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INDUSTRY NEWS Trostel Named 2008 Tredennick Award Recipient The Board of Directors of The Refractories Institute has named Louis J. Trostel, Jr., formerly with the Norton Company and long-time consultant to the refractories industry, as the recipient of the 2008 William T. Tredennick Award. Named for Resco Products founder and TRI Board member of thirty years Bill Tredennick, the award recognizes a career of distinguished and significant service to the refractories community. A Fellow of The American Ceramic Society and Life Member of UNITECR, Lou Trostel continues to serve both organizations as counselor to the Refractory Ceramic Division of ACerS and as a senior advisor the UNITECR organizing committee. Mr. Trostel joins a distinguished roster of Tredennick Award winners which includes Dr. Robert Moore, George Taylor, Jon K. Tabor, and William McCracken. ANH, Refractarios Iunge Join the TRI Membership Effective January 1, 2008, ANH Refractories has rejoined The Refractories Institute as an Active member and Refractarios Iunge Ltda., headquartered in Santiago, Chile, has become an Affiliate member. Guenter Karhut will be the official representative from ANH, and Pablo Valenzuela Yunge will represent Iunge. We welcome both companies into the membership and look forward to working with Messrs. Valenzuela and Karhut. TRI Raises China Issue with U.S. Trade Representative The Institute is having ongoing discussions with officials of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the action of the Chinese government to reduce the number of export licenses for refractory raw materials. Of most immediate concern are restrictions on magnesite and bauxite. Chinese export quotas and taxes are a growing concern at USTR. In addition to refractory materials, the same practices are being applied to the export of rare earth elements (REEs). While costs of Chinese exports have increased in quantum leaps due to both market forces and Chinese policies, domestic Chinese manufacturers are not subject to the same caps, quotas and fees. USTR is investigating whether China is violating GATT or the China Accession Protocol under WTO. Both Japan and the European Union have raised the same concerns. Castilano Named Chief Operating Officer of Resco Products Resco Products has announced that John Castilano has been promoted to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) reporting to William K. Brown, Resco’s President and CEO. In his new position John will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Resco with the manufacturing, sales and marketing, research and product development and technology functions reporting to him. “The promotion of John Castilano to COO will allow me to devote more time to strategic issues related to the company’s future growth and long term viability,” Mr. Brown commented. “In addition, I believe it is important to the various Resco stakeholder groups that clear lines of succession are established for key management positions. Since graduation from college John has many years of experience in various key positions in the refractories industry which will provide a strong base for him to be successful as Resco’s new COO.” John Castilano joined Resco in 2000 as Vice-President, Manufacturing, and was named its Executive Vice-President, Operations, in 2006. From 1997 – 2000, he was Executive Operations Manager at Harbison-Walker Refractories, where he was responsible for nine manufacturing plants in the US and three in Canada. Mr. Castilano was Team Leader of the Plant Consolidation Team as part of Harbison-Walker’s acquisition of A. P. Green Refractories in mid-1998. Prior to that, he spent 23 years with H-W and held various positions of increasing responsibility. He is a graduate of Alfred University with a B. A. in ceramic engineering. Almatis Reoganizes Business Units, Names Two Execs Almatis has formed two dedicated business units with enhanced focus on their respective industries. Dr. Lutz Figge, formerly with Degussa Group, will join the Refractories Unit as Vice President, Commercial Refractories. The new Ceramics Unit includes polishing and other non-refractories markets. Macelo Zocchi has been appointed as the new Vice President Commercial Ceramics, Polishing and Others (CPO). Both Dr. Figge and Mr. Zocchi report to Almatis CEO Martin Laudenbach. Cookson to Close Vesuvius Buffalo Plant Cookson Group plc has announced its intention to close the Vesuvius plant in Buffalo, New York. The production of isostatically-pressed foundry crucibles will be relocated to the Vesuvius facility in Monterrey, Mexico. Maryland Refractories Company Purchased Steel Valley Firebrick and Recovery LLC of Youngstown, Ohio, has purchased Maryland Refractories in Irondale, Ohio. Clark Clarkson, managing partner of Steel Valley, announced plans to expand Maryland’s product lines and incorporate its operations into Steel Valley’s Columbiana, Ohio plant in 2008. Rath Incorporated has relocated its headquarters to 300 Ruthat Drive, Newark, Delware 19711. For more info call (302) 294-4446 or visit www.rath-usa.com. PUBLICATIONS AND SEMINARS Refractories Market/Technology Report The fifth edition of the “European and International Refractories Industry: A Market/Technology Report”, by John Briggs, is now available. It is an in-depth study of the current position and future prospects for the refractories industry, providing comprehensive data on production, consumption, imports/exports, growth rates, etc., for both Europe and the main geographic areas outside of Europe: USA, China, India, Japan, etc. Information concerning the activities of key multinational and European-based refractories companies is also provided. In addition, the raw materials suppliers sector and the impact that developments in refractory materials are having on the market are analyzed in detail, as are the end-user industries that consume refractories. The report is over 500 pages in length, with more than 400 tables. The cost of the report is 1900 euros or $2700 U.S. for the first copy, with steep discounts for additional copies. Inquiries should be directed to Materials Technology Publications in Watford, England, phone +44 1923 237910, fax +44 1923 211510, or e-mail: info@mat-tech.co.uk. Seminar: Lean Six Sigma |