As of Aug. 23, copper scrap sent from the U.S. to China was to be hit with a 25% tariff, an action that would cause problems for U.S. scrap exporters that include one company whose parent operation is on the other side of the equation.

A report by Tom Daly in Reuters said that the David J. Joseph Company, which in 2006 became a subsidiary of Nucor Corp., was described as one of the major U.S. scrap exporters involved by the action. Nucor, which was one of the key companies pursuing the successful imposition of wire rod tariffs, was also a big supporter of the Section 232 remedies that were imposed by the U.S. that led to further such actions between it and China.

Per the Reuters story, last year the U.S. sold almost $6 billion worth of scrap commodities to China, and was the second-largest supplier of copper scrap behind Hong Kong, exporting 535,371 metric tons worth roughly $1.8 billion in 2017. Hong Kong sent 627,180 metric ton, according to Chinese customs data. In the first quarter of 2018 there were almost 2,200 cargoes of copper scrap per month sent to China from the U.S., with the average cargo about 20 metric tons.

The story said the copper scrap had not been on a draft list of retaliatory tariffs released by China in June but was present in the final list of $16 billion worth of U.S. goods.

.

The International Fastener Machinery & Suppliers’ Association (IFMSA) announced that it is launching what it noted will be the only U.S. event with an exclusive focus on the manufacture of fasteners and precision-formed parts.

A press release said that the new event, called the International Fastener Manufacturing Exposition (IFME), will take place May 14-16, 2019, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The three-day event will be co-located with WAI’s biennial Interwire event.

“Although IFME is a new launch, we have been organizing successful exhibitions concentrating on the machinery aspect of the fastener industry for over 35 years,” said IFMSA Executive Director Ray Zirkle. “The name of this new event reflects our focus on and dedication to providing the machinery manufacturers a much higher profile than may be available elsewhere.”

With an unparalleled manufacturing renaissance and resurgence taking place across the U.S., domestic demand for fasteners and precision-formed parts is expected to increase dramatically, the IFMSA release said. As such, there is a need for a dedicated event for key suppliers of machinery, materials, tooling, controls, systems, and supplies to display and demonstrate their products, equipment and services to an active, buying audience of manufacturers.

Zirkle said that the decision to co-locate IFME with Interwire in Atlanta was based in large part on previous successful co-locations and the synergy between the fastener and wire industries.
One IFME exhibitor agreed. “The reunion of IFME with Interwire in Atlanta is an exciting development,” said Reed Machinery President Jim Flanagan. “The show will provide a needed and focused event for meeting with U.S. manufacturers of fasteners and precision formed parts.

For more information on IFME 2019, contact Ray Zirkle or Doug Zirkle, national sales director, at tel. 203-794-0444, and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

.

Sumgayit Technology Park (STP) has carried out large-scale deliveries of 110 kV cable to Kazakhstan for the construction and reconstruction of the existing BURIL substation.

A report from Trend News Agency said that cables are to be used for reconstruction work in the Rogun hydroelectric power station. The enterprise dispatched two types of cables: control cables and low-voltage cables. The substation provides electricity to a part of the third largest residential settlement in the southern Kazakhstan region in the city of Shymkent.

STP’s cable has been exported to Tajikistan per a deal the company has with “Tajikgidroenergoproekt” JSC for the reconstruction of the “Ravshan” substation. Export contracts have also been signed for the supply of cable products to Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, and a significant portion of those orders has been completed.

STP makes high-voltage cables, including voltages of 220, 330 and 500 kV, at its facilities in The Technology Park, which is the largest enterprise implementing new infrastructure projects in the power industry of Azerbaijan. At its website, STP, which was launched in 2009, notes that it is a multilateral enterprise that offers a wide range of cables as well as transformers, high-voltage equipment, hydraulic turbines, water pumps, electric motors, pipes, technical gases.

.

AMSC’s former largest customer, China’s Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. (Sinovel) has agreed to pay it $57.5 million in two installments to settle a dispute over stealing its technology. It was also fined $1.5 million by a federal judge on July 9, concluding a key stage in a long-fought case of IT theft that stems back as far as 2011.

The story of what happened to AMSC, formerly known as American Superconductor Inc., is staggering in scope. While it made high-temp superconductor wire, AMSC’s biggest focus was its proprietary technology to control wind turbines. The company had a $16 million profit for fiscal 2010, at which time it had some 700 employees and was on an international growth path. In early 2011, its stock traded as high as $260 a share, but later that year, Sinovel, its largest customer, refused to accept a shipment. It was later shown at trial that Sinovel, through an AMSC employee, had stolen its technology. The subsequent losses were later said to be more than $800 million.

The company cut its workforce in 2011 by 150 people, a 30% reduction, with further cuts made over the following years. A lengthy and expensive international legal battle was fought by AMSC in Chinese courts, and in 2013, the Justice Department announced charges against Sinovel. In the last 12 months, AMSC’s stock price dropped to below $3 a share, but bolstered by sales of its collective energy solutions products—and a key court victory on Jan. 24, 2018, where a U.S. jury found in favor of AMSC—and hopes of a significant settlement by Sinovel, it had risen to as much as $8 a share, only to fall under $6 a share when news of the settlement and the judge’s sentence was made on July 9.

AMSC President and CEO Daniel P. McGahn, who following the Jan. 24 jury finding declared that the outcome was “a victory for the rule of law,” said that the resolution it had reached with Sinovel prior to the sentencing was an important step. “We valued the past cooperation between Sinovel and AMSC which was heralded as the example of Sino-U.S. cooperation in the new energy area. Through Sinovel’s and AMSC’s joint efforts, we have signed a settlement agreement to resolve the previous disputes in a constructive manner that we believe will enable us to move on with our respective businesses. This closes a challenging chapter for AMSC.”.