Europe’s PM community meets at Euro PM2012 Basel; Positive industry data reflects growth in all sectors

The Euro PM2012 Congress and Exhibition attracted

around 600 participants

Europe’s leading annual Powder Metallurgy event took place in Basel, Switzerland, from 16-19 September and attracted around 600 participants.

The Euro PM2012 Congress and Exhibition focused on specific sectors of the PM industry, including Hard Materials and Diamond Tools, Powder Injection Moulding (PIM), Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) and new processes and applications for PM.

Organised and sponsored by the European Powder Metallurgy Association, the event attracted nearly 200 oral and poster presentations.

Delegates were welcomed by the Congress Chairmen, Georg Breitenmoser (Parmaco Metal Injection Molding AG) and Dr Steven Moseley (Hilti AG).

An overview of Europe’s PM industry

Ingo Cremer (Cremer Thermoprozessanlagen GmbH) gave his final conference address as President of the European Powder Metallurgy Association, after the maximum two terms of service.

In his review of the state of the PM industry in Europe, Cremer outlined the impact of the financial crisis to-date and stated that despite the threat of price-competition from low-cost economies, Europe’s PM industry still had a bright future, warning against the relocation of manufacturing facilities outside of the European continent.

Cremer stated that in Europe, “PM is a part of a wider industry, but it is a perfect example of how to do things right. We have hundreds of mid-size companies that add value and give people the jobs to pay their bills. Our factories are all over Europe and we are supplying the world. This structure made us strong during the last recession. We must not make the mistake to give all our production capacities to low cost countries, because once we no longer have our production capacity, we have no chance to earn with industrial applications.”

Data presented by Cremer indicated that all sectors of PM in Europe have enjoyed solid growth since the low point of 2009, with European powder shipments for PM applications showing modest growth in 2011 compared with 2010.  The European MIM industry showed strong growth, as did the European HIP sector, with data on the production of High Speed Steels and Tool Steels also showing a positive trend.

European metal powder shipments for PM applications (Courtesy EPMA)

European PM ferrous powder shipments by quarter (Courtesy EPMA) 

MIM sales growth in Europe (Courtesy EPMA)

Estimated European PM HIP production HSS and Tool Steel (Courtesy EPMA)

2012 EPMA Awards

The congress plenary session saw the presentation of three EPMA awards. The EPMA Distinguished Service Award for 2012 was awarded to Dr Volker Arnhold (see separate report) formerly of GKN Sinter Metals GmbH in Germany.

The EPMA Thesis awards were presented to Dr Catalina Jiménez from the Helmholz-Centre, Berlin and Mr Bruno Marques who was studying at Aveiro University in Portugal (see separate report).

The event also included a sell-out exhibition area with 74 stands covering companies from all parts of the PM supply chain. Jonathan Wroe, EPMA Executive Director stated, “Basel has proved an excellent and efficient venue for this event with its focus on MIM, Hard Materials, HIP and PM Applications. We would like to thank the EPMA Swiss members, plus the technical programme committee and delegates for their support, which is much appreciated”.

Euro PM2013 Congress and Exhibition

Work is already underway for Euro PM 2013 to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden from the 15 -18 September 2013.  To receive further information on this and other EPMA events please contact the EPMA, www.epma.com.

Euro PM2012 Gallery