Titanium metal (Ti) is the ninth most abundant element found in the Earth’s crust, being strong as steel but much less dense. Because of this, it is a very important alloying agent with many other metals including aluminium, iron and molybdenum. These alloys are used in aircraft as they are materials with low density that can resist to high temperatures. Titanium is also used to cover the hulls of ships and other structures exposed to water, as well as in desalinisation plants which convert sea water into fresh water [1]. However, the largest use of this metal is in the form of titanium (IV) oxide, which accounts for over 96% of titanium consumption worldwide. Because of its excellent physical properties, which are the lack of colour, high refractive index and chemical inertness, titanium dioxide is the principal inorganic synthetic pigment on the market with over 3,000,000 tonnes per annum produced accounting for 66% of the global production capacity of pigments as shown in table 1: [3]
Pigment Tonnes per annum Tonnes per annum (%)
Titanium dioxide (white) 3,170,000 66
Iron oxides (red) 720,000 15
Pigment blacks 530,000 11
Lithopone (white) 190,000 4
Chromate yellow 145,000 3
Others 45,000 1
Total 4,800,000 100
Table 1: Global production capacities for the major inorganic synthetic pigments.[2]
Because TiO2 is related to non-essential products, it was observed that the demand is fluctuating depending on the GDP (gross domestic product), as it can be seen in figure 8 :
Figure 8: Relationship between GDP and TiO2 demand.
At the beginning of the TiO2 industry, Europe and North America showed the most demand and the highest growth rates. However, in the past years, because the markets have fully grown,...
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Bibliography
1. http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/22/titanium
2. ITU-2 Green Chemistry Course Documentation 11-12
3. Emerging Industries, An Investigation of the Market and Economic Factors Relevant to Establishing an Australian Titanium Metal Industry,
(http://www.isr.gov.au/industry/emerging/ISR_Titanium21mar01.pdf).
4. Donald V. Borst, Titanium Dioxide- An industry in Transition, Jocca Surface Coatings, 80, 2, p.60-65, 1997
5. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Rutile-unit-cell-3D-balls.png
6. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Anatase-unit-cell-3D-balls.png
7. http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/chemicals/titanium-dioxide.html
8. EUR-Lex, Community Legislation in Force, Document 378L0176, (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1978/en_38L016.html)
Also, the competition between existing players in this industry is high. There are about 619,000 metal enterprises in the USA in 2005 (IBISWorld, 2007).There are many companies that produce different kinds of metal products in the market. Besides, the bargaining power of buyers is high because product difference for the buyers of the metal products is small. It is not easy to differentiate the quality of one metal product from another. In addition, the cost of switching for the buyers is low. The number of substitutes of metal products is also high thus the buyers have great bargaining power.
According to recent statistics, zinc is the third most commonly used nonferrous metal in the United States. This unassuming metal was among the first minerals exploited by Man, used as a decorative material for thousands of years, although it never achieved the fame and notoriety of other metals such as gold or silver. In more recent times, new extraction and processing methods have allowed Man to produce higher-quality zinc than ever before, and to use it in an astonishingly high number of chemical and high-tech applications.
The oxide of aluminum is amphoteric—showing both acidic and basic properties. The most important compounds include the oxide, hydroxide, sulfate, and mixed sulfate compounds. Anhydrous aluminum chloride is important in the oil and synthetic-chemical industries. Many gemstones—ruby and sapphire, for example—consist mainly of crystalline aluminum oxide.
Increased demand on a global scale due to increase in manufacturing across the world, opposite in U.
The interesting part of this industry is the fact that there is no company with a dominant market share. Even though some revenue numbers might be higher for some companies, each company has a specialty that it brings to the industry. One of the main costs is manufacturing their products. A major reason the companies are moving manufacturing plants to Asia and South America is to lower manufacturing costs.
As the paper suggests, Du Pont has been a dominant company in the TiO2 market as it is the only company which possesses the operation technology of ilmenite chloride which eventually led to lowering its cost below its competitors. Given the fact that chloride technology is cheaper than other technologies and Du Pont is the only company that manages the facility, these two factors give Du Pont major advantages over other companies. But it won’t be long before it loses the privilege of these advantages unless Du Pont thinks of new strategy to maintain them. In this case two strategies have been introduced and considered by Du Pont, growth strategy which calls for an aggressive expansion to control the market and limit competitors’ ability to expand. The other one is called maintain strategy which aims for 45% of market share by gradually increasing investment. Each of these strategies carries different kinds of risks which Du Pont should take into consideration.
One of the factors contributing to the barriers to entry is the high capital requirements that are needed in order to compete in the market. Large investments are required in acquiring facilities and maintaining them, along with purchasing the expensive equipment relative to manufacturing welding products. Purchasing the equipment is not enough, but new companies are also required to develop the advanced technologies before effectively competing in which is really time consuming. With these asset specificities, potential entrants are discouraged from committing to obtaining these specialized assets that have no other means of use or profitability if the venture fails. When existing firms acquire these specialized assets, they are more inclined to resist efforts by other competitors from stealing market share, therefore enhancing the competitive disadvantage for new entrants.
... book to those that have a entrepreneurial drive but also to those entering nearly any field. All fields are changing over time, formulas may stay the same and chemical properties will remain the same but new technologies or ways to get to the answers are always emerging. That is one of the points that this text strives to make, everyone need innovation and it is a skill that takes practice. This text was an easy read that laid out a step-by-step program in changing one’s future perspectives on problems they may combat. Johansson explains each topic in depth so that someone who is just starting from ideation can pick up his book and start to think differently. While also explaining topic ideas in detail there are also cases in each section that help supplement key ideas. These cases show how past companies have succeeded and failed through each stage of the method.
...mpositional control needed and also the reactivity of the titanium. Fatigue failure has been known to occur with nitinol because of the extreme amounts of fatigue strain that it is necessarily exposed to. This is because it is still not completely defined how durable nitinol is, so it cannot be known what to use it for as it is the best of all metals known in this case. So it is used for the highest demanding applications but in some cases it can’t handle the pressure sustained. Another use for nitinol is a temperature control system, which would work by changing shape can activate a variable resistor or switch which would control the temperature, this is a situation where it is very significant for nitinol to be a smart material otherwise this system would simply just not work. There are many others but they are not really relevant to the engineering industry.
By using this structured analysis, firms can more easily evaluate the attractiveness of an industry and gain a complete overview of all relevant competitive factors that have to be considered in the process of establishment. It helps to better understand the present market structure and to evaluate as a consequence of that external threats and opportunities. Unfortunately, the analysis established by Porter is not a guarantee for success and above that, it is often accused for limitations, lack of considerations and inoperative outcomes. The non-observance of a collaborative economic behaviour and of governmental influence, the inflexibility of the model and furthermore lack of application to rapidly changing market conditions are major limitations that have to be considered.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Advantages to Aluminum. http://www.kaiserextrusion.com/advantage.html. November 28, 2000. Aluminum Facts. http://www.epa.gov/seahome/housewaste/src/alum.htm. November,28 2000. Bowman, Kenneth A. World Book Encyclopedia. "Aluminum." Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1992. Cobb, Cathy. Creations of Fire. New York: Plenum Press, 1995 Geary, Don. The Welder's Bible. Pensilvania: Tab Books, 1993. Knapp PhD, Brian. Aluminum. Connecticut: Grolier, 1996. Newmark, Dr. Ann. Chemistry. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1993. Walker, John R. Modern Metalworking. Illinois: The Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc., 1985.
... Also important is the price of complements, or goods that are used together. When the price of gasoline rises, the demand for cars falls.
Aluminum is an element in the boron group with a symbol of Al, and an atomic number of 13. Aluminum is a very soft metal when pure but becomes strong and hard when alloyed, a malleable metal with a silvery gray color. Aluminum is a very reactive element so it is found in nature combined with other elements. Aluminum resists corrosion by the formation of a self-protecting oxide coating. Aluminum is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, following oxygen and silicon. It makes up approximately 8% by weight of the Earth’s surface. Although this is evident, it is also apparent that aluminum is never found by itself in nature. All of the earth’s aluminum has combined with other elements to form compounds and in order to create new aluminum products; it has to be taken out of that specific compound. Aluminum does not rust like other elements, therefore it always remains strong and shiny, which means reused aluminum is almost identical to a brand new piece of metal. An electrochemical process creates aluminum. An electrochemical process is “the direct process end use in which electricity is used to cause a chemical transformation” ( E.I.A. Government). Major uses of electrochemical processes occur in the aluminum industry in which alumina is reduced to molten aluminum metal and oxygen, where than the aluminum can be used into making several different materials. Electrochemical processes, although very useful, can have serious environmental consequences. To help reduce the consequences that the production of aluminum creates, the idea of aluminum recycling comes into play.
Metals possess many unique fundamental properties that make them an ideal material for use in a diverse range of applications. Many common place things know today are made from metals; bridges, utensils, vehicles of all modes of transport, contain some form of metal or metallic compound. Properties such as high tensile strength, high fracture toughness, malleability and availability are just some of the many advantages associated with metals. Metals, accompanied by their many compounds and alloys, similar properties, high and low corrosion levels, and affects, whether negative or positive, are a grand force to be reckoned with.
?Robotics will boost quality and transfer efficiency levels.? Coatings (Jul.-Aug. 1991): 66 InfoTrac. Online. Nov. 2002. .