Modern Marvels: Shipping Containers

It’s hard to imagine a world without container ships. These ships make it possible for us to request and send products all over the world. How do you think that Chinese- made pair of jeans go to you? Container ships are a feat of engineering and the backbone to our modern economy. The container aboard these ships are able to seamlessly be transported to the ship by semi-trucks, loaded on the ship, and taken off to be transported by truck to their destination. There is no need to unload the contents as in the old days.

Before containerization was invented, items were transported in packages and placed aboard ships. It was a painstaking, time consuming process. Containers can hold up to 64,000 lbs of cargo each. Thanks to the invention of containers, the shipping time for cargo was reduced by 84% and costs went down 35%. By 2001, almost 90% of dry cargo was shipped in a container.

Shipping containers are built to hold heavy material, withstand the salty ocean air, and last a long time. They are usually made of steel, but can also be made of aluminum, fiberglass, or even wood. The invention of the container was not met with open arms. Many trade unions for dock workers balked at the idea. They believed this invention would cause massive job losses. Many companies involved in ports and railways were worried about the huge costs involved in developing infrastructure to handle these new containers.

Containers can now be loaded and unloaded from a ship in a few hours. The sturdy containers also allow for less breakage while the ship is underway. There is also less theft. Container ships now make up about 14% of the world’s fleet based on tonnage. Despite improvements in efficiency, about 2,000-10,000 containers are lost at sea each year. This costs companies about $370 million dollars. This is due to storms, or even ships sinking. Shipping by container is still the best way to go for many companies around the world. You can thank this containerization innovation next time you purchase an item made overseas.

What Happened to the Half Dollar?

Numismatists (coin collectors) likely have a few half dollars stashed away in their collection. Since 2002, the half dollar has only been minted for collection purposes.  This was due to a large inventory and lack of demand. These coins are no accepted in vending machines, slot machines, or other coin operated machines. Once supply levels of the coin drop, more will be minted. If you were lucky enough to find one in circulation you probably held onto it. Many magicians prefer the half dollar due to the coins weight and size.

History

During their prime, half dollars were used quite often. Many casinos accepted them, especially for games requiring a 50 cent ante like blackjack. The rise of silver in the 1960s caused a problem for the US Mint. The price of silver would have exceeded the value of the coins (dimes and quarters). In 1965, the composition of the coin changed to copper and cupro-nickel. The Kennedy half dollar, though, still contained silver. The percentage of silver in this 50 cent piece dropped from 90% to 40%.

Rise of the Quarter

As silver continued to rise, many people hoarded half dollars containing 90% silver. A roll of these coins would net around 7 ounces of silver. Eventually there were so few in circulation that businesses became used to it. The quarter soon became the highest value coin. Soon enough, banks and cash drawers stopped stocking the half dollar. Coin operated machines like payphones and vending machines did not make slots big enough to accept half dollars.

Half Dollars Today

Today the half dollar is virtually out of circulation. You would be hard pressed to find a place that accepted them or that issued them. It is mainly for the collector that the coin has been minted. If you have an interest in coins, the U.S. mint allows you to purchase modern day half dollars.

Happy Halloween from Leveltek

This October has been all about pumpkins. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin beer. The list goes on and on, so we wanted to create a “Leveltek” Halloween list full of festive steel, metal and iron decorations.

Steel vs. Iron

Steel and iron are important materials in our modern society. Some people may actually interchange the two, but steel and iron are very different. Iron is an element, while steel is an alloy made up of both iron and carbon. An alloy is just a mixture of two or more elements, generally two or more metallic, or one metallic and one nonmetallic. Other elements can be added to steel to create products with different characteristics. Stainless steel is comprised of steel and chromium; this product doesn’t rust and is very durable. Other elements that can be added to steel are silicon and manganese. By adding these other elements, one can control the strength, ductility, and hardness of steel.

Steel is the main product used in construction, as it is much stronger than iron and has better compression and tension characteristics. Iron that contains more than 2% carbon is called pig iron. But iron that contains less than 2% carbon is steel. Pure iron is very soft and susceptible to rust when in contact with moist air, making it unsuitable to be used in construction or in making utensils, cookware, or many other products. Steel, in comparison, can be up to 1000 times harder than pure iron, hence its widespread use in manufacturing many products we use today.

Although steel is much stronger than iron, it is still very malleable and thus able to be manipulated to create certain shapes. Because of it’s properties, it is the most common alloy used today. It is used for manufacturing weapons, vehicles, tools, buildings, and more. One famous building, the Eiffel Tower, was constructed from puddle iron, which is an iron alloy with very low carbon levels. If it was built today though, it would likely be made of steel.

An important form of iron is that found in our bodies. It is used to carry oxygen to the body in the form of hemoglobin. Many foods we eat are rich in iron such as red meat, tofu, beans, and fish. People who are iron deficient can take iron pills, to ensure that they don’t suffer from fatigue and weakness which is common in those with low iron levels. Vegetarians are among those most at risk for iron deficiency.

As you can see, there are many differences between iron and steel. Steel is comprised of iron and carbon, it is malleable, and has a greater strength than pure iron. Iron was very common before steel production became cheap. Today steel is used in manufacturing many products and for constructing bridges, railroads, buildings, and more. So next time someone confuses steel and iron, you can explain just how different they are.

Honoring Women of Steel

Sheffield’s Women Of Steel will be honoured with a classical music concert to launch the new Music In The Round season at the city’s Crucible theatre – boosting their £150,000 statue appeal.

The internationally renowned Ensemble 360 played classics Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E flat and Schubert’s Octet of 1824, at Sheffield Crucible Studio, on Thursday, October 9.

Click here to watch the VIDEO

The evening raised money towards a city centre statue to honour the women who kept the steel mills going, making munitions, to help win two world wars. Some of the surviving Women Of Steel from World War Two, now in their 90s, were invited to attend the concert.

They were also invited to meet Deborah Chadbourn, Music In The Round executive director, to show her a maquette of the statue.

Deborah said: “We are proud to support this appeal for these inspirational women with an night of popular classical music everyone will enjoy.”

Key Facts About the World Steel Industry

 

Steel: A key driver of the world’s economy

• The industry directly employs more than two million people worldwide, with a further two million contractors and four million people in supporting industries.
• Considering steel’s position as the key product supplier to industries such as automotive, construction, transport, power and machine goods, and using a multiplier of 25:1, the steel industry is at the source of employment for more than 50 million people.
• World crude steel production has increased from 851 megatonnes (Mt) in 2001 to 1,606 Mt for the year 2013. (It was 28.3 Mt in 1900).
• World average steel use per capita has steadily increased from 150kg in 2001 to 225 kg in 2013.
• India, Brazil, South Korea and Turkey have all entered the top ten steel producers list in the past 40 years.

Sustainable steel: At the core of the green economy

Steel is at the core of the green economy, in which economic growth and environmental responsibility work hand in hand.

• Steel is the main material used in delivering renewable energy – solar, tidal and wind.
• All steel created as long ago as 150 years can be recycled and used in new products and applications.
• By sector, global steel recovery rates for recycling are estimated at 85% for construction, 85% for automotive, 90% for machinery and 50% for electrical and domestic appliances. This leads to a global weighted average of more than 83%.
• The amount of energy required to produce a tonne of steel has been reduced by 50% in the past 30 years.
• 97% of steel by-products can be reused.
• Figures for water uptake and discharge are close to each other, with any small loss due to evaporation. Water recycled back into rivers and other sources is often cleaner than when extracted.

Steel: Everywhere in our lives

Steel touches every aspect of our lives. No other material has the same unique combination of strength, formability and versatility.

• Almost 200 billion cans of food are produced each year. Steel cans mean saving energy as refrigeration is not needed. Cans mean tamper-free and safe food, nutritional value and beneficial environmental impact from recycling.
• Steel used for double-hulled capesize vessels delivering raw materials, finished goods and energy must have the highest impact toughness (to withstand constant wave motion), corrosion resistance (from sea water) and weldability (for manufacturing reasons).
• Skyscrapers are made possible by steel. The housing and construction sector is the largest consumer of steel today, using around 50% of world steel production.
• Approximately 25% of an average computer is made of steel. More than 305 million PCs were sold in 2012.
• Steel looks after our health. Steel surfaces are hygienic and easy to clean. Surgical and safety equipment and commercial kitchens are all made with steel.

Safe, innovative and progressive steel

Steel is an innovative and progressive industry committed to the safety and health of its people.

• The industry is committed to the goal of an injury-free workplace.
• The lost-time injury frequency rate has decreased from 5.1 in 2004 to 1.41 in 2012.
• The number of worldsteel member organisations participating in the annual safety metrics survey has increased from 46 in 2005 to 89 in 2012.
• The steel industry globally spends more than €12 billion annually on improving the manufacturing process, new product development and future breakthrough technology.
• New lightweight steel is dramatically changing the market. In 1937, 83,000 tonnes of steel were needed to build the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Today, only half of that amount would be required.
• Vehicles structures using Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) weigh up to 35% less than those made with former conventional steel, substantially reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Life cycle thinking: New solutions for new times

• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is vital for the future. Environmental regulations that only regulate one phase (the use phase) of a product’s life cycle can create unintended consequences, such as increased CO₂ emissions.
• One example of this is vehicle exhaust or tail pipe regulations, which encourage the use of low density materials that are more CO₂ intensive to produce.
• LCA considers production, manufacture, the use phase and end-of-life recycling and disposal. Life-cycle thinking leads to immediate environmental benefit.
• In addition to CO₂, LCA assesses other impacts such as resource consumption, energy demand and acidification.
• LCA is easy to implement, cost effective and produces affordable and beneficial solutions for material decision-making and product design.
• worldsteel developed one of the first global sector databases for life cycle inventory data, and invests on a regular basis to keep it up to date.

Source: World Steel Association

The Father of Steel: Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was one of the first in the steel industry to realize how important chemistry was to the process. He is best known nowadays for the many buildings bearing his name. These include Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Hall, and the Carnegie Hero Fund. He gave away 94% of his fortune to charity and foundations before his death in 1919. His net worth in 2007 dollars was $298.3 billion.

He came to the US as a child of poor Scottish immigrants. His journey from immigrant to one of the most well-known and successful businessmen in history is covered in textbooks across the US. As a teen, he was secretary/ telegraph operator and from this job he learned about management and cost control. Soon Carnegie was investing and dealmaking.

He realized the growing need for steel when an investment in a farm yielded over $1 million for the petroleum in it’s oil wells. Luckily for him, he had invested in the iron industry before the war. His great success in the iron and steel industry was by adapting the Bessemer Process.

After growing Carnegie Steel he felt it was time for retirement at age 66. He created a joint venture with JP Morgan and created the United States Steel Corporation. This company was the first in the world with a market cap over $1 billion.

For all his philanthropy though, he was very tough on the workers at his steel mills. They worked 12 hours a day, all year except for the Fourth of July. Safety and worker happiness were not paramount of Carnegie’s focus on efficiency and productivity.

Some may see him as a rags to riches story, others as a demanding capitalist figure. Either way he helped shape the iron and steel industry as we know it.

Ford switches from steel-bodied F-150’s to aluminum-bodied for 2015

It seems we have discussed the use of steel in automobiles in a number of blogs over the last several months. First steel is going to be replaced by aluminum, then an article retracts that idea saying steel is around to stay. I suppose it will always depend on the vehicle but Ford recently announced the final steel-bodied F-150 rolled off the line at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant last month. 

According to caranddriver.com, Ford’s Kansas City facility will continue to manufacture steel-bodied F-150s until the end of the year, the line in Dearborn is being dismantled to make room for the new tooling and equipment required to produce aluminum-bodied trucks for the 2015 model year.

 

The Dearborn plant will be closed until mid-September, putting about 3,000 workers on temporary layoff. Employees will be called back in tiers, with two crews returning on September 21 and a third on October 20. Starting initially with preproduction models, the plant is scheduled to return to full speed before January.

According to experts, the company’s decision to switch its venerated pickup truck to aluminum is not without risk. Ford sold 63,240 F-150s in the U.S. in July, the last full month of production before the $359-million switchover began. In order to keep the cash flowing, Ford needs to expedite the switch but without sacrificing quality.

Read the full article here

 

Steel: It’s All Around Us

Our modern infrastructure is possible thanks to steel. You may not realize it, but most everything we use today is comprised of steel. In the early days of transportation we relied on steel for the railroads. Now our cars, trucks, buses, and ships are made using steel. 

 

Electricity comes to our house through steel power lines and the power plants creating this energy are also made of the material. Our military relies on steel for battleships and aircraft carriers. 

 

Our homes contain tons of steel items. Most of our appliances have steel in them like fridges, ovens, and laundry machines. Forks, knives, spoons can also be made of steel. Even our food can come packaged in steel cans. 

 

Next time you’re at the hospital or doctor’s office, take a look around. Most of the surgical instruments used today are made of top quality steel. 

Steel is all around us!

Leveltek celebrates new $8 million BlueScope processing line in Australia

Leveltek President Mike Kelly and his wife Carla just returned from Australia where they attended the grand opening for the new $8 million BlueScope processing line. The Kelly’s were among the 120 guests which included customers, distributors, contraction companies and executives from Bradbury. The line was officially opened (ahead of schedule!) by Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery and BlueScope executives. Mike are Carla were able to tour the new line. “Everything looked fantastic and ran perfectly. All of the feedback was extremely positive. It has been a great project, a great team effort and one that Leveltek is proud to be a part of,” says Mike Kelly. 

 

Below is an article written by Illawarra Mercury

 

A new $8 million hot rolled coil processing facility opened at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks on Monday.

The new processing line uses state-of-the-art stretch-levelling technology to make coil plate and has been strategically installed next to the hot strip mill.

Construction finished ahead of schedule, which meant Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery was able to open it a month early. Cr Bradbery spoke about the importance of adding value to the region’s economy.

He said BlueScope’s willingness to continue its long relationship with Wollongong was testimony to its ongoing confidence in the region.

BlueScope sales, marketing, innovation and trading general manager Jason Ellis said it was a great day for the steelworks and an investment in the future. The company was able to deliver a higher-quality product, he said.

“It is also important for our industry in general because this is a reinvestment back in steel. It doesn’t happen very often. It really is a significant milestone for all of us, not just BlueScope. This material and this product will help deliver better value for our customers and their customers,” he said.

BlueScope manufacturing general manager John Nowlan said the new processing line would employ about 10 people in two shifts.

“It is adding value to the coil that we make,” he said. BlueScope’s new coil plate product will be available in the market as TRU-SPEC™ Coil Plate steel. It is designed to bend, cut, press and form predictably to ensure quality products can be produced efficiently and easily.

BlueScope product and brand manager Gregory Moffitt said customers were definitely in mind in the latest investment.

The flatness and consistency of the coil plate steel was particularly suited to the industry’s growing preference towards laser cutting, which required products to stay flat during cutting, he said.

“Stretch levelling technology produces a ‘memory-free’ product, which means TRU-SPEC™ Coil Plate steel is less likely to flex up and jam or damage the laser cutter.”

Full production is expected to begin on September 1.