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INDUSTRY NEWS Allied Mineral Products Named ESOP Company of Year Allied Mineral Products, Inc. was named ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) company of the year in the Ohio/Kentucky region at the Annual Spring ESOP Conference of the Ohio/Kentucky Chapter of the ESOP Association. Allied was chosen based on a nomination letter which detailed events and activities that Allied sponsors and/or participates in related to the ESOP and ESOP awareness. The letter also contained a brief overview of Allied and history of the Allied ESOP. Allied formed its ESOP in 1976, making it one of the oldest ESOP companies in Ohio. Allied is now in the running for National ESOP Company of the Year. The winner of that award will be announced in Washington in May. In Memoriam: Ron Rohletter TRI members are mourning the loss of Ron Rohletter to cancer on March 22, 2008. Ron was National Sales Manager to the North American refractories industry from Lafarge Calcium Aluminates (now Kerneos) for twenty years prior to his retirement in 2004. We remember him fondly as a quiet professional with a great sense of humor who was an asset to the industry and to the TRI Associates Committee. We extend our sincere condolences to Ron’s wife Rosemarie and his family. Cookson Purchase of Foseco Complete On April 4, 2009, Cookson Group plc successfully completed the acquisition of Foseco plc by way of a court approved scheme of arrangement. The recommended cash offer was announced on October 11, 2007, and the transaction required clearance by the competition authorities in the EU and the US and both Foseco and Cookson shareholders, all of which were obtained in March. Hold the Dates: 2009 Spring Membership Meeting While work continues on the June membership Meeting at The Homestead, TRI can now confirm the dates and location for the TRI 2009 Spring Membership Meeting. It will be held at the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Resort in Orlando, April 29-May 1, 2009. Bay Hill is a small resort which offers TRI members almost exclusive use of its facilities while providing access to all the nearby attractions in Orlando, from Mickey Mouse to Shamu. EPA Proposes Revision to Non-Metallic Mineral NSPS On April 16, the EPA proposed revisions to the New Source Performance Standard for Non-Metallic Mineral Processing. NSPS updates generally occur about every 10-12 years. EPA is proposing to lower the emission limits for particulate matter from 0.022 grams per dry standard cubic foot to 0.014 gr/dscf for all new, modified, or reconstructed facilities. In addition, the agency is proposing to reduce the opacity limit from 15% to 12% for covered facilities. The proposal covers eighteen nonmetallic minerals, including clay, pyrophilite, vermiculite, and kyanite, among others. There is a sixty day comment period, but that is reduced if a public hearing is requested. EPA is suggesting that it expects to move quickly on this rule for two reasons. First, it believes that the state of the art of controls already achieves the levels proposed, so there will be little burden on new, modified, or reconstructed facilities. Second, EPA is taking this action under a consent decree it signed which promised to complete action on the rule by April 2009. A copy of the proposed rule and accompanying materials may be obtained on the EPA website at: www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg Global Climate Change Washington leaders continue to throw suggested global climate change plans against the walls of Congress to see if any might stick. President Bush has proposed a target date of 2025 for ending the growth of green house gas emissions. In the Senate, the Lieberman-Warner bill, “America’s Climate Security Act”, (S.2191) would establish a “cap and trade” system that has a target of a 15% reduction in emissions over 2005 by 2020, and over 60% by 2050. The National Association of Manufacturers suggests that if the legislation were to pass, by 2030 it could lead to employment losses of up to 4 million jobs, electricity price increases of up to 129 percent, gasoline price increases of 145 percent, and a loss of household income of $6,700 per year (in 2007 dollars). In the House of Representatives, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell is also discussing “cap and trade” legislation. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency just released its greenhouse gas inventory for 2006. In that year, total greenhouse gas emissions apparently fell by 1.1 percent from the previous year. The agency credits a warmer than usual winter, a cooler summer, and increased gasoline and diesel costs for the decline. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2006 were equivalent to over 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The main greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. EPA reports that overall emissions have grown by 14.7 percent from 1990 to 2006, while the U.S economy has grown 59 percent over the same period. W.R. Grace Case May Bring Sanity to Asbestos Litigation Many industry eyes are on the court room of bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald as she oversees the case of W.R. Grace. Unlike many asbestos related bankruptcy cases where companies have settled thousands of unproven claims just to get out from under, Grace has been hanging tough. Judge Fitzgerald has allowed the company latitude in trying to identify plaintiffs who really have legitimate claims and to weed out the bogus ones. If the judge eventually rules to dismiss clearly unfounded claims, it will be a major step forward in ending a practice which has cost billions and made a mockery of the legal system. Directory of China Refractory Enterprises AISTech 2008 Dates to Remember MS&T 2008: October 5-9, 2008, Pittsburgh |
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