Ceramic Industry articles from April 2002

Ceramic Industry archives from April 2002

The trade show potential. (Inside CI).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Christine L. Grahl, Editor Based on the most recent economic figures, what may have been the shortest, shallowest recession in U.S. history is over, and the economy has once again begun to expand. The more optimistic economic analysts are...

GFC to host wine tasting at ACerS meeting. (Ceramics in the News).
April 1, 2002... GFC Kilns International Pty Ltd is hosting a wine tasting on the evenings of April 29 and 30, 2002, at the Adam's Mark Hotel in St. Louis, Mo., during the 104th American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Annual Meeting and Exposition. For more...

Wacker Ceramics holds press conference at SAE Congress. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Wacker Ceramics, a division of Wacker Chemie GmbH, held a press conference in March at the SAE 2002 World Congress to announce several new and improved products. The company discussed how its Ekagrip[R] functional coatings can be used to...

RHI moves forward with announced restructuring. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... RHI Refractories Holding Co. recently announced that three of its businesses, Global Industrial Technologies, Inc. (GIT), Harbison-Walker Refractories Co., and A.P. Green Industries, Inc., as well as a number of their subsidiaries, have filed...

Pechiney strengthens its specialty alumina business through acquisition. (Ceramics in the News).(Alufin GmbH Tabularoxid)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Pechiney has announced its acquisition of Alufin GmbH Tabularoxid. The company specializes in the production of tabular alumina, which is mainly used in high-performance refractories. It was founded in 1992 by Dieter P. Schlayer and employs...

Gladding McBean acquires Lincoln Clay. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Gladding McBean, a division of Pacific Coast Building Products Inc., recently announced that Lincoln Clay Products, of Lincoln, Calif., has been acquired and will be operated by Gladding McBean. Lincoln Clay Products has served the ceramic...

Laeis Bucher supplies tile press and dryer to Cesantoni. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... In the course of restructuring and expanding its production program, Cesantoni S.A. de C.V., a tile producer in Mexico, recently purchased an OMEGA series tile press from Laeis Bucher. The press features a pressing force of 3000 t and a...

CeramTec closes Mansfield facility. (Ceramics in the News). (CeramTec North America, Massachusetts).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... CeramTec North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of CeramTec AG, announced recently that it is closing its facility in Mansfield, Mass., and moving the plant's operations to its North American headquarters in Laurens, S.C. The Mansfield...

Thermal Ceramics forms new applications engineering team. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Thermal Ceramics recently announced the formation of a new engineering applications team at its Augusta, Ga., headquarters. Fred Fidler, manager, Applications Engineering, has been selected to head this group of degreed engineers averaging more...

Hosokawa Micron and NanoProducts announce partnership. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Hosokawa Micron Corp. and NanoProducts Corp. recently announced a strategic partnership and joint venture to commercialize nanotechnology and market nanoscale advanced materials and handling and production equipment. The alliance between the...

Nanophase announces new core patent application. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Nanophase Technologies Corp. recently announced that it has applied for a patent detailing additional technology to create stable dispersions of nanoparticles in aqueous solutions. "Many customer applications require aqueous dispersions of...

Centorr/Vacuum Industries adds new building. (Ceramics in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Centorr/Vacuum Industries has completed construction on a new building at its Nashua, N.H., headquarters. In addition to the 40,000-square-foot main building, the company has added a 40 x 40 x 55 ft tower facility, which features a 5-ton hook...

Vinnie Carothers. (People in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Compagnie de Saint-Gobain recently announced the appointment of Vinnie Carothers to the position of vice president of human resources for its North American Abrasives and Ceramics & Plastics businesses. Carothers, who was formerly vice...

Steve Thompson. (People in the News).
April 1, 2002... Premier Mill, a Lightnin company, recently announced the appointment of Steve Thompson as general manager. He brings to the position global experience in operations, sales, marketing and acquisitions. He most recently served as vice president...

PPG Industries. (People in the News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... PPG Industries announced recently that Frank A. Archinaco, executive vice president, will retire July 1. Additionally, Charles E. (Chuck) Bunch, executive vice president, has been elected president and chief operating officer, effective the...

Gilbert Medina. (People in the News).
April 1, 2002... Fedmet Resources has appointed Gilbert Medina as its sales manager for the mid-southern U.S. He has over 35 years of experience in the steel industry and has worked at various mills, including Chaparral, Smi Steel and Keystone.

K. Robert Burger. (People in the News).
April 1, 2002... K. Robert Burger, founder of both Hotwork and Zedmark, died recently at the age of 68. He received his ceramic engineering degree from Alfred University in 1960 and an honorary Ph.D. in science from Alfred in 1992. He was active as an Alfred...

Udo Kostlin. (People in the News).
April 1, 2002... Udo Kostlin, managing director of the German Engineering Federation, passed away recently at the age of 60. He had headed the Construction Equipment and Building and Material Machinery Association since 1975 and the Mining Equipment Association...

Michael R. Clint. (People in the News).
April 1, 2002... Michael R. Clint, who served as vice president of M.E.G. Systems Corp. since the founding of the company in 1995, recently passed away. Prior to M.E.G. Systems, he worked for Carborundum and Kanthal Corp. In the industry for over 30 years,...

Increasing quality through controlled drying: a temperature- and humidity-controlled dryer has enabled Isolantite Manufacturing Co. to increase product quality while significantly decreasing drying time. (Case Study).
April 1, 2002... The drying process is one of the most important steps to control in order to ensure a high quality product. Many of the defects that appear after firing (such as cracks, warping and distortion) are a direct result of a poor drying atmosphere....

China: Are you ready? (International Business).
April 1, 2002... It doesn't matter how fast you are, you can't outrun the inevitable. The only question is, when it arrives, how will you react? That was the question being pondered by an executive I met recently who works for an American specialty...

Revitalizing today's dust collectors to meet tomorrow's needs.
April 1, 2002... New filter elements can help companies meet increasingly stringent emissions standards while also reducing energy use, minimizing maintenance requirements and increasing operational efficiencies. Ever since the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments...

Saving energy with vibratory feeders: Feeders with an electromagnetic AC drive can help companies save up to 60% on energy for materials handling operations while also improving process control.
April 1, 2002... With the soaring cost of electricity in industry commanding an ever-increasing share of attention, manufacturers are looking at every aspect of their operations--including materials handling--to reduce energy use. Vibratory feeders should be...

Milling finer dispersions.
April 1, 2002... As the bar for quality continues to be raised for many ceramic products, manufacturers are increasingly faced with the need to develop finer dispersions with narrower particle size distributions. However, many existing fine media mills are...

Take advantage of glass opportunities. (Glass at a Glance).
April 1, 2002... The partnership between the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council (GMIC) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies (QIT) is generating a host of opportunities for glass companies. Glass manufacturers not involved in...

Simplifying materials drying: Flash dryers can accommodate a wide range of temperatures and drying gases, providing quick and safe processing for a number of materials.
April 1, 2002... Particle size and purity are of the utmost importance for many ceramic materials, but keeping wet powders and slurries from agglomerating and clumping during drying can be a challenge. Often, further size reduction and classification operations...

Lean drying: Combination RF-convection dryers can allow ceramic manufacturers to change from older batch processes to lean, continuous processes by significantly reducing drying times.
April 1, 2002... In today's competitive world, customers are constantly demanding higher quality, faster delivery and lower cost. For ceramic manufacturers, lean manufacturing can provide a way to achieve all three of these goals. Unfortunately, drying...

Characterizing ceramics during the drying process: Gaining a real understanding of the drying process requires careful observation and measurement of the effects of drying on a ceramic body.
April 1, 2002... Understanding the drying process can help manufacturers solve drying problems and develop faster drying schedules. But since each ceramic body dries differently, gaining a real understanding of drying requires both observation and measurement...

Remembering Refractories week in Bedford Springs. (Refractories Review).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Between the 50s and 80s, the Bedford Springs Hotel in Bedford Springs, Pa., was the common site of Fall Meetings for the Refractories, Glass, and Materials & Equipment Divisions of the American Ceramic Society. Despite the popularity and...

Advancing the science of ceramics. (Special Section -- Show Previews).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The 104th Annual Meeting of the American Ceramic Society will provide an opportunity to share information and to advance the science and technology of ceramics and ceramic-containing products. The America's Center in St. Louis, Mo., will...

From Powder to product: the International Powder & Bulk Solids Conference/Exhibition will feature a range of dry processing products, technologies and solutions. (Special Section -- Show Previews).
April 1, 2002... The 27th annual International Powder & Bulk Solids Conference/Exhibition will take place May 6-9 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. The four-day conference program will include seminars, workshops, tutorials, advanced...

Coverings 2002: Reunites the global floor covering industry. (Special Section -- Show Previews).
April 1, 2002... Coverings 2002, home of the International Tile & Stone Exposition (ITSE) and the International Flooring Exposition (IFE), will run May 6-9, 2002, at its traditional home in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. This year's show...

Alumina castable. (New Products). (from Zircar Ceramics Inc.).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... ZIRCAR Ceramics, Inc. Alumina castable type ZIRALCAST 95 is a high-purity, extra-high-alumina refractory castable composed primarily of pure fused alumina bubbles. ZIRALCAST 95 features a composition of 95.6% [Al.sub.2][O.sub.3], 3.8% CaO...

Surface area measurement. (New Products). (Micromeritics Instrument Corp.'s FlowSorb III 2305/2310 measuring device).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Micromeritics The FlowSorb III 2305/2310 provides single-point surface area measurements with exceptional speed, accuracy and reliability. Multi-point BET analysis can also be performed. Samples having surface areas from 0.01 to over 1000...

Water sorption analyzer. (New Products). (Quantachrome Instruments' Hydrosorb 1000 instrument).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Quanta chrome Instruments The Hydrosorb[TM] 1000 overcomes many limitations of water sorption measurement. The unit offers fully automated, rapid measurement of adsorption and desorption water isotherms, including BET surface area...

Thermal diffusivity analyzer. (New Products). (Netzsch Instruments Inc.'s LFA 447 Nanoflash instrument).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... NETZSCH Instruments, Inc. The new LFA 447 Nanoflash[TM] provides fast, accurate thermal diffusivity, specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements for a wide range of materials. Designed to make flash diffusivity testing faster,...

Uniaxial hot press. (New Products).(Advertising)
April 1, 2002... Thermal Technology Inc. This company's laboratory and Pressmaster uniaxial hot press systems are designed for simultaneous application of high temperatures and high pressures. Primary applications include densification of powdered ceramics...

Box furnaces. (New Products).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... CM Furnaces, Inc. This new full line of rapid temperature box furnaces is available with operating options in nitrogen, argon, oxygen or hydrogen. Atmosphere control is assured through the superior construction of these furnaces, including...

Lab-sized mill. (New Products). (Inoue USA's MP mill).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Inoue USA The company engineered its new lab-sized MP mill for testing small batch size materials using a closed mill recirculation concept. Designed and manufactured to close tolerances, the MP mill operates as a pumpless milling and...

Powder diffraction system. (New Products). (Thermo ARL's powder XRD system).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Thermo ARL Combining 25 years of XRD experience and engineering excellence, this new powder XRD system offers a cost-effective solution for high quality powder diffraction applications. Built around a vertical goniometer, this instrument...

Thermal insulation. (New Products).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... Unifrax Corp. Isofrax[TM] 1260[degrees]C paper is the company's latest addition to its Isofrax family of thermal insulation products. Isofrax 1260[degrees]C paper is a unique product that is manufactured by forming Isofrax 1260[degrees]C...