Ceramic Industry articles from April 2006

Ceramic Industry archives from April 2006

The spirit of teamwork.(about the teamwork)
April 1, 2006... No doubt we've all seen reports that ratings for the recent XX Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, were disappointing. Popular reality shows pulled audiences away, and several U.S. athletes did not perform as well as expected--if at all. I, for...

International calendar.(calendar)(Calendar)
April 1, 2006... APRIL 17-21 2006 MRS Spring Meeting, Moscone West Convention Center, San Francisco, Calif., www.mrs.org/meetings/spring2006/ 18-20 2006 CPMA International Conference, Hotel InterContinental Chicago, Chicago, Ill., (703) 684-4044,...

Villeroy & Boch acquires GIS sanitary business.(acquisition of Villeroy and Boch AG and Grupo Industrial Saltillo S.A. de C.V)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Villeroy &Boch AG has made its first acquisition of a North American company with the purchase of the sanitaryware business of Grupo Industrial Saltillo, one of Mexico's leading industrial corporations. Included are three factories that produce...

Ceradyne receives $70 million body armor order.(contracts of Ceradyne, Inc with United States Army)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Ceradyne, Inc. recently announced the receipt of an order for its lightweight ceramic body armor in the amount of $70 million from the U.S. Army. This particular contract is for new designs developed to protect the side areas of a soldier's...

NSG to acquire Pilkington.(CERAMICS IN THE News)
April 1, 2006... The board of directors of Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. (NSG) has resolved to proceed with a recommended cash acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Pilkington plc, to make it a wholly owned subsidiary of NSG. Pilkington is a 20%...

U.S. House approves partial preemption of Proposition 65.(about voting to the National Uniformity for Food Act)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 4167, the National Uniformity for Food Act, on March 8. H.R. 4167 would prohibit any state from establishing or enforcing notification or warning requirements for food, food components or...

Carl Zeiss SMT announces partnership with Calit2.(Carl Zeiss SMT AG partners with University of California )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Carl Zeiss SMT and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) will embark on a strategic alliance designed to provide a Southern California regional center...

Panariagroup acquires Florida Tile.(CERAMICS IN THE News)
April 1, 2006... Panariagroup Industrie Ceramica S.P.A., a publicly traded Italian corporation, has acquired the assets of Florida Tile Industries. Founded in 1974, Panariagroup is reportedly one of the world's leading manufacturers of ceramic tile. "With this...

Tecnargilla will debut Kermat in 2006.(CERAMICS IN THE News)
April 1, 2006... Kermat, a section devoted to advanced ceramic products, will make its debut at Tecnargilla 2006 in Rimini, Italy, September 28 to October 2. This new section will reportedly allow visitors to see the latest technical innovations and...

CERAC acquired by WAM.(acquisition of Cerac Inc by Williams Advanced Materials Inc)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... CERAC has been acquired by Williams Advanced Materials Inc. (WAM), a subsidiary of publicly held Brush Engineered Materials Inc. CERAC will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of WAM, continuing to manufacture specialty inorganic chemicals and...

Battelle releases annual R&D forecast.(reports of Research and Developement)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Total funding for research and development is expected to increase by approximately 2.9% to $329 billion in 2006, according to the annual Battelle-R&D Magazine forecast. The projected increase, from the estimated $320 billion spent in 2005,...

Barry to design for Wedgwood.(contracts with a designer)
April 1, 2006... Wedgwood will work with internationally known designer Barbara Barry on her new collection of fine dinnerware, crystal and decorative accessories. The Barbara Barry for Wedgwood Collection is planned for release into the U.S. market in the fall...

Class action suits filed against alleged Chinese cartels.(CERAMICS IN THE News)
April 1, 2006... A suit filed in September 2005 on behalf of Resco Products, Inc. and Animal Science Products, Inc. has accused 17 companies in China of colluding to fix the price and control the supply of exports of magnesite and magnesite products. The case,...

Stedman.(People IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2006... Stedman has appointed Dave Vest its manufacturing manager. He has over 27 years of experience in various engineering, estimating, inside sales (crusher applications) and plant management positions. Vest's main responsibilities will be to...

Rio Tinto Minerals (RTM).(appointments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Gary Goldberg, previously president and CEO of Borax, was appointed president and chief operating officer of Rio Tinto Minerals (RTM). Adam Parr, previously managing director of Dampier Salt, has assumed the role of president and chief...

Warren/Amplex Superabrasives.(People IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2006... Warren/Amplex Superabrasives has appointed Brian Rebuck its new plant manager. A 1990 graduate of California State University-Chico with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Rebuck is a Six Sigma trained black belt. His primary...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).(joined as a senior research and development staff member)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Ronald (Ron) H. Chand has joined the Metals & Ceramics Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). As a senior R&D staff member, he will research cost-effective machining methodologies for automotive, semiconductor, optics and...

Adams Rite Aerospace.(People IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2006... Adam Lang recently joined Adams Rite Aerospace, Fullerton, Calif., as product line manager. He is responsible for the Hardware Line, which includes hardware, controls and cockpit security. Before joining Adams Rite Aerospace, Lang spent 12...

Anter Laboratories, Inc.(People IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2006... Daniela Stroe Gaal, Ph.D., laboratory director of Anter Laboratories, Inc., was elected a fellow at the 28th International Thermal Conductivity Conference. This recognition was given for outstanding contributions in the field of thermophysical...

The Tile Council of North America, Inc. (TCNA).(People IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2006... The Tile Council of North America, Inc. (TCNA) has hired Philip J. (Jeff) Micalizzi to be the new director of its wholly owned subsidiary, TCA Team, LLC. His responsibilities include managing operations and recruiting additional consultants.

Innovative Processing Solutions LLC.(People IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2006... Marcus Hix has been appointed system engineer for Innovative Processing Solutions LLC. He has over 18 years of experience in conveyors, material handling and industrial machinery. Hix received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering...

Refractron Technologies Corp.(Refractron Technologies Corp has promoted Scott Bartkowski as president)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Scott Bartkowski has been promoted to president of Refractron Technologies Corp. He joined the company in 2001 as a research and development engineer and was promoted to manager of structural ceramics, vice president of operations and general...

Ten principles to evaluate operations.(about the business owners)
April 1, 2006... What does the word "operations" mean to you? If I ask 20 business owners, I'll probably get 20 different answers. I might get answers such as "It's how we do what we do," or "It has to do with making it and then shipping it," or "It's the...

UNITECR '05.(about the conference)(Conference notes)
April 1, 2006... The world refractories community convened in Orlando, Fla., at the Rosen Centre Hotel, November 8-11, 2005, for the 9th biennial gathering of the Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories (UNITECR). Attendance was about 775,...

Investing in ceramics: material processing solutions: Union process' toll processing capabilities are helping companies meet production demands and explore potential new markets.(Cover story)
April 1, 2006... As the markets for many ceramic products have continued to improve over the past year, manufacturing plants have begun investing in new production equipment and exploring potential new applications. Often, however, companies don't have time to...

State-of-the-art processing: updated processing equipment can help manufacturers save time and money while producing higher-quality products.
April 1, 2006... High-performance facilities and production methods incorporating the latest technological developments are required to produce high-grade refractory bodies. Unfortunately, many refractory companies are running decades-old production plants that...

Case study: moving right along: switching to a new graphite/metal alloy bearing material will help a major glass manufacturer save nearly $250,000 per year.(casestudy of glass products)
April 1, 2006... A leading producer of glass products ranging from home decor, cookware and industrial lighting, as well as value-added enhancements, to the non-retail market had been experiencing a major problem with the bearings in its conveyors. The high...

Moving into high gear.(about glass industry)
April 1, 2006... When an industry starts working together, there's no end to what it can accomplish, and the sky's the limit as the U.S. glass industry pursues a number of strategic objectives. Glass Strength The project with the greatest potential for...

Global trends & innovations: CERAMITEC 2006 will showcase the latest global trends and innovations in machinery, equipment, plants, processes and raw materials for ceramics and powder metallurgy.(about the show)
April 1, 2006... More than 600 companies from 40 countries will showcase their products and services in Munich, Germany, May 16-19 during CERAMITEC 2006. The show will be divided into four halls, with Hall A5 focused on refractory materials, kiln furniture,...

Characterizing the pore structure of SOFCS: modern analysis techniques can be used to characterize the pore structure of SOFCs and help improve fuel cell performance.(SPECIAL SECTION: CERAMIC ENERGY)
April 1, 2006... The current dynamic interest in fuel cell (FC) technology reflects strong technological and economical implications. This technology offers more advanced, more efficient and more environmentally friendly ways of generating energy compared to...

Taking the heat in power turbines: ceramics have been "taking the heat" in Siemens power turbines in the form of monolithic ceramic parts and thermal barrier coatings.(usage of ceramics)
April 1, 2006... Siemens Power Generation, Inc., based in Orlando, Fla., is proving that ceramics are ideal materials for power turbine applications. The company uses a combination of monolithic ceramic and ceramic-coated metal heat shields to line the...

New safety specification expected to aid commercialization of portable fuel cells.(safety measures of fuel cells)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has published a new safety specification for small fuel cells capable of powering personal electronic devices. The specification helps open the door to fuel cell use on passenger aircraft,...

FuelCell Energy to develop coal-based multi-megawatt SOFC system.(solid oxide fuel cell systems has awarded with contracts )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... FuelCell Energy, Inc., Danbury, Conn., has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a prime contractor of a third project team to develop a coal-based multi-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The total project award...

GE SOFC prototype exceeds DOE targets.(Department of Energy)(General Electric's solid oxide fuel cell)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... A prototype of the first fuel cell capable of being manufactured at a cost approaching that of conventional stationary power technology has been successfully tested as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Solid State Energy...