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New Year and Shanghai
editorial
Value for money
Richard Felton EDITOR
W
ith the year-end festivities well and truly over for most of us there comes the annual round of teeth gnashing as the bills come in. Among them, this year as any, come the invoices for professional PM association membership. So it's worth recalling what we're paying for in terms of representation and the real value for money that it represents. Two examples are to hand.
First, although no technology has a right to dominance in the intensely competitive landscape that is business today, there was a distinct frisson of shock in North American PM circles last year after a report from Toledo University appeared to claim that a crackable wrought steel, C-70, not only technically equalled powder-forged materials in the manufacture of automotive engine con rods, but also beat PF on price.
The research was commissioned by the American Iron and Steel Institute, a body whose aims could fairly be said to be in direct, possibly eyeball-to-eyeball competition with those of the Metal Powder Industries Federation. As may be imagined, the AISI made the very best of their well-pitched "windfall", issuing a lengthy press release that raised questions in the PM community and, as it was intended to, in the wider community of their customers. Powder-forged rods have, after all, established dominance in the American auto market, currently running at 60 per cent or so with some 500 million rods manufactured since 1986. It is a technology that is gaining growing recognition in other markets too. Plainly the AISI claims needed to be countered, and preferably refuted completely. Indeed, refutation was the very word on the lips of those "in the know" at the MPIF's PM2TEC conference and exhibition in Chicago last year. And they appeared to know also the location for the forthcoming showdown. It was to be the 100th SAE show in Detroit in April. It may be that there will be a public refutation of the Toledo claims at SAE100, but in advance of that event, the MPIF has entered the lists with a wellbalanced White Paper by Jim Dale. Readers can have the pleasure of sharing Jim's insights into the argument in this issue and may well emerge with their confidence boosted, if it were ever dent-
New Year and Shanghai HAVING celebrated the New Year in the Western world more than a month ago, this month we can look forward with relish to the Chinese New Year. And as is our established habit, the staff of Metal Powder Report send our most cordial greetings to our Chinese readers for the Year of the Rooster. So what sort of year will it be? Our resident expert counsels caution and concentration on good administration and balance in the conduct of affairs. That sounds very right and proper, so it’s to be hoped that there are some opportunities for fun too. One in particular
metal-powder.net
comes to mind. This year we have even more than usual interest in China because we are staging our first-ever conference and exhibition for the PM community in Shanghai. All the exhibition space was sold some weeks ago and delegate places are being snapped up. If you have not yet made your booking, decision time is upon you. So too is the opportunity to hear some of the leading personalities in the business and to talk business with colleagues representing international companies in the exhibition. We hope to see you there!
ed by Toledo. And just to give balance and added piquancy, we have reprised the original "offending" AISI press release too. Piquancy, in terms of "something lively or stimulating to the mind", is certainly an ingredient that could be usefully added to the second example of getting value for money. This almost inevitably is the already lengthy debate over European chemicals legislation. The bad news is that it's set to get longer. And the even worse new is that last month when the REACH proposals entered the European Parliament, laughably, if unbelievably, the huge European inorganic chemical industry failed to get its voice heard. The European Powder Metallurgy Association, with a secretariat small in numbers but big in energy, has done its share and more, in putting together the balanced arguments that industry needs as well as publicising and bringing to members' attention the importance of this muddled and misguided set of propositions from the European Commission. But however, misguided - some would say boneheaded and arrogant - the Commission's position, the businesses that will be adversely affected by a misapplication of legislation would do well to get behind their respective industry associations and join in their efforts. For neither the Commission nor the legislation is going to go away. With the main body of proposals sequestered in the talking shop of the European Parliament, probably for the best part of a year, the Commission has quietly launched the REACH Implementation Project (RIP). While it is to be hoped that Euro parliamentarians see through the obvious nonsenses of the REACH legislation and consign significant chunks of it to the bin (RIP in a different, but more meaningful sense), there is no doubt that it will take concise reasoning from industry associations to help them in that endeavour.
February 2005 MPR
3
Value for money
Richard Felton EDITOR
W
ith the year-end festivities well and truly over for most of us there comes the annual round of teeth gnashing as the bills come in. Among them, this year as any, come the invoices for professional PM association membership. So it's worth recalling what we're paying for in terms of representation and the real value for money that it represents. Two examples are to hand.
First, although no technology has a right to dominance in the intensely competitive landscape that is business today, there was a distinct frisson of shock in North American PM circles last year after a report from Toledo University appeared to claim that a crackable wrought steel, C-70, not only technically equalled powder-forged materials in the manufacture of automotive engine con rods, but also beat PF on price.
The research was commissioned by the American Iron and Steel Institute, a body whose aims could fairly be said to be in direct, possibly eyeball-to-eyeball competition with those of the Metal Powder Industries Federation. As may be imagined, the AISI made the very best of their well-pitched "windfall", issuing a lengthy press release that raised questions in the PM community and, as it was intended to, in the wider community of their customers. Powder-forged rods have, after all, established dominance in the American auto market, currently running at 60 per cent or so with some 500 million rods manufactured since 1986. It is a technology that is gaining growing recognition in other markets too. Plainly the AISI claims needed to be countered, and preferably refuted completely. Indeed, refutation was the very word on the lips of those "in the know" at the MPIF's PM2TEC conference and exhibition in Chicago last year. And they appeared to know also the location for the forthcoming showdown. It was to be the 100th SAE show in Detroit in April. It may be that there will be a public refutation of the Toledo claims at SAE100, but in advance of that event, the MPIF has entered the lists with a wellbalanced White Paper by Jim Dale. Readers can have the pleasure of sharing Jim's insights into the argument in this issue and may well emerge with their confidence boosted, if it were ever dent-
New Year and Shanghai HAVING celebrated the New Year in the Western world more than a month ago, this month we can look forward with relish to the Chinese New Year. And as is our established habit, the staff of Metal Powder Report send our most cordial greetings to our Chinese readers for the Year of the Rooster. So what sort of year will it be? Our resident expert counsels caution and concentration on good administration and balance in the conduct of affairs. That sounds very right and proper, so it’s to be hoped that there are some opportunities for fun too. One in particular
metal-powder.net
comes to mind. This year we have even more than usual interest in China because we are staging our first-ever conference and exhibition for the PM community in Shanghai. All the exhibition space was sold some weeks ago and delegate places are being snapped up. If you have not yet made your booking, decision time is upon you. So too is the opportunity to hear some of the leading personalities in the business and to talk business with colleagues representing international companies in the exhibition. We hope to see you there!
ed by Toledo. And just to give balance and added piquancy, we have reprised the original "offending" AISI press release too. Piquancy, in terms of "something lively or stimulating to the mind", is certainly an ingredient that could be usefully added to the second example of getting value for money. This almost inevitably is the already lengthy debate over European chemicals legislation. The bad news is that it's set to get longer. And the even worse new is that last month when the REACH proposals entered the European Parliament, laughably, if unbelievably, the huge European inorganic chemical industry failed to get its voice heard. The European Powder Metallurgy Association, with a secretariat small in numbers but big in energy, has done its share and more, in putting together the balanced arguments that industry needs as well as publicising and bringing to members' attention the importance of this muddled and misguided set of propositions from the European Commission. But however, misguided - some would say boneheaded and arrogant - the Commission's position, the businesses that will be adversely affected by a misapplication of legislation would do well to get behind their respective industry associations and join in their efforts. For neither the Commission nor the legislation is going to go away. With the main body of proposals sequestered in the talking shop of the European Parliament, probably for the best part of a year, the Commission has quietly launched the REACH Implementation Project (RIP). While it is to be hoped that Euro parliamentarians see through the obvious nonsenses of the REACH legislation and consign significant chunks of it to the bin (RIP in a different, but more meaningful sense), there is no doubt that it will take concise reasoning from industry associations to help them in that endeavour.
February 2005 MPR
3