The Iron and Steel Event- AISTech2015

Early each May, the steel metallurgists, process engineers, maintenance technicians, mill operators and plant executives from around the world convene at AISTech, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology’s annual conference and exposition. This year, AISTech returns to Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a newly renovated Convention Center.

I am really looking forward to reconnecting with some friends and AIST Technical Committee colleagues at “The Steel Show.” The Technical Committees (TCs) are really the machines behind the show. The 29 different TCs vet the abstracts submitted for presentation, and select the best to be included in the technical program. Last year there were nearly 500 papers presented. This year, AISTech 2015 will also host ICSTI 2015 — The 7th International Congress on the Science and Technology of Ironmaking. ICSTI provides an open forum to present, discuss and achieve solutions to the essential issues in ironmaking today, and in the future. The bottom line: if you want to know what is new with iron and steel technology, Cleveland is the place to be this May 4th to 7th.

One of the highlights of the conference each year is the “Town Hall” where AIST brings together top executives from steel producing companies to answer questions from the audience. With the recent strengthening of the US Dollar and some of the developments overseas with overcapacity, this forum will certainly generate some steel industry headlines the following day. (We are a proud sponsor of the coffee break at the “Town Hall” so be sure to grab a cup on us while you are there.)

The Exhibit Hall is another great place to learn about new technology in the industry, though using the word “Hall” doesn’t exactly fit. There will be over 500 companies exhibiting, both indoors and outside, to accommodate the 8,000 people expected to attend. We’ll be inside, in booth 1470, demonstrating the latest analysis and measurement technology. Our sequential x-ray fluorescence spectrometer for advanced materials characterization integrates bulk elemental analysis with mapping and small spot analysis to create a solution that evaluates up to 90 elements in nearly any metallurgical sample. You can also discover the differences among metal thickness gauges, including:

a simultaneous profile gauge — which measures centerline and transverse thickness, temperature, profile, width, edge drop and shape of a steel strip at the exit of a hot rolling mill
a laser optical thickness gauge — which provides accurate on-line non-contact thickness measurements for a variety of sheet processing applications in the steel industry
a galvanneal coating weight and percent iron gauge — which analyzes metal and paint coatings, including Zinc/Magnesium

(Hint: one difference is that the optical laser-based measurement is insensitive to sheet composition and reduces costs by eliminating radiation compliance requirements.)

When the exposition hall wraps up each day, the opportunity to network with fellow technologists doesn’t end. Most of the restaurants downtown will certainly have waiting lists to accommodate the 5000 plus attendees. I have to admit a weakness for the Quaker Steak and Lube wings. I am not a fan of the super hot wings, but their variety is impressive, and I never seem to get enough napkins if you know what I mean.

I hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it, follow the show posts on its twitter feed @AISTech, #AISTech, Facebook page or LinkedIn Group. If you want to learn more about the metal gauging analyzers, laboratory X-ray and OES analyzers, and gas analyzers that will be at the show, just visit www.thermoscientific.com/AISTech2015.

Show Details:

AISTech2015
May 4-7, 2015
Booth 1470
Cleveland Convention Center
Cleveland, Ohio USA