Titanium shipbuilding explored

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of New Orleans has been awarded a three-year $4.8 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to advance the science and technology of titanium shipbuilding. The research will focus on the manufacturability and structural performance of a titanium mid-ship section. Both material requirements and advanced welding processes will be investigated. Titanium is more resistant to corrosion than traditional structural steels and aluminum alloys, but lacks robust welding and joining techniques. (Source: Media-Newswire, 11/23/10)

Well-known research slated as speaker

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - An internationally recognized expert in polymer nanotechnology and former researcher will give a lecture at the University of Southern Mississippi Oct. 19. Dr. Craig Hawker, director of the Materials Research Laboratory and professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara will present "A Few Good Reactions - Functionalized Nanostructures Based on Efficient Chemistry" at 1:30 p.m. in the Shelby F. Thames Polymer Science Research Center auditorium. His presentation is part of the annual Bayer Distinguished Lectureship Series at the university. (Source: USM, 10/15/10)

Jobs cut at Solvay

HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. - Fourteen workers are losing their jobs at Solvay Advanced Polymers, a plastics manufacturer in Port Bienville Industrial Park. The company announced it's suspending production at the facility that makes PrimoSpire SRP, a polymer used in commercial aircraft, medical devices, electronics and defense-related applications. Five R&D jobs will be maintained at the site and another five will be transferred. (Source: Sun Herald, 09/16/10)

Contract won for reactive armor

General Dynamics has won a $48 million contract to produce reactive armor side skirt tiles for Bradley Fighting Vehicles at its McHenry, Miss., facility. Deliveries are expected to begin in February 2011 and completed in September 2011. The reactive armor system is composed of tiles that fasten to the exterior of a vehicle, allowing it to better withstand direct hits from a variety of anti-armor munitions. A strategic partner, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Ordnance and Protection Division, will share the production workload in Haifa, Israel. (Source: General Dynamics, 08/25/10)

Plant processes first coil of steel

MOBILE, Ala. - ThyssenKrupp AG's carbon steel unit has rolled the first coil of steel in Calvert, a milestone in the path to full operation for the $5 billion complex. The coil was rolled late on July 31, but leaders of Germany's largest steelmaker didn't acknowledge it until Friday. The steelmaker now has 1,440 employees in Calvert, 1,200 working for the carbon steel unit and 240 for a sister stainless operation. That's more than halfway to the 2,700 permanent employees that ThyssenKrupp has pledged to hire. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/14/10)

Contract: General Dynamics, $48.2M

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, Burlington, Vt., was awarded a $48,215,074 firm-fixed-price contract for 12,180 Bradley reactive armor skirt tiles and 435 installation kits for the Bradley fighting vehicle system. Stone County, Miss., will handle 3.6 percent of the work. Other work locations are in Israel, Canada, Vermont, Florida, Texas, New York, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Iowa. Completion date is estimated as Aug. 31, 2011. U.S Army Contracting Command, CJM-MA, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/14/10)

Pipe maker eyes two counties

MOBILE, Ala. - Officials in Mobile and Clarke counties have been courting a pipe-making plant that could become the first new business drawn to the region by the ThyssenKrupp AG steel complex. A spokesman for ThyssenKrupp Steel USA said Lakeside Steel Inc., of Welland, Ontario, contacted the steelmaker and expressed interest in possibly locating to the area. The company wanted to know who to contact for incentives, the spokesman said. (Source: Mobile Press Register, 06/09/10)

F-35 composite work earns award

FORT WORTH, Texas - Lockheed Martin, Magestic Systems Inc. and Nikon Metrology jointly won a first-place JEC Innovation Award in composites manufacturing for technology used in the production of the F-35. The 2010 JEC Innovation Award was presented in Paris earlier this month in recognition of the cured laminate compensation process, a composite manufacturing process for achieving precision, as-built laminate thickness without post-cure machining. This new process is used in the production of composite parts for the F-35 and was developed to pre-measure and correct the thickness of cured composite wing skins for the F-35. (Source: PRNewswire, 04/26/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is scheduled to become home of the F-35 training center; fabrication and research into advanced materials is a key sector in South Mississippi.

Refinery getting leadership change

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Chevron Corp. has announced that Roland Kell, general manager of the company's Pascagoula Refinery since 2002, is retiring. Taking his place will be Tom Kovar, general manager of the company's Pembroke refinery in Wales. The company is considering selling the Wales property, but it's moving ahead with plans to expand the Pascagoula Refinery, which employs 1,500. (Source: Sun Herald, 03/17/10)

DuPont 4Q report

DuPont of Wilmington, Del., reported earnings of $441 million for the fourth quarter 2009, compared with a loss of $629 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. The company surpassed its 2009 goal of $1 billion in cost reductions. Titanium dioxide, electronic materials, performance polymers and seed products enjoyed sales of 20 percent or greater. DuPont's 150-worker facility in Axis, Ala., makes insecticide and its 120-worker First Chemical facility in Pascagoula, Miss., makes specialty chemicals. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/26/10) Note: DuPont's facility in Delisle, Miss., makes titanium dioxide.

GD gets $33M contract

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has been awarded an order of $33 million to produce reactive armor tile sets for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Work will be performed at the General Dynamics' facility in McHenry, Miss., in Stone County. Deliveries are expected to begin in June and be completed in November. The reactive armor system is composed of tiles that fasten to the exterior of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, allowing it to better withstand direct hits from a variety of anti-armor munitions. The order is an extension of a contract awarded in 2006. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Ordnance and Protection Division, will share the production workload in Haifa, Israel. (Source: Sun Herald, 01/21/10)

Refining business to shrink

Chevron Corp. plans to shrink its refining business. The company told its employees it plans to streamline refinery, marketing and retail operations to make the company's business more efficient. Chevron's Pascagoula Refinery is expected to be affected, though a company spokesman couldn't say to what extent or when. The Pascagoula refinery is the company's largest, with 1,600 employees and the capacity to refine 330,000 barrels of oil a day. Employment at the plant has increased by several hundred over the last decade. (Source: Sun Herald, 01/19/10)

Composite joining method passes test

An innovative method for joining composite structures has passed a series of structural tests. Gene Fraser, vice president of Advanced Programs and Technology for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, said it's a major step towards using composites in future space missions. The joint design was used to mate two segments of NASA's composite crew module demonstrator. The test article represents the inner pressurized shell for the Orion crew module, part of the Constellation Program to return astronauts to the moon and beyond. Test results proved the mating process retains compartment pressure and withstands external loads at twice the level normally experienced in flight. Tests were done at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. (Source: Globe Newswire, 12/17/09) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans are involved in the Constellation program.

DuPont DeLisle celebrates 30 years

DELISLE, Miss. - The DuPont DeLisle Plant on Thursday celebrated 30 years of continuous operation. DuPont DeLisle, which produces titanium dioxide, a pigment used as a brightening agent in paints, plastics, paper and textiles, began operations on the north end of the Bay of St. Louis in western Harrison County in 1979. The plant added a second production line in 1991. The company said it has invested more than $300 million in the DeLisle site in the last 10 years. It now employs more than 500 full-time employees and 400 contract workers. (Source: Sun Herald, 12/10/09)

Budget includes refinery project

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – A $500 million project that would boost the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery's gasoline production will continue under the company's spending plan for 2010, announced Thursday. Chevron Corp. announced the $21.6 billion capital and exploratory budget for 2010 that includes the continuous catalyst regeneration project in Pascagoula that was announced in October 2007, said Steve Renfroe, a company spokesman. (Source: Mississippi Press, 12/11/09)

ATK delivers composite crew module

Alliant Techsystems delivered a technological first to NASA: a full-scale, crew module structure made of composite materials. The Composite Crew Module is designed to reduce the overall weight of future manned launch vehicles. Full-scale structural testing will be performed at NASA's Langley Research Center to determine the viability of the composite structure. The structure was fabricated and assembled at ATK's facility in Iuka, Miss. (Source: ATK, 10/14/09) Gulf Coast note: South Mississippi has multiple companies involved in manufacturing with composites, and is home to the the University of Southern Mississippi, well-known for its research work in advanced materials.

Ablitech gets funding

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Mississippi Seed Fund has invested $100,000 in Ablitech Inc. of Hattiesburg. Mississippi Technology Alliance President and CEO Dr. Randy Goldsmith said the company’s strong relationship with university researchers positions the company for rapid growth, and the funds will help it ramp up product development. Ablitech was formed in 2006 to bring cutting-edge university knowledge in medicinal chemistry and polymer science to market. It specializes in converting university research into prototypes that can be marketed to pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Ablitech will use the seed fund investment for product research and market development. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 10/08/09) Note: background story

Burge retiring from USM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Cecil Burge is retiring as the University of Southern Mississippi's vice president of research and economic development, effective Dec. 31. A national search for a successor will begin later this fall. Burge has been with Southern Miss for nearly 40 years. During his tenure, external funding topped $100 million for the first time in school history in fiscal year 2007, including $15 million in composites research. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 09/03/09)

Chemical plant to settle penalties

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - First Chemical will pay the federal government $731,000 in civil penalties for an October 2002 explosion at the company's plant on Bayou Cassotte that was caused by a chemical reaction. The company also agreed to correct violations of the Clean Air Act. Safety experts have implemented safeguards and systems across the entire site to prevent similar incidents. (Source: Mississippi Press, 08/21/09)

County OKs $13.5M for Thyssen

MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile County Commission agreed to pay another $13.5 million in ThyssenKrupp AG incentives. The county already paid $70 million to lure the $4.65 billion German steel complex near Calvert, part of $314 million in cash state and local governments pledged to ThyssenKrupp. The additional $13.5 million was to be paid by the county along with other local governments that joined a consortium. The consortium was created, but members haven't chipped in, leaving the county to pay the promised money. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/11/09)