The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) held its 15th General Assembly and Management Seminar at Dunchurch Park, Rugby, UK, on 13–14 May, when over 50 members from industry and academia met. In his General Assembly address to members, EPMA’s President, Dr Cesar Molins, said that 2003 was at best a transition year for the European PM Industry and that he expected the upturn in the US and Far East economies to feed through to Europe in 2004. The powder metallurgy industry in particular was in a strong position, he said, as higher-performance materials and new processes were evolved to meet customers’ requirements. There was no doubt, however, that raw material cost increases were putting pressure on many companies operating in Europe. EPMA’s Management Seminar opened with a comprehensive overview of the PM Industry in the UK by Mr David Greaves from Höganäs UK, which was followed by a keynote presentation on the topic of “PM: the User’s View” from Kevin Johanson of Concentric Pumps Ltd; an insight by Dr Mike Hicks of Rolls Royce plc into the “Future Requirements for PM in the Aerospace Industry”; and a paper from Professor Alan Cocks, University of Leicester, on “Powder Die Filling and Transfer”. The seminar finished with a tour of the Peugeot Citroen factory at Ryton, Coventry, where delegates were able to see the production of the 206 model.
