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EPMA establishes key industry role
EPMA establishes key industry role The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) has quickly established itself as a key o r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h i n t h e 'PM i n d u s t r y . T h e f o l l o w i n g review looks back over the EPMA's comparatively s h o r t h i s t o r y a n d a t t h e d i r e c t i o n s f o r its f u t u r e activities. IIIIIII
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he history of the European Powder Metallurgy A s s o c i a t i o n (EPMA) spans just five :years' compared with the five 'decades' being celebrated by Metal P o w d e r Report with this special 50th Anniversary edition. Despite its relative youthfulness, however, the EPMA Secretariat team has already collectively served the powder metallurgy (PM) community for an estimated 50 man-years. About twothirds of these it must be said were devoted to building up Metal Powder Report to the status it enjoys in the world today, and it is through the long-standing relationship between some members of the current EPMA team and MPR that we are particularly pleased to share in this landmark celebration.
T
FIGURE 1: Per Lindskog, president of EPMA from 1989-1995. He contributed much to making the EPMA a successfultrade association. 42 MPR December 1995
The EPMA's short history began with its formation in 1989 as a Belgian association Internatior~ale p o u r suivant u n but scientifique, and was granted legal status under Belgian law by Royal Decree on 2 January, 1991. Per Lindskog, president of the EPMA for two terms from 1989 to 1995, stated in the association's first annual report that the key reasons for forming the EPMA from the ashes of its forerunner -- the European Powder Metadlurgy Federation (EPMF) -was the need to: -encourage industrial organizations to underpin the activities and initiatives of the new body;, -tackle important issues concerning the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and dissemination of large volumes of legislation emanating from the formation of the European single market; - - h e l p put Europe back on the world PM stage where it once led PM developments; and - - improve the awareness of PM technology among design engineers, academics and students through a broad ranging education programme. On 29 May, 1990, the EPMA Councilrepresenting some 50 full founding members appointed Bernard Williams as the association's first full time executive secretary, and in August 1990 he took on the job of running of the newly established Secretariat from offices in Shrewsbury, UK -- the home for 16 years of Metal Powder Report and the International Journal of Refractory & H a r d Materials of which he was publisher and editorial director. Both journals were sold to Elesevier in July 1990 to make way for the EPMA Secretariat. Also recruited to the EPMA from the former MPR team were Frances Breakwell (nee Holland). Pauline Davies, and Beverly Peake (nee West), and these have subsequently been supplemented by able young graduates -- Nick Williams and Paul Whittaker. The EPMA Secretariat was under no illusion about the tasks involved in meeting the many objectives that it set itself or that had been decided by the Executive Board and Council. It also became obvious that whilst Europe was moving towards closer integration through the Single Market and
0026-0657195157.00 © 1995, Elsevier Science Ltd.
In a(l(liti(m, SUl)porling a('livities in the collection and (tisseminati(m ()1 statistics, i n d u s ~ 5 ~ p r o m o t i o n , stall(lar(ls, research c o o r d i n a t i o n , publishing, a n d organizing conferetices an(] c()ul'ses, have all in some way contribute(I to creating a more homogeneous b]Ul'()p(!an I'M imlustt3'.
Quality assurance
FIGURE 2: Dr Lothar Albano-MOller, current president of the EPMA, sees a bright future for PM and an enlarged membership of the EPMA.
later t h r o u g h the Maastricht Treaty, t h e r e w o u l d be c o n s i d e r a b l e h u r d l e s for t h e EPMA to overcome in t e r m s of differences in language, culture, b u s i n e s s t r a d i t i o n s a n d s t a n d a r d s . These t a s k s were comp o u n d e d by t h e a d d i t i o n of t h e newly liberalized c o u n t r i e s of C e n t r a l a n d Eastern Europe. T h e EPMA, w i t h t h e s u p p o r t a n d g u i d a n c e of its Board a n d Council, has m e t these challenges head on, a n d it is fair to state t h a t the association has succeeded in b r e a k i n g new g r o u n d for s h a p i n g the changes necessary for the future growth a n d p r o s p e r i t y of the E u r o p e a n PM industry. At the same time the EPMA has gained a rightful place on the global stage. Particularly i m p o r t a n t in this regard is its strong r e l a t i o n s h i p with the Metal Powder Industries F e d e r a t i o n in North A m e r i c a a n d the J a p a n Powder Metallurgy Association. The EPMA also p l a y e d a key role i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of the 1994 PM World Congress a n d E x h i b i t i o n held in Paris, a n d has established a new series of a n n u a l 'EURO PM' conferences. The first of these was held in Birmingham, UK, in October 1995 with the focus on 'Advanced PM Materials'. There have been a significant n u m b e r of activities i n i t i a t e d by the EPMA over the p a s t five years. One essential feature of t h e s e is t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of W o r k i n g Groups which a d d r e s s i m p o r t a n t topics in a r e a s s u c h as q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e (QA), h e a l t h a n d safety, a n d e d u c a t i o n / t r a i n i n g .
An o u t s t a n d i n g achievement by the QA Working Group was the p u b l i c a t i o n at the b e g i n n i n g of 19.95 of the EPMA Quality A s s u r a n c e Guidelines for Stxuctural PM Parts a n d Porous Bearings'. This 44-page d o c u m e n t is tile producl; of an i m m e n s e a m o u n t of work on the pat% of the Group in order to gain a c o n s e n s u s on r e s p o n d i n g to the increasingly d e m a n d i n g end user req u i r e m e n t s in this field. The QA Group, which originally comprised only representatives of Europe's PM p a r t producers, has now been e x p a n d e d to include powder a n d e q u i p m e n t producers, a n d has embarke(t on an a m b i t i o u s prog r a m m e of new activities. Indirectly linked to the Group's p l a n n e d activities will be tile Thenlatic Network on 'Process Modelling in Powder Metallurgy' w i t h i n the EU 4th Framework P r o g r a m m e (Brite-EuRam). The Network has in principle been approved for f u n d i n g by the EU a n d work is expected to start early in 1996 with the EPMA acting as the c o o r d i n a t i n g organization. The target here is to bring together the various research organizations active in process modelling of compacting, sintering, m e t a l injection m o u l d i n g (MIM) a n d hot isostatic pressing (HIP), in order to c h a n n e l t h e i r work to p r o d u c i n g a user friendly tool which can have n e a r - t e r m practical a p p l i c a t i o n s in the PM industry.
FIGURE 3: EPMA Council from 1989-1992. From left to right: J-P Auger, Dr H. Bildstein, A. Martre (vice president), Dr E. Fischer, Dr L. Albano-MOIler (vice president), J. Koeleman, F. Streich, P. Lindskog (president), B. Williams (executive secretary), R. Tosi, J. Gerard (treasurer), P. Brewin, Absent: Prof B. Arronsson.
MPR December 1995 43
General Assembly (Members)
IExecutiveBoard Vl0~tPu~lmt(s) _ u ~ _ ~ lYrector
I
I
Quality ~,. Environment
I
I
Courses
I
Promotion/ I Conferences I
Standards
_~
S m m ~ r ~ t ~. l b m ~
Education/
I Assurance I" Health/Safety ~
Couch
*****
1
[L
Publishing i I Smtisdes 1
FIGURE 4: Structure end activities of the EPMA.
IKnvironment, health and safety The EHS Working G r o u p has m a i n l y c o n c e r n e d i t s e l f with t h e i n c r e a s i n g a m o u n t of legislation stemming from Brussels with regard to the classification of dangerous substances and preparations. To help its members through this maze of legislation the Group has published a guide (now in its third edition) which provides examples and models of Material Safety Data Sheets and Labelling for those metal and alloy powders which are classified as dangerous. More recently the EPMA, in cooperation with other major European metals associations, has taken an active role in lobb~ing the European Commission for changes in legislation for classifying 'alloys'. The EPMA is particularly proud that its definition of an 'alloy' is the one which will probably find its way into the relevant EC Directives.
Ircluoation/ training Education continues to be one of the main thrusts of EPMA activities and is considered to be essential for underpinning the longer t e r m p r o m o t i o n of PM technology. The activities of the EPMA Education Working Group were undoubtedly spurred on by financial s u p p o r t from the EU Comett Programme during the period mid-1992 to mid-1995, and this led to the production of key educational materials such as a video (1993), lecture series with slides on PM p a r t s (1993) and hardmetals (1995). A wide range of short courses and seminars 44 MPR Deoember 19915
have also been organized, and free educational m a t e r i a l s offered to universities around Europe. More than 8000 copies of the EPMA's popular 32-page 'Introduction to Power Metallurgf, written by Dr Gordon Dowson, have been circulated to students and teachers since 1992. Early in 1995 a free booklet on 'Metal Injection Moulding' (also produced with the help of Gordon Dowson) was produced, and more than 3500 of these have been circulated. The EPMA is fully aware t h a t m a n y design engineers still consider PM components to be unsuitable for fatigue loaded applications because of the lack of property data. To address this situation the EPMA published a 96-page manual written by Dr C.M. Sonsino and Dr F. Esper which provided detailed information and case studies for designing fatigue resistant PM parts. For the future, the Education Working Group is hopeful that its application for funding for a three-year project on ~ocational Training in Powder Metallurgy' within the new EU Leonardo da Vinci Programme will be successful. This would allow the generation of new distance learning tools, courses, PM schools, technology transfer between universities and industry, and would give students a chance of work experience in the PM industry. The EPMA will also continue to promote PM as a postgraduate research topic through its biannual 'PM Thesis Competition'. The first prizes were given to students from Germany and the Netherlands during the PM'94
World PM Congress in Paris for ~x(+tt,: (t,,t~,, on PM at Doctorate a n d Diplom~l i3la~ ters) levels.
, m t h ( , ~r(>wth <)f lh(, I'M i~(tt£~t;ry in the ](>ll,~,v l(,rm. ][igh (m tlw ng('n(b~ for future ('+)ttlwil m('('titlg~ \viii t,! ~h(' l)r()vision for ~r,,~t~,r SUl)t)()rt l}w t hi~ ;wt ivity area.
Statistics The d a t a available on PM pro(l~w~i<+t~ it~ E u r o p e prior to the f o r m a t i o n of th(' I':I>.XlA was derisory c o m p a r e d with that :,\ail,~i+h, in North A m e r i c a a n d J a p a n , ;~(I thi~ activity has been viewed as a vit:d t)~rt ,,f the service the EPMA offers to nwml,(,r~. p a r t i c u l a r l y Full Member compa]~i(,~ ,~i~wt~ 1'.~91 q u a r t e r l y statistics have t)e(,t~ ,.,)t lected for: m e t a l powder shipme~,~: ~t rtt,' t u r a l PM p a r t s / b e a r i n g s produ(-ti~,~ ~ ( t sales; a n d e q u i p m e n t sales. These hw,~, (hq] nitely helped to make the Europe:m mark('t more t r a n s p a r e n t a n d have hell)~',:l (h,lt~w p r o d u c t i o n t r e n d s a n d applicatiotl ;tr('a~. I n c l u d e d in the above statisti(+.~ pr<) g r a m m e is the q u a r t e r l y 'Industt3 T r e n d s analysis, a n d early in 1995 the. EI'MA p u b l i s h e d a n analysis of all it~ 'Key PM Figures' for E u r o p e plus global PM pr<)duc t i o n t r e n d s . In view of t h e in(~reasiu~ p e r c e n t a g e of PM p r o d u c t s n ( ~ l)eiu~ s h i p p e d to the a u t o m o t i v e sector, a further s u p p l e m e n t h a s b e e n produce(I giviu~ detailed analysis of t r e n d s in car pv<)duction both for E u r o p e a n d overseas.
Industry promotion The need to generate greater awarenes~ a b o u t PM in e n d u s e r i n d u s t r i e s ~ a s a n o t h e r key c o n c e r n for t h e EPMA. With limited financial resources cost effe('tiw, m e t h o d s had to be devised for the industr3~ p r o m o t i o n , a n d one very efficient r(mte was t h r o u g h the o r g a n i z a t i o n of ' I n - i l o u s e PM Seminars' at the end u s e r p l a n t s across E u r o p e with p r e s e n t a t i o n s on latest; dew,l-+ o p m e n t s in PM. A n u m b e r of these ha~e a l r e a d y b e e n organized a n d these haw~ a t t r a c t e d several h u n d r e d design engineers over t h e p a s t t h r e e y e a r s w h o would otherwise n o t have been exposed to PM. P r o m o t i o n was also o b t a i n e d by s u b m i t t i n g a r t i c l e s to e n g i n e e r i n g m a g a z i n e s , i n c l u d i n g the EPMA A n n u a l Awards lot ' I n n o v a t i o n in PM'. During the PM'94 World Congress in Paris the EPMA a s s e m b l e d a n impressiw~ 100 m 2 Showcase of PM Achievements. It was from the success with this showcase t h a t the EPMA took a more direct a p p r o a c h to, p r o m o t i o n t h r o u g h a s t a n d at the 1995 Automotive Technology E x h i b i t i o n (Autotech 95) at the National E x h i b i t i o n Centre, B i r m i n g h a m , UK, i n N o v e m b e r 1995. A r o u n d 2000 p e o p l e v i s i t e d the EPMA s t a n d at A u t o t e c h which h a d on display' over 100 PM p a r t s used in cars. The c o m b i n a t i o n of the different promotional a p p r o a c h e s will u n d o u b t e d l y i m p a c t
Standards Ttw I':ttr, q)t':tt/ l':,',m,,mi( Aftra ( E E A ) ~:ttlt~(~l ,q)(wa!,, ~tw(('~l'tfll3 with confiicti l ~ tlaii,~t~a[ ~tatl(l:lr(l~. at~(I ~h(' EPMA has alr~'a(I 3 t)('('lt ~u('<'¢~lul iJ~, i r a l ~ f o r m i n g 37 (>111 ()f .l.t} IS() Sl~tlx(t~ll(l~ (m PM i n t o l+:ttr()l)(,aH Sl:Ha(l:tr
Eastern Europe The t r a n s i t i o n lo market economies in the forlner Conte(?()]] Coun~:ries of E a s t e r n Europe over the past five years has raised a large n u m b e r of issues for the EPMA. The newly independem:: c o m p a n i e s with m u c h reduced production have expressed interest in EPMA membershit) b u t most do n o t yet have the funds to s u p p o r t the fees involved. The EPMA has, nevertheless, t a k e n the initiative to organize s e m i n a r s :in countries seeking assistance, a n d these have already been held in Warsaw (Poland), Moscow (Russia), a n d Prague (Czech Republic). These s e m i n a r s provi(te a forum for exchange of i n f o r m a t i o n on PM activities a n d areas a n d future cooperation in technology transfer, e d u c a t i o n a n d training, quality assurance, etc. Assistance will be sought from the E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n a n d other sources to hell) foster the r e d e v e l o p m e n t of the once f i o m i s h i n g I'M i n d u s t r i e s in Eastern Europe. Finally, it; r e m a i n s only for Dr Lothar Albano-Mfiller ( P r e s i d e n t ) , B e r n a r d Williams (Executive Director) a n d the r e m a i n der of the Executive b o a r d a n d Council of the EPMA, on b e h a l f of all the Association's members, to heartily c o n g r a t u l a t e Metal P o w d e r R e p o r t on its 50 years of o u t s t a n d i n g service to t h e w o r l d ' s PM community. We wish t h e m every success for the future.
MPR December 1995 45
IIIIII
II
III Ill
I
I
Ilill
Ill
IIIII Illllll
he history of the European Powder Metallurgy A s s o c i a t i o n (EPMA) spans just five :years' compared with the five 'decades' being celebrated by Metal P o w d e r Report with this special 50th Anniversary edition. Despite its relative youthfulness, however, the EPMA Secretariat team has already collectively served the powder metallurgy (PM) community for an estimated 50 man-years. About twothirds of these it must be said were devoted to building up Metal Powder Report to the status it enjoys in the world today, and it is through the long-standing relationship between some members of the current EPMA team and MPR that we are particularly pleased to share in this landmark celebration.
T
FIGURE 1: Per Lindskog, president of EPMA from 1989-1995. He contributed much to making the EPMA a successfultrade association. 42 MPR December 1995
The EPMA's short history began with its formation in 1989 as a Belgian association Internatior~ale p o u r suivant u n but scientifique, and was granted legal status under Belgian law by Royal Decree on 2 January, 1991. Per Lindskog, president of the EPMA for two terms from 1989 to 1995, stated in the association's first annual report that the key reasons for forming the EPMA from the ashes of its forerunner -- the European Powder Metadlurgy Federation (EPMF) -was the need to: -encourage industrial organizations to underpin the activities and initiatives of the new body;, -tackle important issues concerning the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and dissemination of large volumes of legislation emanating from the formation of the European single market; - - h e l p put Europe back on the world PM stage where it once led PM developments; and - - improve the awareness of PM technology among design engineers, academics and students through a broad ranging education programme. On 29 May, 1990, the EPMA Councilrepresenting some 50 full founding members appointed Bernard Williams as the association's first full time executive secretary, and in August 1990 he took on the job of running of the newly established Secretariat from offices in Shrewsbury, UK -- the home for 16 years of Metal Powder Report and the International Journal of Refractory & H a r d Materials of which he was publisher and editorial director. Both journals were sold to Elesevier in July 1990 to make way for the EPMA Secretariat. Also recruited to the EPMA from the former MPR team were Frances Breakwell (nee Holland). Pauline Davies, and Beverly Peake (nee West), and these have subsequently been supplemented by able young graduates -- Nick Williams and Paul Whittaker. The EPMA Secretariat was under no illusion about the tasks involved in meeting the many objectives that it set itself or that had been decided by the Executive Board and Council. It also became obvious that whilst Europe was moving towards closer integration through the Single Market and
0026-0657195157.00 © 1995, Elsevier Science Ltd.
In a(l(liti(m, SUl)porling a('livities in the collection and (tisseminati(m ()1 statistics, i n d u s ~ 5 ~ p r o m o t i o n , stall(lar(ls, research c o o r d i n a t i o n , publishing, a n d organizing conferetices an(] c()ul'ses, have all in some way contribute(I to creating a more homogeneous b]Ul'()p(!an I'M imlustt3'.
Quality assurance
FIGURE 2: Dr Lothar Albano-MOller, current president of the EPMA, sees a bright future for PM and an enlarged membership of the EPMA.
later t h r o u g h the Maastricht Treaty, t h e r e w o u l d be c o n s i d e r a b l e h u r d l e s for t h e EPMA to overcome in t e r m s of differences in language, culture, b u s i n e s s t r a d i t i o n s a n d s t a n d a r d s . These t a s k s were comp o u n d e d by t h e a d d i t i o n of t h e newly liberalized c o u n t r i e s of C e n t r a l a n d Eastern Europe. T h e EPMA, w i t h t h e s u p p o r t a n d g u i d a n c e of its Board a n d Council, has m e t these challenges head on, a n d it is fair to state t h a t the association has succeeded in b r e a k i n g new g r o u n d for s h a p i n g the changes necessary for the future growth a n d p r o s p e r i t y of the E u r o p e a n PM industry. At the same time the EPMA has gained a rightful place on the global stage. Particularly i m p o r t a n t in this regard is its strong r e l a t i o n s h i p with the Metal Powder Industries F e d e r a t i o n in North A m e r i c a a n d the J a p a n Powder Metallurgy Association. The EPMA also p l a y e d a key role i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of the 1994 PM World Congress a n d E x h i b i t i o n held in Paris, a n d has established a new series of a n n u a l 'EURO PM' conferences. The first of these was held in Birmingham, UK, in October 1995 with the focus on 'Advanced PM Materials'. There have been a significant n u m b e r of activities i n i t i a t e d by the EPMA over the p a s t five years. One essential feature of t h e s e is t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of W o r k i n g Groups which a d d r e s s i m p o r t a n t topics in a r e a s s u c h as q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e (QA), h e a l t h a n d safety, a n d e d u c a t i o n / t r a i n i n g .
An o u t s t a n d i n g achievement by the QA Working Group was the p u b l i c a t i o n at the b e g i n n i n g of 19.95 of the EPMA Quality A s s u r a n c e Guidelines for Stxuctural PM Parts a n d Porous Bearings'. This 44-page d o c u m e n t is tile producl; of an i m m e n s e a m o u n t of work on the pat% of the Group in order to gain a c o n s e n s u s on r e s p o n d i n g to the increasingly d e m a n d i n g end user req u i r e m e n t s in this field. The QA Group, which originally comprised only representatives of Europe's PM p a r t producers, has now been e x p a n d e d to include powder a n d e q u i p m e n t producers, a n d has embarke(t on an a m b i t i o u s prog r a m m e of new activities. Indirectly linked to the Group's p l a n n e d activities will be tile Thenlatic Network on 'Process Modelling in Powder Metallurgy' w i t h i n the EU 4th Framework P r o g r a m m e (Brite-EuRam). The Network has in principle been approved for f u n d i n g by the EU a n d work is expected to start early in 1996 with the EPMA acting as the c o o r d i n a t i n g organization. The target here is to bring together the various research organizations active in process modelling of compacting, sintering, m e t a l injection m o u l d i n g (MIM) a n d hot isostatic pressing (HIP), in order to c h a n n e l t h e i r work to p r o d u c i n g a user friendly tool which can have n e a r - t e r m practical a p p l i c a t i o n s in the PM industry.
FIGURE 3: EPMA Council from 1989-1992. From left to right: J-P Auger, Dr H. Bildstein, A. Martre (vice president), Dr E. Fischer, Dr L. Albano-MOIler (vice president), J. Koeleman, F. Streich, P. Lindskog (president), B. Williams (executive secretary), R. Tosi, J. Gerard (treasurer), P. Brewin, Absent: Prof B. Arronsson.
MPR December 1995 43
General Assembly (Members)
IExecutiveBoard Vl0~tPu~lmt(s) _ u ~ _ ~ lYrector
I
I
Quality ~,. Environment
I
I
Courses
I
Promotion/ I Conferences I
Standards
_~
S m m ~ r ~ t ~. l b m ~
Education/
I Assurance I" Health/Safety ~
Couch
*****
1
[L
Publishing i I Smtisdes 1
FIGURE 4: Structure end activities of the EPMA.
IKnvironment, health and safety The EHS Working G r o u p has m a i n l y c o n c e r n e d i t s e l f with t h e i n c r e a s i n g a m o u n t of legislation stemming from Brussels with regard to the classification of dangerous substances and preparations. To help its members through this maze of legislation the Group has published a guide (now in its third edition) which provides examples and models of Material Safety Data Sheets and Labelling for those metal and alloy powders which are classified as dangerous. More recently the EPMA, in cooperation with other major European metals associations, has taken an active role in lobb~ing the European Commission for changes in legislation for classifying 'alloys'. The EPMA is particularly proud that its definition of an 'alloy' is the one which will probably find its way into the relevant EC Directives.
Ircluoation/ training Education continues to be one of the main thrusts of EPMA activities and is considered to be essential for underpinning the longer t e r m p r o m o t i o n of PM technology. The activities of the EPMA Education Working Group were undoubtedly spurred on by financial s u p p o r t from the EU Comett Programme during the period mid-1992 to mid-1995, and this led to the production of key educational materials such as a video (1993), lecture series with slides on PM p a r t s (1993) and hardmetals (1995). A wide range of short courses and seminars 44 MPR Deoember 19915
have also been organized, and free educational m a t e r i a l s offered to universities around Europe. More than 8000 copies of the EPMA's popular 32-page 'Introduction to Power Metallurgf, written by Dr Gordon Dowson, have been circulated to students and teachers since 1992. Early in 1995 a free booklet on 'Metal Injection Moulding' (also produced with the help of Gordon Dowson) was produced, and more than 3500 of these have been circulated. The EPMA is fully aware t h a t m a n y design engineers still consider PM components to be unsuitable for fatigue loaded applications because of the lack of property data. To address this situation the EPMA published a 96-page manual written by Dr C.M. Sonsino and Dr F. Esper which provided detailed information and case studies for designing fatigue resistant PM parts. For the future, the Education Working Group is hopeful that its application for funding for a three-year project on ~ocational Training in Powder Metallurgy' within the new EU Leonardo da Vinci Programme will be successful. This would allow the generation of new distance learning tools, courses, PM schools, technology transfer between universities and industry, and would give students a chance of work experience in the PM industry. The EPMA will also continue to promote PM as a postgraduate research topic through its biannual 'PM Thesis Competition'. The first prizes were given to students from Germany and the Netherlands during the PM'94
World PM Congress in Paris for ~x(+tt,: (t,,t~,, on PM at Doctorate a n d Diplom~l i3la~ ters) levels.
, m t h ( , ~r(>wth <)f lh(, I'M i~(tt£~t;ry in the ](>ll,~,v l(,rm. ][igh (m tlw ng('n(b~ for future ('+)ttlwil m('('titlg~ \viii t,! ~h(' l)r()vision for ~r,,~t~,r SUl)t)()rt l}w t hi~ ;wt ivity area.
Statistics The d a t a available on PM pro(l~w~i<+t~ it~ E u r o p e prior to the f o r m a t i o n of th(' I':I>.XlA was derisory c o m p a r e d with that :,\ail,~i+h, in North A m e r i c a a n d J a p a n , ;~(I thi~ activity has been viewed as a vit:d t)~rt ,,f the service the EPMA offers to nwml,(,r~. p a r t i c u l a r l y Full Member compa]~i(,~ ,~i~wt~ 1'.~91 q u a r t e r l y statistics have t)e(,t~ ,.,)t lected for: m e t a l powder shipme~,~: ~t rtt,' t u r a l PM p a r t s / b e a r i n g s produ(-ti~,~ ~ ( t sales; a n d e q u i p m e n t sales. These hw,~, (hq] nitely helped to make the Europe:m mark('t more t r a n s p a r e n t a n d have hell)~',:l (h,lt~w p r o d u c t i o n t r e n d s a n d applicatiotl ;tr('a~. I n c l u d e d in the above statisti(+.~ pr<) g r a m m e is the q u a r t e r l y 'Industt3 T r e n d s analysis, a n d early in 1995 the. EI'MA p u b l i s h e d a n analysis of all it~ 'Key PM Figures' for E u r o p e plus global PM pr<)duc t i o n t r e n d s . In view of t h e in(~reasiu~ p e r c e n t a g e of PM p r o d u c t s n ( ~ l)eiu~ s h i p p e d to the a u t o m o t i v e sector, a further s u p p l e m e n t h a s b e e n produce(I giviu~ detailed analysis of t r e n d s in car pv<)duction both for E u r o p e a n d overseas.
Industry promotion The need to generate greater awarenes~ a b o u t PM in e n d u s e r i n d u s t r i e s ~ a s a n o t h e r key c o n c e r n for t h e EPMA. With limited financial resources cost effe('tiw, m e t h o d s had to be devised for the industr3~ p r o m o t i o n , a n d one very efficient r(mte was t h r o u g h the o r g a n i z a t i o n of ' I n - i l o u s e PM Seminars' at the end u s e r p l a n t s across E u r o p e with p r e s e n t a t i o n s on latest; dew,l-+ o p m e n t s in PM. A n u m b e r of these ha~e a l r e a d y b e e n organized a n d these haw~ a t t r a c t e d several h u n d r e d design engineers over t h e p a s t t h r e e y e a r s w h o would otherwise n o t have been exposed to PM. P r o m o t i o n was also o b t a i n e d by s u b m i t t i n g a r t i c l e s to e n g i n e e r i n g m a g a z i n e s , i n c l u d i n g the EPMA A n n u a l Awards lot ' I n n o v a t i o n in PM'. During the PM'94 World Congress in Paris the EPMA a s s e m b l e d a n impressiw~ 100 m 2 Showcase of PM Achievements. It was from the success with this showcase t h a t the EPMA took a more direct a p p r o a c h to, p r o m o t i o n t h r o u g h a s t a n d at the 1995 Automotive Technology E x h i b i t i o n (Autotech 95) at the National E x h i b i t i o n Centre, B i r m i n g h a m , UK, i n N o v e m b e r 1995. A r o u n d 2000 p e o p l e v i s i t e d the EPMA s t a n d at A u t o t e c h which h a d on display' over 100 PM p a r t s used in cars. The c o m b i n a t i o n of the different promotional a p p r o a c h e s will u n d o u b t e d l y i m p a c t
Standards Ttw I':ttr, q)t':tt/ l':,',m,,mi( Aftra ( E E A ) ~:ttlt~(~l ,q)(wa!,, ~tw(('~l'tfll3 with confiicti l ~ tlaii,~t~a[ ~tatl(l:lr(l~. at~(I ~h(' EPMA has alr~'a(I 3 t)('('lt ~u('<'¢~lul iJ~, i r a l ~ f o r m i n g 37 (>111 ()f .l.t} IS() Sl~tlx(t~ll(l~ (m PM i n t o l+:ttr()l)(,aH Sl:Ha(l:tr
Eastern Europe The t r a n s i t i o n lo market economies in the forlner Conte(?()]] Coun~:ries of E a s t e r n Europe over the past five years has raised a large n u m b e r of issues for the EPMA. The newly independem:: c o m p a n i e s with m u c h reduced production have expressed interest in EPMA membershit) b u t most do n o t yet have the funds to s u p p o r t the fees involved. The EPMA has, nevertheless, t a k e n the initiative to organize s e m i n a r s :in countries seeking assistance, a n d these have already been held in Warsaw (Poland), Moscow (Russia), a n d Prague (Czech Republic). These s e m i n a r s provi(te a forum for exchange of i n f o r m a t i o n on PM activities a n d areas a n d future cooperation in technology transfer, e d u c a t i o n a n d training, quality assurance, etc. Assistance will be sought from the E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n a n d other sources to hell) foster the r e d e v e l o p m e n t of the once f i o m i s h i n g I'M i n d u s t r i e s in Eastern Europe. Finally, it; r e m a i n s only for Dr Lothar Albano-Mfiller ( P r e s i d e n t ) , B e r n a r d Williams (Executive Director) a n d the r e m a i n der of the Executive b o a r d a n d Council of the EPMA, on b e h a l f of all the Association's members, to heartily c o n g r a t u l a t e Metal P o w d e r R e p o r t on its 50 years of o u t s t a n d i n g service to t h e w o r l d ' s PM community. We wish t h e m every success for the future.
MPR December 1995 45