Treasure Steelworks Fires New Furnace

Manila. Sept 3, 2009. Treasure Steelworks, a subsidiary of TKC Steel Corporation, has commissioned its new Eccentric Bottom Tapping Electric Arc Furnace (EBT-EAF) as part of its capacity and capability enhancement projects.

Full commercial operation of the new facility is expected to start as soon as the series of tests for direct charging of beneficiated iron core are completed.
As part of the strategic plan of TKC Steel, it is testing the use of locally sourced iron ora processed from its beneficiating facility as raw material for its furnaces. Scrap metal is fast becoming scarce and costly. But the country has more than enough supply of iron ore to meet the TKC subsidiary's total present and future requirements.

Initial test results from the use of beneficiated local iron ore are said to be encouraging. They indicated substantial cost savings and improved yields of melted steel that the company is confident that it will be able to arrive at the optimum mixture of materials and additives that will reduce its dependence on scrap.

The capacity of the new furnace is 50MT per heat. This increases Treasure Steelworks' annual production output of billets by about 15%. The new facility is also equipped with the latest supersonic oxygen injector that would further improve production output.

Together with the newly commissioned ladle furnace and the newly installed iron ore beneficiating facility, the billet manufacturing shop of Treasure Steel will be the most modern facility in the Philippines, equal to similar modern plants in the ASEAN region.

Source: TKC Steel Press Release

Philippine Flash Indicators Show Signs of Recovery

The impact of the global financial crisis was felt in the Philippines starting October 2008 as exports decreased, manufacturing dropped, stock index declined and car sales weakened. However, statistics point to modest signs of recovery by the end of the 1st quarter of 2009.

Multiple indicators dropped beginning October 2008:

• Manufacturing: the value and volume of production index and capacity utilization rate
• Exports: electronic products and agricultural products
• Imports: raw materials and capital goods.
  
• Others: composite stock index, stock market capitalization, and volume of cars sold.

All these indicators showed signs of recovery towards the end of February 2009.

These indicators are among the 81 flash indicators identified by the NSCB Task Force on Flash Indicators to Measure the Impact of Global Crisis in the Philippines (TFFI) chaired by Mr. Dennis P. Arroyo, Director of the National Planning and Policy Staff of the National Economic and Development Authority. The levels and movements of these indicators can serve as early warning signals of economic crisis or recovery when the indicators start to shift significantly from their “normal” levels.

See full story from the Philippine National Statistical Coordination Board

August 19, 2009