Ceramic Industry articles from March 2005

Ceramic Industry archives from March 2005

Reinventing yourself.(Inside CI)
March 1, 2005... It's no secret that the whitewares sector has been struggling. This has been particularly evident in dinnerware, where a confluence of events--a weak global economy, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the war in Iraq--led to a reduction in...

International calendar.(Calendar)
March 1, 2005... 9-11 Combustion and Control 2005, Cleveland, Ohio, (800) 626-3477, e-mail FredMcMann@namfg.com, www.northamericanmfg.com 14-15 Thermography: Electrical Applications, Tampa, Fla., (800) 636-9820, www.snellinfrared.com 16-17...

Ceradyne opens armored vehicle operation in Michigan.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Ceradyne, Inc. recently announced the opening of a new vehicle armor design and armored vehicle prototype facility in Wixom, Mich. The company is expanding its armor systems design and engineering capability for both military and commercial...

Sacmi supplies Betta Sanitaryware with new equipment.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Betta Sanitaryware of South Africa plans to increase its production following the purchase of equipment from Sacmi Whiteware. Betta's production capacity will rise from 1 million pieces per year to 1.5 million, with more than 160 workers...

Zschimmer & Schwarz begins production in U.S.(Ceramics In The News)(Zschimmer and Schwarz U.S.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Zschimmer & Schwarz U.S. Division recently began production of ceramic tile chemicals at its manufacturing plant in Milledgeville, Ga., including a range of products from printing mediums, binders and glaze additives to deflocculants and...

Libbey acquires Crisal-Cristalaria from Vista.(Ceramics In The News)
March 1, 2005... Libbey Inc. has acquired 95% of the shares of Crisal-Cristalaria Automatica S.A., located in Marinha Grande, Portugal, from Vista Alegre Atlantis SGPS, SA. The cash transaction is valued at approximately 28 million euros. Crisal manufactures...

Palmetto Brick announces $25 million expansion.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Palmetto Brick Co. recently announced a $25 million expansion to its Cheraw, S.C., headquarters, increasing residential and commercial brick production by 50% from 100 to 150 million brick per year. The company expects to add 20 new employees...

Almatis expands sales organization in China.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Almatis recently announced the expansion of its Asian sales organization by opening new sales offices in Shanghai and Kaifeng, Hennan Province, China. The Shanghai office is headed by Xiaomin Xu, and the Kaifeng office by Chen Hao. Both new...

Expansion completed at Allied Metallurg South Africa.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Allied Mineral Products Inc. recently announced the completion of a building expansion project at its office and production facility in Johannesburg, South Africa. Allied Metallurg South Africa (Pry) Ltd. (AMETSA) is a joint venture between...

Alcoa transfers Juruti development rights to AWAC.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Alcoa has entered into an agreement with Alumina Ltd., its partner in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC), to transfer Alcoa's interests in the Juruti (Brazil) bauxite project to AWAC. Alumina Ltd. holds 40% of AWAC, and Mcoa holds the...

FCT and TOTO to collaborate on SOFC System.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd. (FCT) and TOTO Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the design, development and manufacture of a 2-3 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. Under the terms of the MOU, FCT will design and...

BAC and SBI merge to form new organization.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Brick Association of the Carolinas (BAC) and the Southern Brick Institute (SBI) recently announced the merger of their organizations to create Brick SouthEast, a trade association dedicated to the advancement of brick products in the...

Nabertherm USA.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Chris Pilko has been named president of Nabertherm USA, New Castle, Del. Pilko has 14 years of management, sales and service experience with other kiln manufacturers, and is an alumnus of the ceramic engineering program at Alfred University in...

Anchor Glass Container Corp.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Anchor Glass Container Corp. recently announced that Darrin Campbell has been named its chief executive officer and elected to the board of directors. Richard Deneau has retired from his position as chief executive officer and director of...

NSL Analytical Services, Inc.(People In The News)
March 1, 2005... NSL Analytical Services, Inc. recently named Kelly Miller technical inside sales representative. Her responsibilities include customer interaction; quoting, creating and disseminating data and literature related to the commercial chemical...

Nth Degree Products, LLC.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... TJ Lopata was recently appointed junior specialty account salesman for Nth Degree Products, LLC. His initial responsibilities are to initiate high-temperature ink sales and launch other high-temperature lines. He will be based in Milledgeville,...

KUKA Robotics Corp.(People In The News)
March 1, 2005... KUKA Robotics Corp. recently announced the appointment of Timothy J. Arndorfer as account manager, Southwest region. He will be responsible for the company's system partners and customer accounts for the region. Arndorfer has over 20 years of...

National Academy of Engineering.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Delbert Day, Ph.D., curator's professor emeritus of ceramic engineering in the materials science and engineering department at the University of Missouri-Rolla, was recently inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. Day is recognized...

National Research Council.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Alan H. Goldstein, Ph.D., who holds the Fierer Chair of Biomaterials Engineering in the School of Engineering at Alfred University, has been appointed by the National Research Council to a committee that will conduct an evaluation of the...

Advancing technology.(Refractories Review)
March 1, 2005... "Everything that can be invented has been invented." The origin and validity of this statement, reportedly attributed to Charles H. Duell, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, in 1899, has been well researched) The statement probably stemmed from the...

Royal Copenhagen: celebrates continued success: Royal Copenhagen's new plant in Denmark embodies the artistic tradition and modern production processes of the centuries-old porcelain manufacturer.(Cover Story)
March 1, 2005... When Queen Margrethe II of Denmark stepped into the large hospitality tent set up on the lawn outside the new Royal Copenhagen headquarters on September 17, 2004, a thrill of excitement ran through the 300 guests attending from all over the...

New patent fees.(IP In-depth)
March 1, 2005... On December 8, 2004, President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 4818) into law. In addition to setting a budget for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) expenses, the act also revised the schedule of fees that the PTO...

Finding a new niche: after a management buyout in 2004 rescued the plant from closing, Niagara Ceramics is reinventing itself as a 21st century ceramic manufacturer.
March 1, 2005... When Oneida announced in the summer of 2003 that it planned to close its Buffalo China dinnerware factory and decorating facility in Buffalo, N.Y., along with four other manufacturing plants (two in Mexico, one in China and one in Italy), few...

Leading the way for decorators: SGCD's DECO 2005 conference and exposition will highlight new technologies, designs and opportunities for glass and ceramic decorators.(Special section: decorating)
March 1, 2005... Hundreds of professionals in the glass and ceramic decorating field are expected to gather at the Omni Champions Gate in Orlando, Fla., April 2-5, for DECO 2005, hosted by the Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorators (SGCD). With the theme,...

Glaze basics: with a move toward leaner, more efficient manufacturing processes, the basics of glaze formulation and application should not be overlooked.(Special section: decorating)
March 1, 2005... Over the past decade, and especially within the last several years, many manufacturers of tile, dinnerware and sanitary-ware have begun embracing leaner, more efficient production processes in an effort to remain competitive. As part of these...

Questioning cobalt: a recent court case is shedding new light on both the myths and realities regarding cobalt and other ceramic raw materials.(Special section: decorating)
March 1, 2005... Cobalt has traditionally been used as a decorative blue colorant in everything from Chinese porcelain to American salt glazed stoneware. Today, cobalt oxide and cobalt carbonate are still widely used in glaze and slip formulas to develop a...

Cost-saving clay dispersants: new dispersants are being developed to overcome the recent cost and supply challenges with conventional polyacrylate formulations.(Product Profile)
March 1, 2005... Polyacrylate (PAA) dispersants have been widely used by clay suppliers and ceramic manufacturers to deflocculate clay suspensions and disperse pigments in glazes. These chemicals neutralize surface charges on colloidal particles and disperse...

Custom diamond tools.(New Products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Brandywine Abrasives This company manufactures custom diamond tools, specializing in electroplating and diamond brazing bonding processes. According to the company, tools made through the electroplating process can be stripped and replated...

Spindle dicing systems.(New Products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Advanced Dicing Technologies A six-page, four-color brochure provides information on the company's 7100 series spindle dicing systems. These 2- and 4-in. spindle dicing systems are available in four models that are optimized for a specific...

Cake breaker and feeder.(New Products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Wyssmont Co., Inc. This company's cake breaker and feeder can reportedly break virtually all filter press cakes and deliver a uniform product rate to the next step in the process. Consisting of specially designed and arranged screws, the...

Recirculating ovens.(New Products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Lucifer Furnaces, Inc. The 4099 V series of high-temperature recirculating ovens is reportedly ideal for the tempering, annealing, stress relieving, shrink fitting and heat treating of large workloads. Designed for 1400[degrees]F...

Clay trap.(New Products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Bracker's Good Earth Clays, Inc. This company has secured an exclusive distributorship within the ceramic industry for the Gleco Trap clay trap. Reportedly economical, easy to install and easy to maintain, the clay trap is appropriate for...