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4 MPR April 2004 metal-powder.net

Quebec Metal Powder (QMP)has announced its first majorinvestment in Asia with theconstruction of a metal pow-der blending plant, technicallaboratory and product ware-house in China.

This new facility will furtherconsolidate QMP's presencein Asia, and particularlyChina, where QMP will beequipped to efficientlyrespond to the unprecedent-ed growth in metal powderdemand for industrial andautomobile production in this region. The plant will be

located in the city of Suzhou,80 km to the northwest ofShanghai and start-up is fore-cast for February 2005.

" Powder for the Suzhouplant will be produced at theSorel-Tracy plant in Canada,shipped and then mixed withvarious additives to meet dif-ferent metallurgical character-istics as required by our Asiancustomers ", said Martin H.Thibodeau, QMP President. Heexplained that this investmentrepresents a key element toreinforce QMP's position as ametal powder supplier in that

region. It represents the firststage of QMP's multi-phaseinvestment in Asia.

"Our mission is to meet andexceed our customers' specifi-cations through a total qualitysystem. As such, QMP is regis-tered to both ISO 9001 andISO/TS 16949," said Mr Thibo-deau. "The environment is alsoa top priority at QMP, andindeed QMP was the first metalpowder manufacturer to regis-ter to ISO 14001, which focuseson the prevention of pollution.

"QMP adheres to the concept of sustainable

development through themanagement of its activitiesin a manner that ensures thatresources for future genera-tions are not compromised,"he added.

QMP, with approximately280 employees, has twoplants located in Sorel-Tracy,Canada and in Germany, andproduces iron and steel pow-ders at the Sorel -Tracy plantfor, among other applications,the manufacture of precisionmechanical parts used pre-dominantly in the automobileindustry.

China PM blendingplant marks QMPmove into Asia

A COURSE aimed at preparingsales and marketing teamsfor the challenges they willface in difficult economictimes is to be run by theMetal Powder IndustriesFederation this month.What the MPIF terms "the PMindustry's most importantsales training workshop of theyear" will be staged 20 - 21April, in Dearborn, Michigan.

This novel sales trainingworkshop will introduce thoseattending to a "systemsapproach" intended to inte-grate sales and marketingefforts, making them moreefficient and effective.

The course instructor isPhilip Krone, who has writtenon the importance of sellingand sales technique in MetalPowder Report in the past.

Selling salesin Dearborn

THE Automotive Suppliers'Luncheon staged by the MetalPowder Industries Federation(MPIF) during the SAECongress in Detroit lastmonth attracted 300 visitors.MPIF President DavidSchaefer reported on newopportunities for PM applica-tions in light vehicles.

Mr Schaefer cited thegrowth of PM content in NorthAmerica-produced vehicles to41.5 pounds in the 2004model year. Gaining new PMparts in transmissions willimpact future growth, he said.

"If you look only to trans-mission developments, thereare now eight main designchoices," he said. "Manuals,automatics, automated manu-als, continually variable, dualwet clutch and dual dry

clutch, and 6- and 7-speedautomatics." He also seesdual overhead cam enginesand VVT systems using morePM parts.

He discussed the competi-tive challenges posed byChina, India, Turkey, andEastern Europe. He said thatannual auto production inChina could hit 10 millionvehicles by 2010.

Transmissions 'a PM target'

THE UK's Department of Tradeand Industry is to begin athree-year materials mea-surement research pro-gramme beginning in April2005 and focusing on theissues and challenges associ-

ated with processing materi-als. The DTI will be runningan industry workshop in cen-tral London on 14 July to helpidentify priority areas. Inadvance of that the depart-ment has issued a web-based

consultation/feedback docu-ment and is hoping for awide-ranging industryresponse. It can be accessedat http://www.npl.co.uk/processing/processing_survey.html

Measuring response on the web