Low Cost Steel Producers
Plagued By Rising Costs

Rising raw material costs and deteriorating sales volumes are among the factors leading to increased production costs in many developing nations, according to the British metals tracking firm MEPS.

At least those are some proximate causes. Root causes are the limp global economy coupled with global overcapacity.

Commerce Finds Unfair Dumping Of China Drill Pipe
On August 6, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its affirmative preliminary determination in the antidumping (AD) duty investigation of imports of drill pipe from the People's Republic of China, at margins ranging up to 429%. As a result of this preliminary determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit or bond based on these preliminary rates. Commerce is currently scheduled to make its final determination in December 2010.

MSS Offers Engineering/Materials Scholarships
The Manufacturers Standardization Society of The Valve and Fittings Industry (MSS) announces the start of the MSS Scholarship Program for Engineering and Materials Science students. The MSS Scholarship Program will provide annual cash awards of $1,000 to one or more engineering and material science students interested in the valves and fittings industry and whose parent or employer is a member company of MSS. Interested students who meet the criteria can fill out an application form posted on the MSS web site, www.mss-hq.org. The application deadline is March 31, 2011.

DDI Releases Updated Software
DDI System has released Version 23 of its Inform software for distributors. New features include Inform Software: Transaction Auditing (automatically record user made changes), Visual Financial Reporting (drill-down to transaction based details), Inform Analytics (graphical dashboards for executive business reporting), and Advanced Report Writer (visually design customized report fields and layouts). A free demonstration will be held August 25 at 1 pm EST /10am PST. To register visit www.seeinform.com.

Royal Pipe Expands In Canada
Royal Group Inc. announced the expansion of its Royal Pipe Systems division with the addition of a new pipe facility in Woodbridge, Ontario.  Now operational, the new facility produces high performance pressure and sewer pipe up to 24 inches used in wastewater, municipal and industrial water applications.

TOLCO Website Showcases Seismic Bracing
TOLCO , a brand of NIBCO, is unveiling its revamped website as a resource to demonstrate its capabilities in seismic bracing and custom fabricated supports. Case studies and testimonials on some of its high-profile projects are highlighted, including Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; the Los Angeles Unified School District Learning Center; CityCenter in Las Vegas; Perris Valley Water Treatment Plant in Orange County, Calif.; The Bay Bridge in San Francisco; and Yankee Stadium in New York.

TMK IPSCO Opens Calgary Sales Office
Steel tubular manufacturer TMK IPSCO opened a sales pffice in Calgary, Alberta Canada on August 2, 2010. The new office will serve as TMK IPSCO's Canadian headquarters for sales and will will be managed by Dmitry Butorin, Director of Sales - Canada.

U.S. Pipe Gets A New President
Paul Ciolino has been named president of United States Pipe and Foundry Co. He replaces Raymond Torok who is retiring from that position. Ciolino brings more than 25 years of experience to his new position, most recently as president of Griffin Pipe Products Co.

NIBCO Valves Slated For BIM
NIBCO and CADworks have collaborated to provide NIBCO® specified valves to the architectural, engineering and construction community through the Autodesk® Seek Library (type 'NIBCO' in the search bar for full product listing). "Our alliance with CADworks allows design professionals to easily download and integrate data-rich 3D models of NIBCO specified valves directly into their digital building information models (BIM)," said NIBCO Chairman and CEO Rex Martin.

Anderson Named President of Cornerstone Valve
Dwight Anderson, a 30-year veteran of the valve industry, has been named president of Cornerstone Valve, a Houston-based, global severe-service valve manufacturing and engineering company. Cornerstone was recently purchased by Robert Clay of Clay Development & Construction, an industrial real estate developer.

10 Tips For Better Pricing

Charge as much as the market will bear and the competition allows. That's the best advice to follow. Yet here is some food for thought to keep in mind when making the all-important decisions about how much to charge for what.

Tech Tip #52 by Gregg Marshall

To help you make the most of the Digital Age.

Enterprise VoIP

One of my sales agency friends installed a new high speed internet/telephone system about four years ago from a company called cBeyond. It operated over a T-1 line (a business class high speed Internet connection). Plugged into that T-1 line was a telephone system called a PBX (private branch exchange-once the providence of only very large companies). 

Feature phones were plugged into the PBX. Total cost was in the $10,000 range for a 15-extension installation with 5 or 6 telephone lines connected to a single telephone number (usually called roll-over lines). The telephones had lots of features like caller ID, call forwarding, voice mail, the ability to transfer calls to another extension, music on hold, etc.

The telephone calls went to the telephone central exchange via the T-1 data line. Any data capacity left over was available for high speed Internet to the business. Coupled with fractional T-1 offerings from the phone company, you could specify as much capacity as you want (and can afford).

Long distance calls back then were a couple of cents per minute; I'm guessing they are included now. And call quality was as good and many times better than regular telephone calls.

There are also virtual VoIP options that don't even require a PBX, but give the same functionality (http://www.virtualpbx.com/index.asp was the first service that Google presented). One advantage is you can get more features (like call directors, call queuing, etc.) and they support your employees taking their calls from anywhere. JetBlue is famous for having its reservations work from home. Now any small business can have the same capabilities.

Staying with traditional telephone service, or depending on your cell phone for long distance, may not be the best business decision. At least investigate VoIP, especially for your field sales people.

Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, is president of Rep Connection Inc. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall@repconnection.com, or visit his LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/greggmarshall.

AEC Store Corner

Essentials of Profitable Warehouse Operations©
1st Edition Coursebook

All Essentials© courses include end-of-chapter, self-grading quizzes as well as a final exam to be submitted to the ASA Education Foundation for grading. Passing grades result in a certificate suitable for framing.

In nine chapters, this course provides warehouse and supervisor-track employees with knowledge of all major functions of a modern wholesale-distributor's warehouse. Beginning with an explanation of how the wholesale-distribution business works, the course moves quickly to introduce key members of the warehouse team and explains how they contribute to an effective operation.

Next comes an in-depth treatment of the orderly flow of materials from receiving through stocking, picking, packaging and delivery. Critical concerns like safety and security are also well covered. The course wraps up with examples of continuous improvements and how the warehouse employee can grow as a professional within the distribution business.

The course includes the course book, self-tests, final exam, and a certificate of completion for those who pass the exam. It can be taken as a single course or taught in groups.

Topics/contents include:

• Overview of Wholesale Distribution Operations
• Working Together as a team
• Managing Risk in the Warehouse Operations
• How a Warehouse Works
• Working with Inventory in a Profitable Operation
• How Orders are Picked and Packed
• Loading and Shipping Operations
• Glossary, Final Exam for Grading

Retail Price: $160.00

Follow this link to purchase this item.

To view more products for the PFV industry, visit AECStore.com.

What's The Industry Buzzing About?

• Right Structuring Vs. Right Sizing 
• Showerhead Rules Shaping Up Unfavorably 
• EPA Approves First Climate-Friendly Hydrocarbon Refrigerant