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4 MPR May 2005 metal-powder.net

FOLLOWING the success of thePM Asia 2005 conference andexhibition staged last monthin Shanghai, Metal PowderReport and Elsevier are tostage another event in Chinaduring 2007.

PM Asia 2007 will again bestaged in Shanghai during theSpring and will again featureleading speakers from theChinese and international PMcommunities backed by ahigh-quality technical pro-gramme.

The exhibition will onceagain feature internationaland Chinese PM companiesand provide the businessforum for discussion andinterchange of informationthat proved to be such as suc-cess at PM Asia 2005.

Last month's three-day con-ference was addressed bymore than 50 top-quality

speakers giving an audienceof more than 130 delegatesin-depth overviews and analy-ses of PM technologies inpowder production, powderconsolidation and sintering aswell as applications of fer-rous, non-ferrous and hard-metals. The main programmewas backed by well-attendedworkshops on metal injectionmoulding and soft magneticiron composites for electricmotors. All sessions werefacilitated by simultaneoustranslation.

"Reaction from those whoattended, whether delegate,exhibitor or visitor was over-whelmingly positive", saidMetal Powder Report editorand PM Asia 2005 teamleader Richard Felton. "It wasthe right product in the rightplace, at the right time. Dele-gates were pleased at the

quality of the content of thepresentations and exhibitorsreported heavy traffic and highlevels of inquiries and busi-ness discussions.

"This event obviouslyanswered a need, and repre-sentatives of the Chinese PMassociations who had sup-ported the staging of PM Asia2005 confirmed that anotherevent in the future would bewelcome. Given that next yeara PM World Congress is to bestaged in Korea, we felt itappropriate to announce nowthe date of Spring, 2007 forthe next PMAsia event."

During the plenary presen-tations at the beginning of theconference delegates heardCui Jainmin, president of thePM Association of the ChinaSteel Construction Societyand president of the LaiwuIron & Steel Group Powder

Metallurgy Co Ltd say that thetypical passenger car made inChina contains 10.4 pounds ofPM parts. He reported thereare about 50 iron and steelpowder manufacturers inChina, only four of which pro-duced more than 11,000tonnes each during 2004.

And Guan Cao Ni, directorof Shanghai Automotive CoLtd (SAIC), Powder MetallurgyWorks, and director-general ofthe PM Association of ChinaMachinery Parts, reportedthat the largest 34 PM partsmakers in China producedabout 93,000 tons of PMparts in 2004. SAIC, a leadingPM company, reported salesof $14.4 million in 2004. GuanCao Ni told the delegates thatof some 680 PM parts mak-ers, fewer than five are con-sidered capable of makinghigh-quality PM parts.

PM Asia 2005: successfor Shanghai event points to China in 2007

ROBUST demand and supplybottlenecks have caused theprice of tungsten to rocket inrecent weeks. The price forraw materials has doubledsince 2004. China, the world'slargest supplier of tungstenraw materials, has curtailedexports, observers say, proba-bly due to increased internaldemand.

According to AmericanMetal Market prices forammonium paratungstate(APT) have soared over $200per short ton unit

(20 pounds). The price hasmore than doubled since2004. Worldwide demand fortungsten used in cuttingtools, oil and gas drilling, min-ing, and metal forming dieshas surged. The Economistreported that China's internaldemand jumped by 20 to 30percent last year.

US tungsten buyers areanxiously awaiting release oftungsten from the U.S. stock-pile managed by the DefenseLogistics Agency. Meanwhile,mothballed capacity is being

brought back into production.North American Tungsten inCanada announced plans toreopen its Cantung mine inJuly, which should open upnew supplies. China has beenthe world's major supplier ofAPT and also sells oxides, andtungsten and tungsten car-bide powders.

• Fuelled by demand from agrowing middle class andincreased auto production,the Chinese PM parts industryis experiencing an estimated19 percent compounded

annual growth rate. Auto pro-duction hit 2.3 million vehi-cles in 2004 and is predictedto top 5 million vehicles by2010 and 10 million vehiclesby 2015.

Automotive and motorcycleapplications represented 44percent of the PM parts mar-ket.

• China's iron ore importsrose by almost 25 percent inthe first quarter of 2005,according to figures releasedby the General Administrationof Customs in April.

Tungsten follows the rocket trajectoryof metals raw materials pricing