Ceramic Industry articles from October 2003

Ceramic Industry archives from October 2003

Where's the recovery?(Inside CI)
October 1, 2003... For months now, economists have been saying that the U.S. economy is improving. The recession that began in March 2001 officially ended in November of the same year. By September 2003, the International Monetary Fund was predicting overall U.S....

International calendar.
October 1, 2003... OCTOBER 1-2 Powder Injection Molding (PIM) Tutorial, State College, Pa., (814) 867-1140, fax (814) 867-2813, e-mail rgc@imspowder.com, www.imspowder.com 1-2 ACerS Southeast Section Fall Meeting, Beau Rivage Casino and Resort, Biloxi,...

BCC to hold annual nanoparticles conference in Cambridge, Mass.(Ceramics In The News)(Business Communications Co. Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Nanoparticles 2003 will be held October 26-29 at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Mass. Business Communications Co., Inc.'s (BCC) annual conference will feature two full days of invited oral presentations, a pre-conference tutorial workshop...

Unifrax acquired by ASCP.(Ceramics In The News: Unifrax Holding Co., Unifrax Corp., American Securities Capital Partners, L.P.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... American Securities Capital Partners, L.P. (ASCP), a private-equity investment firm, has acquired Unifrax Holding Co. and its operating company subsidiary, Unifrax Corp., from Kirtland Capital Partners (KCP) and Unifrax management. Terms of the...

Instar updates website.(Ceramics In The News: Instar Enterprises International Inc. )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Instar Enterprises International Inc. recently announced that it has updated its website. As a company that has prided itself on innovation and technological achievement for more than 50 years, Instar has said that is determined to use the...

SMAHT purchases COIC's monolithic ceramics division.(Ceramics In The News: SMAHT Ceramics, Inc., COI Ceramics Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... SMAHT Ceramics, Inc. recently acquired the monolithic ceramics operations of COI Ceramics Inc. (COIC). SMAHT acquired substantially all of COIC's assets at the company's Salt Lake City, Utah, division, except for its ceramic fiber operations....

Sacmi supplies equipment for new Ceramic Industries Group plant.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... At the end of April 2003, the Ceramic Industries Group successfully started up its latest plant west of Vereeniging in the Vaal Triangle of South Africa. The Pegasus factory, with an output of 24,000 [m.sup.2]/day, has significantly reinforced...

SGCD announces reorganization.(Ceramics In The News: Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorators )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorators (SGCD) has relocated its administrative and membership offices to Zanesville, Ohio. The Zanesville office will coordinate all membership activities and will manage activities related to the annual...

Aadvanced Machinery Inc.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... David Crosson recently joined Aadvanced Machinery Inc. as a sales representative. Based out of Detroit, Mich., he will handle a variety of sales duties in North America. Crosson is a recent graduate of Grand Valley State University.

General Shale Brick.(People In The News)(Robert W. O'Quinn receives industry award)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Robert W. O'Quinn, director of the research laboratory for General Shale Brick for 23 years, was recently honored with two industry awards. A 40-year employee at General Shale who retired in March 2003, he received the Director's Award from The...

OM Group, Inc. (OMG).(People In The News)(Stephen Dunmead named vice president, general manager, cobalt)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Stephen D. Dunmead has been named vice president and general manager, cobalt, of OM Group, Inc. (OMG). The company's vice president of technology since 1998, he succeeds Todd W. Romance, who has left the company. Prior to joining OMG, Dunmead...

Eclipse Inc.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Eclipse Inc. recently appointed Darren Revill of Nelson, New Zealand, as a sales and service engineer in the South Asia and Pacific area. He has an extensive background in furnace design, glass production, oxy-fuel technology and general...

Nanophase Technologies.(People In The News)(W. Ian Roberts named vice president, US and international sales)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... W. Ian Roberts has been promoted to vice president, U.S. and international sales for Nanophase Technologies. Roberts joined the company in 1999 and has been a major contributor to Nanophase's product sales revenues. He has also been...

Pricing pressures, economic woes affect advanced ceramics markets.
October 1, 2003... After an extremely difficult year in 2001, many manufacturers serving the high-tech markets saw sales fall an additional 5-15% in 2002 as a result of continued weakness in the electronics sector, particularly in corporate information...

U.S. tile consumption increases; prices decline.
October 1, 2003... The year 2002 held many surprises for the ceramic tile industry. According to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and Customs Department, factory shipments plus imports totaled 2.63 billion square feet in 2002--an increase of 15.7% over 2001....

Consumer trends, cheap imports erode dinnerware market.
October 1, 2003... The past two years have been challenging for many dinnerware manufacturers, as the weak global economy has made consumers reluctant to travel and spend. The "luxury lifestyle" sector has been especially hard hit, with companies in this market...

Strong building, remodeling markets boost demand for sanitaryware products.
October 1, 2003... Low mortgage rates in the U.S., which fueled record sales of both new and existing homes in 2002, helped boost demand for sanitaryware and other building products. For all of 2002, housing starts totaled 1.71 million units, up 6.4% from 1.60...

Gas pains? Join the club.(Kiln Connection)
October 1, 2003... Around 50% of my e-mail inquiries are associated with fuel consumption and fuel prices. Many companies--both large and small--have been exposed to double-plus fuel costs. A few of them are taking action now, but the majority are crossing their...

Refractories markets poised for recovery as economy regains strength.
October 1, 2003... Low prices and poor economic conditions in the worldwide steel industry forced additional consolidation in early 2002. Although worldwide output of steel was up 6% compared to 2001 levels, most of the increase was attributed to higher...

Sales higher for flat glass and containers; other glass segments mixed.
October 1, 2003... According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 6.4 billion square feet of flat glass were shipped in 2002 at an estimated value of $2.1 billion--up slightly (1% and 0.7%, respectively) from the previous year's levels. Shipments of automotive...

Residential construction boosts U.S. brick demand; commercial markets expected to improve.
October 1, 2003... According to the U.S. Commerce Department, shipments of common and facing brick increased 1.2% in 2002 to 8.04 billion at a value of $1.72 billion, compared to 7.94 billion at a value of $1.68 billion in 2001. The South Atlantic region...

IP considerations for technology-based businesses.(IP In-Depth: intellectual property)
October 1, 2003... Intellectual property (IP) has become the gold of the current economically driven technology gold rush. Compared to the California gold rush in the 1850s, when half a million people from around the world raced to stake claims for gold-bearing...

Health & safety in a lean environment: using sound health and safety practices in conjunction with lean manufacturing techniques can help manufacturers gain a much-needed edge in today's competitive business environment.
October 1, 2003... The increasingly competitive global economy is placing incredible pressures on companies in the ceramic industry to reduce costs and increase productivity. A paradigm shift in business practices to lean manufacturing can make ale the difference...

Ceradyne, Inc.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Advanced Technical Ceramics Ceradyne, Inc., founded in 1967, is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of non-oxide ceramic components from silicon nitride, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, boron carbide and other materials for the...

Eisenmann Corp.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... EISENMANN Corp. is a leading international supplier of ceramics technology, surface finishing systems, environmental technology and material flow automation. In addition, the company supplies numerous industries specializing in coating and...

G-P Gypsum Corp.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Georgia-Pacific Corp. has been a leader in the gypsum industry since the company acquired Bestwall Gypsum Co. in 1965. G-P Gypsum, a wholly owned subsidiary, is backed fully by Georgia-Pacific. Georgia-Pacific Corp. is one of the leading...

GFC Kilns International Pty Ltd.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Senior Technical Editor Ralph Ruark met with experts from GFC Kilns International Pty Ltd and discovered kiln innovations from down under. Following is an excerpt of his article (CI, May 2001, pp. 22-27.) Ruark: Why have you adopted this...

I Squared R Element Co., Inc.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... I Squared R Element Co., Inc. is a heating element problem solver, with over 40 years of experience in the design of electric furnaces equipped with silicon carbide and molybdenum disilicide heating elements. Having trouble with short...

Pred Materials International, Inc.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Pred Materials distributes specialty chemicals for next-generation technologies. The company represents some of the finest manufacturers from around the world--especially from Japan--but also from Europe, China, South Korea and Taiwan. Pred's...

Quantachrome[R] Instruments.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Quantachrome Instruments is an ISO 9001 manufacturer of particle characterization instruments serving the research and quality control needs of industrial, academic and government laboratories worldwide. Born with a spirit of inventiveness and...

Retsch, Inc.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Retsch is a global company dedicated to providing novel technologies and tools for the sample preparation of solids for R&D and QA applications, as well as small-scale production. Founded in 1915, Retsch Gmbtt, located ha Haan, Germany, has...

Russell Finex Inc.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Russell Finex Inc. provides equipment to screen powders and slurries at all stages of ceramic production. Established in 1965, the company has extensive experience in screening high-value ceramics to ensure that the final product is of the...

Saint-Gobain Advanced Ceramics Corp., Structural Ceramics Group.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Saint-Gobain Advanced Ceramics Corp., Structural Ceramics Group--formerly Carborundum Corp.--produces Hexoloy[R] silicon carbide, a machineable ceramic for very high temperature and severe environment applications in the ceramic industry....

Saint-Gobain Ceramics.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Saint-Gobain Ceramics is a worldwide refractories business serving the white-ware, electronic ceramic and technical ceramic markets. The company recognizes the trends developing within the industry today and is prepared to develop ceramic...

Starkey Machinery, Inc.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The model Starkey 851 de-airing pugmill/extruder is designed for the extrusion of ceramic, chemical or other plastic materials in R&D, pilot plant, laboratory, testing and production applications. The Starkey 851 features a polyurethane-coated...

TDC Filter Mfg./Midwesco Filter Resources.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Pleat+Plus[R] Seal-TITE new generation baghouse replacement bag delivers time and maintenance savings for the ceramic industry. Already a leader for OEMs, the Seal-TITE is an all-metal design, bottom-load unit designed to fill the gap for...

Vesuvius McDanel.(Corporate Profile)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2003... Vesuvius McDanel has over 80 years of experience in the manufacturing of fine-grained ceramics. These industrial and technical components are usually made in container or tubular shapes for use in heat and corrosion-resistant applications. ...