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CI CyberNews, Vol. 8 No. 5
ALCOA ANNOUNCES RECORD INCOME AND REVENUE Alcoa recently announced the best full year results in the company’s 118-year history. Annual income from continuing operations was $2.2 billion, or $2.47 per diluted share, for 2006. After excluding the impact of previously announced restructuring and impairment charges, income from continuing operations was $2.5 billion, a 75% increase from 2005. Driven by higher metal prices and strong demand for aluminum in the aerospace, commercial transportation and commercial building markets, revenues for 2006 increased 19% to a record $30.4 billion. In the company’s alumina segment, after-tax operating income was $259 million, down $12 million from the previous quarter but up
42% from the year-ago quarter. Additional details are available at www.alcoa.com.
ALLIED MINERAL INTRODUCES NEW LINE OF REFRACTORY CASTABLES The V-CAST® 700 series from Allied Mineral Products, Inc. is a new line of ultra-low-water castables that are designed for molten iron contact areas in channel furnaces, cupolas, transfer ladles, lauders, receivers, blast furnace troughs and runners, and other molten metal applications. These products require 4.5% or less water by weight for casting, and some are as low as 3.5%. The low casting water level results in a denser cast with lower permeability. Ultimately, the high density and low permeability improve performance due to enhanced chemical resistance in service.
For more information, call (614) 876-0244, e-mail allied@alliedmin.com or visit www.alliedmineral.com.
CERADYNE RECEIVES $6 MILLION ESAPI ORDER Ceradyne, Inc. recently announced the receipt of a $6 million delivery order from the U.S. Marine Corps, Quantico, Va. The order is for enhanced small arms protective inserts (ESAPI) to be delivered in the first half of 2007. “We are pleased to receive this Marine order as it gives us additional visibility to support our belief that we will meet or exceed our 2007 guidance provided in November 2006,” said David Reed, Ceradyne’s president of North American Operations. “Ceradyne is also pleased with the knowledge that we continue to save the lives of American fighting men and women.”
The company’s website is located at www.ceradyne.com.
NEW NANO SILVER POWDER AVAILABLE FROM FERRO Nano Silver 7000-95, a new nano silver powder from Ferro Corp., offers cost-efficient performance and high-volume availability that can enable broader commercialization of advanced technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID); flexible displays; and printed, flexible circuits. Ferro controls particle synthesis of the nano silver material via chemical precipitation, which allows its surface chemistry to be tailored to match customers’ needs to optimize specific ink systems. This produces conductive inks, pastes, and adhesives with controlled rheology and viscosity for finer, sharper line definition and lower deposition weight.
For more information, visit www.ferro.com.
GE DISCOVERS DIRECT PATHWAY TO NANOSTRUCTURED CERAMICS GE Global Research, the centralized research organization of the General Electric Co., has announced a breakthrough in nanotechnology that provides a direct pathway to making nanoceramic materials from polymeric precursors. Led by Patrick R. L. Malenfant, Ph.D., and Julin Wan, Ph.D., a cross-disciplinary team developed a simple synthesis for the polymeric precursor that enables an efficient path toward ordered non-oxide ceramic nanostructures. The technology is based on a novel inorganic/organic block copolymer that forms ordered polymeric nanostructures via self-assembly. The resulting material is subsequently pyrolized to yield the desired ceramic, in which the original
nanostructure is retained. The unique aspect of the invention is that the desired composition and the ability to form ordered nanostructures are built in. No external template is needed, and the process is simple and robust. For additional details, visit www.ge.com/research.
GRANITIFIANDRE ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS GranitiFiandre recently announced the promotion of Jeanne Nichols to vice president – sales and marketing, and Marcello Sassi to vice president – national accounts, effective immediately. Nichols and Sassi work for TransCeramica, the marketing and sales arm of the GranitiFiandre brand of products in the U.S. Both will report directly to Graziano Verdi, chief executive officer of the GranitiFiandre Group. Most recently, both Nichols and Sassi served as vice presidents for TransCeramica. In their new, expanded roles, Nichols and Sassi will oversee key divisions within GranitiFiandre’s American arm, strategically steering the company’s sales, marketing and
growth/business development efforts. For more information, visit www.granitifiandre.com.
MONROE NAMED REGIONAL SALES MANAGER OF SYSCON-PLANTSTAR SYSCON-PlantStar recently named David Monroe regional sales manager for the Southeast region, covering the states of Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Ohio, Indiana, Texas, and Louisiana. He brings 35 years of experience in industrial/manufacturing sales and marketing of computer systems for the machine tool industry, and data acquisition systems for manufacturing and MRP/ERP systems. For more information, call (574) 232-3900, fax (574) 287-5916, e-mail marketing@syscon-intl.com, or visit www.syscon-intl.com or www.plantstar.org.
SPONSORED BY:
ASI to Hold Web Seminar on Public Nuisance Lawsuits Adhesives & Sealants Industry magazine (ASI
) and Thomas McMahon of Howrey LLP will explore “Public Nuisance Claims Against Building Product Manufacturers” in a web seminar February 20 at 1 p.m. The seminar will detail features of the new “public nuisance” theory against building product manufacturers and how to obtain coverage for such claims under liability insurance policies. The one-hour web seminar will include both the online presentation and an interactive QA session. Registration is $149 (before February 1, 2007; $199 after January 30) and includes access to a downloadable copy of the presentation.
Register today or e-mail events@adhesivesmag.com for additional information.
CyberTip Need to find equipment in the ceramic and related industries? Look no further than CI's Equipment Digest. This invaluable reference tool lists dozens of equipment suppliers and hundreds of definitions -- from abrasive wheels to zeta potential analyzers.
Online Calendar CI's full
Calendar of Events is available online to help you keep track of all the latest trade shows and seminars.
CHARTER SPONSOR
Mohr Corp. provides ceramic and machinery services to both buyer and seller, from the sale of one machine to entire factories, with its professionally established brokering, liquidation and appraisal organization. For more information, visit www.mohrcorp.com.
ABOUT OUR SPONSOR
Insaco is a precision machining company that provides finished pieces to customers' specifications from ultra hard materials, including oxide ceramics, nitrides, carbides and quartz, and especially industrial sapphire. NEW capability allows the company to machine within a 102” x 31” x 70” envelope and still hold tight tolerances. Visit www.insaco.com.
All statements about the companies/products included in this newsletter are manufacturers' claims, and neither CI CyberNews nor Ceramic Industry endorses any of the products mentioned.
