China now exporting raw materials/Ore

lendaddy · 07:36 AM

I have a project here for a major appliance company. We make a part out of mild steel that gets powder-coated, a couple million parts a year. Anyway, we have ALWAYS had problems with the steel warping while being powder-coated. The carbon content and general impurities made this a hit or miss thing. Well the last 40k lbs I received have been fantastic, absolutely beautiful steel that does not warp. I call my supplier who informs me that he noticed the same thing and the material is direct from China from raw ore. He says they haven't worked with raw ore in decades (always recycled mixtures) and this stuff is great.

So I guess my little story is that China has gone from hording steel and buying all of our scrap to actually exporting raw virgin steel. Interesting I thought.

RickM · RickM's Garage

What warped the steel? The oven or the current used for adhesion?

lendaddy · 02-22-2006, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RickM
What warped the steel? The oven or the current used for adhesion?

The heat from the curing process. Only 380°F, and metalurgists have told me that it won't warp at that temp and we have proven it to them.

89911 · 02-22-2006, 12:11 PM

The sad part is that it use to be the other way around.

slakjaw · 02-22-2006, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 89911
The sad part is that it use to be the other way around.

Why is this sad????

commodity capitol has been decreasing in value for over 100 years now.

This country is headed in the right direction.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by slakjaw
Why is this sad????

commodity capitol has been decreasing in value for over 100 years now.

This coutry is headed in the right direction.

Color me stupid: why is this a good thing?

lendaddy · 02-22-2006, 12:55 PM

Steel prices should moderate, China was sucking up all the supply, now they are a net producer.

89911 · 03:08 PM

Your talking to a Pittsburgh native. Maybe you heard that they use to produce steel here. But this was true in many area's of the country. Much of the raw materials from the US was used to produce steel here that was sold around the world. Factor in China's cheap labor, nonexist environmental controls, and many other issues, and it's not too hard to understand why it coming the other way around. Now we export raw goods and pay for finished products instead of selling them. This is a good thing?