U.S. Chrome, Stratford, Conn., announces that it will scale up commercial production of its family of TriCom electroplating technologies. TriCom-H is based on a composite microstructure of a cobalt-phosphorus alloy matrix with uniformly dispersed fine silicon carbide particles. Offering extremely high hardness and high wear resistance, it represents a drop-in replacement for hard chrome, without environmental drawbacks, according to company sources.

Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., announces that it will build its new superalloy powder facility in Alabama, directly across the street from its nearly completed $518 million ultra-premium product manufacturing facility near Athens. Three weeks ago, Carpenter announced a multi-faceted agreement with United Technologies Corp.

ALD Vacuum Technologies, Germany, has developed the Vacuum Induction Degassing (VID) furnace concept for special applications in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industry for charge weights up to 30 tons. Smaller steel shops and foundries will be able to produce high quality vacuum treated steels with the VID furnace in one step. The temperature losses during degassing treatment are compensated by induction heating.

Composite industry leaders from around the globe will return this fall to the second edition of the JEC Americas Composites Show & Conferences at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Oct. 2-4, 2013.

The University of Manchester, UK, has received $28 million from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) to set up a state-of-the-art Multidisciplinary Characterization Facility.  The new facility at Manchester will focus on the United Kingdom’s strategic development in advanced materials and manufacturing, and will provide the necessary expertise to accelerate innovation from the laboratory to market.

Dr. Aziz Asphahani, FASM, is joining QuesTek Innovations LLC, Evanston, Ill., as the new chief executive officer effective July 1, 2013. He will lead the company’s efforts in growth and business development. Asphahani has an extensive background in both metallurgy and business, having acted as Director of Technology/R&D at Cabot Corporation, vice president of sales and marketing at Haynes International, and President at both CABVAL and CARUS Chemical Company.

Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, Conn.,  has completed the initial phase of testing for the composite main and tail rotor blades manufactured for the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53K heavy lift helicopter program. At 35 ft span length, and almost 3 ft chord width, the CH-53K main rotor blade has 12% more surface area than the CH-53E blade.

ASB Industries, Barberton, Ohio, announces that its Mesta heavy duty grinder (60 in. diameter by 288 in. long) is to be rebuilt and modernized. This major capital investment will allow two-axis grinding for complex roll crowns with extreme accuracy and efficiency. The project will include CNC Controls Fagor 8065T for two-axis wheel movement, and a Renishaw Touch Probe for data collection, keeping roll history during refurbishments.

The Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., is proving that pickups can be green and tough by adding rice hulls to the list of sustainable materials used to build F-150. Plastic reinforced with rice hulls-a byproduct of rice grain-is being used in an electrical harness in the 2014 F-150. The company will need at least 45,000 lb of hulls in the first year.

KONE, Espoo, Finland, announced a new high-rise elevator technology set to break industry limits and enable future elevator travel heights of 1 km (0.62 miles)-twice the distance currently feasible. UltraRope is a completely new hoisting technology that eliminates the disadvantages of conventional steel rope and opens up a world of possibilities in high-rise building design.

Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., has designed and built a lab-size, horizontal, internal quenching furnace that it donated to ASM International for its Teaching Lab. Named “The Mentor,” this $250,000 gift was made by Solar in commemoration of ASM International’s 100th anniversary. The furnace was dedicated in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at ASM headquarters in Materials Park, Ohio.   “The Mentor” has a hot zone that measures 12 in. wide by 12 in. high by 18 in.