Metal week 2011

Sounds crazy but there is indeed a metal week!

This year it will be held in Moscow, and will be November 15th - 18th 2011.

The key events of the forum will become: Metal-Expo’2011, 17th International Industrial Exhibition; Metal Stroy Forum’2011, 3d International Exhibition for Steel Products and Structures for Construction, MetallurgMash’2011, International Exhibition for Equipment and Technologies for Steel Industry and Metal Working.

If you are interested in this then please see their website for more details.

Why we supply Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and atomic number 79.

It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history.

The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, underground “veins” and in alluvial deposits.

It is one of the coinage metals. Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable and ductile substance known.

Pure gold has a bright yellow color traditionally considered attractive.

Gold formed the basis for the gold standard used before the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971.

The ISO currency code of gold bullion is XAU.

Metal Coffee Beans.

They are called Coffee Joulies and they are coffee beans (fake ones) made from metal with a material in the middle which isn’t harmful.

Basically when dropping the ‘beans’ into say a cup of tea or coffee, it brings the temperature down to a level of drinking but if you don’t drink it straight away it keeps it the same temperature for up to 5 hours!

They are bigger than normal coffee beans and A spokesman said: ‘This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal.

‘Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee warm twice as long.’

Hyundai puts safety first

Hyundai Steel is apparently joining hands with local builders hoping to strengthen the country’s efforts to reconstruct earthquake safe infrastructure in the aftermath of the recent Japanese disaster.

The company held a conference recently making a contribution to the construction of earthquake tolerant buildings, which have attracted considerable attention among contractors and specialists.

Mr Song said that “We have established a common understanding among both contractors and steelmakers regarding the importance of quake tolerant infrastructure. The country must pay greater attention to the issue.”

In the meantime, Hyundai Steel announced its first quarter performances, which proved to be better than expected. The outfit chalked up KRW 3.55 trillion in sales over the first quarter, up by 75.8% from the corresponding period of 2010. Its bottom line was KRW 258 billion, up by 9.6% YoY.

Another Hyundai Steel official said that “Both of our top and bottom lines improved in terms of productivity this year as the blast furnaces went into operation last year. The trend is expected to continue in the future.”

Easter

So this weekend we have 2 bank holidays as its Easter!

So we are just reminding you that we are closed, if there anything you need or would like to ask then please phone us today and Friday for help.

Other than that from everyone here at SMFUK we wish you all a Happy Easter and enjoy the weather, along with a long relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

Good Friday = 22nd April. (CLOSED)

Easter Monday = 25th April. (CLOSED)

Japan needs months to end nuclear crisis

Japan will need at least two to three more months to come to an end to the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

A report by the ‘Atomic Energy Society of Japan’ concluded that thezirconium alloy sheaths that surround the reactor’s fuel rods ruptured in the three units, sending pellets of molten uranium tumbling to the bottom of the reactors.

The plant’s owner – the Tokyo Electric Power Company – has said it cannot provide a timeline for bringing the crisis to an end and would not discuss the report by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan.

‘We are trying to do our utmost at this moment,’ a company official told CNN.

Nuclear regulators declared the Fukushima accident at level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

Chevron builds new solar plant.

Chevron built the 1-megawatt demonstration plant on 20 acres of the mining company’s molybdenum operation near the village of Questa.

“We’ve been in the energy business a long time and we appreciate that it takes a long time to bring new technology to market, but if we don’t start now, we’ll never get there, and this is a great way of doing it,” Des King, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the site.

“The tremendous improvement that we have seen in the solar conversion efficiencies for the solar cells used in the systems is quite simply remarkable,” Raffaelle said. “They are now 25 percent more efficient than they were just a decade ago.”

China moly trade on thin ice

China molybdenum tradings with Europe and Asia have been decreasing this week as Chinese traders have turned cautious on rebounding prices, market sources have mentioned Thursday.

“We don’t wish to offer this week, as prices have edged up this week and is likely to rise further next week. We plan to resume offering next week, and are eyeing $17.50/lb in-warehouse Rotterdam,” a Hong Kong moly trader said.

In North China, a moly trader said: “We have no moly oxide sales offer this week as we are out of stocks. Our imported Chilean oxide cargoes are being shipped to mainland China, and would arrive next week, so we’ll resume offering by then.”

Tungsten is..

Tungsten has the highest melting point of these refractory metals at 3422°C.

It is very robust and has an extremely high tensile strength; it has the ability to be drawn into very thin wires.

Tungsten’s corrosion resistance is also very good.

Applications include; lighting elements, X-ray targets, heating elements, missile components, and due to its high density is used as counter weights.

SMFUK

Ever wondered who you are talking to on the phone, or who is carrying out the work for you?

Gary Cook, MD
Gary founded the company in 2004 having worked for many years machining and fabricating refractory metals.
Having served a full apprenticeship at Vaccumatic in Harwich and subsequently working for a number of engineering companies including the previous Special Metals Fabrication Company which was taken over by H C Starke. Gary has now 30 years of experience within the engineering market, he has built up a wealth of knowledge within this sector and is now running his own successful business.

Leigh Millham, Machine Operator
Lee operates many of the manual machines we have, he also manages the bead blasting and aqua blasting operation we have recently installed.

Mick Staley, Welder
Mick is a qualified coded welder. He has 40 years of experience working with refractory materials such as Tantalum and Molybdenum. He has spent many years working at H C Starke and Murex..

Dave Edmunds, Sheet Metal Fabricator 
Dave has many years knowledge and experience within the refractory metals fabrication market. He is an apprentice served engineer and there are few people  with his level of skill in this field of engineering.

Just incase you didn’t know our names!

Local scrap metal thieves!

Just under £8,000 worth of metal has been stolen from the Halstead area.

Police are asking the residents and tradesmen to keep the eyes peeled and their ears open following the yet another theft of metal, which amounts to £7,800 since January this year.

Crime Reduction Advisor for the Braintree district Stephen Armson-Smith said: “Members of the public are asked to be vigilant and to telephone police immediately if they see any unusual or suspicious behaviour, especially around derelict or empty buildings, or trade vehicles.

“Often metal thieves will use a van or car to transport metal away from the scene of the crime, so I would ask members of the public to record index numbers and the make of any suspicious vehicle and report this to police.”

Easter Openings

As you already know we have some bank holidays coming up!

And we would like to let you know in advance that we will be shut on the days we have bank holidays.

So if you would like to contact us about anything then please do so before and after them days.

Good Friday = 22nd April. (CLOSED)

Easter Monday = 25th April. (CLOSED)

Royal Wedding Bank Holiday = 29th April. (CLOSED)

Early May Bank Holiday = 2nd May (CLOSED)

Nickel price may have peaked for 2011

THE price of nickel may have already peaked this year, with fundamentals expected to turn increasingly sour over the remainder of 2011 as the market moves.

“There is mounting evidence to indicate that the nickel price has already peaked for this year, and that in the remaining months of 2011 market fundamentals will fail to offer anything but a modicum of support,” a report by research house VM Group together with ABN Amro said.

“While the market has been in a deficit thus far in 2011 on the back of strong stainless steel production growth, we expect the market to move into surplus in the second half of the year,” the bank said. ” So current prices appear unsustainable from a fundamental perspective.”

“If all of the new and expanded supply comes online without a hitch, then the nickel market is almost certain to be heading towards a multi-year market surplus,” the report said.

Gold price ‘to hit above £1,600 this year’

Gold could hit a massive record breaking £1,600 per ounce!

Due to inflation and low global interest rates, it could possibley reach the highest it has ever been!

“We would not be surprised … to see gold break through $1,600 before the end of the year,” said GFMS chairman Philip Klapwijk in the group’s latest report published on Wednesday.

“And, with the spotlight also shining on the state of government finances, there is every reason to believe that investors will remain focused on the gold market.

“Furthermore, growing price acceptance by consumers will help lift jewellery demand… and provide a firm platform for investors to takegold higher,” said Klapwijk.