Category: Blog

ECONOMIC NEWS

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GDP Grew 2.5% In Third Quarter.

The CBS Evening News (10/27, lead story, 3:25, Pelley) reported, “If you were looking for the day the economy began to rise, today could be a contender.” In the first quarter of 2011, the GDP grew 0.4%, while in the second quarter it grew 1.3%. The 2.5% growth is “still weak, but there is a hint of momentum.” Reporter Anthony Mason said the numbers have “eased recession fears for the moment, but it hasn’t erased them.”

ABC World News (10/27, lead story, 3:00, Stephanopoulos) reported, “Signs of life in our economy” were difficult “to miss,” maybe “because we hoped for them so much.” However, “the big question tonight, will this momentum translate into jobs and the comeback America’s been waiting for?” ABC’s Dan Harris said since this summer “we’ve been living in fear of a another sickening, soul-crushing drop back into a recession,” but “the roller coaster appeared to be heading back uphill.”

NBC Nightly News (10/27, story 2, 1:30, Faber) reported that the average American “won’t feel” any effects from Thursday’s numbers announced or rising stocks “for some time, if we feel it at all.” And 2.5% growth isn’t the pace “to actually generate jobs.” However, “it creates confidence in the CEO suite, perhaps.”

In a front-page story, the New York Times (10/28, A1, Dewan, Subscription Publication) reports that Thursday’s new numbers aren’t “brisk enough” to “entirely dispel fears of a second recession,” and Kathy Bostjancic, the Conference Board’s macroeconomic analysis director said the current “growth rate may be hard to sustain,” because CEO and consumer confidence are “starting to melt away.” Meanwhile, David A. Rosenberg, chief economist for Gluskin Sheff, added that “declines in the savings rate” indicated in Thursday’s report, down one percent to 4.1 percent, while rare, “herald recession” at least half the time they occur.

According to the AP (10/27, Crutsinger), the summer’s growth was spurred by consumers “who spent more while earning less and by businesses that invested in machines and computers, not workers.” Still, the numbers are “the best quarterly growth in a year” and they were welcomed after “weeks of wild stock market shifts and the weakest consumer confidence since the height of the Great Recession.”

Bloomberg News (10/27, Kowalski) notes that in the third quarter, “household purchases, the biggest part of the economy, increased at a 2.4 percent pace, more than forecast by economists.” However, Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index fell “to minus 51.1 in the week ended Oct. 23, the lowest in a month,” and 94 percent in the US said they have “a negative opinion about the economy, the worst since April 2009 and one percentage point shy of a record high.”

McClatchy (10/28, Hall) reports that Thursday’s numbers relaxed “the threat of a double-dip recession” and decreased “anxiety over the near-term economic future.”

USA Today (10/28, Davidson) reports that while some like Wells Fargo chief economist John Silvia said the report showed “very broad-based growth,” others like HIS Global Insight’s Nigel Gault said news of increased growth on the back of decreased savings is “not a solid foundation for growth.”

The Financial Times (10/28, Bond, Harding, Subscription Publication) and Wall Street Journal (10/28, A3, Mitchell, Murray, Subscription Publication) also have reports and analyst reaction.

From SME Daily Executive Briefing 10/28/2011

No snowplows in Ghana

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Metal goods at Obuasi market, Ghana

“Metal fabrication” and for that matter, the metal manufacturing industry, seem to have very different meanings and specializations, depending what part of the world you are in. A few days ago I was in London, admiring a fleet of brand-new snowplows, which stood brightly at attention, gleaming and winking in the autumn sun at the Heathrow airport. I remember thinking to myself, whoever got that contract is doing all right.

Now I am in Ghana, Africa, and I haven’t seen a single snowplow anywhere. It appears that the large metal machinery here is found mainly in the forests and other mining areas, and that bulldozers are much preferred over snowplows around these parts. But even here, those large machines don’t come cheap, and renting them alone costs around $2500 a day. Again, whoever has THAT contract is doing all right too.

To most Ghanaians, however, for whom a car is out of reach, heavy industrial equipment doesn’t seem to figure much into their daily lives. Instead, their idea of “fabricated metal” consists of rudimentary yet versatile tools that can be (and are) made by local blacksmiths using age-old –and time-honored– technology.

I went to the local market today to shop for a few items, and I found a section of the market that is in fact dedicated solely to manufactured metal goods. Among the things for sale were machetes (that’s Ghanaian for “lawnmower”, “coconut opener”, “nail trimmer” and goodness knows what else), shovels (aka “bulldozers”), knives, blades of all sizes and shiny black chunks of bitumen. I asked what this was used for and it was explained to me that it is melted and used to repair holes in buckets and things of that nature. Bitumen has been in use by humans for a very long time. It was also used by ancient Egyptians in the mummification process.

I’ve noticed that in general, the local technology here is geared primarily towards avoiding a dependency on electricity or fuel, which can be hard to come by in many areas. That’s why the women at the market use a bed of coals to heat their palm oil for the fried plantains they serve up fresh daily. That’s why the local “contract maker” uses a mechanical typewriter and carbon paper to draw up legally binding agreements. And that’s why everyone owns a machete but no one, not even the most affluent, seems to own a lawnmower.

That said, imagine how amazing it would be if they could get their hands on a C. Marshall Fabrication Plasma Burning Machine! I just might be able to talk one of the local blacksmiths into buying one…as long as it comes with a really, really long cord.

– Anja Wulf

MH314C 4-roll to be shown at Fabtech 2011

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MH314C 4-roll to be shown at Fabtech 2011

We are excited about exhibiting at Fabtech in Chicago, November 14-17, 2011 and hope that you will stop by at our booth #2763 to learn more about us and our products.Come talk to our knowledgeable and friendly sales personnel. Ask questions. Pick up brochures. Get ideas. This year we have a MG made MH314C 4-roll plate bending machine on the floor. Come and take a look.

This is the ultimate evolution in the plate bending field with two dragging rolls with hydraulic pinching allowing a steady and precise material dragging. This plate bending machine is the easiest, most versatile, quickest and precise the market can offer. It comes with a Touch Command Control.

Technical data

Installed power:                            10 HP
Top roll diameter:                         11.4”
Lower roll diameter:                     10.3”
Side rolls diameter:                       8.3”

Capacity

Working length:                           122”
Max. rolling thickness:                  9/16”
Max. pre-bend thickness:            1/2”

The max performances are referred to shells of diameter equal or larger than 3 times the top roll diameter and with material with a yield point 38,000 PSI.

Back in the day…

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Snowflake-shaped Christmas decoration: fun for the whole family!

When I hear someone say “metal manufacturing”, my ears perk right up. When you’re not actually in that industry, it isn’t very often that you hear the term used in casual conversation. And when one of your jobs is to write an article related to the subject once a week, your response to hearing that magical phrase becomes almost Pavlovian.

These words were indeed uttered in casual conversation this last Friday night, at a friend’s house in the hills on the French side of St. Martin, with lovely views of the Caribbean from the veranda we were having dinner on. Our company consisted of a “typical” St. Martin mix, including but not limited to dinner guests from the Bahamas, the US, England, Holland, Canada and France. The newest addition to our dinner party hailed from Manchester, England. With his accent, just about anything he said sounded funny regardless of its actual content, but to top it off he was a genuinely amusing character: so typically “Manchester” that he could have been a mascot for his city.

In any case, he started telling us about his metal manufacturing class that he had taken back in high school. Apparently, in England, metal manufacturing shop is a pretty typical high school elective. It was particularly popular in his school, mainly because someone in his class had the bright idea of using the metal workshop and tools to make Japanese throwing stars. This idea then spread like wildfire through the class.

From what I am given to understand, Manchester locals are a pretty tough crowd to begin with. They are world-famous for their soccer (“football”) and rugby skills, owing not so much to their refined technique but more to their raw aggression, their love of a good fight (and good beer), and the fact that they consider cauliflower ears a fashion statement. So really it should come as no big surprise that a bunch of high school students from Manchester started dedicating themselves very enthusiastically to mass-producing deadly samurai weapons in their metal manufacturing class.

Our friend described with genuine glee and amusement how, within a few weeks, his high school was littered with evidence of their turf wars. He talked about Japanese throwing stars stuck in walls, ceilings, furniture and even heads. What he never even thought to mention was “where were the teachers?” Apparently, this is considered perfectly acceptable behavior where he’s from. And the kid with the Japanese throwing star stuck in his temple probably wore it with pride.

The upside of this anecdote is that, 40 or so years later, this guy is still talking enthusiastically about metal manufacturing. It made an impression on him (maybe literally, although I didn’t see any visible scars) that led to a life-long love of the subject. Let’s be perfectly clear: I’m not “recommending” or “suggesting” that children of tender school-age years in the US should be encouraged to use their own metal shop class as an armory: I am merely relaying a story here.

With that said, the holiday season is coming up. Wouldn’t it be lovely to teach kids metal manufacturing skills by having them make pretty metal snowflakes as Christmas decorations? And if they happen to also lend themselves to a frisbee-type motion, well then that would just be a coincidence, right? What’s important here is that it would probably genuinely increase the popularity and renown of metal manufacturing in the long run. Sort of an “end justifies the means” kind of thing. Right? Right?

And just for the record, the guy from Manchester didn’t grow up to be some sort of deviant. He had enjoyed a successful career as a captain in the Merchant Marines, and he is also CEO of his own company.

I’m not really clear on what happened to the kid with the Japanese throwing star stuck in his temple.

-Anja Wulf

African Gold

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Illegal gold miners in Africa

Last week I told you about the shipwreck that they’ve discovered just a short walk from where I live. Although I don’t have too many complaints about staying on a beach on a Caribbean island, this is about to change. Africa, here I come.

My husband is already in Africa. He’s actually working on establishing a gold mine there. No one seems to believe this when I tell them, but that’s OK since the last thing I want to do is invite more competition. The place where he is has a lot of illegal mining activity. He went into the jungle recently and took some pictures of the miners.

Their current rate of progress is pretty dire: they work extremely hard to extract a pretty measly amount of gold per day (although in their country’s economy, it’s probably well worth the effort). However, their technology is so primitive that their most advanced (and pretty much only) piece of equipment is a shovel.

What they do is this: they go into the jungle and start digging. They dig holes into the ground as deep as 3 meters. While one person digs, the other person starts filtering the mud using water and basically a blanket. That’s pretty much all there is to it. It’s the same technique that the ancient Egyptians and other civilizations from thousands of years ago used. In fact, it’s the same technique that gave rise to the “Golden Fleece” of ancient legend.

They don’t cover up the holes once they’ve dug them. Then the rains come, and what looks like a puddle on the surface is actually a 9 foot-deep hole. It can literally be fatal to take a walk through the jungle for this reason.

The tribal chief, who owns the land, is not happy that the illegal miners are taking gold off his land without giving him a cut. This is why he is only too happy to welcome a few Westerners into his neighborhood who are willing to give him a percentage of what they extract from his land. This said, it’s not uncommon to have 3 different people approach you to inform you that they are the tribal chief and in charge of the land. In any case, it is also important to maintain extremely friendly relations with the illegal miners so that your high-tech equipment (and by “high tech”, I mean anything more advanced than a shovel) doesn’t “accidentally” break overnight when it is left on the premises.

It’s not quite as structured or regulated as doing business in the US, and it’s a tad more risky than working at a 7-11, but then again, it’s also a bit more interesting. For example, I just found out yesterday that in the particular area where my husband is doing business, there is no such thing as a legitimate business transaction if the mother of the businessman is not in attendance. In other words, if you think you just struck a deal with one of the locals, if his mom was not physically present in the room, it was an illegal transaction.

In the meantime, however, I’m still holding out for the (albeit remote) possibility of finding a gold bar right here where I am, in one of the most beautiful places in the world, washed up on my beach from the shipwreck. Wouldn’t that just be peachy.

Buried Treasure (really)!

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I live on a beautiful beach on an island in the Caribbean. It’s not always easy, but someone’s gotta do it. And yes, this is an actual recent photo that I personally took.

When a beach is your front yard, you get pretty familiar with the comings and goings of the boats in your neighborhood. In recent weeks, a new boat has been showing up about 100 meters out from the beach and about a 7 minute walk from my house. The boat says “Research Vessel” on it. Yesterday I found out why:

This boat has discovered a 200 year-old shipwreck which it is preparing to explore. This island is notorious for stupid political tangles, and when it comes to things like approving someone’s petition to explore an old wreck, things can get tied up for a bit since everyone wants a piece of the potential loot. Especially when it’s a known fact that this was a merchant ship which came here by way of Brazil. Back then, one of Brazil’s biggest industries and exports was its melting and casting of iron and metals, including silver and gold. Another treasure this shipwreck is rumored to possibly have is antique porcelain, which in addition to being very valuable is also extraordinarily beautiful.

So while the research vessel continues to vie for government approval to start the exploration of the shipwreck, a few of us beach dwellers are already plotting how we might take advantage of this unique situation. The fact that we know exactly where the wreck is admittedly presents a few temptations. One of the neighbors, who lives on the cliff above the location of the shipwreck, has already posted a sentry with binoculars so that he can track exactly when excavations begin, at which point he fully intends to go on an exploratory dive of his own under cover of night, to see what he can find.

As for the rest of us, there will most likely be a significant increase in foot traffic on the beach. I predict that most of us will increase our daily exercise regimen with the addition of several daily casual strolls along the beach, in hopes that we might stub our toe on a gold or silver bar just happened to have washed up from the excavation. I also plan on increasing my snorkeling activities dramatically. After all, one can hope and dream, and people who live on beaches in the Caribbean are already, for the most part, hopeless romantics (the rest are just good old-fashioned pirates).

I did a quick online search on buried treasure and found a link on “12 Real Life Buried Treasures”. Some of these treasures go back to the 1500’s and are worth many billions of dollars! So it can happen, folks. If it happens to me, I probably won’t tell you though.

-Anja Wulf

Come Meet Us at Fabtech 2011 Booth # 2763

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We are very excited about exhibiting at Fabtech 2011 in Chicago, November 14-17, 2011 and hope that you will stop by at our booth #2763 to learn more about us and our products.

Come talk to our knowledgeable and friendly sales personnel. Ask questions. Pick up brochures. Get ideas.

This year we have a MH 4-roll plate bending machine on the floor. Come and take a look.

All our plate rolls are built in Fossano, Italy, by MG s.r.l. MG gives customers real advantages on every large and small industrial application of boilers and heat exchangers; tanks and containers for food industry, agriculture and buildings; tank-trucks for oils and foods, road and heavy transportation; turbines and reactors; off-shore and land windmill towers; light and heavy steel structural works, excavator buckets and any other application in the field of automotive, naval, railway and aero-spatial. Every one of these sectors is carefully studied by our staff in order to give our clients the best machine, system or service.

Our machines are built to follow each customer’s specific bending requirements, expressly studied and projected for the task the customer needs to perform. We do not mass-produce and we don’t send out quotations just to get rid of stock.  We want to know what the customer’s activity is, what he produces, and listen to what he would like to have in the future and then offer the best machine that can fit his demands.

In addition to showing you the plate roll we would like to inform you about the rest of our extensive product line from brakes, shears and rebar equipment to laser cutting and plasma burning machines.

Double Pinch Hydraulic 4 Roll Plate Bending Machine Model MH314C. Click below for information on the roll.

Click HERE for information on the MH314C

Back to Basics: The Sledgehammer

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When it comes to the bare-knuckle basics of metal-working machinery, nothing says “old school” quite like the sledgehammer. This is “grassroots” machinery at its finest. Although they were and still are commonly used by blacksmiths to shape heavy sections of iron, the uses for a sledgehammer are practically unlimited. With this in mind, it only makes sense that in addition to her nail file and wallet, every woman should keep a sledgehammer in her purse at all times.

First of all, the name alone conjures up near-mythical images of wanton, gratuitous destruction. This is a good thing. Sometimes, all you have to do is casually mention the word, and people around you might feel more inclined to “do the right thing” when it comes to whatever that may be. So in that sense, the mere mention of the word “sledgehammer” might be enough to inspire your associates to work a little more quickly and efficiently. I’m probably preaching to the choir here since this is Management 101, but it does bear mentioning since this fundamental technique is so essential to good, effective leadership.

Secondly, it is a truly practical tool, and certainly its uses are not limited solely to ridiculously crude forms of metalworking. If you have a sudden need to bash something, a sledgehammer can be your best friend. Although acoustically there are few sounds more satisfying than sledgehammer-on-metal, it can also be used to bash a variety of objects or solids, from glass to concrete. I have personally witnessed an excellent instance of Man vs. Television, which took place in a neighbor’s front yard years ago, in which the sledgehammer being wielded by the Man was the deciding factor in winning that round. And yes, it was one of those neighborhoods that Bravo will never select for a season of Real Housewives.

Finally, the therapeutic benefits of using a sledgehammer cannot be ignored. If you aren’t willing or able to spend a day at a full-service spa (for either financial reasons or because you males are worried about getting your Man-cards revoked if you do), then consider the sledgehammer as an excellent alternative for your stress-relief needs. Not only is work with a sledgehammer excellent exercise, you will also find yourself extremely relaxed (if not completely passed out on the floor) by the time you have finished your sledgehammer workout. According to Wikipedia, “sledgehammers usually require two hands and a swinging motion involving the entire torso”, which makes it a comparable physical activity to Pilates. A note of caution, however: it pays to be slightly choosy about what object or surface you plan on sledgehammering. As effective as it is, it is difficult to rebuild something after it has been subjected to a sledgehammer workout session.

If you run out of ideas for your sledgehammer, you do what I did and Google “uses for sledgehammer”. You’ll be amazed. From driving fenceposts into the ground, to using them for both burglaries and for police-force raids to gain entry by force, the list of possibilities for a sledgehammer is nearly endless. With that said, my all-time personal favorite use for a sledgehammer can be found at WikiAnswers.com. The question being asked was, ““How do you take apart an upright piano?” One reader answered with the following gem (the typos aren’t mine):

“There are many ways if u dont want to be able to reassemble it afterwards take a hammer or better yet a sledgehammer or if u want it to be able to reassemble try using a screwdriver on the screws.

If u really want to take it apart to small pieces use some explosives.

Having had experience with a sledgehammer and an upright piano, I hope you are strong and in good physical condition – it will take all day. My husband suggests a catapult a la “Northern Exposure” and I tend to agree.”

If I could choose my own neighbors, I’d pick the couple that mentions sledgehammers and catapults as viable solutions for taking apart a piano.( read how to select best digital piano 2017 online) I really respect the fact that the wife’s recommendations for using a sledgehammer on a piano are actually backed by her own experience in the matter. I imagine that going over to their house for a beer would be highly entertaining. I’d just make sure to stay on their good side, and to not pick a home not located anywhere near the projectile path of their catapult.

-Anja Wulf

MG September 2011 Newsletter

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Come visit us at Fabtech 2011 in Chicago, IL November 14-17, 2011, booth # 2763!!

Now Hiring: Asteroid Miners

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A long, long time ago, in a galaxy we are all familiar with, asteroids rained all the gold, cobalt, iron, manganese, nickel,osmium, molybdenum, palladium, rhenuim, rhodium, ruthenium and tungsten that we will ever mine from this planet, onto the earth’s crust.

Based on known earthly reserves and growing rates of consumption in developing countries, it has been speculated that metal reserves essential for modern industry, including antimony, zinc, tin, silver, indium, gold and copper, could be depleted from Earth within the next 50-60 years.

For the above two reasons alone, I am willing to bet that international space exploration is about to take off. Why? Because at the rate we’re going, in a few years, you will no longer be able to look down for metals: you’ll have to look up. Space exploration is going to expand fiercely and rapidly because there is going to be an exceedingly practical reason for it that is far more interesting to most of us than pure science: namely, competition, and huge amounts of potential profits. Soon, we will be going to go back to the source for metal resources – and that will take us into outer space, into a fantastically interesting subject known as asteroid mining.

Near-earth asteroids are considered the most immediate likely candidates for asteroid mining. At 1997 prices, a small metallic asteroid no wider than 1 mile across was calculated to contain more than $20 trillion worth industrial and precious metals– so at today’s prices, it would be even significantly more than that. As another point of comparison, a 1 km-wide asteroid would probably contain more than 2 billion metric tons of iron-nickel ore, which would be more than twice the global annual production of iron ore in 2004. That doesn’t even include whatever precious metals it would also contain.

Apparently, there are three different ways of mining asteroids:

1. Bringing back raw material from the asteroid for processing on earth;

2. Processing the asteroidal materials on-site, thus reducing transportation costs and possibly even producing fuel propellant from the raw materials for the trip home; or (my favorite):

3. Dragging the entire asteroid to a safe orbit around the moon or Earth, so that the majority of its materials can be used and not wasted. It looks like pretty much all you need to know about asteroid retrieval methods, or “catching”, can be found in this handy Wikipedia link: Methods for asteroid retrieval or catching . Although probably a tad on the expensive side, it could be a far more interesting weekend hobby than fishing. At the very least, it brings new meaning to the idea of a pet rock.

What is interesting to note is that, although it is conceded that the cost of asteroid retrieval still outweighs their market value and that at current commodity prices and space transportation costs it is not expected to attract private investment, it doesn’t say anywhere that the technology needed to do this doesn’t exist. In other words, it can be done. And even if you or I can’t afford it right at this moment, it will be done. If you decide to get serious about this, it seems that all you need to know about the subject is available on Wikipedia. And remember, when the headlines about asteroid retrieval start circulating more regularly, you can say you heard about it right here, on the C Marshall Fabrication Machinery website blog, first.

-Anja Wulf