Under the Wire

U.S. STEEL INCREASES APPLIANCE RECYCLING

U.S. Steel, Pittsburgh, a producer of appliance sheet steels, is assuming a greater role in appliance recycling. The company’s efforts include involvement in all aspects of the recycling field, from sponsorship of appliance collection drives to the re-melting of shredded appliance scrap in the company’s steelmaking furnaces. Company officials say that up to 90 percent of its steel could contain appliance scrap, depending on availability and cost.

To date, the efforts have been principally focused in the Pittsburgh region, where U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facility provides a full range of cold-rolled  embossed and coated steel sheets for appliance applications. The company hopes to expand appliance recycling programs in the surrounding areas of its other plants in Gary, Ind., Fairless, Pa., and Fairfield, Ala.

WELLMAN ANNOUNCES HEAD OF EUROPEAN UNIT

Wellman Inc., Shrewsbury, N.J., has announced that Dr. Joseph Tucker will assume responsibility for Wellman’s European polyethylene terephthalate resin business as vice president and general manager. Tucker will retain his current manufacturing and technical responsibilities in the United States until the acquisition of Akzo Nobel’s PET business in Europe is completed.

Tucker has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University and has worked for the Celanese Corp. in management positions in technical service as well as in research and development, and manufacturing at Celanese’s two largest PET manufacturing facilities. In addition, he has served as a college instructor at Purdue. Since joining Wellman, Tucker has served as the company’s director of research and development and vice president of manufacturing and technology.

NAAD Gives Mid-Term Aluminum Report

The National Association of Aluminum Distributors, Philadelphia, has released figures for service center shipments for the first half of 1995, and its outlook for the second half of the year. Service center shipments of aluminum mill products for the first six months of the year were 13.5 percent above shipments for the same period in 1994. Officials at NAAD say the industry pace of business has slowed in a healthy fashion from the torrent of activity seen during the fourth quarter of 1994 and the first quarter of this year.

For the second half of 1995, NAAD predicts shipments may match, but most likely will fall below, volumes seen during the strong second half of 1994. Given the continued modest economic growth expected in 1996, aluminum consumption should also grow moderately, with particular strength in exports.

TRACKING SURPLUS MILITARY GOODS

With the ban on surplus Navy ships lifted and the continuing downsizing of the United States military machine, there is a glut of commodities that the federal government wants to sell, according to the M. Thorne & Co., Concrete, Wash. The firm reports that last month alone, there were 19 national and international auctions for Electrical, Electronic and Aircraft Parts, a single federal commodity group.

Companies interested in bidding on goods and material can contact one of 170 local Defense Reutilization and Marketing Offices for more information, or they can contact The M. Thorne & Co. Thorne will put together a historical bid survey for the commodity, including where it is located, its physical condition, who’s likely to bid on it and the range of previous bids. A normal tracking fee costs $25 per each FSC code, according to the company. Thorne can be contacted at (360) 853-8055; e-mail max@sos.net ; CompuServe 76521,1156; or America Online DMartin329.