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Article: Powder power.
- Article from:
- The Engineer
- Article date:
- March 5, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Centaur Communications Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Technological improvements and the move to outsourcing in the automotive industry have catapulted powder metallurgy, a technique almost as old as the century, into a new and fast growing market.
Even highly stressed parts such as car engine connecting rods are now being made by powder metallurgy, replacing forgings or castings.
In recent years GKN has identified the area as a growth market and, partly through acquisitions, has risen to a dominant position in the world market.
'Traditionally, automotive companies have had internal facilities for casting, forging and machining,' says Seifi Ghasemi, chief executive of GKN Sinter Metals. 'They kept ...