Ceramic Industry articles from February 2004

Ceramic Industry archives from February 2004

A profitable strategy.(Inside CI)(suggestions for profitability management)
February 1, 2004... If your company is like many organizations, profitability is the single most important focus of your day-to day operations. Virtually every purchasing, hiring and investment decision is made based on bottom-line returns. If your material...

International calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... FEBRUARY 17-18 Particle Materials Characterization, Riverside Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., e-mail shortcourse@quantachrome.com, www.quantachrome.com 22-27 Optical Fiber Communications Conference & Exposition 2004, Los Angeles...

Manufacturing week highlights American manufacturing, ceramic solutions.(Ceramics In The News)
February 1, 2004... Thousands of visitors worldwide are gearing up to attend the National Design Engineering Show and Conference, part of the multi-show National Manufacturing Week. Scheduled for February 23 26, 2004, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill.,...

Alcan's Engen named Pechiney chairman and CEO.(Ceramics In The News)(Travis Engen appointed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... On September 12, 2003, Pechiney's board of directors recommended Alcan's offer to its shareholders. Most of Pechiney's shareholders contributed their stock to the offer, and Alcan secured over 95% of share capital. Further to this operation,...

WACKER and BRENNTAG announce distribution agreement.(Ceramics In The News)(Wacker Chemical Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... In a joint communication, Dirk Funke, president and CEO of WACKER Chemical Corp., and William A. Fidler, executive vice president of BRENNTAG, Inc., recently announced that a new distributor partnership has been formed between the two...

Tecnargilla announces new Claytech section for 2004.(Ceramics In The News)
February 1, 2004... To enhance the show's ability to showcase a full range of offerings and appeal to a broader public, a new section called Claytech will be launched at Tecnargilla 2004. Claytech: Technology, Research and Innovation for the Brick and Tile...

Engelhard raises specialty kaolin and mica pigment prices.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Effective January 15, Engelhard Corp. raised prices for its specialty kaolin- and mica-based pigments to industrial markets by 5% or more. At the same time, the company eliminated all applicable energy surcharges, and combined and standardized...

BCC report predicts SOFC market will reach $335 million by 2008.(Ceramics In The News)(Business Communications Co., Inc., solid oxide fuel cells)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... According to "RGB-282 Solid Oxide Fuel Cells," a new report from Business Communications Co., Inc. (BCC), the global market for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is currently estimated at $123 million. The North American SOFC market is estimated...

EPSI receives Engineering Award.(Ceramics In The News)(Engineered Pressure Systems, Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Engineered Pressure Systems, Inc. (EPSI) recently received an Engineering Excellence Award from NDK Crystal, Inc., a manufacturer of quartz crystal electronic components, in appreciation for the design and installation of eight hydrothermal...

CERAM and M&P Lab sign agreement.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... CERAM has signed a marketing and collaboration agreement with The M&P Lab Inc. in the U.S. The agreement is underpinned by CERAM also acquiring a minority shareholding in the company. M&P Lab is a leading materials evaluation company in the...

Correction.(Ceramics In The News)(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2004... The photo of K-T Clay's facility in the September 2003 issue (p. 26) was of its Monterrey, Mexico plant, not its Nashville, Tenn., plant. We apologize for any confusion this error might have caused.

NETZSCH Inc.(People In The News)(Mark Seale appointed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Grinding and Dispersing Division of NETZSCH Inc. recently announced the appointment of Mark Seale to the position of South Central regional sales manager. He will represent the division in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas,...

PPG Industries.(People In The News)(Cheryl Richards elected for Glass Manufacturing Industry Council)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Cheryl Richards, market development manager, Thermoset products for PPG Industries' fiber glass business, has been elected president of the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council (GMIC) for 2004. Richards, who started in fiber glass research with...

Zircar Zirconia, Inc.(People In The News)(David Hoskins appointed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... David Hoskins recently joined Zircar Zirconia, Inc. as sales manager, with responsibilities for world wide sales and marketing of the company's 1700[degrees]C plug-in furnace and ceramic fiber products. With 15 years of experience in the...

Larry L. Hench of Imperial College, London, UK, and Frank T. Filser of ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have been selected as the recipients of the International Ceramics Prize 2004 by the World Academy of Ceramics.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Larry L. Hench of Imperial College, London, UK, and Frank T. Filser of ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have been selected as the recipients of the International Ceramics Prize 2004 by the World Academy of Ceramics. Hench, who was awarded the prize for...

Brush Ceramic Products Inc.(People In The News)(John Scheatzle appointed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... John Scheatzle has been named general manager of Brush Ceramic Products Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Brush Wellman Inc. He joined Brush Wellman in 1996 as manager, Supply Chain for the Alloy Products unit, and in 1997 was promoted to...

Protecting intellectual property rights in China.(IP In-Depth)
February 1, 2004... When China began to reform its trade policies in 1979, the outside world gained access to one of the largest consumer markets and one of the most economical areas to have goods manufactured for export. Today, 70-80% of all counterfeit consumer...

Sizing particles with X-ray sedimentation: despite the emergence of other particle sizing methods over the past several decades, X-ray sedimentation remains the method of choice for many ceramic manufacturers.
February 1, 2004... An exact method of determining particle size by sedimentation was developed in the 1850s by George Gabriel Stokes, who derived an equation (known as Stokes' law) describing the settling rates of spheres in a fluid as a function of size. Since...

Energy considerations--Part 2.(Kiln Connection)(energy conservation)
February 1, 2004... In CI's October 2003 issue (p. 29), we discussed fuel consumption in tunnel kilns. Following the efficiency recommendations provided in that column should have saved your company some fuel. This month, we will review a combustion system...

Optimizing silicon nitride ceramics: state-of-the-art thermal analysis and thermophysical properties testing instruments can help manufacturers of [Si.sub.3][N.sub.4] ceramics optimize the sintering process to achieve maximum product quality.
February 1, 2004... Silicon nitride ([Si.sub.3][N.sub.4]) plays a dominant role among nitride ceramics, primarily due to its good thermal shock resistance and high corrosion resistance. It also provides extremely high stability, high viscosity, excellent abrasion...

New rollers for advanced firing applications: new roller materials are enabling roller hearth kilns to provide reduced firing times, increased flexibility and other benefits in high-tech applications.(Special section: refractories)
February 1, 2004... Kiln technology has evolved rapidly over the last few decades. At one time, firing ceramic tile in a chamber kiln took as long as 38 hours. Tunnel kilns reduced this firing time (cold to cold) to approximately 22 hours. Companies eventually...

UNITECR'03 offers industry snapshot.(Refractories Review)(Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories)
February 1, 2004... The 8th Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories (UNITECR), organized by the Technical Association of Refractories, Japan (TARJ), was held October 19-22, 2003, in Osaka, Japan. The meeting was attended by roughly 700 people...

Ceramic substrates.(New Products)
February 1, 2004... CoorsTek, Inc. According to the company, its MidFilm[R] ceramic substrates promise near thin-film printing performance at prices much closer to traditional thick-film substrates. The new technology uses the same lower-cost manufacturing...

Gas burner.(New Products)
February 1, 2004... Hauck Manufacturing Co. The TriOx is a new ultra-low-N[O.sub.x] gas burner that reportedly uses a three-staged air injection design for maximum production efficiency while minimizing N[O.sub.x] emissions--as low as 20 ppm or less--even...