentrate last month, more than
six months ahead of the original project schedule.
Chops and changes at top of
GKN
The board of UK-based GKN plc, parent company of GKN Sinter
Metals, has made changes to the board and executive committee.
Several key executives have joined the executive committee
and others are leaving the company.
Elnik cooks up 42pc income boost
for first three quarters
American MIM furnace builder Elnik Systems provided the major
income stream for its German-based parent company PVA TePla
Group in the first nine months of this year.
Metaldyne expands Korea operation
for Asian growth
Leading US powder forging specialist Metaldyne, based in Plymouth,
Michigan, plans to expand manufacturing in Pyeongtaek, South
Korea.
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