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INDUSTRY NEWS McCracken Recipient of Tredennick Award William H. “Bill” McCracken has been named the recipient of the 2007 William T. Tredennick by the Board of Directors of The Refractories Institute. Named for long-time TRI Board member Bill Tredennick, a founder of Resco Products, the award recognizes a career of significant and dedicated service to the refractories community. A renowned authority on refractory raw materials, Bill McCracken enjoyed a long career with Harbison-Walker which took him around the world. During one such assignment, he was responsible for establishing a subsidiary of Harbison—Refractarios Peruanos (REPSA)—in Lima, Peru. REPSA now operates as an independent entity. While working in Latin America, Bill was one of the founders of the Asociacion Latinoamericana de Fabricantes de Refractarios (ALAFAR) and later on was a prime force in the establishment of the Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories (UNITECR). One of the first to understand the growing globalization of the refractories, Mr. McCracken was a strong supporter of increasing understanding between refractory raw materials suppliers and refractory manufacturers. He was particularly instrumental in helping create the TRI Associates Committee and in convincing the TRI leadership to provide for Associate Member representation on the Institute Board of Directors. Mr. McCracken will receive the 2007 Tredennick Award at the TRI Spring Membership Meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia. J.W. Hicks Company, Inc., headquartered in Merillville, Indiana, has joined The Refractories Institute as an Active (manufacturer) member. James R. Hicks will serve as the company’s official representative to the Institute. Check out the new Almatis web site at www.almatis.com Congratulations to Len Kreitze of Plibrico who is the 2007 recipient of the Theodore T. Planje award given by the St. Louis Section to an individual who has made a lasting contribution to the refractories industry. Len’s energetic and forthright approach to industry issues has consistently informed and made life interesting. TRI members and staff congratulate Mr. Kreitze for this important recognition. Belatedly, TRI members and staff want to express our condolences to the family and friends of Ed Ruh who passed away in late January. We have often talked of the tremendous resources the refractories industry is slowly losing to time and the ages. Ed Ruh is a perfect example. He was an important asset to our industry, as a refractory company employee, a professor, and a consultant. Ed enjoyed his work, he enjoyed his friends in the industry, and we enjoyed Ed. He is missed. In Memoriam: Elfrieda Lawrence Our condolences are also offered to the family of Elfrieda Lawrence who passed away in early March. She is survived by her husband, Ralph Lawrence, who was the Chairman of General Refractories and served as Chairman of TRI in the late Seventies. The Lawrence family resides in Green Valley, Arizona. American Innovation Proclamation Three hundred business and education leaders have unveiled the American Innovation Proclamation which urges Congress to act on four issues to improve competitiveness: 1) a permanent and strengthened R&D tax credit; 2) more funding for basic R&D; 3) increased funding to help double the number of U.S. graduates in math and science by 2015; and 4) visa reforms to welcome more high-skill foreign workers. Sounds like a great prescription for the refractories industry! REGULATORY High-Hazard Work Sites Put on Notice Using data reported by the employers themselves, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has notified 14,000 U.S. employers that they have higher-than-average injury and illness rates. OSHA took the step in an effort to motivate companies to take action on their own to reduce the injury and illness rates. It’s About Time: March 2007 Award A Pennsylvania company, Most Health Systems, has been fined $80,500 by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for improperly screening potential silicosis litigants in motel parking lots. LEGISLATIVE/LEGAL In a March 27, 2007 Wall Street Journal Op-Ed piece, Lawrence J. McQuillen and Hovannes Abramyan of the Pacific Research Institute assert that America’s tort system imposes a total cost on the U.S. economy of $856 billion. That works out to $9,827 per family. Even if it’s only really half of what they suggest, that’s not chump change! Model Asbestos and Silica Legislation The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has developed model state legislation to reduce the number of unimpaired asbestos and silica claims in order to preserve money for sick claimants, and to deal rationally with successor liability. You can read more background on the Asbestos and Silica Claims Priorities Act and the Successor Asbestos-Related Liability Fairness Act at the following link: http://alec.org/fileadmin/newPDF/12988_Factor_feb07.pdf. CROLIUS COMMENTARY Those pundits who have said that the November elections marked the rightmost boundary of America’s swing to the right and that the pendulum is now swinging left where we can now expect a period of more moderate thinking in public policy need only point to President Bush’s meeting with automakers on March 26 in which he solicited their help in cutting gasoline use by 20% over the next decade. The event included viewing prototypes of more efficient vehicles for the Postal Service. It was the president’s sixth alternative fuels event this year. Is there anyone out there who would have predicted this even a year ago? Methinks U.S. manufacturing faces some interesting times in the coming years. Buckle your seatbelts. |