sheet metal - confederation of british metalforming ... metal matters - issue 18...sheet metal steel...

FASTENERS

FORGING

SHEET METAL

STEEL

18

SUM

MER

201

0

£7.50ISSN 1759-5975

C o n f e d e r a t i o n o f B r i t i s h M e t a l f o r m i n g

FASTENERSChina fastener imports to UK downpage 9

FORGINGIncreasing the life expectancy of forgingspage 15

SHEET METALCarlton Laser invests inadvanced CNC PressBrakes from LVDpage 18

STEELMarket moves closer to balance, whilst demand remains weakpage 26

18

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DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REVIEW

1www.britishmetalforming.com

PresidentAlan Shaw [email protected]

Director GeneralJohn Houseman BSc, [email protected]

Company SecretaryGeraldine Bolton MCMI, Dip.OCR, MAAT, [email protected]

Forging Sector SpecialistDr Ken Campbell [email protected]

Fastener Sector SpecialistDr John [email protected]

Sheet Metal Sector SpecialistAdrian Nicklin [email protected]

Commercial DirectorDr Alan Arthur BEng, CEng, [email protected]

AccountsChris Smith [email protected]

AdministratorDebbie [email protected]

Marketing & Communications ManagerKirsi Lintula BA(Hons), [email protected]

CBM STAFF

Cuts, austerity, pensions, ‘getting more from less’ the pressheadlines are constantly telling us how the public sectormust bear the bulk of the cuts. This comes as no surprise

to the metalforming sector; to survive in today’s commercialworld we had to do all the ‘right things’ for twenty years just tosurvive!

Transfer of pensions from final salary to money purchase schemeshas been ongoing for many years now, only 11% of employeesin the private sector enjoy final salary schemes compared to94% in the public service (sadly 50% of people in the privatesector still have no pension provision whatsoever). Accordingto the Office of National Statistics (ONS) we have increasedproductivity in manufacturing 48 % from 1997 to 2007, so doingmore with less has become a way of life for our sector. Thepressure from the automotive OEMs and the ‘cost down’ culturehas been embedded into the psychology of the whole supplychain, costs go up and selling prices still have to come down.Absenteeism has also been tightly controlled and managed toensure the maximum output from the leaner and time criticalprocesses, days lost in our sector through ‘sickies’ are almosthalf those in local government. If absenteeism nationally wascontrolled to that in the private sector this would save theequivalent of over 30,000 teachers or 1p off income tax!!! Atthe same time people in the public sector statistically work nineyears less than their counterparts in the private sector.

During this long period of innovation and productivity improve-ments for ‘real engineering’ the public sector has created overhalf a million new jobs, many at inflated salaries and unsustainableemployment benefits, whilst their ‘productivity’ has deterioratedby 2% ! It is not before time this bloated overindulgent sectoris to be pruned back severely; closing the huge gap betweenprivate and public sectors must be the priority for the CoalitionGovernment.

Moreover the imminent cuts must reflect the true economicsof our times, perhaps then we can welcome them back into theharsh reality of the ‘real’ world.

John Houseman,CBM Director General

METAL MATTERS ISSUE 18 ONLINE NOW!www.britishmetalforming.com for the latest news, events & features

Mind tthhee ggaapp??

CONTENTS

2 www.britishmetalforming.com

• Director General’s review• CBM staff

• CBM membership• Welcome to our

new members

NEWS• Institute of

Sheet Metal Engineering• JCB profitable again• Volvo CE bullish

over prospects

NEWS• Book your spot early

for Subcon 2011

ENERGY• Saving the planet……

…I don’t think so!• Only one month left to

register for the mandatoryCarbon ReductionCommitment Scheme

1 4 5 6 7

ENERGY• Building a nuclear future• CBM’s Climate Change

Agreement Service

FASTENERS• China fastener

imports to UK down

FASTENERS• Tariffs on European

fastener exports into China

EVENTS• CBM fastener

sector meeting

FORGING• The development of

Ti-alloyed high strengthmicroalloy steel

FORGING• Engineering firm

announces key appointment

8 9 10 11 14

FORGING• Increasing the life expectancy

of forgings

FORGING• Company Profile:

The Barrett Engineering Steel Division

• Company Profile:Shakespeare’s successstory owes much to El Forge links

SHEET METAL• Carlton Laser invests in

advanced CNC Press Brakes from LVD

SHEET METAL• Stadco works with Jaguar

Land Rover to secure jobs and production in the UK

• Company Profile: Wrekin Sheetmetal’s future is bright

COLD ROLLED• Development of new

3D roll forming applications

15 17 18 19 21

Confederation of British MetalformingNational Metalforming Centre, 47 Birmingham Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands B70 6PY.

Telephone: 0121 601 6350 Enquiries: Kirsi Lintula, Marketing & Communications ManagerEmail: [email protected]: www.britishmetalforming.com

Published by: Pineapple Comminication LimitedTelephone: 0845 177 1820Web: www.pineapplecommunication.co.ukAdvertising Sales: Pineapple Communication LimitedTel: 0845 177 1820Email: [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of thePublisher. ISSN 1759-5975 Metal Matters Magazine is published by Pineapple Communication Limited.Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this magazine. The Confederation of British Metalforming, Pineapple Communication Limited and its agents do not accept any responsibility for the views or claimsmade by contributors in the advertising or editorial content. © Pineapple Communication Limited 2010

CONTENTS


COLD ROLLED• CBM’s new cold

rolled group is unveiled in style

EVENTS• Have you ever wondered

what the secret behind your tool failures might be?

STEEL• Market moves closer to

balance, whilst demandremains weak

EVENTS• Critical material issues

TRAINING• Semta apprenticeships

help Metsec maintain its competitive edge

FINANCE• Why a Finance Director

matters for fast growth companies

24 25 26 27 28

INSURANCE• Expect the unexpected

BUSINESS SUPPORT• Metalware is everywhere

BUSINESS SUPPORT• Getting a fix on translation

BUSINESS SUPPORT• Holidays ruined

by illness• Sick of “Sickies”?

MARKETING• The changing face of PR

29 30 31 32 33

HEALTH & SAFETY• CBM Health, Safety

and Environment Group

EVENTS• Fire starters!

HEALTH & SAFETY• The European Campaign

on Safe Maintenance

HEALTH & SAFETY• Musculoskeletal

disorders at work• REACH update on SVHCs

34 35 36

DIAR

YDA

TES

For further information visit: www.britishmetalforming.com/events.aspx

2010• 12 - 15 September

International Cold Forging Group (ICFG)

43rd Plenary MeetingDarmstadt (Germany)

• 22 SeptemberCBM FastenerSector Meeting

Fastener sector meetingsprovide members andassociates with the opportunityto meet and talk to seniormanagers and directors fromother similar manufacturing

companies, and at the sametime receive presentations ontopics of current interest.

• 29 SeptemberCBM Forging Group Meeting

Forging Sector meetings providemembers and associates withthe opportunity to meet and talkto senior managers and directorsfrom other similar manufacturingcompanies, and at the sametime receive presentations ontopics of current interest.

• 05 OctoberCBM Executive Board Meeting

The CBM Executive Boardmeets quarterly to reviewCBM's affairs.

• 14 OctoberCBM H, S & E Group Meeting

The CBM H,S,&E Group meetquarterly to discuss relevantH&S issues. The recentAccident Reduction inMetalforming Sector (ARMS)initiative has embarked on a

strategy to reduce the accidentsin the sector and subsequentlyreduce insurance premia.

• 26 - 30 OctoberEuroBLECH 2010

The 21st InternationalTechnology Exhibition for Sheet Metal Working: Hanover, Germany.

• 02 - 05 NovemberMIDEST

MIDEST is the key platform forinternational suppliers of ind-ustrial subcontracting. It is a

show where partnerships are forged and technologysurveyed, offering manufac-turers, component suppliersand assemblers the chance of face to face meetings withsuppliers of solutions in thefields of metals, plastics,electronics or industryservices.

HEALTH & SAFETY• ISB joining with CBM

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY• Manufacturer members• Supplier members

37 39

CBM MEMBERSHIP

4

REBATES on your Climate Change Levy:

More than 100 member companies received rebates averaging £20,000a piece per year, and didn't even have the time-consuming burden ofadministration.

CBM staff will process your application, and the money you save willpay your annual subscription several times over.

FREE Employment Law Helpline:

In today's litigious climate, access to professional help is vital from the outset.

Members have unlimited access to a genuine 24/7 service designed tohelp managers achieve their aims, whilst minimising risks.

FREE Technical Helpline:

From hot-forging to sheet metal processing, we can solve your problems,either via the staff at our National Metalforming Centre, or through theirwide network of contacts across our industry.

FREE Publications:

Not everyone can attend our seminars and meetings, so we circulatenewsletters and magazines highlighting important issues and celebratingmembers' achievements.

FREE Health & Safety Helpline:

Whether you need an instant response, or advice about long-term issues,this service will provide cost-effective answers whenever you need them.

MONTHLY Market Reports:

Our new Industrial Market Report provides valuable information onpotential sales opportunities and has been particularly well received.

DISCOUNTED Hearing and Noise Assessments:

Our partner organisations who offer occupational healthcare will saveyou money whether you use the CBM's mobile hearing assessmentvehicle, or attend an associate member's clinic.

DISCOUNTED Training Packages:

Regular courses on such issues as lean management and Six Sigma areprovided for management and shop-floor employees, either at yourpremises or at the NMC. All are heavily subsidised, some are free.

DISCOUNTED Insurance Premiums:

The ever-rising cost of insurance can now jeopardise the survival of yourbusiness. Our specialist providers though will save you money withoutreducing essential cover.

BRIEFINGS and Seminars:

Our staff and outside experts keep members abreast of such vital topicsas steel prices, the latest H&S legislation and upcoming employmentlaw changes.

REGULAR Meetings:

Workshops and sector group meetings allow you to meet delegates fromother companies and associate members who supply products andservices to the industry.

HEALTH and Safety Officer Service

The availability of a health and safety professional to carry out riskassessments and ensure the company is compliant with the latestlegislation is an important addition to the CBM services to members.

PRIVATE Healthcare Scheme

Like any industry, your business is reliant on your employees and if theybecome ill, you need them back as quickly as possible. Some of the CBMPrivate Healthcare Scheme benefits are: premiums up to 20% less thancomparable First Assist schemes, a ‘full refund’ policy meaning thereare no financial limits for hospital treatment, specialist treatment anddiagnostic tests, and an optional Employee Assistance Programmeoffering 24/7 access to telephone legal advice and counselling.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership is available to companies who manufacture products in theUK, by Metalforming processes, particularly those who are engaged inhot and cold forging, and the shaping, cutting and forming of sheet metal.

Associate membership is available to companies and institutions alliedto the manufacture of metalformed products.

To be part of the wider picture and be masters of your own identity… contact CBM NOW!

www.britishmetalforming.com

CBM membership.....Membership of the CBM includes a wide and growing range of free and discounted services, designed to save you money and help your business operate more efficiently.

what’s in it for you?

• Brooks Forgingswww.brooksforgings.co.uk

• Barrett Steel Ltd www.barrettsteel.co.uk

• CMT Steel Services Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)www.cmt-steel.co.uk

• HKB Steel Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)www.hkb-steel.co.uk

• J Boyd Laurie & Son Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)www.boyd-laurie.co.uk

• Locum Fine Steels Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)www.locumfinesteels.com

Welcome to our new members• Primary Steels & Alloys (Barrett Steel Div.)

www.primary-steel.co.uk• Staniforth-HKB Steel Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)

www.staniforth-hkb-steel.co.uk• Steel Supplies (Scotland) Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)

www.steelsuppliesltd.com• Taylorsteel (North East) Ltd ((Barrett Steel Div.)

www.taylor-steel-northeast.co.uk• Taylorsteel (North West) Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)

www.taylor-steel-northwest.co.uk• Tubes (UK) Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.)

www.tubes-uk-steel.co.uk

• Woodberry Chillcott & Co Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) www.woodberrychillcott.co.uk

• Barrett Nickel Alloys Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) www.barrettnickelalloys.com

• Barrett Strip & Alloys Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) www.barrettstripandalloys.com

• Stewart Fraser Ltdwww.stewartfraser.com

• Unistrut UK Ltdwww.unistrut.com

• Waites Pressings Ltdwww.waitespressings.co.uk

NEWS


Institute of Sheet MetalEngineering (ISME)2010 Sheet Metal Skills Competition

On the 24th June ISME held the annual competition at Eon EngineeringAcademy Ratcliffe.

With 50 participants between the age of 17 and22 there were 82 exhibits to judge. This year’sstandard was of exceptional quality especiallythe 1st year students.

Taking top prize of the ISME Trophy wasGareth Bielby from Bae Systems, Brough.

His craftsmanship in his test piece and openclass was worthy of the Institute’s top prize.

Considering the current business environment it gavethe ISME Council a great pleasure to welcome the youngsters and seethat metalworking skills are still alive & kicking giving manufacturinglongevity for the future.

If you require anyinformation with regards

to future ISME eventsplease contact

[email protected]

Above: Gareth’s winning test piece.

Left: Gareth Bielby from Bae Systems,Brough with his prize.

JCB maintained profitability in 2009 despite thedeepest ever recession in the global constructionequipment industry, the English company reported.It saw sales drop by a third to £1.35 billion but saidit was able to increase profit before tax marginallyto £29 million (2008 - £28m).

JCB said that in the face of a global market whichfell by 46% in 2009 and with total sales of 36,000machines, compared to 48,000 in 2010, 57,000 in2008 and 72,000 in 2007.

JCB noted that it reportedly increased its marketshare to an all-time high of 12.2%. It further saidit improved its position in backhoe loaders, takingmore than 40% of the global market, and alsoclaimed world market leadership with its Loadalltelescopic handler range with a 28% share.

In a separate interview with FT.com, JCB chairmanSir Anthony Bamford said that recoveries in Asianconstruction markets such as China, India,Vietnam and Indonesia were driving sales growth.Bamford however added that he was “concernedthat there is no bright spark in mainland Europe,where we could go back into recession”.

He added: “On balance, we expect to see a signif-icant improvement in both sales and profits thisyear compared to 2009”.

Source: Diesel Progress – July 2010

JCBpprrooffiittaabbllee aaggaaiinn

Volvo CE bullish overprospects

A mid a general – if in most cases gradual - upturn inthe financial fortunes of many industry heavyweights,the latest rousing trading report comes from Volvo

Construction Equipment. In reporting its second quarterresults, the company said the global construction equipmentindustry is recovering faster than earlier predicted with theBRIC markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China driving theprogress.

Volvo said the total world market for heavy, compact androad equipment increased by 43% during the second quarterwhen compared to last year. All markets were up: Europe by20%, North America by 9%, Asia by 60 % and other marketsby 77%. Volvo CE said the value of its order book at the endof the second quarter was 78% higher than at the same datein 2009 prompting a revision in the outlook for the full year2010.

The European market is now expected to increase by 10%,up from the previous forecast of zero to 10%. North Americais now predicted to grow by between 5 and 10% in 2009, upfrom the previous expectation.

The biggest upward revisions are in Asia and other internationalmarkets with Asia predicted to rise by 30 to 40% and othermarkets up 40% – up from earlier forecasts of 20% for bothregions, it said.

Source: Diesel Progress – July 2010

NEWS


After the successful trial of the CBM pavilion at MACH 2010, it hasbeen decided to organise a similar stand for members at nextsummer’s SUBCON exhibition.

Next June may seem a long way off, but firms wishing to book the bestspots, in the NEC’s Hall 3, should give serious thought to confirming theirattendance now.

The event will run from June 7th to 9th, so time-conscious exhibitorswill need a maximum of three days away from their company.

SUBCON’S organisers tell us that exhibitor attendance was up 40% year-on-year at the 2010 show, including displays from nineteen overseascountries like India, China, Germany, France, Italy and Poland.

Here are the thoughts of some member companies, who attended theMACH show at the NEC this summer.

“We got some quality leads, which were followed up inside a month, andit was good having the CBM stand there,” Steve Potts, managing directorof Shakespeare Forgings.

“We made some really good contacts, and the layout was brilliant. Wegot ourselves in front of some influential people, and the CBM pavilionwas a great idea and very useful,” Simon Orpe, sales director of WrekinSheetmetal.

"I was very pleased with the show, got some good leads, and wouldcertainly go again. I liked the idea of having a CBM pavilion,” MikeDiesendorff, managing director of Gesipa Blind Riveting Systems.

Anyone wishing to book space, or to know more about the event, or the CBM Pavilion should contact

Kirsi Lintula at the CBM on 0121 601 6350 or email: [email protected]

Technology meets the market

From general manufacturing techno-logy to special industrial requirements – AMB provides excellent opportunities! Over 1,000 exhibitors will present trends, innovations and highlights from in the fi elds of: metal cutting machine tools metal removing machine tools precision tools CAD/CAM/CAE, PLM as well as technical software

measuring systems and quality assurance

robots, workpiece and tool handling

AMB – the most important trade fair for the sector in Germany

5-MINUTE WALK FROM STUTTGART AIRPORT

Attractive travel and service packages at www.amb-expo.de

Lincoln West Ltd, Tel. +44 (0)1732 525950, [email protected] online discount on your day ticket, use promotion code: av-uk

BBooookk yyoouurr ssppootteeaarrllyy ffoorr SSuubbccoonn 22001111

...the layout was brilliant...and the CBM pavilion was agreat idea and very useful...

Simon OrpeSales Director

Wrekin Sheetmetal

Take advantage of CBM’s early bird offer –prices start from £1887

for a shell scheme size 3x2m.

ENERGY


Members who have not already registered to meet the requirementsof the recently introduced Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme - set up to limit CO2 emissions and then enable

companies to trade the surplus or deficit - now only have one month leftto comply. This is a mandatory scheme to those who meet thequalification criteria. Many CBM members who have climate changeagreements will gain exemption from the CRC scheme but in order to do this they will still have to meet registration requirements. Failure to register by 30 September 2010 will result in severe fines.

For more information about the CRC, please contact Geraldine Bolton or Ken Campbell,

at the CBM for more information, on 0121-601-6350, or via [email protected]

or [email protected]

Saving the planet………I don’t think so!Confederation of British Metalforming fears the cost of implementing the Carbon Reduction Commitment will cost both private and public dear.By John Houseman

Director General

Only one month left to register for the mandatory Carbon ReductionCommitment Scheme

Debates about government policy are often more about differingpolitical agendas than reality, but I admit that we are deeplyconcerned about the impact of the new Carbon Reduction

Commitment (CRC).

It sounds both grand and worthy, but as with so many Whitehall initiatives,the CRC is so complex that it will become a consultants’ charter, and so ladenwith penalty clauses that we fear many thousands of companies will suffer.

The legislation, which takes effect at the start of the 2010-2011 financialyear, demands that all companies with power bills of £500,000 or moreshould measure their emissions of carbon dioxide, for which they mustobtain a permit from April 1st 2011. Businesses which fail to register bySeptember’s deadline will be fined £5,000, plus another £500 for eachday that they are late in submitting their data, to a maximum of £20,000.

Heavy industry’s output of greenhouse gases is already covered by EU law,so this measure is targeted at SMEs, and even supermarkets and hotels.However, feedback from our members and other companies suggests manycompany bosses are still unaware that the CRC legislation even exists.

Companies, not covered by a climate change agreements will be

asked to pay upfront for their predicted C02 emissions with the

inevitable cash implications at this critical time. If they reducethese emissions during the following year, they will get their money back,with a ‘bonus’ from the contributions of those who fail to do so.

The worst-performing businesses will then be ‘named and shamed’ bygovernment league tables, so suffering damage to their reputation, aswell as their finances.

This bureaucratic and unnecessary legislation will possibly save only0.5% of the UKs total emissions but will cost millions of both public andprivate money to implement.

However, we think it will penalise such organisations as hospitals and localauthorities, who are not, as yet, set up to monitor and predict energy use,and those companies who experience growth during the year after theymake their forecasts.

At the very moment when the economy is looking to escape recession, it isabsurd to penalise a business which used more energy than it expected,because it expanded production, to meet growing demand from its customers.

We have already held three seminars at our National Metalforming Centre(NMC) in West Bromwich, to inform CBM members about this legislation.We have also set up a facility to assist both members, and non-members,to comply with the CRC, which will save them time and money.

At a time when the new Government is looking to reduce the costs ofthe public sector this ill conceived and ill timed piece of green ‘clap trap’should be aborted immediately before further expense is incurred byeither our members or the burgeoning public sector.

For further information please contact Geraldine Bolton at the CBM on 0121 601 6350 or email:

[email protected]

O ver 20 speakers from the nuclear industry assembled at theNuclear Future Conference to highlight the urgency required toavoid the energy shortfall predicted for 2017.

Unfortunately, having once led the world in civil nuclear technology, thebad publicity and constant prevarication by governments has led to theindustry being perceived as a sunset industry concentrating on decom-missioning of the original nuclear fleet. However, with the new build ithas been estimated that the nuclear industry will require 1,000 apprenticesper year and 400 graduates per year until 2050. The original expertise isbeing lost through age and natural retirements, some enlightened universitiesare now running courses for nuclear engineers.

The Government have already committed to replacing the current 10 ageingnuclear power stations in the UK. However, with the length of planningand build time there is still doubt whether this programme will avoid thelights going out between the old being decommissioned and the newcoming on stream. The opening presentation provided an overview ofthe growth of nuclear power generation that is forecast over the comingdecades. There are currently 143 nuclear installations in the planningstage with a further 344 projected worldwide. In order that the UKshould meet the 80% reduction in CO2 by 2050 all the electricity gener-ating capacity will need to be converted nuclear power. Up to now theexpected life of the main structures would be amortised over 30 years.However, if the building can be extended to 50-60 years, the cashgeneration after the initial capital costs have been repaid fall to less than£0.01 per kwh! Unfortunately, it will take until 2030 to replace thecurrent fleet of reactors and re-establish the UK’s nuclear generatingcapacity to the 10GW currently installed.

EDF appear to be leading the way with the replacement of four sitesalready in the planning stage. Much of the building work will be ofmodular design in order that construction can take place in factory conditionsand concurrently to reduce the build time on site and ultimately time to

commissioning. It is accepted that there are not sufficient suppliersworldwide to provide the necessary components for this massive increasein demand so new and innovative newcomers to the supply chain are to bewelcomed.

The nuclear build is broken down into two distinct categories of supply.The nuclear critical items are used on the ‘nuclear island’ where triedand tested methods and components will be essential. However, thereare many opportunities to supply components on the non-nuclear areasof the site many of which are traditional engineering and constructionexpertise.

The opportunities to supply into this global expansion of the nuclearindustry are immense and requirements for almost every type ofcomponent from the metalforming sector will be forthcoming. However,the accreditation necessary to supply to this extremely safety criticalarena will be extensive and companies are urged to investigate thequality demands for their particular area of expertise at the earliestopportunity or find a partner with whom to gain access to this massiveopportunity. The 35 companies already signed up as partners withAREVA will be suppliers to all 10 UK reactors with work stretchingthrough to 2030.

For more information please contact John Houseman at the CBM officeson 0121 601 6350 or email: [email protected]

ENERGY


BUILDING A NUCLEAR FUTURE: The Metal and Manufacturing Conference – June 2010

CBM’s Climate Change Agreement Service just gets better .....More than 100 CBM members now receive Climate Change Levy

rebates on their gas and electricity bills, saving themselves some£2.2 million each year, and making it our most successful

membership benefit.

Feedback from members indicates that many members find it demandingto collect analyse and monitor all the gas and electricity invoice informationeach month, and are then swamped by other demands of running thebusiness. Some have been selected for random audits, only to find thattheir data spreadsheets have not been maintained as required, whichthen costs many hours of management time to bring the records up-to-date, and in some cases has resulted in companies being taken out of theagreement for incorrect data.

The team at CBM have now come up with a new service; which takesaway responsibility for analysing invoices, completing reporting data,maintaining carbon trading accounts, reviewing supplier certificates,keeping an auditable evidence pack and much more for just £350 a year - per site. The team will do all the boring stuff, so members canenjoy the benefits.

For more information about the benefits, please contact Geraldine Bolton, or Ken Campbell,

at the CBM for more information, on 0121-601-6350, or via [email protected]


FASTENERS


A t the beginning of 2009, the EU imposed anti-dumping duties ofup to 85% on imports of selected standard fasteners from thePeople’s Republic of China coming into Europe. The products

affected are normally declared within various CN 7318 codes, -1290, -1491, -1499, -1559, -1569, 1581, -1589, 1590, -2100, and 2200, and rangefrom various bolts and screws including hexagon and hexagon socketscrews, and all types of washers. These duties were imposed because ofperceived unfair competition with EU manufactured product, and asummary of the findings and considerations made by the EuropeanCommission can be seen in the Official Journal of the European Union,Council Regulation (EC) No 91/2009.

The imposition of duties in February 2009 coincided with a generaldecrease in fastener trade because of a depressed worldwide manufacturingdemand, and there was enough prior warning before the imposition ofduties that many businesses stocked up with product from China.However, we can now see what actually happened to Chinese imports tothe UK, from the data available on Eurostat.

The first chart shows the imports of CN 7318 fasteners from China intothe UK in tonnes per month. The line for “China AD codes” is for the CNcodes affected by the tariff, and shows a huge drop in February 2009that never recovers until April 2010 when the data ended. There is a lossof about 6000 tonnes of product per month according to this data.Rumours that some of the AD product is being wrongly classified in orderto get it into the country are not supported by the data, because there isno increase in the “non AD” categories.

There are also rumours that significant quantities of “AD” product iscoming in without tariff via Malaysia. When the Malaysia imports aresuperimposed, there is no sign that significant quantities are involved.

The increase in AD product imported from Malaysia never exceeds about150 tonnes per month, so does not replace more than a small proportionof what was lost from China. So although there is possibly somecircumvention happening, from China to the UK via Malaysia, this doesnot amount to a significant quantity of the 6000 tonnes drop from China.

The final chart shows only the Malaysian imports, which have clearlyreceived a boost since February 2009. The dark line is the AD imports,and they seem to have an eventual increase of about 150 tonnes sincethe tariffs. This cannot be taken as proof of circumvention, because thereare bona fide manufacturers in Malaysia, and it would be expected thatthey would see some increase in business as importers looked foralternative sources.

For further information please contact Dr John Newnham,CBM Fastener Specialist, at the CBM on 0121 601 6350

or email: [email protected]

China fastener imports to UK downby 6000 tonnes/month after anti-dumping tariffs imposed

FASTENERS


O n 26th June 2010, the People’s Republic of China confirmed its anti-dumping measures againstEuropean fastener manu-facturers’ imports into China. The level of tariff has been set at 26%,except for the products of Kamax Germany, where 6.1% will apply.

The tariffs have been applied to CN codes 73181200, 73181400, 73181500,73182100, 73182200. This is a very wide ranging action, since it includes carbonand alloy steel as well as stainless steel, and the only types of male threadedfastener excluded are steel coach screws (73181100), and screw hooks and screwrings (73181300). Washers are also included in this action, but rivets, cotters andother unthreaded fasteners are not.

It is the intention of the Chinese government to collect duties retrospectively to 28thDecember 2009, which was the implemen-tation date of its provisional action. Sincethat date cash guarantees have been required on imports of these product codes, atthe prov-isional tariff rate of 24.6%, i.e. less than the final rate. However the finalrate will not be applied to the previously shipped parts.

It is intended that these tariffs will be in force until June 2015.

For further information please contact CBM Fastener Specialist, Dr John Newnham, at the CBM on 0121 601 6350 or email [email protected].

Tariffs on European fastenerexports into China

Confederat ion of Br i t i sh Meta l forming

CBM fastener sector meeting has been arranged for 22nd September at the GrimstockCountry House Hotel in Coleshill, West Midlands. The meeting will be preceded by atour of BMW’s engine manufacturing plant in Hams Hall. Advance registration for thistour is mandatory because BMW insist on knowing in advance the names and affiliationsof visitors to their factory.There are two guest speakers included in the agenda. Stuart Botham will talk about thepotential for tax rebates for factories and industrial buildings with vacant space. Stuartis a Senior Associate on the National Business Rates Team of PWC.

Mark Evans will then talk about tax rebates available for engineering development work and other industrial R&D, Mark is a Director of R&D Tax and Grants Ltd.Among the other agenda items are the status of the various fastener related anti-dumpingtariff actions by and on the European Union, and a discussion of the possibleconsequences of a proposed change to fastener standards that is in process at ISO.All CBM fastener sector members are welcome.

For further information please contactJohn Newnham, CBM Fastener Specialist, at the CBM on 0121 601 6350 or email: [email protected]

CBM fastener sector meeting

FORGING


1. Introduction

Microalloyed steels have been developed for many years and are widely usedin industry today. The microalloyed steels are either Nb-alloyed, V-alloyed orNb, V and Ti composite alloyed [1-3]. Steel alloyed with titanium alone issparsely found. Nb, V and Ti microalloying elements can be found in steel assolution atoms or separate out as precipitates to retard austenite recrystallizationand grain growth. By this way a fine grain microstructure can be obtained toenhance the strength of steels. A more important effect of microalloy elementson steels is their carbide and nitride precipitates. These precipitates can greatlyimprove the mechanical properties of steels.

The shortcoming of present microalloy steels is their high production costbecause of the high price of microalloy elements. In the current situation ofan economic recession in the iron and steel industry, this shortcoming is moreobvious. Therefore, the development of titanium alloyed steel is interestingbecause of the low price of titanium. At present, although there are a fewresearches on Ti-alloyed hot strips produced by compact strip production(CSP) line [4,5], much work is needed for the development of Ti-alloyedsteels. In order to develop high strength rebar, steels with different Ti contentswere refined. Tensile tests were conducted and microstructures of sampleswere analyzed. Fine precipitates were observed using transmission electronmicroscope (TEM). The research results are summarized in this paper.

2. Experimental scheme

Using the literature [6-10] as a reference, the addition of Ti in steels wasselected to be from about 0.04 wt.% to 0.1 wt.%. The chemical compositionsof four different steels with varying Ti contents are given in Table 1. Thechemical compositions of the steels were refined in a vacuum reductionfurnace. Then refined steel was cast into round ingots with diameter of 60mm. In order to obtain normal microstructure and precipitates, the ingots wereheated to 1150°C and kept for 30 min before forging. The ingots were forgedto 40 mm in diameter followed by being heated to 1150 °C for 20 min. Theningots were forged into round bar of 30 mm diameter. By above processingtechnology, precipitates can uniformly distributed in steels. The bars weremachined to standard tensile test samples and tensile tests were conducted ona universal materials tester. The microstructures and inclusions of these threesteels were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Precipitateswere observed using TEM.

3. Results

3.1. Tensile tests

The standard tensile test samples were machined from forged steels. Tensiletests were conducted on a WAN-10000 materials testing machine. The engin-eering strain-stress curves are given in Fig. 1 and the mechanical propertiesof three steels in Table 1 are listed in Table 2.

It can be seen from Table 2 that the yield strength and tensile strengthincreased with the increase of Ti content in steels. The basic chemical elementsare similar for steels 1, 2 and 3 except for the Ti content. The yield strengthand tensile strength of steels increased 80 MPa and 70 MPa respectively whenthe Ti content increased from 0.034% to 0.064%, while they increased 25 MPaand 20 MPa respectively when the Ti content increased from 0.064% to0.108%. Therefore, the increase of strength is obvious when the Ti content isincreased in the range of 0.04-0.10 wt.%.

3.2. Microstructure

Microstructures of steels were observed using a Zeiss optical microscope andFig. 2 shows the microstructures of three steels. It is clear that microstructuresof three steels are typical pearlite and ferrite, and their microstructures are similar.

3.3. Inclusions

The inclusions found in the microstructures of three steels were analyzed usingthe Philips XL30 SEM and the inclusion distribution, morphology and type(energy spectrum) are shown in Figs. 3-5. Using the data obtained from energydispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), it can be seen that the inclusions found

The development of Ti-alloyed high strength microalloy steelBy Guang Xu *, Xiaolong Gan, Guojun Ma, Feng Luo, Hang Zou

Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China* Corresponding author. Address: Mail box 131, School of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China.Tel.: +86 027 63212211; fax: +86 027 86560679. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (G. Xu), [email protected] (X. Gan), [email protected] (G. Ma), [email protected], (F. Luo), [email protected] (H. Zou)

continued on page 12 ●●●●>

FORGING



in the steels are FeS, MnS, etc. In addition, very few Ti inclusions, FeO_TiO2, werealso found in samples. Therefore, the inclusion compositions do not vary betweenthe samples.

3.4. TEM analysis

TEM studies of three steels were conducted using JEM-2100FEF transmissionelectron microscope and the precipitates and particle types for the three steelsare given respectively in Figs. 6-8. It can be seen from TEM analysis that (1)Sample 1, containing 0.034 wt.% Ti, has fewer precipitates than other twosamples and the precipitated particles are globular Ti (C, N) whose size isabout 30-150 nm while a few particles are less than 30 nm or larger than 150nm; (2) Sample 2, containing 0.064 wt.% Ti, has more precipitates than sample1 and has precipitated particles that are uniformly distributed, globular orirregular Ti (C, N) as well as a few Ti (S, C), and whose size is about 30-100nm. A few particles are less than 30 nm or between 100 nm and 150 nm; and(3) Sample 3, containing 0.108 wt.% Ti, has the most precipitates among threesamples and main precipitated particles are uniformly distributed globular Ti(C, N) whose size is about 30-100 nm while a few particles are between 10nm and 30 nm or between 100 nm and 150 nm.

4. DiscussionIt is well known that the most popular microalloy additions in steels areniobium, vanadium and titanium. As of today, the microalloyed steels currentlyin production are almost all Nb, V or Nb-V-Ti composite additions. Manyresearches on microalloyed steels with Nb and V additions have beenpublished. For example, Gündüz and Cochrane [11] discussed the influenceof cooling rate and tempering on precipitates of V-microalloyed steel andShanmugama et al. [12] studied the microstructure of high strength niobium-containing pipeline steel. The microstructures and properties of a V-bearingalloy were investigated by Rasouli et al. [13]. But few research results on Ti-microalloyed steel have been given now. Microalloyed steel with Ti as mainaddition is a potential high strength alloy. The raw material of steels used inthis study is a 20MnSi casting billet taken from a steel company. Differing amountof the Ti alloying element, 0, 0.034, 0.064, and 0.108 wt.% respectively, was addedinto the raw material to be refined to produce steels 0-3. The chemicalcompositions of four steels are similar except Ti content, whose compositionsare given in Table 1. The yield strength for four steels is illustrated in Figs. 9and 10 shows the relationship between uniform elongation and Ti content.From Figs. 9 and 10, we can see that the strength of steels increases with theincrease of Ti content, while the elongation decreases with the increase of Ticontent. The strength of steels has a sharp increase when Ti content changesbetween 0.04 and 0.07 wt.%.

The strength of steels depends on the strength of the matrix, the amount, sizeand distribution of precipitates etc. According to Hall-Petch relationship, thestrength of steels can be expressed by:

where σi is crystal lattice strengthening, σs is solution strengthening, σd isdislocation strengthening, σg is grain refining strengthening and σp is precip-itation strength. From the analysis of the microstructure and inclusions for thefour steels tested in this study, it has been shown that the microstructures andinclusions are similar, which means that the differences between the micro-structures and inclusions for the four steels have little influence on mechanicalproperties. In addition, the basic compositions of four steels are almost identical,so their solution strengthening should be similar. Furthermore, the dislocationstrengthening for the four steels should also be the same because the processingtechnology for these steels is the same after refining. Therefore, the strengtheningof steels is caused by fine precipitates in steels.

According to the thermodynamic analyses in Ref. [14], the main forms oftitanium precipitate are TiN, Ti4C2S2 and TiC or Ti(C, N) composite particles,among which TiCs have the most important effect on steel strength becauseof their smaller size. The precipitation temperatures for TiN, Ti4C2S2 and TiCparticles are above 1500 °C, 1200 °C and 1000 °C, respectively. TiN and

Ti4C2S2 particles precipitate at higher temperature and easily grow to largerparticles. From the SEM and TEM analyses in this paper, we found that preci-pitations of TiN and Ti4C2S2 are larger than TiC particles,which is consistentwith the results given by Zhou et al. [4] and Soto et al. [14]. In addition, TiNparticles are coarse and cuboid in shape, while TiC particles are fine and moreor less spherical (Figs. 3 and 8). Ooi and Fourlaris [15] also gave the similarresults.

As aforementioned, steel 3, containing 0.108 wt.% Ti, has more precipitatesthan other steels. These precipitates, most of which are between 30 nm and100 nm, are globular Ti (C, N) particles and uniformly distributed in steel.These nanoscale particles impede the dislocation movement during sampledeformation to enhance the strength of the steel. On the other hand, steel 1,

< ●●●● continued from page 11

FORGING


containing only 0.034 wt.% Ti, separated out fewer particles than steel 2 andsteel 3. Corresponding strength is lower than other two Ti-alloyed steels.

Therefore, we can get the conclusion from these results that the main functionof titanium in experimental steels is precipitation strength. Ti-alloyed steelscan be produced to substitute the Nb-alloyed or Nb and V alloyed steels.

According to Gladmen [16], precipitate strengthening can be calculated byAshby–Orowan equation:

where is increment of yield strength in MPa, G is shear modulus in MPa,81,600 MPa for steels, b is Burger’s vector in mm, 0.248 nm for ferrite, fv isvolume fraction of precipitate and X is diameter of precipitate particles in mm.The yield strength increments due to precipitate strengthening for samples 1–3 were calculated by above formula and the results are given in Table 3. Thearea fraction of precipitate is used here, which there is no much effect on

calculation results. We can see from Table 3 that the strength increments byprecipitate are 59.23 MPa, 117.88 MPa and 149.67 MPa, respectively. Thiscalculation results are very close to the experimental results (Figs. 1 and 9).

5. Conclusions

Four different Ti-alloyed steels were refined and forged. Tensile tests,microstructure and inclusion analysis were conducted. The titanium carbonitridesprecipitates were observed using TEM. Through these works, the followingconclusions can be obtained:

(1) The strength of Ti-alloyed steels depends on the content of titanium. Theobvious influence range of Ti on strength is between 0.04 wt.% and 0.07 wt.%.

(2) The differences in the observed microstructures and inclusions between thesamples are negligible; microstructure plays little role in determiningmechanical properties.

(3) The contribution of Ti content to strength can be attributed to precipitate strengthening.

(4) Ti-alloyed steels are a potential high strength steel. This study shows that Ti-alloyed steels can be used to substitute the Nb or Nb and V alloyed steels.

AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank the Laiwu Iron and Steel (Group) Company for financially supportingthis project. Also the English proofreading of paper by Mr. S. Crawford is greatly appreciated.

References[1] Fu J, Wang ZB, Kang YL. Research and development of HSLC steels produced by EAF-CSPtechnology. In: Su TS, Li WX, editors. TSCR 2002:2002 international symposium on thin slab castingand rolling, 2002 December 3–5, Guangzhou, China. The Chinese Society for Metals; 2002. p. 301–4.



FORGING


H enry Williams Limited, of Darlington, which has been a major supplier to the UK’srailway network since 1883, has appointed Andrew Nelson as managing director.

“Henry Williams has a long and illustrious history, but more importantly it has an excitingfuture ahead of it, and I feel privileged to be able to lead the company as it enters thisperiod,” said Mr Nelson, 30, who joined the company as forging and fabrication directorin March 2008.

The engineering firm was established in Glasgow by industrial pioneer Henry Williams,inventor of the spring-loaded switch lever for railway points. In 1911, it moved toDarlington, the home of the railways, and became Britain’s biggest supplier of railwayswitch levers, points, cranks and joints.

Today, as well as control and signalling equipment for the railways, it also supplies forgingsand fabrications to a number of sectors and supply chains, including the Highways,Defence and Oil and Gas.

Mr Nelson added: “A lot of our recent successes are largely due to the fact we are gettingbetter at supporting existing customers and developing new customers throughproduction and product innovation. Undoubtedly the great challenge we face is the pursuitof new products in ever changing markets whilst ensuring that we continue to provide animproving service to our longstanding customers.”

A recent contract supplying over 80 Function Supply Points (FSPs), robust 316 gradestainless steel location cabinets fitted out with power distribution equipment, as part of a£40m signalling refurbishment of the London Overground, ahead of the 2012 Olympics, isheld up by the company as a good example of its two main divisions - Electrical Projectsand Forging and Fabrication – combining their expertise into one major project.

Howard Dilley, chairman of Henry Williams and Con Mech Group, which also includesconstruction and earthmoving machinery manufacturer Con Mech Engineers Ltd, atAnnfield Plain, County Durham, said: “In the 26 months or so Andrew has been with thecompany, he has added a wealth of knowledge and enterprise and has become animportant member of the management team. I am confident his leadership will give HenryWilliams the focus and impetus to become a world-class engineering company, both in theUK and internationally.”

Andrew Nelson, new managing director of Henry Williams Limited

Engineering firm announces

key appointmentOne of the region’s longest established engineering firms has a new man at the helm

[2] Liu DL, Fu J, Kang YL. Oxide and sulfide dispersive precipitation and effects on microstructureand properties of low carbon steels. J Mater Sci Technol 2002;l8(1):7–9.[3] Mao XP. Microalloying technology on thin slab casting and direct rolling process. Beijing:Metallurgical Industry Press; 2008.[4] Zhou J, Kang YL, Mao XP. Precipitation characteristic of high strength steels microalloyed withtitanium produced by compact strip production. J Univ Sci Technol Beijing 2008;15(4):389–95.[5] Bai MZ, Liu DL, Lou YZ, Mao XP, Li LJ, Huo XD. Effects of Ti addition on low carbon hotstrips produced by CSP process. J Univ Sci Technol Beijing 2006;13(3):230–4.Fig. 10. Uniform elongation depending on Ti content.Table 3Calculation results of Ashby–Orowan equation.No. X (nm) fv (%) Drp (MPa)1# 112.8 1.28 59.232# 32.94 0.72 117.883# 36.12 1.34 149.67Fig. 8. Precipitates of steel 3 and energy spectrum.Fig. 9. The relationship between yield strength and Ti content.G. Xu et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2891–2896 2895.[6] Fu J, Wu HJ, Liu YC. Nano-scaled iron–carbon precipitates in HSLC and HSLA steels. SciChina Ser E 2007;50(2):166–76.[7] Garcia CI, Tokarz C, Graham C. Niobium HSLA steels producing the thin slab casting process:hot strip mill products, properties and applications. In: Su TS, Li WX, editors. TSCR 2002:2002international symposium on thin slab casting and rolling, 2002 December 3–5, Guangzhou, China.The Chinese Society for Metals; 2002. p. 194–8.

[8] Yong QL. Microalloyed steels – Physical and mechanical metallurgy. Beijing: China MachinePress; 1989.[9] Li Y, Wilson JA, Crowther DN. The effects of vanadium (Nb, Ti) on the microstructure andmechanical properties of thin slab cast steels. In: Su TS, Li WX, editors. TSCR 2002:2002international symposium on thin slab casting and rolling, 2002 December 3–5, Guangzhou, China.The Chinese Society for Metals; 2002. p. 218–34.[10] Kang YL, Yu H, Fu J. Morphology and precipitation kinetics of AlN in hot strip of low carbonsteel produced by compact strip production. Mater Sci Eng A 2003;351(1–2):265–71.[11] Gündüz S, Cochrane RC. Influence of cooling rate and tempering on precipitation and hardnessof vanadium microalloyed steel. Mater Des 2005; 26(6):486–92.[12] Shanmugama S, Misraa RDK, Hartmannb J, Jansto SG. Microstructure of high strengthniobium-containing pipeline steel. Mater Sci Eng A 2006;441(1–2):215–29.[13] Rasouli D, Khameneh AS, Akbarzadeh A, Daneshi GH. Optimization of mechanical propertiesof a micro alloyed steel. Mater Des 2009;30(6): 2167–72.[14] Soto R, Saikaly W, Bano X, Issartel C, Rigaut G, Charai A. Statistical and theoretical analysisof precipitates in dual-phase steels microalloyed with titanium and their effect on mechanicalproperties. Acta Mater 1999;47(12): 3475–81.[15] Ooi SW, Fourlaris G. A comparative study of precipitation effects in Ti only and Ti–V UltraLow Carbon (ULC) strip steels. Mater Charact 2006;56(3):214–26.[16] Gladman T. Precipitation hardening in metals. Mater Sci Technol Ser 1999;15(1):30–6. 2896 G. Xu et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 2891–2896.


Mr Nelson, who lives in Bedale, North Yorkshire, waspreviously at Sheffield-based stainless steel product-maker Outokumpu, where he helped to develop thebusiness towards a world-class operation.

He was appointed Forging and Fabrication director atHenry Williams in March 2008, and since then hasoverseen a major investment programme at HenryWilliams, including the installation of the Tempest, aGerman-made Banning air-powered drop hammercapable of shaping steel with four-tonne blows coupledto a high output inductionheater for the Forge, aswell as a new 100 tonneelectric press brake, newwelding facility and otherassociated equipment infabrication.

FORGING


A lan Robinson, managing director of Arc Energy Resources

discusses the benefits of weld overlay cladding to protect the

internal surfaces of forgings such as valves and pumps from

corrosion; and reviews the options available for using corrosion

resistant alloys.

Corrosion is the ultimate dirty word, leading to a waste of precious naturalresources and creating problems for those entrusted with the containmentand handling of aggressive liquids and ecologically damaging toxins.

So what can engineers in the oil & gas, defence, power generation, marine,chemical and other processing industries do to ensure the integrity of theinternal surfaces and maintain an efficient and reliable service, when thetransported media can, for chemical or mechanical reasons, degrade valves,pumps and other equipment.

In such applications, what techniques are available to enhance the life ofnew plant or refurbish worn or corroded equipment; and what are the costbenefits compared to expensive base materials and/or replacement parts?

Engineers have a number of options when considering corrosion protection,however the final solution will depend in part on an evaluation of factorssuch as the presence of chemically aggressive compounds; the level ofsuspended solids, if any, in the product; the installation deadline; andbudget restraints.

Where budget is not a constraint, engineers can simply specify valves andpumps in corrosion or wear resistant alloys known to withstand the specificservice conditions.

However, this is rarely the case and other, more cost-effective options mustbe sought.

Where standard, off-the-shelf carbon steel components such as valves,pumps, pipe, flanges or fittings are used, weld overlay cladding is certainly the most versatile option, providing the assurance of a heavy-dutymetallurgically-bonded protective layer that will not be undermined ordislodged in service.

After first identifying the areas within the system that need to be protected,and the properties of the medium from which protection is required,engineers can choose from a number of welding processes and a wide range of cladding alloys. The final choice will depend on the size and geo-metry of the components to be clad and the alloy best suited to combat thesurface degradation.

This is also true when weld overlaycladding is used to protect oilfieldvalves from corrosion. As oil and gaswells are sunk deeper and producehotter and more aggressive ‘cocktails’of corrosive media, equipment man-ufacturers are forced to specifyhighly alloyed materials for valvesand associated components to over-come the inevitable corrosion problems.

The alloys used to manufactureoilfield valves and associated com-ponents can range from carbon andlow alloy steels through to stainless

steels. All are capable of being overlay clad to provide corrosion resistancein specified areas or indeed over all surfaces in the case of the carbon andlow alloy varieties, to provide total resistance.

For some applications limited corrosion may be tolerated on the body of acomponent manufactured from low alloy or stainless steel, providedcomplete integrity is assured in sealing areas. It is here that a morecorrosion-resistant material can be applied using weld overlay cladding.

Similarly, where total corrosion protection is required, it makes economicsense to manufacture the component in a cheaper alloy and overlay cladwith a corrosion-resistant alloy, rather than manufacture the wholecomponent in a more expensive, highly alloyed material.

In a typical example of the application of weld overlay cladding to forgingsArc Energy Resources applied a coating of corrosion resistant alloy forSchmolz+Bickenbach UK Ltd, to protect a brand new oilfield valve andrefurbish an old one.

Steve Hadley of Schmolz+Bickenbach explains: “Customers in the oil andgas industry, for whom we stock specialised steel forgings, oftensubcontract our machine shop to manufacture oilfield valves and we wereasked to manufacture a new 51/8” blow-out preventor valve body andrefurbish a 5” body. Both valves, which are 2’ square and 3’ long, aredesigned to stop blow-outs from oil wells.”

As the dual valve bodies are handling aggressive oils or gases that corrodethe surface of the steel, the specification for both included a corrosion andwear resistant weld overlay cladding to their inside diameters.

Says Hadley: “We talked to a number of weld overlay cladding specialistsabout the coating before selecting Arc Energy Resources, who impressedus with their technical ability and experience of welding specialised corro-sion resistant alloys. We are more than happy with the service they provided.”

Arc Energy applied a weld overlay cladding of Inconel 625 to all three boresof the new 51/8” valve. The main bore of the 5” valve, which had been eatenaway by sour gas or oil, was first machined to remove the corrosion, thencoated by Arc Energy before Schmolz+Bickenbach machine-finished thebore to its original specification.

As Steve Hadley points out: “The refurbished valve is actually better thanit was when new because it is now protected with a coating of Inconel 625corrosion resistant alloy.

Says Arc Energy managing director Alan Robinson: “Today’s hydrocarbonprocessing produces much more aggressive ‘cocktails’ of corrosive mediathat are capable of causing anything from straightforward metal losscorrosion to catastrophic failures resulting from stress corrosion cracking.

“Weld overlay cladding, using a range of corrosion resistant alloys, is a veryeffective way to reduce the cost of new equipment and reclaim equipmentthat is worn.”

To summarise, significant developments by equipment suppliers to improveproductivity and quality have helped to ensure that weld overlay claddingis now widely accepted as a versatile and economic process with which toprotect valves and pumps against corrosion.

For further information please contact Alan Brown, Arc Energy Resources

Tel: 01453 823523 E-mail: [email protected]

www.arcenergy.co.uk

Increasing thelife expectancyof forgings

FORGING


Trade mark to Bodycote, the system extends the benefits afforded by the originalSherardizing process,

Properties • Uniformity of coating over complex shapes• Long term corrosion protective coating• Damage resistant • Conductive

And adds• Integral lubricant• Salt Spray resistance in excess of 1000 hours, also available

3000 hours ASTM B117.

Advancements in new technologyThese two further advantages are produced without expensive top coats. Therefore theSheracote coating can offer outstanding performance without prohibitive high costsassociated with additional processing, to achieve these properties. The Sheracoteprocess can be broken down into a number of categories as below.This will give us the opportunity to distinguish market sectors and pricing levels.

SheraCote® 240 Offering a minimum salt spray resistance of 240 hours to ASTM B117.

SheraCote® 1000 Offering a minimum salt spray resistance of 1000 hours to ASTM B117

SheraCote® 3000Offering a minimum salt spray resistance of 3000 hours to ASTM B117

SheraTorque 240Offering a minimum salt spray resistance of 240 hours to ASTM B117.With added Lubricant to achieve coefficient of friction of 0.14 to 0.18 for threaded components.

SheraTorque 1000Offering a minimum salt spray resistance of 1000 hours to ASTM B117.With added Lubricant to achieve coefficient of friction of 0.14 to 0.18 forthreaded components.

SheraTorque 3000Offering a minimum salt spray resistance of 1000 hours to ASTM B117.With added Lubricant to achieve coefficient of friction of 0.14 to 0.18 for threaded components.

These significant advancements in the Sherardizing process are the first since theinvention of the process by Sherard Cowper-Coles in 1900.These techniques will enable the treatment of much larger components for the future.Sheracote will therefore enable Bodycote to open new markets for this unique process,in the Automotive, petro-chemical and Wind energy sectors and many others.Continual investment has enabled Bodycote to utilize the latest technology to grow themarket for its range of coatings and has the capacity necessary to accommodate therequirements of a mass volume producers requiring a sacrificial corrosion protectionbased on Zinc in its various forms. The development of our processes to meet the demands of industry and ever increasinglegislative controls is ongoing, through our research and development department.

For further details please contact [email protected] or [email protected]

A D V E R T O R I A L

Bodycote increases further the corrosion resistance of the Sherardizingprocess and establishes unified coefficient of friction for use on threadedcomponents SheraTorqueBodycote Metallurgical coatings based in Wolverhampton, together with Bodycote’s research and development team in Germany, havedeveloped a new corrosion protective system SheraCote®.

““Jim Mundell, whom I’m sure almost everyone will know,invited me to join United Forgemasters in 2001, as aconsultant. Five months later though, we were in admin-

istration, but I was later able to buy the business, with threecolleagues and Jim became our chairman. We re-named thecompany Shakespeare Forgings after the original forge on the site and commenced trading in January 2002.

“My background is metallurgy, rather than sales, but I couldsee we needed an overseas partner to take on our high-volume work, whilst we concentrated on niche products.

“It took three years to find the ideal company, but in July2005, India’s El Forge group acquired a majority stake. Thiswas converted into 100% ownership the following year andsince then it’s worked well for both partners. We’ve giventhem credibility in Western Europe, promoted them for TierOne work, and helped them win several major orders.

“They’re now supplying 40,000 forgings a week to TRW, forthe new Megane, which are then machined in Slovakia, beforegoing to Renault’s assembly plants, and they also supply GKN.

“EL Forge’s support allowed us to move from our old leasedpremises and purchase our new site in Cradley Heath. Andalso helped keep us trading through the recession, even whenour biggest customer cancelled its orders overnight.

“We continue to move forward and earlier this year, weacquired the assets, order book and employees of SJ Humphries,which was based just 400 yards away.

www.shakespeareforgings.com

FORGING


The Barrett Engineering Steel Division

The Barrett Engineering Steel Division is a group of specialistmetal stockholders and service centres. We combine technicalexpertise and knowledge with a meticulous approach to

customer service that sets us apart from our competitors, providing asolid foundation for mutual and lasting success.

We supply nationwide to mainland United Kingdom and NorthernIreland through our network of regional distribution centres. Thesecentres are spread from Plymouth to Montrose and in addition to ourdomestic markets they also handle our export trade to Europe, North& South America and the Middle East.

Our comprehensive product portfolio is designed to meet the require-ments of the fastening and forging industries. The main categorieswithin this portfolio are: Engineering Steels, Forged Bar, Nickels & Alloys,Stainless & Duplex and specialist products for the Oil & Gas Sectors.

This extensive product range is enhanced by an array of processingservices which includes: cutting to length, boring, honing, forging, peeling,heat treating, testing and inspection.

Reliability is our guiding principle. Our customers know that they canrely on our staff, products, processes, way of working and every aspectof the services we provide.

We continue to develop our business in order to meet the changingrequirements of our existing and future customers.

For more information on what we can offer you and start to build asuccessful partnership please contact us.

rofilePompany

Dave Godfrey

Tel: 01274 654212

Fax: 01274 651052

Email:[email protected]

John Childs

Tel: 01709 789201

Fax: 01709 821467

Email:[email protected]

rofileP

ompany

Shakespeare’s success story owesmuch to El Forge linksShakespeare Forgings MD, Steve Potts, tells Metal Matters about his

company’s recent fortunes.

SHEET METAL


Continuing with its strategy of investment in technology, marketleading subcontractor Carlton Laser Services (C.L.S) in Leicesterhas placed an order worth £750,000 for three high-performance

Easy-Form® Series CNC Press Brakes from LVD, bringing their spend to atotal of £2,000,000 over the last 3 years on investment in technology.

Carlton Laser specializes in subcontract manufacturing for many blue chipOEMs in the markets and industries of food sorting machines, medicalequipment, electronics & electrical cabinets and specialist vehicles comp-onents. The company is a trend setter in adopting and applying state of theart sheet metalworking technology.

Realizing the need to address an increasing demand for very high quality,small batch – short lead-time components, Carlton Laser representative’sselected LVD equipment as the best technology to solve current and futuresheet metalworking challenges.

Mohan Jassi, Operation Director for Carlton Laser, explains: “We knew weneeded to ‘de-skill’ the bending process of very accurate and difficultcomponents ranging from batch quantities of 1 to 100 off’s so we set out tofind machinery that had the very best bending technology within themachine. This would allow us to continue to remain a market leader and to grow in the markets we operate in.

Headed up by Mohan Jassi and Carlton’s founder Dennis Kent, the team atCarlton embarked upon a six month investigation of potential suppliers,technology and machines, which consisted of supplier audits, extensivetesting of equipment and technology using test parts developed by Carlton,and visits to machinery users.

A final evaluation included extensive bending trials in which assessmentswere made for ease of use, offline programming capability, pre-productionset-up time, production time, and accuracy of parts.

Jassi adds: “Our task was to identify the best press brake and supportingtechnology on the market. We conclusively found that LVD’s bendingtechnology and the Easy-Form Laser in process angle correction systemout performed all of the competition. In fact, the parts produced by LVDwith Easy-Form were exceptionally accurate, within our target of +/- 0.4’.”

Carlton’s key consideration was the ability to efficiently process small /medium size batches.

“From how we saw LVD’s Easy-Form systemperform during the trials we are more thanconfident that the first part will be the rightpart, this will save considerable costs byreduced set up and production times, and areduction in waste,” concluded Jassi.

The three new machines and accompanyingLVD CADMAN offline software are due to bedelivered and commissioned in the near future.

Carlton Laser Services –www.carltonlaser.co.ukLDV Ltd – www.lvdgroup.com

Carlton Laser invests in advancedCNC Press Brakes from LVD

Above: Chris Phillips (Left), Managing Director of LVD Limited and Mohan Jassi (Right),Operations Director of Carlton Laser Services inspect test parts during bending trials.

Right: Chris Phillips (Left), Managing Director of LVD Limited and Mohan Jassi (Right),

Operations Director of Carlton Laser Services shake hands on the contract

for 3 LVD Easy-Forms series press brakes after successful

competition of bending trials.

SHEET METAL


Stadco, a British international Tier 1 supplier of automotive Body-in-White products and services, has secured new contracts withJaguar Land Rover (JLR) on a number of vehicles across both

brands’ product ranges.

Stadco is a key supplier in the UK for JLR, producing parts across therange of vehicles, including the Jaguar XF and XK, and Land RoverDefender, Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover and Range Rover Sportvehicles.

Stadco has been successful in winning a number of contracts on bothJaguar and Land Rover vehicles, including a package of large stampingsto be manufactured at its Shrewsbury facility for the Range Rover model.Stadco will also undertake the stamping and assembly of an all aluminiumtailgate for the Range Rover Sport at its Castle Bromwich plant.

Over 100 of the internal body pressings for the Jaguar XK are alreadysupplied by Stadco, and in expanding its relationship with Jaguar LandRover, the company will begin the supply of all of the XK aluminiumbodywork closure assemblies from its Castle Bromwich facility.

Stadco works with Jaguar Land Roverto secure jobs and production in the UK

In addition, a package of major structural stampings and assemblies forthe Jaguar XF will be supplied from Stadco’s Shrewsbury plant from theend of the year.

Commenting on the new business, Dermot Sterne, Stadco ManagingDirector said, “We are delighted in taking on additional work from JaguarLand Rover, which will not only assist the company in its strategy ofconsolidating its UK supply base, but will also safeguarding jobs andproduction in the UK.”

Whilst Stadco as a Tier 1 supplier provides parts directly to JLR, thereare many more firms across the UK and the West Midlands in particularthat have contracts with JLR suppliers.

For more information about any of the services offered by

Stadco please visit www.stadco.co.uk

W rekin Sheetmetal Ltd is successfully building on its continuous achieve-ments in the sheet metal industry and is steadily establishing itself into othermanufacturing markets.

A management buyout was completed by the Directors Simon Orpe and Claire Robinsonin July 2009, since then they have continued to supply the security and heating industryadding new products. They work directly with their clients to assist them with their R & Doffering essential advice including efficiencies, cost savings and legislation updates, theproducts are now in long run productions.They have steadily grown into establishing themselves in new market places and haveadjusted their manufacturing process and skilled staff to ensure this is successfullycontinued.Simon Orpe explains “we were established in December 2003 and work from over 23,000 sq ft premises. In March 2009, Claire and I were given the opportunity to takecontrol of the company.”The first thing they achieved was the rebranding of themselves, which included therefurbishment of their offices on Tweedale Industrial Estate, Telford. They have alsoachieved ISO 9001 accreditation; this enabled them to demonstrate their commitmentto quality. They are currently looking to invest a large amount of capital into newmachinery that will ultimately increase their productivity. Simon Orpe is very confidentabout 2011; they have a healthy order book and a number of big tenders at the moment. “Previously, although the business had been very successful, Claire and I felt we neededto explore new markets as we have so much more potential with our current up to the

minute software and machinery, also our skilled staff includingexperienced design team and quality engineers.”“Our export orders, particularly for France and Germany, representroughly a third of our turnover, this we are looking to increase overthe next 12 months as we have established links with Europe andhave worked with them for many years.

www.wrekinsheetmetal.co.uk

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rofileP

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SHEET METAL


Source: reproduced by kind permission of the Express & Star, Wolverhampton.

ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Birmingham LtdBridge Street North, Smethwick, West Midlands B66 2BAT: +44 (0)121 558 8464 F: +44 (0)121 558 8312E: [email protected]

www.arcelormittal.com/tailoredblanks/prg/selfware.pl

COLD ROLLED


Abstract

Quality management in roll forming became more and more important overthe recent years. Besides the stimulated demand for good material, tightmachine and tooling tolerances, this has been boosted by the introductionof conducting Finite Element (FE) simulations over the last 5 years, in thedesign departments of material suppliers, machine makers and custom rollformers. This has resulted in a positive increase of know-how and under-standing of the roll forming process and thus roll forming is now well on itsway from the “Black Art/Book” experience level to that of a more scientificapproach.

The acceptance and benefits, drawn from performing such FE simulations,in daily roll form design practise as a part of the total quality managementare presented in this report.

This evolution of conventional roll forming can be seen as the base for thedevelopment of discontinuous “flexible” roll forming. For this purpose aloneit has appeared that more than ever, it is important to understand thebehaviour of roll forming processes. The complex interrelations betweenhardware, control and design and their impact on the process and theprofile’s quality are topic of scientifically substantiated practical orientatedinvestigations including numerical analysis. The requirement for funda-mental investigation in the field of flexible roll forming is also presented inthis report.

Whereas flexible roll formed profiles with a variation in width has been themain talking point n process development up until now, the increasingpressure from the automotive industry stimulates the development ofstrategies to produce profiles with a variation in depth and height. Impor-tant issues are the understanding of the process and the machine realisationat minimum cost in order to be competitive with press operations. Thisreport details these investigations and objectives of today’s studies.

1. Introduction

Text books tell us, roll forming is a bending technology with rotating toolmotion used to manufacture open and closed profiles. In order to obtainthe desired profile several stages are used, feeding a cut strip of metalthrough successive pairs of stands.

As we are all aware, compared with other forming processes, classic rollforming offers a number of technical, economical and ecological advantagese.g. high productivity at low tool costs.

The restriction of producing profiles with a constant cross sectional shapein longitudinal direction has now been overcome by the development ofthe so-called “flexible” roll forming process. [1]

Approximately 10 years ago, the roll forming know-how was merely on anon-site expertise base between the machine operator and the tool-designer,with the foundation of years of practical experience. Several possible effectswere known, and in most cases the machine operator and tool-designerknew how to react. From day to day new phenomena would appear and asolution had to be developed. All that counted was the fact that themanufacturing process continued. Understanding why or what they weredoing was – if at all – only second or third priority. It can be noted now, thatthe roll forming process is far too complex to understand and describe allinterrelations on a practical base only.

Nowadays, the tool designer has access to FE simulation in order toinvestigate and optimise the roll forming process. This has boosted thepossibilities of and the need for understanding of roll forming processesdramatically. Now the Tool Designer, Machine Operator and colleagues ofthe R&D department can increase the company specific in-house know-how of their roll forming process and make it accessible to all. [2]

2. FEA and quality management in roll forming companies

Serious concerns about quality management in roll forming process wereincreased further by the possible increase in “company specific” know-howof the roll forming process. By means of the application of finite elementsoftware to simulate the roll forming process, the closeness of thisnumerical tool to the designer of the roll-tooling and machine operatorappears to be very important. In typical roll forming companies, no FiniteElement specialists are available and even if so, the understanding andcommunication between the Tools design department and researchdepartment are quite often very difficult and fragmented.

2.1 Simulation as a part of quality management in daily roll forming business

Typically, a roll formed profile will pass through the development stages aspresented in Figure 1 on the route from conception to a produced part.

Figure 1. Roll forming experience and FE simulation in daily roll forming practise

Quality Management has to cover all stages in this development process,and can be carried out by different standards in the design work, rollproduction, tool quality approval and machine setup; through to themonitoring of quality during production. [3],[4] A further quality controlcan also be obtained by a serious implementation of FE simulation software,as a standard tool in the design phase, in order to optimize the design priorto tooling manufacture. This can now be observed in many roll formingrelated companies such as machine makers, tool makers, custom rollformers, and in some cases the steel supplier. Another typical companyrelated quality aspect can be found in the learning process of simulatingprocesses that are in operation. Weak points in the production can bedetected and optimized. The above figure clearly illustrates that companyinternal experience in roll forming is essential to success. It can be observedin modern roll forming companies that the available roll forming experienceis being logged by applying FE simulation, in order to guarantee success,and then access to this knowledge base is shared amongst all employees.This is the basis for the possibility to further increase the level of RollForming experience within the organisation.

2.2 Goals for finite element simulation in roll forming

The main goal for companies applying finite element simulation of rollforming is to increase the process stability. A typical first application canbe found to increase the understanding of the roll forming process, andaids to learn about more about the in-house processes. Furthermore, finiteelement simulations are performed in the design departments of rollforming tooling nowadays, in order to predict achievable geometricaltolerances. Additionally the process can be optimized to run at reducedforces, reduced roll tool wear, minimum material load, and minimum energyconsumption and so on. continued on page 22 ●●●●>

Development of new 3D roll forming applications by means ofnumerical analysis as a part of a quality control methodologyBy André ABEE*, Albert SEDLMAIER*, Carl Stephenson**

*data M Sheet Metal Solutions GmbH, Am Marschallfeld 17, 83626 Valley, Germany** data M (UK) Sheet Metal Solutions Ltd, Hilton Hall Business Centre, Hilton Lane, Essington, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV11 2BQ

COLD ROLLED


Several other parameter studies can also be applied in order to investigatethe influence of deviations in the material properties, sheet thickness orother imperfections like tool wear, machine deviations or different machinesettings. With respect to roll forming of high strength and ultra highstrength steels, it can be considered that the deflection of the machineshafts is a serious phenomenon, which influences the process and profilequality significantly. [5]

3. Discontinuous roll forming

Typical phenomena in discontinuous - flexible - roll forming are caused bynecessary geometrically elongation and compression of the material inlongitudinal direction in the transition zones. [6] This is the major differencebetween flexible and conventional roll forming, as traditionally noremaining longitudinal elongation or compression is required or desired inthe finished profile.

The contact between the roll tooling and the material is situated in a smallbending area directly in the forming stations only. Thus, compensations forthe described necessary deformation in the transition zones, reflect ingeometrical deviations of the finished profile dimensions, therefore the goalfor well designed flexible roll form tooling is not to compensate, but to avoidthese detrimental effects. [6]

A high level of roll forming experience is required, but alone this will notbe enough to develop an appropriate design for a specific family of flexibleroll formed parts. Consequently, an understanding of the working principlesof flexible roll form tooling, and the ability to performing “high–end” finiteelement analysis is required.

3.1 Discontinuous in width direction

The manner in which the necessary elongations and compressions react inthe profile is determined on many parameters such as cross sectional shape,forming step, roll design, material properties, sheet thickness, etc.

Figure 2. Flat pattern and (half of) the flexible profile

For the convex transition zone (area A in figure 2) the length Lout is largerthan the length Lin in the flat sheet. In the final part one can see that Lout =Lin with Lin unchanged; therefore a compression of Lout is necessary. Theopposite is required for the concave transition zone (area B in figure 2),which can be can be found as: Lout < Lin in the flat sheet, Lout = Lin in thefinal profile with Lin unchanged, thus an elongation of Lout is necessary.

It should be noted that it is not only a compression or elongation of thestrip edge (indicated with Lout), but it is a compression and elongation ofthe complete areas A and B respectively.

Furthermore it can be derived that this geometrical compression andelongation is only depending on the flexible radius and the instantaneousnormal distance between a point in area A or B and the profile web duringforming. This distance can be described by the “leg-length-radius” in typicalflexible in width profiles (figure 3).

Figure 3. Roll formed profiles, flexible in width

Several industry projects proved the process for typical real parts andstated the necessity of the appliance of scientifically substantiated invest-igations by means of finite element simulations. Experience in conventionalroll forming is required but is insufficient, and Finite element analysis canhelp to increase the know-how and understanding further of the discontinuousroll forming process with all its complex and interesting aspects.

3.2 Flexible in depth direction

Whilst flexible roll formed profiles with a variation in width is the mainsubject matter until now, the increasing pressure from the automotiveindustry forces the development of strategies to produce profiles with avariation in depth, thus development of suitable forming strategies,necessary kinematics and special tooling are the main topics within thenewly formed R&D department within data M Sheet Metal Solutions rightnow. Typical profiles [8] are presented in figure 4.

Figure 4. Typical profiles flexible in depth.

Finite element simulations have confirmed the possibility of formingprofiles which have flexibility in depth, and have also proved that thegeometrical elongation and compression of the material in rolling directiondepends only on the flexible radius and the “flexible leg length”. However,contrary to profiles flexible in width, this distance is not constant, buttypically dependent to the flexible angle as well.

Figure 5. Top view, side view and unfolded pre-cut sheet of a flexible in depth profile.

The necessary geometrically elongation and compression is indicated infigure 5 by the hatched areas and can be clearly recognized. The distancebetween the flexible radius and the strip edge is dependant to the currentflexible angle for typical automotive parts where the mounting ear of thetop-hat shaped profile in one plane. Because of this, the kinematic formingpath is not equidistant related to the pre-cut sheet.

Another interesting issue is the fact that the kinematic path is not strictlya real existing path in the pre-cut sheet, depending on the chosen formingstrategy. This is related to the difference between the profile length andthe respective length of the pre-cut sheet as indicated with dL in figure 5.This requires an additional control parameter to guarantee a wellcoordinated material feed in the rolling direction which is not constantanymore. In this case it is advantageous to have an integrated controlsystem for the complete line.

The first feasibility studies of such flexible in depth profiles have beenperformed at data M, Figure 6 shows a result of a study in FEA for a typicalautomotive top-hat part.

The mounting ear of the profile is in one flat plane whereas the height ofthe profile varies through the length of the profile. Such profiles can befound in for example in the structural side members of a car or light trucks.Typical dimensions are (85-110) x 180 x 2.2 mm (H x W x T) and aretypically produced in high strength steel.



COLD ROLLED


Figure 6. Feasibility study by FEA of a flexible in depth roll formed part.

The previously mentioned essential geometrical elongations andcompressions can be clearly recognized in figure 7. This figure shows thelongitudinal strain in the final part. A compression is evident in the sideflanges and the top-hat mounting ears caused by the forming of the convexflexible radius, in the bottom of the top-hat profile. A further elongationcan also be found in the side flanges which is also evident in the top-hatmounting ears, caused by the forming of the concave flexible radius, in thebottom of the top-hat profile The longitudinal strain is higher in the areaswith a larger distance between the flexible radius and the strip edge. Thatis in the deepest parts.

Figure 7. Longitudinal strain in a flexible in depth roll formed part.

Some typical difficulties appear in dealing with all different processparameters, one basic issue is the definition of the shape of the pre-cutsheet, as this influences the behavior during the forming.

The machine control therefore needs to take into account the kinematicsin each forming station as a function of time, rather than sheet movement,since this is not necessarily constant in flexible roll forming in depth. Thecomplex movement of the tools to fulfill the desired tool paths as prescribedby the control needed a further development of typical flexible roll formingstations. The machine concept must fit for this advanced tooling system.

4. Flexible roll forming in a productive environment

Quality management of both design and machine operation is veryimportant to achieve a stable roll forming process, in which a wide varietyof roll formed profiles at tight tolerances can be produced. Small deviationsand their influence to the process must be known and must be undercontrol, and thus data M have found through significant research anddevelopment, that with the use of finite element analysis, they are able tounderstand the flexible forming process in more detail and pre-emptdifficulties prior to them appearing.

With FEA widely understood to be a pre-requisite for flexible roll formingin a productive environment, practical experience of the flexible rollforming process in production is minimal, compared with the respectiveexperience that companies have in the field of conventional roll forming.Therefore the quality management must be an integrated approach ofdesign, hardware (machine and tooling), control of the machine andscientifically substantiated investigations of the behaviour of the process.(Figure 8)

Figure 8. Integrated approach of the quality control in flexible roll forming.

4.1 Competition with press forming operation

Press forming is prevalent in automotive industry; with the introduction offlexible roll forming in to the automotive production environment, therehas been some rivalry between the two processes. Most automotivecompanies have well equipped press forming lines and the parts are highlyadapted to the forming process. Typical parts are U-shaped or top-hat-profiles with a non-perpendicular side leg to the profile web (figure 8)because of the removal out of the tool die.

An advantage of (flexible) roll forming compared to press forming is thefact that along with top-hat-type profiles, also C-type or even closed profilescan be produced in flexible roll forming. There are no strict conditions to form-ing angles of bends, as found in the press forming process. See also figure 9.

Figure 9. Typical profile of press forming (left) and flexible roll formed parts (right).

A family of products, e.g. characterized by different the lengths betweentransition zones, can be produced on one single roll forming line with onlya minimum of tool changing. Even ranges or families of products can be pro-duced only by changing part sets of the roll tooling, which is a relativedispensable cost compared with the change of press dies for every single part.

4.2 Process oriented design

The production process should be given serious consideration during thedefinition of the profile, in order to achieve good tolerances and to minimizeeventually negative influences of a specific forming process. A change ofthe flexible radius within acceptable dimensions, often leads to a relativelarge reduction of the “geometrically necessary” elongation and compressionof the transition zones.

A serious definition of product-families with similar shapes for differentautomotive segments like small, medium, large and commercial cars in thedesign stage, is an important challenge which will boost the effectivenessof a flexible roll forming line, and is an opportunity to reduce costs in aproductive automotive environment drastically.

5. Conclusion

The introduction of finite element analysis as a part of the roll formingdesign process, has boosted the understanding and company internalknowledge base of the roll forming process, over the last half decade. Thisallows a scientific substantiated and practically oriented development ofthe flexible roll forming process these days. This article shows the need forboth roll forming experience and an analysis tool to overcome the complexproblems and to deal with the behaviour of flexible roll forming.

While flexible roll forming for profiles with a variation in width are becomingstandard, investigations in to flexible roll forming in depth, is currently aserious topic of research and development at data M. So far data M hasbeen delivering feasibility studies, tooling and the roll forming concept toits customers. These services now include a machine which can produceprototype “flexibly – formed” rolled sections. Therefore experience in bothconventional roll forming, flexible roll forming with width variation and theapplication of simulation software, have been essential prerequisites todiscover this new and entirely different type of flexible roll forming process.



24

COLD ROLLED

The necessity of such studies is given by thedemand from the automotive industry, for profileswith a discontinuous height of the profile like tophat profiles with the mounting ear in one plane.First studies of real automotive parts showed thefeasibility of this process, and quantify the needfor an integrated approach of design, machinetool control, hardware and simulation is essentialin order to keep control of budgetary costs. Awell considered definition of product-familieswith similar shapes for different automotivesegments is an important challenge which willboost the effectiveness of a flexible roll formingline and is an opportunity to reduce costs in aproductive automotive environment drastically.

6. References[1] Istrate, A. Verfahrensentwicklung zum Walzprofilieren von

Strukturbauteilen mit der Längsachse veränderlichenQuerschnitten, Dissertation, TU Darmstadt, 2002.

[2] Sedlmaier, A., 2004. FEM gestützte Auslegung vonRollensätzen - Konstruktion und Auslegung vonRollensätzen mit geometriebasierten Methoden, VDIWissenforum Walzprofilieren, Darmstadt.

[3] COPRA® TQM – Total Quality Management, data MHausmesse 2007, Valley

[4] COPRA® RollScanner 100/100-3 and 200/200-3 user manual,data M Engineering GmbH, 4th Version, December 2008

[5] Larrañaga, J. 2009. Investigations in the simulation of thefrictional behaviour of roll forming. DataM Sheet MetalSolutions, Valley, Germany. Internal Technical Report

[6] Abee, A., Berner, S., Sedlmaier, A., 2008. Accuracyimprovement of roll formed profiles with variable crosssections, ICTP 2008 9th International Conference onTechnology of Plasticity, Gyeongju, Korea.

[7] PROFORM, “An innovative manufacture process conceptfor a flexible and cost effective production of the vehiclebody in white: Profile Forming”, http://www.proform-ip.org/

[8] Abee, A.Z., Sedlmaier, 2009, A, On the quality improvementof roll formed profiles with variable cross sections,International Symposium on Plasticity 2009, Frenchman'sReef and Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, 2009.

A lbert Sedlmaier, the founder and MD of Data M Sheet Metal Solutions,and Professor Peter Groche, from

Germany’s famed Darmstadt University, out-lined the latest innovations in roll-formingmanufacturing, and provided incisive analysisof the sector’s likely future.

The line-up of guest speakers for the NationalMetalforming Centre event was completedby Wim Laging; a specialist researcher in roll-forming materials with Corus.

Director General John Houseman told the 35invited delegates that a specialist sectorgroup for cold rolled sector companies hadbeen created, to provide advice, support andnetworking opportunities.

“We have not previously had a trade groupdedicated to cold rolling of sections, but wehave now identified around 70 businessesacross the UK either directly or associatedwith this exciting technology. We believethey would benefit significantly from thewide range of services the CBM offer to otherthe metalforming sectors,” he said.

“Adrian Nicklin is meeting the managementteams from these companies, hoping to per-suade them of the benefits of membership,and I hope he will have signed up many of thecompanies by Christmas, which will give thecold rolled sector group the critical mass itneeds to function effectively”.

“One of the most important functions of allour trade divisions is to give their sector avoice, at the national and international levels,and I am sure member companies will swiftlycome to appreciate everything the new groupcan do for them.”

A similar event for cold rolled sector

companies is expected to be held early in

2011, and anyone interested in attending,

or in finding out more about the new

group, should contact Adrian at the

CBM on 0121 601 6350 or by email:

[email protected],

and in his absence, inquiries should be

directed to his colleague, Kirsi Lintula:

[email protected]).

CBM’s new cold rolled groupis unveiled in style


Two of Europe’s best-known experts on advanced technologyfor the cold rolled sector, gave the CBM’s newest trade arm a high- profile launch


EVENTS


Unexpected tool failure and poor tool performance have a significant and immediateimpact on the profitability of companies producing components. Quality tool shops arebeing pushed to give guarantees on the performance and tool life.It can be difficult to identify errors and poor quality that leads to tool failure. Amongstthe Designers, Suppliers, Heat Treaters, Setters and Operators the only consensus isoften that it must have been done by someone else.The Technical Applications Engineer at Robert Zapp, Jurgen Kuppershaus, draws on awealth of experience and knowledge to conclude that reality is a little bit different:

10% of all tool failures are caused by tooling material defects.10% can be looked at as a suboptimal heat treatment.10% are mechanical overload due to incorrect assumptions during the design process (FEM-Simulation).10% of tool failures are caused by incorrect maintenance and poor alignment or adjustment during the start up of the press.20% are caused by non-standard production (work) material (incorrect pre-hardening or bad structure).30% of all tool failures are caused by white layer (HAZ) after EDM'ing. And other mechanical machining issues; grinding burn, hard milling etc.10% belong to category “Destroyed by Paranormal Effects” and will never be explained in a logical way.

Every tool tells a storyVery often the destroyed tool tells a different story compared to the story from the end user. This is just the fact that everyone is looking at the problem thru their own eyes, basedon perception and experience as well as position in the chain of processes.

We all want a solution, don’t we?Remember, Mr Kipling had Six honest serving men and he said: “They taught me all Iknew, their names are What, Why, When, How, Where and Who“.Discussing “unexpected tragic tool errors” with customers means looking at the findingsthe customer presents and getting other points of view of the entire team. It is necessaryto look at the story the tool tells us and the truth and solution will be in front of us. Weneed to ask questions, listen and most importantly LOOK at the infor-mation providedto find the answer.

Some of the questions we might askWhy does the tougher material fail by breakage?Why is the performance of a high wear resistant material lower than a lowalloyed material due to friction?What’s the reason for dimensional shrinkage of the work part if the toleranceincreases to the upper level?And more…………...

Finding the right answers to these questions after a basic check is what interdisciplinaryworking means – putting the experience and point of views of different professionalstogether like a puzzle to complete the final picture that is close to reality.

The 5 step solution is simple Select the material (Tool Steel or High Speed Steel or High Performance CPM Steels) that fits the demands required.Specify the correct heat treatment and check it has been fully achieved.Optimize machining with the right procedures and processes.Take care when assembling and adjustment of the tool.Operate stable production at optimum output.

Have you ever wondered what the secret behind your tool failures might be?

Tool failure workshopThe CBM is association with Robert Zapp will be convening a tool failure workshop inSeptember. This will be a hands-on experience. Delegates will be looking at artifactsand taken through a decision making process to determine failure diagnosis. JurgenKuppershaus will be supplementing the discussion with practical technical guidance.When & where? National Metalforming Centre

West Bromwich B70 6PY7 October 201009.30 - 12.30 with lunch

How much does it cost? £30.00 inc VAT for CBM members £117.50 inc VAT for others

Who should attend? Toolmakers, heat treatment specialists,machinists, workshop managers, productionmanagers, tooling specifiers and designers,modelling engineers

What will you take away? Improved materials knowledgeimproved understanding of tool failure modesBetter knowledge of process sensitivityDesign changes to improve performanceA practical “do & don’t” guide.

How do I register my interest? [email protected] register on CBM website: www.britishmetalforming.com


STEEL


Market moves closer to balance,whilst demand remains weakIn the last few months, many global strip prices have fallen. Other than

in parts of Latin America and North Africa, where supply and demandwere reasonably in balance, global steel markets had become, by mid

July, oversupplied. However for August and September, there are signsof some stability, though perhaps lower HRC import prices may dent themarkets.

With retrospect, it can be seen that many producers over-expanded in thefirst half, believing that restocking reflected real demand. Consequentlyproducers are now under pressure to cut back – worldwide daily productionwas down in June by just over 1% month-on-month.

Some mills in Europe are also curtailing production. ArcelorMittal willtemporarily idle three blast furnaces at Krakow, Florange and Dunkirkover the summer. This follows other moves by US Steel Serbia and Italy’sRiva, which also have both announced cut backs. However in contrastto the ArcelorMittal moves, Salzgitter restarted a blast furnace inGermany in July, and ThyssenKrupp and VoestAlpine Stahl are said tobe fully loaded. The car industry in Central Europe is currently strong.

Indeed, a German service centre manager has warned local buyers thatif they put off buying over the summer, they could be caught out whenlow inventories force them back into the market as some mills areseemingly booked up for Q3 at least. With this in mind, European mills arelikely to manage to hold their offer base prices at €580-600/t for HRC. Afew reports claim though, that transaction prices are down to €550/t, asbuyers (re-)negotiate.

Meanwhile the effect of the removal of Chinese tax rebates on importshas yet to be fully felt. In mid to late July, HRC offers into the UK werearound £500/t (€589/t) delivered from Russia and Turkey, with some USmaterial also offered at these levels. Into mainland Europe, offer priceswere reportedly up to €50/t less. Chinese material is available, but fewpeople are willing to book for November-December delivery in such anuncertain market, traders suggest.

For Q4, there is a belief that mills will announce HRC increases inSeptember of around €40-50/t, to send a positive signal to the market.Despite competitive import prices, buyers have been reluctant to makebig import orders, so spot prices in North West Europe are likely to risesomewhat. But by the end of the year, the market could weaken againfor seasonal reasons, some traders believe.

www.steelbb.com


09.00-13.00 including buffet lunch30th SeptemberNational Metalforming CentreWest Bromwich B70 6PY

In response to requests from CBM members we have convened this workshopevent. The speakers will outline and discuss the current market conditionsand future projections.

Major movements in international demand is dictating the lead times andcosts of raw material. There is also a common concern amongst steel product manufacturers that the mechanism for negotiating prices has changed significantly.

We have confirmed interest from the National Association of SteelStockholders (NASS), UK Steel, and the Iron And Steel Statistics Bureau(ISSB). We hope to add further presentations to the line-up over the coming weeks.

To express your interest in attending the event or contributing apresentation please email [email protected]

Critical material issuesSteel today, steel tomorrow

TRAINING


Semta apprenticeshipshelp Metsec maintain its competitive edgeDelivering Business Benefits Case StudyMetsec Plc

C raig Conlon left school with five GCSEs grades C-D and

little motivation but went on to win the Metals Industry

Apprentice of the Year award. “Following my dad passing

away I had a negative attitude to most things and ended up in two

dead-end jobs,” Craig says. “The apprenticeship allowed me to

focus my efforts on gaining qualifications and a job with career pro-

spects. For the future I want to continue to develop my skills at

Metsec, become a team leader for my division and eventually man-

age my own rolling division.”

Metsec is the UK’s largest specialist cold roll-forming company and a partof the Voestalpine Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of cold formedsections. The company employs over 300 people at its Oldbury premisesand currently has 16 apprentices.

Craig is typical of the many Metsec apprentices who have flourished, giventhe opportunity. Such is the confidence placed in apprentices that they aregiven early responsibility. As an apprentice, Craig was made head technicianon one of Metsec’s biggest investments – a new £4 million rolling line.During the commissioning he travelled to Germany three times to see howthe line went together, how it would work and be maintained. He alertedMetsec to problems he discovered with part of the equipment – problemsthat would have cost the company money if they had not been put right.Having recently completed his advanced apprenticeship, Craig is now a keymember of the team working on the line.

For Metsec, former apprentices are an invaluable source of the highest craftand technical skills. They make up 10% of the workforce and the companyaims to increase that to 30% to maintain its competitive edge. One of thebest successes has been in maintenance where Metsec struggled year after year to recruit skilled fitters and electricians. “We’ve got three ex-apprentices in maintenance and they’re a key part of the team,” saysTraining Manager, Steve Giles. “Four years ago we couldn’t recruit –apprentices have filled the gap.”

The speed of learning and flexibility of young apprentices is an asset.“Young people are like sponges: they soak up information and learn andretain a variety of things,” Steve comments. “They quickly becomecompetent at doing the job.” Developing apprentices as multi-skilledmaintenance workers has broken down barriers and removed traditionaldemarcation lines. Steve explains: “When fitters see apprentices coming inwith electrical and electronic skills and getting more variety and enjoymentout of the work it gives them an incentive to broaden their skills, take onflexibility and get more job satisfaction.”

Apprentices not only boost Metsec’s skills base, they learn by doing realjobs that help the company save money. “We’ve had big successes withapprentices,” says Training Manager, Steve Giles. “One fourth-year apprenticesaved us over £20,000 on continuous improvement projects and a third-year apprentice saved £10,000 by designing a tool that would otherwisehave been sub-contracted. Another third-year apprentice saved £30,000 byreplicating an existing cooling system for three lines.”

Contact ust: 0845 643 9001

e: [email protected]: www.semta.org.uk

‘

‘Young people are like sponges: they soak up

information and learn and retain a variety of things,”Steve comments.

“They quickly become competent at doing the job.”Developing apprentices as multi-skilled maintenance workers has broken down

barriers and removed traditional demarcation lines,

Steve explains.

Steve Giles Training Manager, Metsec Plc

FINANCE


For many high growth companies the decision of when and if torecruit a full or part time Finance Director (“FD”) rather thanusing a book keeper or firm of accountants to produce the

accounts can be a challenging one. Getting the decision right maypotentially impact both the future direction of the business and its speedof development.

Despite the initial perceived costs, the practical benefits of having a goodquality strategic FD within a business, usually a qualified accountant,can be considerable. For example, an FD may:

• take pressure off a managing director, enabling them to focus on driving the business forward rather than fire fighting

• ensure the financials are brought under control to produce timely and accurate reporting to aid decision making

• act as a sounding board to sense check ideas/initiatives of the management team from a financial point of view

Additionally, from a corporate finance perspective, whether a manage-ment team is seeking a sale, refinancing, or private equity investment,having an FD on board significantly increases the chances of success.The benefits to a deal process can be substantial and include:

• reassurance to an investor that someone is completely in control of the financial position of the business

• a history of accurate monthly financial results is more likely to be available – it is difficult for an investor to support a business without knowing what they are investing in!

• budgets are more likely to have been constructed on soundassumptions, which performance can be monitored against

• an FD, in conjunction with the MD, frequently acts a key project manager within the business itself, in respect to preparing for a transaction, during a process and after completion.

These tough economic times are undoubtedly sorting the weak from thestrong and more than ever having someone within the management teamwith financial expertise can be critical. An FD can assist in makinginformed decisions, help foresee potential problems, take action to avoidthem and put in building blocks to drive forward the growth of thebusiness. A part time FD may be a cheaper option than a full timeequivalent, although which is preferable depends on the nature of thebusiness and the specific requirements of the role.

With banks on the look out for early warning signs of trouble ahead,having an FD on board can help management to stay ahead of the game– the last things banks want at the moment are surprises. Once promisesare broken it is very difficult to restore trust.

For further information please [email protected]

Why a Finance Director matters for fast growth companiesBy Paul Spires, Catalyst Corporate Finance

Paul SpiresCatalyst Corporate Finance

If there had been a fire at your sitethis morning and you were unable to enter yourpremises, how would you have reacted?

There are many unforeseen or unintended incidents that can havea major impact on your company’s ability to operate, from fire andflood through to the breakdown of public utilities or services.

Failure to deal with these incidents efficiently and effectively can severelydisrupt your company’s potential to return to full operational capacity and,in some cases, may even affect your ability to continue operating. It canalso dent the good-will that your company has established with clients,who may be tempted to go elsewhere should the problem not be resolvedquickly.

AXA Insurance estimates that:

• 20% of businesses suffer a major disruption every year

• Only approximately 10% of UK companies have any sort of business continuity plan in place

• 80% of businesses close following a fire or flood if there is no recovery plan

• 90% of businesses close within two years if they lose data following a disaster

Source: AXA Insurance

By having an effective Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in place, you areable to minimise the impact of potential incidents on your business andare better prepared to return to full working capacity with minimaldisruption to your company, whilst reducing the impact to your clients.

The need for an effective BCP is growing as more companies look forevidence of an up-to-date BCP from potential suppliers at the stage oftender. In fact, having a BCP in place may be a significant benefit tomany of your stakeholders. Lenders may base their lending decisions ona company’s ability to be able to fully operate all of the time as will manypotential investors. Most importantly, your staff will benefit from aneffective BCP, having an effective BCP increases your chances of keepingyour company running and therefore keeping your staff employed.

A report from the Business Continuity Institute concluded that havingan effective BCP in place could also have a positive impact on keybusiness expenditure such as insurance:

1. A BCP was seen by insurers as a means to improve the quality of the business they are underwriting and confirmed that BCP helps organisations mitigate impact, recover faster andminimise losses.

2. A BCP can be used to protect against losses incurred throughtraditionally non-insurable perils such as supplier insolvency or pandemic influenza.

INSURANCE


tthhee uunneexxppeecctteedd

EEXXPPEECCTT

3. A BCP can be used to better understand the requirements forBusiness Interruption (BI) cover (and potentially lower the amount of cover needed).

4. A BCP can help obtain BI cover where otherwise it may not be available.

5. A BCP can help to secure optimal terms for cover.Source: Business Continuity Institute

R K Harrison Insurance Services is the CBM’s nominated

insurance provider and is able to offer a cost-effective

solution that enables you to create a fully integrated BCP

that is tailored specifically to your organisation. It uses a

secure, web enabled system that allows you to develop and

store your plan allowing both you and your key

stakeholders to access it remotely when required.

If you would like more information, then please call us on01234 305 555 or visit www.rkhis.com/cbm


During 2009 the European CommissionDepartment for Enterprise and Industryfinanced a detailed study into the nature

and competitiveness of the EU metalworking and metal articles industries. The findings wereannounced the last week of June and really helpedto highlight the important significance of our sector.The report identified the valuable contribution themetalworking sector made to the economics of theEuropean Union; providing 4.3m jobs several timesmore than the steel industry, but surprisinglyinvisible to the Commission up to now.

The report identified that the metalworking sectorprimarily consisted of SMEs, 400,000 companiesand the bulk of which employed less than 50 people(95%). However, during the period from 2000-2006 the sector had been a significant job creatorwith the number of jobs increasing 8% over thatperiod. The fact that our sector sits strategicallybetween the large steel suppliers and the largeOEMs, we find ourselves sandwiched betweenthe financial interests of these two recognisedand important manufacturing industries givingthe sector little influence and a weak negotiatingposition. The report reflected the limited repres-entation of the metalworking sector at the EuropeanCommission as compared with other sectors, whichproportionally account for far fewer jobs in Europe.Unfortunately, there was not a specific personidentified for responsibility for this large andvery important group of companies in the EU.There was no longer any justification of this appa-rent invisibility. The metalworking sector is afundamental link central to the EUs manufact-uring supply chain and contributes 12% of thetotal manufacturing employment in the EU. Itrepresents a sizeable economic sector productionvalue (2008) was estimated EUR 530bn. It is amajor steel purchaser with two thirds of the rawsteel produced in the EU consumed by the metal-working industry alone.

The European metalworking sector is a majormanufacturing sector in its own right even if it iscomposed of a rich variety of small sized companies. Germany is the excep-tion with a concentration of larger but still privately owned companies.

The climate change challenge in this particular sector was seen as anopportunity rather than a threat, although the administrative burden onSMEs should be re-considered. However more international co-ordinationof the efforts to combat climate change was necessary to establish amore even playing field for these smaller innovative businesses.

The Environmental Regulations are also disproportionate on the metal-working sector and consideration should be given to their impact on thecompetitiveness of these SMEs. To further improve the competitivenesslevels there is a shift in skill profile upwards from manual tasks to thetechnician grades and this move needs supporting by training organ-isations in each of the member countries.

Auditing standards devised for international PLCs should not be imposedon SMEs in our sector and current requirements were far too onerousand not necessary, particularly in non-listed companies. Family ownedSMEs should only need to report the minimal amount of financial datato comply with the legal minimum work in this area was encouraged.

For the first time the European Commission has recognised the sign-ificance of our sector to the wellbeing of the economy of the EuropeanUnion as a whole, further steps are to be taken to continue with therecognition of the contribution we make, both financially and strat-egically to manufacturing sector. The recommendation should be toappoint a minister with responsibility for the European metalformingindustry to look after our interests in the European Commission and giveus a point of contact. The report is the first step to make the industrymore visible to the European Commission and help bring our sector fromout of the shadows and into the light.

For a copy of the report or the official summary contact John Houseman at CBM on 0121 601 6350

or email: [email protected]

Metalware is everywhere: Competitiveness of the EU metalworking and metal articles industry

BUSINESS SUPPORT

BUSINESS SUPPORT


Alcoa's first presence in the United Kingdom was in the late 1950swith a rolling and extrusion mill in Swansea, Wales. Today, it haslocations throughout England that serve the needs of Europe's

aerospace, aluminum ingot, commercial transportation and buildingmarkets. Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS), business is located in Telford,Shropshire where fastening solutions are developed and manufacturedfor a range of industrial and transport applications. Over 80% ofproduction is exported to western and Eastern Europe.

Why go the extra mile to make sure manuals are translated veryaccurately? Well, the overriding reason for Alcoa – and the reason whythe company decided to physically train its translators on how to usethe equipment they were translating the manuals for - is safety.

Rob Pattenden explains, “One statement that is repeated throughoutAlcoa’s thinking is ‘safety comes before profit’ and this is a core strategyfor the business, not just window dressing from a marketing campaign.We design and produce over fifty fastening solutions, includinghydraulically and pneumatically powered hand-held installation tools;production line personnel use them typically for securing a range ofitems such as interior trim to specialist vehicles, truck bodies ontoframeworks and body shells. Our department supplies training andtechnical support for our kitted systems, and we always supply acomprehensive manual for every product, it is mandatory under theCEE marking and approval system, to which all our products comply,but as the phrase goes ‘when all else fails – read the manual’. When anoperator or technician does turn to the manual for guidance, the resultof a wrong translation can be very serious.”

The manual translation work is entrusted to local specialist technicaltranslation company Midland Technical Translation (MTT), Sue ClarkMD adds, “We treat a technical manual as we would do a legal document,and while our translators have an engineering background and plentyof experience – nothing compares to handling the products themselves,or talking face-to-face with the Engineers that design them. We recentlyarranged for our translators from France, Spain, Germany, CzechRepublic and several other countries to attend an Alcoa training day inTelford, the results were fantastic, reducing the number of queriessignificantly and adding an extra layer of instruction and knowledge tothe writing that made the translated manuals as accurate and useableas possible.”

The results for Alcoa have been a more manageable level of technicalsupport, as customers are encouraged to use the manuals, whichimproves safety as well as controlling support costs and ensuring asuperior quality result from the operators. It has also opened-up several

new markets specifically in Central Eastern Europe where inadequatetechnical support literature can be a serious barrier to sale. The AlcoaInternational Sales team knows that it can approach any worldwidemarket and be confident that the technical support literature will beavailable in any language, thanks to Rob’s team and his supplier MTT.

www.alcoa.com

WANT TO GET YOURMESSAGE ACROSS LOUD AND CLEAR?

• Contracts

• Technical manuals

• Brochures

• Websites

• Marketing material

• Legal documents

• Press releases

• Certificates

• Health and safety

• IT documents

• Interpreting for

- courts

- business meetings

- conferences

Talk to MTT (UK) Ltd for translation and interpreting services in all languages and subject areas:

MTT (UK) Ltd112 Coventry Street Kidderminster DY10 2BHTel: 01562 748778 Email: [email protected]

Take a look at www.midlandtechnical.co.uk for moreinformation or to download our current brochure.

By Rob Pattenden, Systems Engineering Manager Alcoa

Getting a fix on translation

“Going the extra mile translating manuals is ‘mission critical’ for safety”

BUSINESS SUPPORT


In the case of Pereda v Madrid Movilidad, the European Court ofJustice (ECJ) held that workers who are ill during their plannedholidays can now claim the time back from their employers so

that it does not count towards their annual leave entitlement.

In this case Mr Pereda had suffered an accident shortly beforecommencement of his four week holiday. He was incapacitatedfor six weeks, thus almost entirely overlapping with his plannedholiday. He therefore requested an additional period of annualleave which was refused.

The ECJ held that the Working Time Directive (implemented inGreat Britain by the Working Time Regulations 1998) requiresworkers on sick leave during a period of scheduled annual leaveto be given the right to take annual leave on a later date.

Although the case related to an employee who had booked hisholiday and became unwell before it began, the judgmentspecifically said that if a worker does not wish to take annualleave during a period of sick leave additional annual leavemust be granted for a different period.

Employers should consider adopting policies for thereclaiming of holiday time lost due to illness to avoid abuseof this right.

Source: Ince & Co International Law Firm, October 2009

Holidays ruinedby illness

It can often be difficult to prove that an employee was not genuinely illand therefore it is important for employers to carry out a thorough invest-igation to ascertain the facts and gather as much evidence as they can.

Upon the employees return to work, the employer should hold an invest-igation meeting with the employee to discuss the reason for theirabsence and also to give them the opportunity to explain their actions.Employers need to be aware of any long term conditions that an employermay suffer from and give consideration to the possibility that the employeewas genuinely unable to attend work but was not prevented fromcarrying out other activities. To discipline in these circumstances, couldexpose the employer to a claim of disability discrimination. It may alsoassist the employer to obtain medical evidence.

Following a full and thorough investigation, should the employer feelthat there is a case to answer; consideration needs to be given as to howthe employer wishes to deal with the situation. Does the employees con-duct warrant disciplinary action or can it be dealt with informally bydrawing a line in the sand and explaining to the employee that anyfurther similar issues will be dealt with via the disciplinary procedure?

Where an employee has self certificated and has taken sufficient timeoff work to qualify for sick pay, and the employer feels that they werenot genuinely sick and entitled to it, this may amount to an act of grossmisconduct for fraudulently claiming sick pay.

If the employer decides to take disciplinary action, employers mustensure that they act reasonably and follow a fair procedure when dealing

with an employees conduct under a disciplinary procedure. This is evenmore important should the allegation be one of gross misconduct, as apotential outcome could be summary dismissal.

It is always advisable to adjourn the disciplinary hearing to give theemployer time to consider what has been said what disciplinary sanctionwould be appropriate. The decision must be confirmed in writing andthe employee be given the opportunity to appeal. Furthermore, theemployee should be clearly informed of the standards expected of themand the possible future consequences of not meeting those standards.

For further information please visit Croner’s website: www.croner.co.uk

Sick of “Sickies”?According to recent figures published by the CBI/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey, Employees took 180

million sick days last year. Moreover, the senior HR staff surveyed at 241 public and private-sector organisationsestimated that around 15% of sick days weren't genuine. So how should employers deal with employees who they

believe are not genuinely ill but are just “pulling a sickie”?

CBM members can access Croner’s Business Support Helpline FREEPlease call CBM for details on:0121 601 6350

33

I nteractive Marketing works closely with a number of confederationmembers to drive their sales and marketing forward. PR is a key partof any businesses marketing strategy, especially with the progression

of online PR.

PR relies on both a well researched and written story that initially appealsto the media and ultimately captures the attention of your relevantaudience. The aspects of PR rely on the ‘toolkit’ of options whenpromoting your business.

Please find 10 top PR tips to help your business get noticed and to usein their ‘toolkit’:

1. The old ways to get noticed were to buy expensive advertising andbeg the media to publish articles about you and your products.The best way to get noticed today is to publish great contentonline.

2 Don't talk about what your products and services do. Instead talkabout how you solve problems for your customers.

3. Be enthusiastic and have fun. People want to do business withpeople they like.

4. Don't rely on spamming the media with your press releases andPR pitches.

5. Use press releases to reach buyers directly.

6. Comment on blogs, forums and chat rooms, but don't talk aboutyour products and services.

7. Read the popular books in your market and write a review onAmazon. Use your real name and affiliation.

8. Shoot a short video and upload onto YouTube.


The changing face of PR

9. Research what online keywords people are using to find productsand services like yours. Then create content that search engineswill reward with high search engine rankings.

10. Don't be egotistical; nobody cares about you and your products.Your buyers care about themselves and solving their problems.

Interactive Marketing is also offering members of CBM a complimentarysocial networking training course covering Facebook, LinkedIn andTwitter.

For further information please callJessica Smith on 01543 501 111

MARKETING

HEALTH & SAFETY


CBM Health, Safety and Environment Group – July meeting update

By John HousemanCBM Director General

At the recent CBM Health Safety and Environment Group meeting,presentations were provided on safe maintenance, manual handling,IOSH training, the imminent Artificial Optical Radiation Directive

and the latest REACH update.

• The European Commission has launched a Safe Maintenance Campaignacross Europe; 10-15% of all fatal accidents at work are connected tomaintenance. Planned maintenance is inherently safer than emergencywork due to the appropriate risk assessments can be performed andprocedures modified accordingly. Emergency maintenance is more riskywith time pressure more acute and lack of planning for such occurrences.Maintenance personnel have been identified as particularly vulnerabledue to working in difficult situations and conditions, often confinedspaces, they are also responsible for 38% of all accidents attributed tochemical leaks.

• Handling objects has been identified as the most common cause ofaccidents in our sector, over 1m work related incidents were reportedlast year, nearly half of these were musculosketal resulting in injuries tothe lower back, limbs and neck. Guidelines suggest employers shouldavoid manual handling wherever possible to reduce bodily force andremoves fingers from the possible entrapment. Inexpensive solutionswere available several of which were described in the presentation.

• The CBM in conjunction with Premier Partnership and HSE intend torun a 3 day training course at the National Metalforming Centre to trainH&S representatives to the recognised IOSH standard, if you would liketo attend or send some of your employees on these courses pleasecontact CBM.

• The Artificial Optical Radiation Directive came into force on 27th April2010. Employers will need to ensure that the eyes and skin of workersare protected and employers with only safe sources will not be requiredto do anything. Majority of sources are safe, such as office lighting andphotocopiers therefore no further action needed, however more intensesources could cause harm if used close to people or if people stared atthem for long periods. Some activities use sources that could harm eyesand/or skin under normal use such as ‘’Hot’ work – furnaces and metals,metal working – welding (arc & oxyfuel) and plasma cutting and Class3B & 4 lasers but these tend to be well understood, well controlled andlow reports of harm due to a combination of controls based onengineering, PPE and working practices.

• Finally the latest REACH update included some materials associatedregularly used in the metal finishing sector but unlikely to cause

significant disruption in our area. However trichloethylene, which isregularly used in degreasing operations for aerospace applications, hasbeen placed on the Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) list whichcould impact some members who have not been successful in findingsuitable alternatives. Aqueous cleaning solutions have not proved toequivalent to the effectiveness of ‘trike’. If you could share experienceof successful alternatives for degreasing such components it would bevery much appreciated.

For further information regarding any of the above issues or CBM H, S & E Group please contact

Kirsi Lintula at the CBM on 0121 601 6350 or email: [email protected]


Compliance with fire regulations is a concern to anyone owning or operating premises.Awareness amongst those people working or regularly using your premises is a keyfactor in preventing and dealing with potential and actual fire hazards. CBM recentlycommissioned a Fire Marshall and Fire extinguisher training course for the NationalMetalfoming Centre, and were able to offer a number of places to CBM members; fourCBM member companies participated in the training.The half day course proved popular and the feedback from delegates has been verypositive. As a member benefit we would be happy to commission further courses onbehalf of CBM members, making a small charge to attendees to cover costs. This isan excellent opportunity for smaller companies to gain the requisite staff training atminimal cost. Participants gain a recognised certification from Chubb Fire.For further information or to express an interest please [email protected]

FIREstarters!

HEALTH & SAFETY


R epresentatives from the trade associations, large UK companiesand the trade unions were invited to attend the launch event ofthe European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Safe

Maintenance campaign.

The main objectives of the Safe Maintenance Campaign are to;

• Raise awareness of the importance of maintenance for workers’ healthand safety to highlight the risks associated with maintenance and theneed to carry out the work safely

• Raise awareness of the employers’ legal and other responsibilities tocarry out safe maintenance and make the business case for doing so

• Promote a simple, structured approach to H&S management inmaintenance base on an appropriate risk assessment

Statistically 10 - 15% of all fatal accidents occur during maintenance and15 -20% of all accidents are connected with maintenance. Plannedmaintenance is inherently safer than emergency breakdowns bymaintenance crews, however planned maintenance requires disciplinebut does lend itself to proper risk assessments and a high level ofpreparedness to safely carry out the work.

Among the health-related problems that maintenance can cause, muscu-loskeletal disorders are common (because work is often carried out ina very cramped environment, or in very cold or wet conditions), whilethe inhalation of dust and fumes can lead to respiratory problems.

In the EU maintenance is, in the first place, a legal responsibility. Since1989, a number of European directives have been adopted laying downa general framework of minimum requirements for the protection ofworkers. These directives also apply to maintenance activities. Firstand foremost is the Framework directive which places an obligationon employers to carry out a risk assessment at work.

The five basic rules for safe maintenance:

• Planning: maintenance should start with proper planning. Employersshould carry out a thorough risk assessment of the activities tobe carried out, this assessment should also involve the workers.

• Making the work area safe: the procedures developed at theplanning stage now have to be implemented. The work areaneeds to be secured. If possible guards should be designed toallow minor maintenance with removal. If the guards do needto be removed then lock-out procedures should be followed.

• Using appropriate equipment: Maintenance workers oftenwork in areas not designed to have people working in themand they may exposed to a variety hazards not normallyconsidered.

• Working as planned: Maintenance is often carried outunder pressure-for example when a fault has brought theproduction process to a standstill, the work plan still needsto be followed even when time pressures persist. Shortcutscan be very costly if they lead to accidents, injuries ordamage to property.

• Making final checks: The process needs to be checkedoff to ensure the procedure has been completed and thatthe item under maintenance is in a safe condition. Whenall is checked and rubbish removed then the equipmentcan be signed off and the supervisor and workersinformed.

The European Campaign on Safe Maintenance

The campaign depends on collaboration of the organisationsrepresenting the EU’s 220 million workers to get the key messagesacross and encourage them to work safely during and aftermaintenance periods. Large companies in particular have an interestin helping smaller ones in the supply chain to encourage and assistthem in introducing safer working practices to protect their own supplyof goods and services.

For more information please visit: hw.osha.europa.eu

HEALTH & SAFETY


The problem

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) include back pain and upperlimb disorders, which can be caused by manual handling andrepetitive work.

An estimated 11.6 million working days are lost each year to work-relatedMSDs, but cost effective measures are often available which wouldsignificantly reduce the risk and consequent suffering.

Risk factors include:

• repetitive and heavy lifting• bending and twisting, repeating an action too frequently• uncomfortable working position• exerting too much force• working too long without breaks• adverse working environment (e.g. hot, cold)• psychosocial factors (e.g. high job demands,

time pressures, lack of control)• not receiving and acting upon reports of symptoms

quickly enough

Key messages about effective management of musculoskeletal disordersThe key messages are:

• You can do things to prevent or minimise MSDs• The prevention measures are cost effective• You cannot prevent all MSDs so early reporting of symptoms,

proper treatment and suitable rehabilitation is essential

HSE has developed a number of tools to assist with the identificationand control of MSD risks:

The Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) Tool was originallydeveloped to help inspectors assess repetitive tasks involving the upperlimbs It has subsequently been refined and is now available on the HSEweb site for employers, safety officers and safety representatives to usefor identifying repetitive tasks involving the upper limbs which presenta high-risk of injury and helps to complete a risk assessment to allowthose risks to be reduced.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/uld/art/index.htm

The Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC) was developed tohelp the user identify high risk workplace manual handling activities.The tool can be used to assess the risks posed by lifting, carrying andteam manual handling activites. It is designed to help you understand,interpret and categorise the level of risk of the various known risk factorsassociated with manual handling activities.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/mac/index.htm

JULY2010

UPDATE ON SVHCs

For further information please contact John Newnham at the CBM offices on 0121 601 6350 or email [email protected]

On 18th June 2010, the eight chemicals from the March 2010 ‘Proposal List’ of Substances of Very High Concernwere placed onto the ‘Candidate List’ by ECHA. This is the next step along the process towards inclusion in Annex

XIV, which lists chemicals requiring authorisation for use.

The eight chemicals are:

• Trichloroethylene • Boric acid • Disodium tetraborate • Tetraboron disodium heptaoxide

• Sodium chromate • Potassium chromate • Ammonium dichromate • Potassium dichromate

Some of these are used in the metal finishing industry, while trichloroethylene is still used in the aerospace industry forobtaining a high standard of cleaning.

Progress on the first list of Annex XIV recommendations, submitted by ECHA to the European Commission in June 2009has been slow, and two Commissioners visited ECHA last March and “announced the breaking of deadlocks in theauthorisation process”. So presumably some chemicals will soon be placed in Annex XIV.

These same Commissioners also declared “their intention to increase the number of Substances of Very High Concernon the Candidate List”, and plan to have another 106 chemicals added to the list by 2012. The current Candidate listcontains about 40 substances and can be viewed athttp://echa.europa.eu/chem_data/authorisation_process/candidate_list_table_en.asp.

There are some obligations that result from inclusion on the Candidate List. The suppliers of such substances mustprovide their customers with a safety data sheet, and the same requirement applies if the substance is used in a mixtureor in an article in concentrations above 0.1%. Additional requirements come into force in 2011, and the full list of obligationscan be seen athttp://echa.europa.eu/chem_data/authorisation_process/candidate_list_obligations_en.asp.

Musculoskeletal disorders at workBy Simon Edwards,

HM Inspector of Health & Safety, Manufacturing Sector, Policy Division, HSE


HEALTH & SAFETY


At the CBM Health, Safety & Environment Group Meeting in April,focusing specifically on the well documented Slips & Trips

issues, ISB (and their manufacturer JAL Group) presented thewhole of their innovative “Lightyear” brand of Safety Footwear, resultingin a very positive response. All products boast SRC rated anti-slip soles,providing excellent defence against the harsh environments so many members face.

Armed with industry data, Director General John Houseman, clearlyconveyed that slips and trips issues were still of significant concernamongst members and that we should try to consider the “wider picture”as regards costs when considering the footwear specified to ourworkforce. In that regard, he was particularly interested in a recent“industry success story” (where a company paid around twice the pricefor anti-slip footwear they had previously been paying for standardproducts, but made huge savings on claims and lost time) which wentsomething like this:

Safety Managers at one of the UK’s largest parcel companieshave been amazed by the results of a trial that has reduced slip,trip & fall accidents by 100%!

The exclusive new Lightyear Trekka Safety Boot from ISB was testedby more than 50 wearers across two of the company’s Depots - bothlocations that had previously recorded unusually high accident rates.

In a particular 3-month period, there were no recorded slips or trips inor around vehicles by people wearing the Lightyear Boot. This compareswith a total figure of 12 incidents across the same period at the samelocations the previous year.

In addition to the remarkable anti-slip qualities offered by the SRC rated

boot, there are other benefits to be had. The extraordinary lightweightnesshas to be seen and tested to be believed.

One of the Company’s Regional Safety Managers who had been taskedwith finding a way of reducing slip, trip & fall accidents, commented:“The results I have had to present to the Board are simply astounding.”

The boundaries of anti-slip capability have been pushed yet furtherrecently – achieved in co-operation with Vibram, renowned for its highperformance rubber soles – resulting in exciting additions to the “Lightyear”range for those working in harsh industrial environments, where the questto reduce accidents is understandably high on the agenda. The “Lightyear”Vibram sole is significantly more durable than traditional sole units andprovides superb adherence even on the most demanding surfaces. In addition,it is heat resistant to 300°C, antistatic and fuel and oil resistant.

For further information on the “Lightyear” range or for any professional, friendly advice relating

to H&S issues please contact ISB on: 0121 749 4433


...joining with CBM in the pursuit ofreducing workplace accidents

A guide to pushing and pulling, is available on the web site andprovides useful information on minimising the risks form this oftenoverlooked source of manual handling injuries. 11% of manualhandling related RIDDOR accidents investigated by HSE involvedpushing and pulling.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/pushpull/index.htm

Further information:HSE’s website, includes a lot of useful information on assessing andmanaging the risks from musculoskeletal disorders in addition to casestudies and assessment tools.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/index.htm

Practical solutions can be found in “Are you making the best use oflifting and handling aids” INDG 398

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg398.pdf

< ●●●● continued from page 36 and “Manual Handling: solutions you can handle” HSG 115

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg115.htm

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WANT TO GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS LOUD AND CLEAR?

Take a look at www.midlandtechnical.co.uk for more information or to download our current brochure.

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ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Birmingham LtdBridge Street North, Smethwick, West Midlands B66 2BAT: +44 (0)121 558 8464 F: +44 (0)121 558 8312 E: [email protected]

• Side pillars

• Front rail

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A Steel Blank that consistsof different grades andthickness of material!!!

For more information please contact:

Tailor welded blanks together with the Advanced High Strength Steels offer agreat potential to increase safety and /or decrease the weight of cars while atthe same time reducing their costs.

AMTB Birmingham Ltd has been supplying tailor welded blanks to the automotive industryfor the last 13 years from its base in the Midlands.

Typical uses are:

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES: FROM £95.00 - CALL 0845 177 1820 TO BOOK YOUR SPACE.To advertise within Metal Matters Magazine, please call Pineapple Communication on 0845 177 1820 or email [email protected] for our rate card.

39

MEMBERSHIPDIRECTORY

FASTENERS

FORGING

SHEET METAL

COLD ROLLED


MANUFACTURER MEMBERS

A.M.C. UK Fasteners Ltd (: 01536 271 920Northamptonshire, NN17 5XZ www.amcukfasteners.co.uk

Alcoa Fastening Systems (: 01952 290 011Shropshire, TF3 3BQ www.alcoa.com

Avdel UK Ltd (: 01925 811 243Cheshire, WA1 4RF www.acument.com

Barton Cold-Form (UK) Ltd (: 01905 772 021Worcestershire, WR9 0LP www.coldform.it

BAS Components Ltd (: 01646 623 569Pembrokeshire, SA71 4RE www.bas-components.co.uk

Caparo Atlas Fastenings Ltd (: 0121 224 2000West Midlands, WS10 8UL www.atlasfastenings.com

Cirteq Ltd (: 01535 633 333West Yorkshire, BD20 8QP www.cirteq.com

Clevedon Fasteners (: 0121 378 0619West Midlands, B75 7DG www.clevedon-fasteners.co.uk

Clyde Fasteners Ltd (: 01355 225 451Lanarkshire, G74 5ET www.clydefasteners.com

Cooper & Turner Ltd (: 01142 560 057Yorkshire, S9 1RS www.cooperandturner.com

Deepak Fasteners (Shannon) Ltd (: 00 353 6171 6550County Clare, Ireland www.unbrako.com

Gesipa Blind Riveting Systems Ltd (: 01535 212 200West Yorkshire, BD21 4JU www.gesipa.com

Griff Chains Ltd (: 01384 569 415West Midlands, DY2 0ED www.griffchains.co.uk

Henrob Ltd (: 01244 837 220Flintshire, CH5 2NX www.henrob.com

Leggett & Platt Components Europe Ltd (: 01282 811 232Lancashire, BB18 6JA www.leggetteurope.com

Linread Northbridge (: 01527 525 719Worcestershire, B98 7TD www.mckechnieaerospace.com

Lonestar PRD Group Ltd (: 01902 867 000West Midlands, WV11 1XR www.prdholdings.com

PRD Fasteners Ltd (: 01902 639 160West Midlands, WV13 1JR www.prdfasteners.co.uk

RCF Bolt + Nut Ltd (: 0121 522 2353West Midlands, DY4 8RF www.rcfboltnut.co.uk

Smith Bullough (: 01942 520 250Lancashire, WN2 4HD www.smithbullough.com

SPS Technologies (T.J. Brooks Div.) (: 0116 274 4980Leicestershire, LE4 9HX www.spstech.com

Tucker Fasteners Ltd (: 0121 356 4811West Midlands, B42 1BP www.emhart.com

Vaughan Jones Socket Screws Ltd (: 01937 843 298Yorkshire, LS23 7FT www.vaughanjones.co.uk

FASTENERS FORGING

Abbey Stainless Steels Co Ltd (: 0114 231 2271Yorkshire, S6 1ND www.theabbeygroupuk.com

AKS Precision Ball Europe Ltd (: 0191 587 0000Co Durham, SR8 2PP www.aksball.com

Bedford Steels (: 01246 299 100Yorkshire, S4 7YS www.bedfordsteels.co.uk

Bifrangi UK Ltd (: 01522 585 800Lincolnshire, LN2 5DT

Brockhouse Group Ltd (: 0121 556 1241West Midlands, B70 0SN www.brockhouse.co.uk

Brooks Forgings Ltd (: 01384 563 356West Midlands, B64 5QJ www.brooksforgings.co.uk

Caparo Forging: Europe (: 01384 252 587West Midlands, DY2 0LA www.caparo.com

Cascade (UK) Ltd (: 0161 438 4020Greater Manchester, M11 2DD www.cascorp.com

Cerro EMS (: 0121 772 6515West Midlands, B9 4DS www.cerro-ems.com

Chapmans Agricultural Ltd (: 0114 285 6000Yorkshire, S6 2FH www.chapmans-uk.com

Cramlington Precision Forge Ltd (: 01670 716 811Northumberland, NE23 1WA www.cpfl-tvs.com

Doncasters Blaenavon Ltd (: 01495 790 345Gwent, Wales, NP4 9XG www.doncasters.com

Doncasters Precision Forgings Ltd (: 0114 285 8100Yorkshire, S6 2FR www.doncasters.com

Firth Rixson - River Don (: 0114 219 3694Yorkshire, S9 2LD www.firthrixson.com

Firth Rixson Forgings Ltd (: 0114 219 3740Yorkshire, S9 1HD www.firthrixson.com

Firth Rixson Forgings Ltd (: 0114 219 3694Derbyshire, DE4 2JB www.firthrixson.com

Firth Rixson Ltd (: 0114 219 3000Yorkshire, S9 1JD www.firthrixson.com

George Dyke Ltd (: 0121 526 7138West Midlands, WS10 8LP www.george-dyke.co.uk

Helipebs Ltd (: 01452 423 201Gloucestershire, GL2 0RE www.helipebs.co.uk

Henry Williams Ltd (: 01325 462 722Co. Durham, DL1 2NJ www.hwilliams.co.uk

Hull Forgings Ltd (: 01482 323 089Yorkshire, HU9 1LL www.wp-forging.co.uk

Independent Forgings & Alloys Ltd (: 0114 234 3000Yorkshire, S6 2BL www.forgedinsheffield.com

Integriti (: 0191 263 8686Yorkshire, S63 6BJ www.integriti.co.uk

Kimber Drop Forgings Ltd (: 01384 414 500West Midlands, B64 5QZ www.kimberdropforgings.co.uk

Koyo Bearings (Europe) Ltd (: 01226 733 200Yorkshire, S75 3TA

Mettis Aerospace Ltd (: 01527 406 400Worcestershire, B97 6EF www.mettis-aerospace.com

Mills Forgings Ltd (: 024 7622 4985Warwickshire, CV1 2BJ www.millsforgings.co.uk



MSI-Forging Division (: 01302 366 961Yorkshire, DN4 8DH www.msi-forge.com

Padley & Venables Ltd (: 01246 299 100Yorkshire, S18 2XT www.padley-venables.com

Pandrol UK Ltd (: 01909 476 101Nottinghamshire, S81 7AX www.pandroluk.com

Premier Stampings Ltd (: 01384 353 100West Midlands, B64 6AJ www.premierstampings.co.uk

Rollins Bulldog Tools (: 01942 244 281Lancashire, WN1 3DD www.bulldogtools.co.uk

Schaeffler (UK) Ltd (: 01554 747 748Carmarthenshire, S14 9TG www.schaeffler.co.uk

Shakespeare Forgings Ltd (: 01384 632 420West Midlands, B64 7RB www.shakespeareforgings.com

Smethwick Drop Forge Kidderminster (: 01562 823 451Worcestershire, DY11 7QE www.sdf-auto.co.uk

Solid Stampings Ltd (: 01384 636 421West Midlands, B64 7BL www.solidswivel.co.uk

Somers Forge Ltd (: 0121 585 5959West Midlands, B62 8DZ www.somersforge.com

South Wales Forgemasters (: 029 2081 0341Wales, CF15 7YF www.swforgemasters.co.uk

Special Forged Products (: 0114 2560 914Yorkshire, S9 3XL www.specialforgedproducts.com

Spromak Ltd (: 0151 480 0592Merseyside, L36 6AN www.spromak.co.uk

Stokes Forgings Dudley Ltd (: 01384 342 550West Midlands, DY2 0SE www.stokesforgings.com

Stokes Forgings Ltd (: 01922 704 800West Midlands, WS2 8BH www.stokesforgings.com

Symmetry Medical Inc (: 0114 285 5881Yorkshire, S6 2AN www.symmetrymedical.com

ThyssenKrupp Woodhead Ltd (: 01132 441 202Yorkshire, LS4 2AQ www.thyssenkrupp.com

Tinsley Bridge Ltd (: 0114 2211 111Yorkshire, S9 2DZ www.tinsleybridge.co.uk

TSL Turton Ltd (: 0114 270 1577Yorkshire, S3 8DA www.tslturton.com

Victoria Drop Forgings Co. Ltd (: 01902 605 141West Midlands, WV13 1AG www.victoriaforgings.co.uk

VTL Automotive Ltd (: 01422 882 561West Yorkshire, HX2 6EL www.vtl-automotive.com

W. H. Tildesley Ltd (: 01902 366 440West Midlands, WV13 2AN www.whtildesley.com

Wyman Gordon Lincoln Ltd (: 01522 525 492Lincolnshire, LN2 5XY www.wyman-gordon.com

Wyman Gordon Ltd (: 01506 446 200West Lothian, Scotland, EH54 5BZ www.wyman-gordon.com

Yorkshire Fittings Ltd (: 0113 270 1104Yorkshire, LS10 1RT www.pegleryorkshire.co.uk

SHEET METAL

3M Healthcare (: 01200 421 140Lancashire, BB7 1NX www.3M.com/uk

AGA Consumer Products Ltd T/A Rangemaster (: 01926 457 400Warwickshire, CV31 2AD www.rangemaster.co.uk

Aisin Europe Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (: 0121 421 5688West Midlands, B32 3BZ www.aisin.com

ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Birmingham Ltd (: 0121 558 8464West Midlands, B66 2BA www.arcelormittal.com

Berck Ltd (: 0121 553 2726West Midlands, B70 7DP www.bercklimited.co.uk

Bird Stevens & Co Ltd (: 01384 567 381West Midlands, DY5 2JE www.birdstevens.co.uk

Calsonic Kansei (: 0191 418 6370Tyne & Wear, NE37 3JD www.ckeurope.com

Carlton Laser Services Ltd (: 0116 233 9990Leicestershire, LE4 9LN www.carltonlaser.co.uk

Cooper B-Line (: 01278 783 371Somerset, TA9 4AQ www.cooperbline.co.uk

Cooper Crouse-Hinds (UK) Ltd (: 01795 889 146Kent, ME12 1LP www.enclosures-crouse-hinds.uk.com

Cooper Lighting and Safety (: 01302 321 541South Yorkshire, DN2 4NB www.cooperindustries.com

Corus Automotive (: 01902 698 635West Midlands, WV11 3SR www.corusgroup.com

Covpress Holdings (: 024 7669 1000Warwickshire, CV5 6RT www.covpress.com

Doncasters Bramah (: 0114 251 2102Yorkshire, S20 3GB www.doncasters.com

DPE Automotive Ltd (: 01325 300 777Co Durham, DL16 6UJ www.dpe-automotive.co.uk

DPE Automotive Ltd (: 01325 300 777West Midlands, B11 2BF www.dpe-automotive.co.uk

DRB Engineering Ltd (: 0121 359 4566West Midlands, B19 3TE www.drbengineering.com

Durham Duplex (: 0114 243 2313Yorkshire, S4 8LT www.durham-duplex.co.uk

Eu-Matic Div. of Multimatic Ltd (: 024 7667 3333Warwickshire, CV5 6UB www.multimatic.com

Fellows (Rical Group) (: 01902 576 400West Midlands, WV2 4HL

Ford Component Manufacturing Ltd (: 0191 428 6600Tyne & Wear, NE31 2JZ www.fordcomps.co.uk

Fowlers of Bristol (Engineers) Ltd (: 0117 942 2563Avon, BS6 5PT www.fowlers-eng.com

Futaba-Tenneco UK Ltd (: 01282 433 171Lancashire, BB12 6HJ www.futaba-tenneco.co.uk

Genex UK Ltd (: 01922 710 050West Midlands, WS2 7NA www.genexuk.co.uk

Glen Dimplex Home Appliances (: 08442 484 466Merseyside, L35 2XW www.gdha.com

Grorud Group Ltd (: 01207 590 471County Durham, DH8 8JA www.grorud.com

Grove Metal Sections Ltd (: 01902 601 697West Midlands, WV13 3RN www.grovems.com



Guala Closures UK (: 0141 777 2000Lanarkshire, Scotland, G66 1ST

H V Wooding Ltd (: 01303 264 471Kent, CT21 6HG www.hvwooding.co.uk

Hadley Industries Plc (: 0121 555 1300West Midlands, B66 2PA www.hadleygroup.co.uk

Havelock Europa Plc (: 01383 823 636Fife, KY11 9HE www.havelockeuropa.com

Kiyokuni Europe Ltd (: 01952 292 920Shropshire, TF2 9TY www.kiyokuni.co.uk

Krupp Camford Pressings Ltd (: 01554 772 233Carmarthenshire, SA14 8EU www.thyssenkrupp.com

Laser Process Ltd (: 01543 495 000Staffordshire, WS12 2GI www.laserprocess.co.uk

Leonardt Ltd (: 01746 861 203Shropshire, WV16 6NN www.leonardt.com

Metsec Plc (: 0121 601 6000West Midlands, B69 4HE www.metsec.com

Miking Ltd (: 0191 415 5919Tyne & Wear, NE37 3JD www.mi-king.co.uk

Milton Keynes Pressings Ltd (: 01908 271 940Bedfordshire, MK2 3EF www.mkp.co.uk

Mitchell Grieves (Rical Group) (: 01530 510 565Leicestershire, LE6 3TS www.mitchell-grieve.co.uk

Northern Automotive Systems Ltd (: 01873 832 263Wales, NP7 0EB

Portola Packaging Ltd (: 01302 552 400Yorkshire, DN4 5NT www.portola-europe.com

Presspart Manufacturing Ltd (: 01254 584 126Lancashire, BB1 5RF www.presspart.com

Rical Group (: 01384 569 283West Midlands, B64 7AL www.ricalltd.com

Rittal-CSM Ltd (: 01752 207 600Devon, PL6 7EZ www.rittal-csm.co.uk

Robert Bion + Co Ltd (: 0118 959 2700Berkshire, RG30 1LZ www.bion.co.uk

RSM Industries Ltd (: 024 7636 2082West Midlands, CV7 9NN www.rsmindustries.co.uk

Sankey Laminations Ltd T/A Kienle + Spiess (: 01902 693 000West Midlands, WV14 9NE www.kienle-spiess.com

Sertec Ltd (: 01675 463 361West Midlands, B46 1JU www.sertec.co.uk

SPS Aerostructures Ltd (: 0115 988 0000Nottinghamshire, NG15 0DP www.spstech.com

SSAB Swedish Steel Ltd (: 01905 795 794Worcestershire, WR9 0QE www.ssab.com

Stadco Castle Bromwich (: 0121 382 3120West Midlands, B24 9GZ www.stadco.co.uk

Stadco Powys (: 01691 648 561Powys, Wales, SY22 5DH www.stadco.co.uk

Stadco Shrewsbury (: 01743 462 227Shropshire, SY1 3AS www.stadco.co.uk

Steel Service Centre Ltd (: 01889 270 241Staffordshire, ST18 0PJ www.steelservicecentre.co.uk

Swann-Morton Ltd (: 0114 234 4231Yorkshire, S6 2BJ www.swann-morton.com

Takao Europe Manufacturing Ltd (: 01495 307 190Gwent, NP23 5SD www.takao.co.uk

Taurus Engineering (Rical Group) (: 01903 761 188West Sussex, BN15 8TA www.www.taurusengineering.co.uk

The Regent Engineering Co (Walsall) Ltd (: 0121 526 6060West Midlands, WS10 8XB www.regenteng.com

Thyssenkrupp Tallent Ltd (: 01325 313 232County Durham, DL5 6EP www.thyssenkrupp.com

Thyssenkrupp Tallent Ltd (: 01543 466 664West Mdilands, WS11 1LY www.thyssenkrupp.com

TKA Body Stampings Ltd (: 01543 466 664Staffordshire, WS11 1LY www.thyssenkrupp.com

TKA Bourn Plant (: 01954 213 200Cambridgeshire, CB3 7TQ www.thyssenkrupp.com

UYS Ltd (: 01865 334 860Oxon, OX4 2BW www.uys.ltd.uk

UYT Ltd (: 024 7667 1400West Midlands, CV5 6UF www.uyt.ltd.uk

Waites Pressings Ltd (: 01229 582 046Cumbria, LA14 4EQ www.waitespressings.com

Walsall Pressings Co Ltd (: 01922 721 152West Midlands, WS1 4JW www.walpres.co.uk

Whittan Storage (: 01952 682 251Shropshire, TF7 4LN www.whittan-storage.com

William King Ltd (: 0121 500 4121West Midlands, B70 9DR www.williamking.co.uk

William Mitchell (Rical Group) (: 0121 558 2694West Midlands, B66 1NY www.william-mitchell.co.uk

Wrekin Sheetmetal Ltd (: 01952 587 387Shropshire, TF7 4JR www.wrekinsheetmetal.co.uk

X-met Fabrication & Finishing Ltd (: 01698 733 533Lanarkshire, ML1 5RX www.x-met.com

COLD ROLLED

Aisin Europe Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (: 0121 421 5688West Midlands, B32 3BZ www.aisin.com

Grove Metal Sections Ltd (: 01902 601 697West Midlands, WV13 3RN www.grovems.com

Hadley Industries Plc (: 0121 555 1300West Midlands, B66 2PA www.hadleygroup.co.uk

Metsec Plc (: 0121 601 6000West Midlands, B69 4HE www.metsec.com

Stewart Fraser Ltd (: 01233 625 911Kent, TN24 8DR www.stewartfraser.com

Unistrut UK Ltd (: 0121 580 6300West Midlands, B70 9PL www.unistrut.com

NEW!


SUPPLIER MEMBERS

FASTENERS

Ajax Tocco International Ltd (: 0121 322 8000West Midlands, B8 1BG www.ajaxtocco.co.uk / ajaxtocco.com

Corus Construction & Industrial (: 01724 404 040Lincolnshire, DN16 1BP www.corusconstruction.com

Dorken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co KG (: 0121 745 8959West Midlands, B90 3JR www.doerken.de

Henkel Loctite Adhesives (: 01442 278 000Derbyshire, DE4 4FR www.henkel.com

IRIS Business Solutions [Chorus] (: 01274 851 577West Yorkshire, WF15 8HG www.iris.co.uk

National Machinery UK Ltd (: 0121 585 9846West Midlands, B63 3HY www.nationalmachinery.eu

Ovako Ltd (: 01384 213 940West Midlands, DY2 8UL www.ovako.com

The Bifurcated & Tubular Rivet Company (: 01296 314 300Buckinghamshire, HP20 1DQ www.bifandtub.co.uk

FORGING

Ajax Tocco International Ltd (: 0121 322 8000West Midlands, B8 1BG www.ajaxtocco.co.uk / ajaxtocco.com

Barrett Nickel Alloys Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01709 386 690South Yorkshire, S60 1FB www.barrettnickelalloys.com

Barrett Steel Ltd (: 01274 474 372West Yorkshire, BD4 9HU www.barrettsteel.co.uk

Barrett Strip & Alloys Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01274 654 229West Yorkshire, BD4 9HU www.barrettstripandalloys.com

Bodycote Heat Treatments Ltd (: 01625 505 300Cheshire, SK10 2XF www.bodycote.com

CMT Steel Services Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01384 565 166West Midlands, B64 7DD www.cmt-steel.co.uk

Corus Group (: 01709 371 234Yorkshire, S60 1DW www.corusgroup.com

DavyMarkham Ltd (: 0114 291 4212Yorkshire, S9 4EX www.davymarkham.com

Deritend Induction Services (: 01922 621 664West Midlands, WS2 9EN www.deritend.co.uk

Dielife Limited (: 01642 221 133North Yorkshire, TS2 1JW www.dielife.com

Euromarch Ltd (: 01452 525 259Gloucestershire, GL2 5EU

Fabreeka International Inc. (: 01274 531 333West Yorkshire, BD18 1QG www.fabreeka.com

Forge Tech Services (SA) Ltd (: 07789 502 850West Midlands, WS2 8NG www.forgetechservices.com

Fuchs Lubritech (UK) Ltd (: 020 8345 5566London, N18 3DB www.fuchs-lubritech.com

Henkel - Acheson ASM (: 07768 477 310Worcestershire, B61 8LG www.achesonindustries.com

Henkel Loctite Adhesives (: 01823 430 034Somerset, TA4 3UD www.henkel.com

HKB Steel Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 0121 601 5075West Midlands, B69 3HU www.hkb-steel.co.uk

Inter Power Corporation (: 07746 976 232Berkshire, RG12 7ZT www.interpwr.com

J Boyd Laurie & Son Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01274 474 335West Yorkshire, BD4 9HU www.boyd-laurie.co.uk

Kespar Engineering Ltd (: 01902 353 848West Midlands, WV14 7EG www.kespar.co.uk

Lasco UK Agent (: 01902 672 491West Midlands, DY3 3RF www.lasco.com

Locum Fine Steels Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01709 789 273South Yorkshire, S65 1SU www.locumfinesteels.com

Micas Simulations Ltd (: 01299 822 522Worcestershire, DY13 0WU www.micassimulations.co.uk

Newelco Division of Inductoheat Europe Ltd (: 01256 335 533Hampshire, RG24 8NA www.newelco.co.uk

Oilgear Towler Ltd (: 0113 394 7300Yorkshire, LS3 1JT www.oilgeartowler.co.uk

Pearson Panke Ltd (: 020 8959 3232London, NW7 3LR www.pearsonpanke.co.uk

Primary Steels & Alloys (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01709 789 263South Yorkshire, S65 1SU www.primary-steel.co.uk

Schmolz Bickenbach (: 0121 544 4506West Midlands, B69 4TR www.schmolz-bickenbach.com

SMS Mevac UK Ltd (: 01606 551 421Cheshire, CW7 3RS www.sms-mevac.co.uk

Staniforth-HKB Steel Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 01709 789 227South Yorkshire, S65 1SU www.staniforth-hkb-steel.co.uk

Steel Supplies (Scotland) Ltd (: 01674 674 009(Barrett Steel Div.) Angus, Scotland, DD10 9PA www.steelsuppliesltd.com

Strayfield Ltd (: 0870 428 1086Berkshire, RG7 4BQ www.strayfield.co.uk

Taylorsteel (North East) Ltd (: 01207 599 226(Barrett Steel Div.) County Durham, DH8 6HG www.taylor-steel-northeast.co.uk

Taylorsteel (North West) Ltd (: 0161 621 9848(Barrett Steel Div.) Lancashire, OL1 4AD www.taylor-steel-northwest.co.uk

Timet UK Ltd (: 0121 356 1155West Midlands, B6 7UR www.timet.com

Tubes (UK) Ltd (Barrett Steel Div.) (: 0121 601 5006West Midlands, B69 3HU www.tubes-uk-steel.co.uk

Woodberry Chillcott & Co Ltd (: 0117 316 5410(Barrett Steel Div.) Avon, BS11 8AF www.woodberrychillcott.co.uk

Woodberry Chillcott & Co Ltd (: 01752 343 421(Barrett Steel Div.) Devon, PL7 5ET www.woodberrychillcott-plymouth.co.uk


SUPPLIER MEMBERS

Bauromat UK Ltd (: 01684 575 757Worcestershire, WR14 1GL www.bauromat.co.uk

DavyMarkham Ltd (: 0114 291 4212Yorkshire, S9 4EX www.davymarkham.com

Dayton Progress Ltd (: 01926 484 192Warwickshire, CV8 1NP www.daytonprogress.co.uk

Dorken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co KG (: 01299 271 451Shropshire, DY14 8QF www.doerken.de

ESI-UK Ltd (: 01865 784 832Oxfordshire, OX4 4GA www.esi-group.com

Imperial College London (: 0207 594 7082London, SW7 2AZ www.imperial.ac.uk

Institute of Sheet Metal Engineering (: 0789 149 9146West Midlands, WV6 7UQ www.isme.org.uk

MOHS Workplace Health Ltd (: 0121 601 4041West Midlands, B70 6PX www.mohs.co.uk

Oerlikon Balzers Coating Ltd (: 01908 377 277Buckinghamshire, MK7 8AT www.balzers.co.uk

Pearson Panke Ltd (: 020 8959 3232London, NW7 3LR www.pearsonpanke.co.uk

Planit Software Ltd (: 01225 721 330Avon, BA2 7FJ www.planit.com

Professional Polishing Services Ltd (: 0121 555 6569West Midlands, B66 2DZ www.professionalpolishing.co.uk

R & D Tax and Grants (: 01902 783 172West Midlands, WV9 5HD www.taxandgrants.co.uk

Ross UK Ltd (: 0121 559 4900West Midlands, B65 0QW www.rosscontrols.com

OVERSEAS

Bharat Forge Ltd (: 00 91 212 671 666Maharastra, India

China Forging Industry Association (: 00 86 10 6846 5045100081 Beijing, P.R. China

CPM (: 00 49 2407 95940D-52134 Herzogenrath, Germany

Ewald Dorken AG (: 00 49 2330 630D-58313 Herdecke, Germany www.doerken.de

Forging Industry Association (: 00 1 216 781 6260Cleveland, Ohio 44115, USA

Japan Forging Industry Association (: 00 81 3 3241 7661Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Lasco Umformtechnik GmbH (: 00 49 9561 6420D-96450 Coburg, Germany www.lasco.com

Pietro Rimoldi & C SRL (: 00 39 0 331 504 449Varese, Italy

Presstrade GmbH (: 01788 890 055Braunston, Northamptonshire www.presstrade.comFASTENERS

Ajax Tocco International Ltd(: 0121 322 8000

West Midlands, B8 1BGwww.ajaxtocco.co.uk / ajaxtocco.com

Corus Construction & Industrial(: 01724 404 040

Lincolnshire, DN16 1BPwww.corusconstruction.com

Corus Construction & Industrial(: 01724 404 040

Lincolnshire, DN16 1BPwww.corusconstruction.com

Dorken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co KG (: 0121 745 8959

West Midlands, B90 3JR

www.doerken.de

Henkel Loctite Adhesives(: 01629 824 171

Derbyshire, DE4 4FR

www.henkel.com

IRIS Business Solutions [Chorus](: 01274 851 577

West Yorkshire, WF15 8HG

www.iris.co.uk

Johnson Machine & Tool Co Ltd(: 0121 568 8013

West Midlands, WS10 8BJwww.johnson-group.co.uk

FASTENERS

CN

Company Name(: 01234 567 890

Any County, XY12 3ABwww.companyname.com● What your company produces/supplies● What makes you better than the rest!● What you can provide

Why not maximise your exposure by giving your listingthat extra something and stand out from the rest?

For £50 per issue (discounts are available for a series of bookings) youcan increase the amount of space that you have within the directory.

The space includes 3 bullet points, with a maximum of 45 words, plus your logo in full colour.

For further details or to feature in the directory, please call our sales team on 0845 177 1820 or email

[email protected]

SHEET METAL SEMTA (: 01923 238 441Hertfordshire, WD18 0JT www.semta.org.uk

TEK Personnel Consultants (: 01902 497 943West Midlands, WV4 6JX www.tekpersonnel.co.uk

The Bifurcated & Tubular Rivet Company (: 01296 314 300Buckinghamshire, HP20 1DQ www.bifandtub.co.uk

Towergate Risk Solutions (: 0115 907 5000Nottinghamshire, NG2 1RR www.towergaterisksolutions.co.uk

TRS Engineering Services Ltd (: 01922 473 733West Midlands, WS2 7LZ www.trseng.com

TTI Group Ltd (: 0121 327 2020West Midlands, B6 7EE www.ttigroup.co.uk

Whiston Industries Ltd (: 01384 560 606West Midlands, B64 5JY www.whistonindustries.com

MANAGE YOUR RISK.MANAGE YOUR PREMIUM.

R K Harrison Insurance Services Limited (RKHIS) and CBM are appointed representative of R K Harrison Group Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in respect of general insurance business. RKHIS is regis-tered in England No. 6719831. Registered Office: One Whittington Avenue, London EC3V 1LE. Calls may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance purposes.

For more information contact:

Telephone:

0800 052 6005Email:

[email protected]

Insurance for those who put safety first.R K Harrison Insurance Services is the approved insurance provider for CBM, dedicated to rewarding those members who are committed to reducing and managing risk in the work place.

By using our unique scorecard we can assess and measure your Risk Management programme taking into account your commitment to areas such as Health & Saftey and the ARMS initiative.

The better your scorecard rating, the better the premium you’ll pay – simple

LASCO Umformtechnik GmbH . Hahnweg 139 . 96450 COBURG GERMANYphone + 49 9561 642-0 . fax + 49 9561 642-3 33 . email: [email protected] . web: www.lasco.com

High technology for extreme forming tasks.

The industry trusts in LASCO machine tools, wherever it meets hardest forming processes.

We optimise your production line according to the requirements.

Performance from one source. Since 1863.

Hydraulic forging hammers

Hydraulic presses for the solid and sheet metal forming as well as powder metallurgyScrew pressesCross wedge and forging rollsUpsettersSpecial machinesAutomations

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FASTENERS

FORGING

SHEET METAL

STEEL

18

SUM

MER

201

0

£7.50ISSN 1759-5975

C o n f e d e r a t i o n o f B r i t i s h M e t a l f o r m i n g

FASTENERSChina fastener imports to UK downpage 9

FORGINGIncreasing the life expectancy of forgingspage 15

SHEET METALCarlton Laser invests inadvanced CNC PressBrakes from LVDpage 18

STEELMarket moves closer to balance, whilst demand remains weakpage 26

18

Total Vibration Solutions arethe UK and Irish agents forWorld Class manufacturers:

● GERB Vibration Control GmbH

● Kinetics Noise Control Inc.

TOTAL VIBRATION SOLUTIONS LTD, Unit 9, The Courtyard, Grane Road, Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancashire BB4 4QNT: 01706 260 220 F: 01706 260 240 E: [email protected] www.totalvibrationsolutions.com

Our Products and Services Include:

GERB Springs & Spring Dampers for presses, forges & hammers

Machine Foundation Block & Pit Design

Foundation Isolation Material Selection, Supply & Installation

Anvil Mat Supply

Anti Vibration Pads

Precision Equipment Isolation Systems

Acoustic Isolation Materials

Acoustic Enclosures

Acoustic Curtains

Shock Pads

I S S U E

sheet metal - confederation of british metalforming ... metal matters - issue 18...sheet metal steel...

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