STUTTGART: Fifty Daimler vehicles, representing a combined value of around four million euros, have been made available to the Tokyo-based Japanese aid organization Nippon Foundation. The vehicles will be used for aid and clearance operations, particularly in the tsunami-affected area in northeastern Japan.

With the continuing surge in the price of the key elements used in cemented carbide tool production, tungsten carbide and cobalt, and Japan’s almost total reliance on the import of these raw materials, it is no surprise that many Japanese companies are seeking to increase the amount of tungsten carbide they recycle. Scrap tungsten carbide cutting tools (Courtesy Sumitomo Electric Group) Currently Japan is said to recycle 25% of carbide tools, USA around 50% and 40% in Europe. Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal Corp is one of Japan’s leading carbide producers and the company has been recycling WC-Co tools for several decades using a high temperature process, the zinc process, and the Coldstream process

Choke coils made from compacted surface-insulated soft magnetic composite iron powders (SMC) have been produced by Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd (SEI) in Itami, Japan, for a number of years for use in fuel injectors in clean diesel engines.

On April 14, Dalian Machine Tool Group Corporation (DMTG) signed a supply contract with Rizhao Shuanggang Machine & Electronics Group at its booth in CIMT 2011 for the delivery of a total of RMB500 million worth of processing equipment to the latter.Based in Rizhao city, Shandong province, China, Rizhao Shuanggang Machine & Electronics Group is a manufacturer that mainly produces Euro III and higher standard internal combustion engine valves and austenitic piston rings. Its products are not only supplied to key automotive parts manufacturers in China, but also exported to Germany, the US, Japan and Southeast Asia.President and General Manager Zhao Mingjun of Shuanggang said that with the equipment from DMTG, they aim to transform their production model to achieve enhancements in production scale and volume, as well as product quality so as to catch up with the automobile industry’s higher requirements on environmental protection and energy saving.According to DMTG, the order from Shuanggang included 15 automatic processing lines and machining centers.

TOKYO —In this country of break-dancing androids and artificially intelligent pets, nuclear cleanup crews on the tsunami-ravaged northern coast are depending on U.S.-made robots to enter damaged reactor units where it is still too dangerous for humans. With its tractor-like base and wiry frame topped by cameras and sensors, the so-called PackBot robot vaguely resembles the metallic protagonist of the 1986 film “Short Circuit”—minus the wisecracks

The recent supply distributions in Japan that resulted from the earthquake and tsunami, have made Canadian companies that rely on imports take a second look at potential risks within the supply chain. [ Full Story ]

Propelled by the lucrative market of electricity industry, 2011 International Exhibition on Electric Power Equipment and Technology and 2011 International Exhibition on Electrical Equipment (also known as EP Shanghai / Electrical Shanghai 2011) will expand to be held in a new venue, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, Shanghai, China from September 21-23, accommodating more new suppliers from the electric power automation and smart grid industries to display cutting-edge and focused products and technologies.According to the National Energy Board of China, the new energy plan namely “Emerging Energy Industry Development Plan” is expected to be implemented by the end of 2011. The upgrade of traditional energy utilization including smart grid development, energy distribution as well as clean coal technology will be one of the plan’s important aspects.To leverage this booming market situation, which unveils plenty of opportunities for both local and international equipment suppliers, EP Shanghai / Electrical Shanghai 2011 will incorporate International Exhibition on Electric Power Automation Equipment & Technology (EPA) to feature an array of solutions on electric power and energy automation, electric power information system and software, control system and instrumentation. Exhibitors include NARI, GE Industrial Systems, Opply, Woodward Controls, Weidmuller, Mecano, Phoenix Contact and Beijing Semeureka

According to data from the Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (JMTBA), the country’s machine tool orders rose by 49.5% year-on-year to 113.36 billion yen (approximately US$1.38 billion), representing a slowdown in growth from January and February when the growth rates were 89.4% and 73.9% respectively.Domestic orders amounted to 31.95 billion yen, representing a growth of 65.7% from a year ago, while overseas orders increased by 43.9% to 81.41 billion yen.JMTBA said there was no major order cancellation noted after the March 11 earthquake in northeastern coast of Japan.In February, Japan’s domestic and overseas orders grew by 89.5% and 66.2% respectively.

PM part producer, GKN plc, has reported a positive start to the year, with sales for group of £1,487 million in Q1, up 14% on last year. The Powder Metallurgy division’s first quarter sales increased 21% to £217 million, benefiting from good growth in North American automotive production and new programme launches in North America and Europe, stated the company. The global engineering business that serves the automotive, aerospace and land systems markets, stated that market conditions in the first quarter had been broadly as expected, although the tragic events in Japan have had some impact on the automotive sector

Tungaloy, one of Japan’s longest established and leading cemented carbide and superhard material producers, reports that it hopes to resume production at its plant in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture on this week (w/b April 11). Tungaloy’s head Office in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, Japan The company stated that some damage was suffered to production buildings during the earthquake four weeks ago, but that its main equipment for powder mixing/blending, pressing, sintering, grinding and coating are now functional. The company also evacuated most of the 1,400 employees from its Iwaki plant because of the radiation leaks from the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant which is about 40 km to the south of Iwaki.