Steel Connect

Remembering World Trade Center, now Ground Zero, 25 years ago

2011-09-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

It was 25 years ago that I visited this site; Ground Zero they now call. That time, it was the exact opposite of being ground zero. It was then an imposing twin tower skyscraper, symbol of America's might and reach. Inside the buildings was a picture of life, with all the hustle and bustle of corporate America. It was after all the World trade Center. Atop was a wide vista and horizon catching anybody in awe.

I came to America early March 1986, exactly one week after the historic EDSA People Power 1. The euphoria of this bloodless coup has reached the U.S. that everywhere we go, we seemed to be openly welcomed and looked up to. They were then hungry for our first hand report we brought from Manila. We were a group of 13 engineers sent by our company, National Steel Corporation, to the U.S. for a 2-month training on the operation and process control of the Blaw-Knox 5stand Cold Rolling Mill we bought from Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The venue was at Bethlehem's plant in Burns Harbor, Indiana.

Towards the end of our training, I made a whirlwind weekend rendezvous with my cousins based in New Jersey. Then came the tour of New York, one of the highlights of my stay in the U.S.

We had a boat cruise (was it Hudson River?), passing by another landmark, the Statue of Liberty at Staten Island while Manhattan and New York's skyline looming all along our cruise. We queued at Chinatown for a lunch of delectable steamed bass and adobong kangkong, strolled along 5th Avenue and St.Patrick Cathedral, relaxing at the Rockefeller Center and finally the must see must go places in New York, the Empire State Tower and the World Trade Center Twin Tower.

Lining up at the entrance was a thrill already, the same feeling I felt the first time I reached a skyscraper weeks ago in Chicago, the Sears Tower. The brief orientation further excited me and the ride in the express elevator to to top ( imagine reaching the first stop at the 90+ floor in 70 minutes) was an adventure. And finally, the view from the top. It was just exhilarating.

So how could I imagine the towers toppled, crushed to the ground by such treacherous terrorist attack of Al-Queda. There was no Al-Queda then. that time, Osama bin Laden was just a mujaheedin in Afghanistan fighting the Russian invaders and of all ironies, a cause supported by the U.S. itself. It was to me the worst attack in American history, far worst than Pearl Harbor which was in far away Hawaii, far from the US mainland. But this one, notwithstanding the thousands who perished, was struck right at the heart of the U.S. Suddenly, the world's mightiest superpower became vulnerable.

Years after 9/11, I got hold of the book, Men of Steel, which described and related how the twin towers came into being, the determination of the Koch family who built it. As my professional life revolved around steel, I was astounded by the sheer genius of the men who designed and built it, the steel structures fabricated and used, etc. Thousands of tons of steel, special steels, special design, simply magnificent. It was built not to fail. Sadly, it did, caused by an unimaginable element to affect the building. Any metallurgist or steel engineer know it: Heat.Heat caused by fire from the premium hi grade jet fuel of the airplanes used to ram the building.

As the Americans and the world commemorates the 10th anniversary of the bombing, now known as 9/11, I sympathize and empathize with all the freedom and peace loving people in the world praying that such acts would be the last. 25 years ago, my visit to this place was just plain enjoyment.

My Soccer Story: Part 3

2010-12-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

My other local soccer hero now is Ismael C. Batiles whom we call Mike. He is now the interim Vice President of the Philippine Football Federation. He said he volunteered to head a committee on good governance and transparency. The issue on financial irregularity, nothwithstanding ineffective and poor leadership were the issues why they voted for a no-confidence vote and ousted the incumbent president.

I've known Mike for more than 30 years and he belongs to a circle closest to me. He was and still is, also a steel journey man. Fresh from graduating from Western Institute of Technology with the degree in Chemical Engineering in 1978, he came to Iligan as one of the scholars of National Steel Corporation (NSC) who would pursue the newly opened Metallurgical Engineering course at Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. We would be classmates then, studying on a part time basis and they, as full time students. After that, he would pay back NSC and would stay with the company for almost 20 years. We would be together under Technical Division, Quality Assurance, he specializing in billet steel making and I with Cold and Hot rolling. From Process Metallurgist, he would moved on to become billet line supervisor and Sr. Supervisor, QA Head, and Billet Plant Manager. He was one of NSC's topnotch technical men as far as billet steel making is concerned. When the Malaysian firm Wing Tiek and later Hottic took over NSC, he was transferred to the Purchasing Division, a move which caught his surprise. When he asked why, because as he said he is a technical man, he was told by top management that they the only qualification they are looking for this position (who will be handling millions of foreign purchases) is a person with proven integrity. And without doubt, he suit that qualification. This is his trademark and reputation which friends and colleagues at NSC have known him for: competence and integrity.

We used to play a lot of basketball but I'm not sure if he plays soccer, but he sure know the game. Sometime in 1988, as president of our Supervisors Association (ISSAI), he and his board appointed me as chairman of the sports committee and that year, we launched a highly successful football tournament, featuring elementary schools within Iligan City proper. In coordination with NSC's Marketing Division, each team was sponsored by a galvanizing company who were customers of NSC. To my mind, it was the first and the last football tourney of its kind held in Iligan City.

When NSC closed shop in 1999, Mike pursued his scrap export business. He has toured the world, Europe, US and Asian countries looking for scrap to feed NSC's billet shop. with this technical and commercial background, in a short time, his scrap business was a thriving business. With trained assistants and procedures and policies in place, he longed for action. so he joined the fledging Bacnotan Steel Industries Inc.owned by the Phinma group in Calaca Batangas. It was a new billet steel making and rebar roling plant but early on, it was beset by both technical and financial burdens until it finally closed sometime in 2000 at the height of the Asian crisis.

Mike went back to Iligan and finally settled and based himself in nearby Cagayan de Oro. This is where he strated to become involved in football until this year when he was elected president of Cagayan de Oro Football Club. He loves football and he wants to be involved and make a difference in promoting this beautiful game.

They could just go on with their happy lives and forget the politics in football. Both are financially stable and living happy married lives. But football is their passion, in their blood. And so, when the controversy over the leadership of PFF will be settled soon which obviously will be in their favor, there is no doubt Philippine football will be on the right track. And like before all these years, starting when I was a kid kicking balls on the sidelines of the goals, I will just be on the sidelines, cheering, and continue wishing that someday, my long cherished dream will come true: to see live a World Cup Finals.

My Soccer Story: Part 2- My Local Sports Heroes

2010-12-16T05:39:00.000-08:00

My local soccer heroes come mostly from our “hometown” Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo who made a name for themselves and bringing pride to their hometown. They played and starred for the national team; many were named Mr. Football of the Philippines. They dominate the line-ups, year in and year out, of Army, Air Force, and Navy, and by placing all the time soccer in the Philippine map despite and inspite the lack of popularity of the sport in our basketball crazy country. They are indeed our Philippine All Stars in soccer. Two of my heroes are now in the limelight of the so-called “politics” hounding the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) which was brought to the attention of the nation following the recent triumph of the Philippine “Azkals” national team in the recently concluded AFF Suzuki Cup held in Vietnam. I am writing about them, perhaps as a tribute, because I am proud having them as a major part of my life’s journey.

The first is Mariano Valera Araneta, Jr., of the very prominent Valera-Araneta clan in Barotac Nuevo. His father and namesake, served as the longest mayor of this town. Nonong, as he is popularly called, is the “interim” president of the PFF, following the ouster of the then incumbent president in the PFF Congress held just last week of this November. Twent-six out of 33 presidents of local provincial football clubs voted for the ouster on grounds of “No Confidence” brought about by the alleged “misappropriation of PFF finances” after an official audit revealed the irregularity. I’ve known Nonong for a long long time. We were classmates in UP Iloilo High School. We played together, studied together, joined the singing group together, joined class boycotts together, and march to the streets together. We were in fact always seated next to each other in class.and during exams. We were the Mutt and Jeff tandem then. These past years, we would hold reunions with our Manila-based high school classmates, the most recent of which was last November 20, to celebrate our birthdays, his on the 9th and mine on the 17th. A naturally gifted athlete in many sporting events, there was no doubt then in high school that he would excel in sports, most especially the national game of Barotac, soccer.

After high school, he stayed the first two college years at UP Iloilo for his Civil Engineering course and instantly became the school’s star player, both in soccer and basketball. Then he moved to Diliman, and together with his equally talented elder brother, Tony, spearheaded UP’s emergence as a major and champion team in the UAAP. Tony would also later on become a mainstay of the national soccer team, named Mr. Footbal of the Philippines, and played in Germany’s Division II League. From 1975 to early 80’s, Nonong would play with the national team and at many times being its team captain. He would also play in the Philippines major

league teams like U-tex, and Air Force. He likewise also played at the same time varsity basketball in the UAAP, at one time, having been named a member of the UAAP mythical Team. When the PBA was first organized in 1975, his UP coach (I think it was Fely Fajardo) who was the coach of the Mariwasa team, offered him a shoo-in slot to play for the professional basketball league. He was already practicing with Mariwasa (and enjoying the perks, he would tell me) when he decided to concentrate to soccer and leave basketball. It was a decision I’m sure

he did not regret to this day. He was also one of the very few at UP who would be very active in varsity and national sports and graduate in Engineering. In the mid 80’s he retired from active football but still got himself involved in the sport, by acting as the national team’s head coach and later on as officer of the PFF. One other trivia unknown to many but which he himself personally revealed to me was the fact that he was a member of coach Joe Lipa’s UP coaching staff (as

trainerand at times coach when Lipa was not around) when UP Diliman for the longest time won the championship of the UAAP in 1986 behind Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, and Eric Altamirano. For all his love for soccer and what the sport has given him, he wants to give football his due. He is now the president of Iloilo Football Club and during summers, he sponsors a football tourney held in Barotac for the kids. Sometime in 2003 or 2004, he was named by the PFF as one of the Philippine greatest football players. In July 2004, during our first ever high

school reunion at UP Iloilo, our class awarded him our highest “Oscars” award, the class MVP, for “having contributed much to his country, community, and Alma Mater, thereby giving honor and prestige to the Class.” As his partner, collaborator and “sidekick”, it was my privilege to extol his accomplishments and presentor of the award.

Nonong has in fact an indirect relevance to my steel journey. Back in our 3rd year high school, he mentioned to me that he has an uncle who works in a steel plant in Iligan. He said, during summer, they would go there and also pass by Zamboanga del Sur where they operate some fishponds in the towns of Siay and Kabasalan. But what interested me was the story about the perks and benefits his uncle was getting. At that age, free housing, free cars , etc. was fascinating.

Years later, fresh from college, I would be accepted at this plant, named National Steel Corporation. It was this Nonong’s uncle who in fact personally recruited us in school. His uncle is Antonio S. Valera, Resident Manager and the top honcho of the plant. For nearly 20 years, I would stay in this plant and the city, living on my steel career, making friends in and out of work, and most especially, finding there my true partner in life.

My Soccer Story, Part 1

2010-12-10T01:13:00.000-08:00

The latest achievement by the Philippine “Azkals” Men’s Team in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup held in Hanoi, Vietnam is perhaps the highest performance by any Philippine national soccer team in international competition. Fortunately, it made front page headlines, media commentaries and exposure, the kind of recognition it truly deserves but sadly not felt in the past. Except somewhere in the “land of my birth” which considers soccer, not basketball, as its national past time. No wonder, it is called, the hotbed of soccer where many national team players, past and present, come from. It is therefore, not just a coincidence that this victorious national team has in its line-up 7 players from Barotac Nuevo.

I come from a small town in Anilao, some 10kms. away from Barotac Nuevo, in Iloilo province, considered as the soccer capital of the Philippines. In many ways, by proximity, friends, relatives, trade, business, etc, Barotac is also our hometown. And being so, I kicked balls before I entered grade school just like the other kids in this town, and long, long before I could shoot basket balls. I remember in our youth and perhaps until now, a purok or barrio could

field a complete team on certain age groups. Different sections in every grade level would play each other as complete teams. Talk of grass root development.

In high school, we would play soccer in our Sportsfest along and against future Mr. Football of the Philippines. Varsity teams of major soccer-loving universities in Iloilo City would be composed mainly of Barotacnons with the rest coming from two other soccer loving places, namely the town of Sta. Barbara and La Paz district. Major teams like the Philippine Army, Navy, Air Force and UAAP school teams are dominated by players from Barotac. Having been exposed to the game early on, I know the game and its technicalities, recognize skills, strategy, etc., something many would not appreciate especially when they see a low scoring scoring 2-1 game and a 0-0 draw game. I can differentiate the playing style of defense oriented European teams like Italy against the free flowing go go game (which I like) of South American teams exemplified by Brazil and Argentina. I grew up idolizing Pele, Tostao, Falcao, Socrates, to Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, among other Brazilian greats, Franz Beckenbauer of Germany, Gordon Banks to David Beckham of England, and many many more. They are to me, soccer’s equivalent to Chamberlain, Russel, Bird, Majic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and other NBA greats. The European soccer leagues featuring Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, etc. of England, Real Madrid and Barcelona FC of Spain share equal if not more of my TV viewing time with LA Lakers, Miami Heat, Orlando Majic, Boston Celtics, etc.

Because I love and understand soccer, I could feel the passion of the whole world about it; a passion I’m not sure if it could be rubbed off on to basketball loving Filipinos.

On Birthdays and Running Scared

2010-12-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday, December 4, Shing, the eldest of my long-time friend and colleague, Dan, celebrated her 30th birthday with an early morning run at the Cultural Center Complex along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. The run was followed by breakfast and fellowship at nearby Jollibee. With the party theme, “I’m running cuz it’s Shing’s 30th Birthday," it was planned to be a unique celebration. But it rained the whole evening till 6 the following morning, so the run became a walk.

Running Scared was the title of her Dad’s reflection, and a natural gifted speaker even during our younger days, Dan’s reflection mirrored the topics relevant to our personal life, business, career, and I think almost in anything we do. Personally, I believe, we need to run scared so that we will achieve our goals. Complacency in business doesn’t a room otherwise, competition will eliminate you. It is in short, a euphemism of continuous improvement. His illustration of our elementary story of the race between the turtle and the rabbit struck home the message. The rabbit was complacent, proud as my son Gabo described, while the turtle run and run scared and finished victorious. Early on in our life, we could have reflected on this simple but very meaningful moral.

Dan was a part of my steel journey. We were together recruited by National Steel Corporation right after our graduation---though he graduated from Central Philippine University and I, from University of San Agustin, both in Iloilo City. We are both Chemical Engineers. We came to Iligan City together, stayed in one house together, sang and played together, watched the girls together, and dreamed and breathed steel together. Now, we are in fact, a family. But while I
pursued my steel life until now, early on, after 5 years, Dan moved to Manila and pursued his Masteral in Business Management at the Asian Institute of Management and shifted his field to Finance and Economics. But his Engineering and Steel background and training made him more sturdy and adept at his new-found field.

Another guest and close friend who came was Don. Graduating at the top of his Mechanical Engineering class at Western Institute of Technology in Iloilo City, Don also found himself at National Steel Corporation. We started our professional journey together just like Dan in April 1976, right after our respective graduations. Two years later, he was transferred to Pasig when our company bought the Elizalde-owned tin plate plant. While working at Pasig, he pursued his Masters in Business Management at UP Diliman. After finishing his post graduate studies, he joined Philippine National Bank, shifting his career from Engineering to Banking and Finance, though he always insists that his training at NSC has significantly helped him in his career. In the early 90’s, he was assigned to head PNB in London. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted as Managing director and Head of PNB Europe. He retired a few years ago and is now into mining and power plant business with his foreign partners. Dan and Don are just two of my closest friends whose bond is eternal, which started many years ago when we found ourselves journeying to steel life.

SteelConnect Reconnects

2010-11-30T17:18:00.000-08:00

November 30, 2010

After a year of "disconnect," my steel journey resumes amidst local and world events which by any means reconnects to my journey in the past. Day by day, as events unfurled, there seemed to be some significant relevance or parallelism to events observed and experienced in the past. Plus new developments which make my steel journey exciting, memorable and informative.

To resume this month of November is auspicious. A number of big events which helped change the course of the world happened in this time. To name a few: the election of Abraham Lincoln as US president (Nov. 6, 1860) and his Gettysburg address ( Nov. 19, 1863, the fall of the Czars of and the rise of Lenin and Communism in Russia, Armistice Day or the end of World War I (Nov. 11, 1918), the birthday of Mickey Mouse (Nov.18, 1928), which made the world a lot happier, the assassination of America's beloved president, John F. Kennedy ( Nov. 22, 1963, the fall of the Berlin Wall signaling the start of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and America's Thanksgiving holiday which was first celebrated as a national holiday on November 26, 1789, and many more.

Nothing though beats my personal affection to this Scorpio month. November is my birth month and therefore the start of my journey to life. It is also the birth month of many of my loved ones, namely, my beloved mother, my youngest son, my father-in-law, and many other close friends and relatives and former classmates.

It is therefore a month of our celebration of life. It is indeed a Thanksgiving period.

Welcome once again to SteelConnect!

Dateline: Incheon, South Korea- November 2006

2010-11-30T02:15:00.000-08:00

Four years ago, at around this time, I travelled to south Korea to attend the 1st SouthEast Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) Technical Training Program at Pohang Iron and Steel Works, more popularly called POSCO, at the seaside city of Pohang from November 4-10, 2006.

We arrived on a cold winter early morning at the spanking Incheon International Airport at the height of another gripping tension between the North and the South following the test firing of the North of its much vaunted missiles in the Korean Sea, a move vehemently protested by the South and its main supporter, the US and their Western allies. Both sides came to a full red alert and the seeming all out war was looming anytime. This is almost the same situation as it is today, following the bombing by the North of an island significantly just near Incheon.

Our group from the Philippines was composed of us three from the steel industry, the other two being the two young scions of the families that own Pag-asa Steel and Capitol Steel, both manufacturers of steel bars, apparently as part of their exposure and preparation for joining management of their firms eventually. At our pre-departure briefing conducted by the Philippine iron and Steel institute (PISI) which sponsored and endorsed our attendance to the training, a major part was spent in the discussion on what we should do in case war indeed erupts while we are still there. I was fully aware of the situation ( as I have always been because world affairs and history is my major interest), but it really did not cross my mind that we will be caught in the crossfire in a war nobody wants, except perhaps the stubborn North Korea. As
one of the measures, the president of PISI appointed me as the leader of our 3-man delegation precisely because of my “seniority,” both in age and experience. I remembered asking half jokingly, half serious, “So what am I gonna do?” except to contact the Philippine embassy, I could not recall now what the other things we needed to do.

Incheon International Airport is just a few minutes away the capital Seoul by train and even by bus. So the recent attack was indeed serious because it happened just at the very doorstep of its capital, perhaps reminiscent of the 1950’s war when the North invaded Seoul itself.

Clearing the immigaration and transferring to the nearby Gimpo airport for our connecting domestic flight to Pohang, everything seemed normal. There was never any sign of the full alert status anywhere which we expected. Security was never tight. This observation held true throughout our 1-week stay at Pohang and nearby places. Nor did we hear this being discussed anywhere, anytime. I fact, I never saw any uniformed military man on the streets or elsewhere. The only time I saw a man in uniform was on our final day at the bus station bound for Seoul and Incheon (how we ended up taking the long bus ride instead of the much shorter plane ride is another story) two young military men in their early 20’s apparently homeward bound for a vacation. In short, life went on in South Korea; there seemed to be no alarm at all. And I guess, today, when the news reports says, everything is normal there, everybody goes on, I could say, this is very true.

My personal take on this is this: The South Koreans are used and perhaps tired of these antics and bullying of the North’s King Jong Il. So they just leve it to their government and the US to be alarmed and do the preparation and to look tough and ready for an eye to eye encounter. So normal was the situation then that on our last day, we even planned to spend the whole day, not to see downtown Seoul, but to travel and visit the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone) at the 38th Parallel border. We figured out, that would be more fun, adventurous and unique. But no
thanks to the slight weather foul up and Korean air’s super safety consciousness, which all of us delegates from the ASEAN region protested as improperly placed (in contrast, the other local airline, Asiana continued its normal flights in and out of Pohang) , we were forced to take the long solitary bus trip to Seoul and Incheon for our evening flight home. Our wish and plan to see more of the Land of the Morning Calm up north and perhaps smell the cold nuclear air came to naught.

Unpredictable US tennis Open

2009-09-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Last night, I watched the replay of the ladies final between former champion but now unseeded Kim Clijster and Danish teen sensation and 9th seeded Caroline Wozniacki. The former is trying a comeback after more than 2 years of leaving the tennis scene in favor of marriage and motherhood. The latter, fresh and good looking, trying to enter into big time and make a name despite her already top ten ranking. Who would have thought that these two ladies would make it to the finals, particularly kim who admitted that she was just trying to feel again the big scene therefore not expecting much. But as the tourney progress, and her march also progressed, it was evident she still has what it takes to be a champion. And who else could beat the Williams sisters in the same tournament? And this is the story of the US open, unpredictability as in making history. With her victory, Kim became the ist mother champion since Evonne Goolagong of Australia in 1980. And Caroline made Denmark in the world map of tennis by becoming the first Dane to reach a final in any major.

Clijster may not really be an unseeded player to win this Open. She was a wild card but her seeding defied her true stature. Remember Goran Ivanosevic of Croatia? Also a top player in his time but never won big until Wimbledon of , was it 2002? He was also unseeded, barged into the tourney proper as a wild card. But he went on to win that tournament in a historic marathon 5 set match that left him and his opponent ( just forgot who was it) truly exhausted after rthe match.

The unpredictable again happened this morning. I woke up past 6 in time to see del Porto taking the tie break in the 2nd set with Federer, a hands down favorite to win a record 6 consecutive Open, taking the upper hand in the ist. Then the crucial 3rd set, close as it is, but with del Porto serving and giving the set to Federer through 2 successive double faults. I thought that was the sign and soon it will be over and the usual face raising the champions cup. From 2-4, Federer came back to take the lead at 5-4. At del Porto's serve, it came to 15-30 and the suspense was seemingly coming to a climax. Two points more and it will be over. But even at that moment, del Potro still appeared dangerous with his power serves and crosscourt passes and Federer appearing vulnerable. And it indeed came to another tie break which the young Argentine also won. T'was already 8 and time to go to office. By the time I arrived at the office at 9, came my wife's message: del Potro dethrones Federer. Oh no! But yes. Finally, the inexperienced but talented big man from Argentina won his first ever major title and also the first for Argentina since their great Guillermo Vilas won in 1977. Fittingly, Vilas was in the stands, witnessing history in the making. For this moment, Argentina will cry for them no more.

Drama, controversy, history... well that just make the US Open great. How I wish in the near future, I could watch it live at Flushing Meadows.

25 Years Ago in Moscow, USSR

2009-07-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

July 20, 1984
Moscow, USSR

Twenty five years ago today, the world celebrated the 15th anniversary of man's landing on the moon, and Miss Gloria Diaz's crowning as the first Filipina to win the Miss Universe crown. There was no such celebration much more euphoria that day when we arrived in Moscow from Zaporozhye (Ukraine). It was after all, the age of space race, and this time around, Russia lost to America in their race to put man in the moon. We were homeward bound, after 4 months of in-plant training in Zaporohztal Works and other big steel plants all over USSR. By the graciousness of our hosts, (UNDP, Moscow), they book us last to leave, a good one week stay at Rossia Hotel with nothing to do but count the days and explore the city.

Moscow was all white when we came in March, the minus 10 degree C considered already as spring time, not winter time. Now the city is in bright summer, the boats merrily cruising along Moscow River, passing the walls of the Kremlin. This is the sight we always watched every afternoon.

Moscow is big and beautiful, rightfully the capital of the mighty Soviet Empire. Here lies the greatest symbols of its power; the Kremlin and Red Square, and the famous Lenin Mausoleum, where its top leaders stand and view the greatest parade they perform every year, in celebration of the Great October Revolution, marking the communist rise to power from the czars. Red Square, ancient as it is and deriving its name from the Russian word, "grazeba", meaning beautiful, is the mother of all squares in this world's largest country. It continued to amaze us, enclosed by St. Basil's cathedral at the south end ( this cathedral is itself a beautiful work of art and architecture), the Kremlin and the seat of power at the westside, the GUM shopping mall ( Russia's largest) in the east, and the north entrance where downtown Moscow starts. From the restaurants in Rossia Hotel, we would view its splendor in the night, with another famous attraction, the changing of the Red Guards at Lenin's tomb.

Everyday then, we would accompany our co-trainees to the airport for their flight home, to Brazil, India, Peru, Yugoslavia, Pakistan, Mozambique, Laos, Egypt, etc. When it was our turn, there was nobody left to bid us goodbye.

We left Moscow on a bright summer afternoon on July 26, 1984 for our trip back home via Bombay (India) and Singapore. I was at the window seat, the sight of the city from above I kept on staring. Images of our 4 month stay keep on flashing; predicting that in the near future at the turn of the century, something big which will rock the country and the world will happen. Finally, just as our Aerofloat plane was about to be lost in the clouds, I muttered in silence, "Dosbedanya, Russia. Spaseeba, Spaseeba Bolshoi." (Goodbye, Russia. Thank You. Thank You Very Much)

Tennis in my Steel Life

2009-07-08T02:31:00.000-07:00

Tennis was and still is an important part of my steel life. And this holds true also to many of my former steel colleagues who also got hooked in this beautiful game.

Tennis was introduced to us at National Steel Corporation (Iligan City, Philippines) sometime in the early 1980's by the then newly appointed NSC President, Jose Ben R. Laraya, JBL to us. Many of us, men and ladies, instantly got hooked that the first tennis court built was just not enough to accommodate these budding and aspiring tennis players.

It's funny to recall that we would quarrel, argue, or what not on the time slot, pairings, etc. On Saturdays, some would camped out overnight just so they would have the first crack of slot the next day. Then, another court was added. Still it wasn't enough. By then, tournaments were held on different class levels. We were then in awe and got inspired by the first class players every time they played. Bettings, in kind or cash, was not unusual.

Everytime JBL would come to Iligan, tennis in the evenings was a required schedule. Meetings were adjourned at 6pm and would resume after he would finish playing. At first, he played against the other managers and executives. But as a serious competitor himself, he could not somehow get satisfaction from these officers with their limited skills to match his and his passion to a good, real tennis game. In due time, he chose the first-class players as his partners and opponents where he could really enjoy the game. That time, too, tennis, together with other sports, like NBA, would be our language, in and out of work.

On rainy days, JBL and us got disappointed. So he approved the construction of a roof where we could play anytime and uninterrupted, come rain or shine. We were proud to say then that our shell clay court was the best tennis court in Mindanao. Then a third court was added.

Around Iligan, tennis also flourished. Big games were held in Bacayo Courts in Rosario Heights, in Benitez courts in Palao, In mSU-IIT, in Sanitarium hospital, in Tubod, etc. Camoy Palahang, who later became a stand out in the Philippine team was just then a promising young boy. Many outstanding players were noticed. Surprisingly, they came from towns in Linamon, Tubod, Bacolod, Kapatagan, and even across Misamis Oriental.

It was the era of Borg and McEnroe, then Lendl and Wilander, Becker. Until Agassi and Sampras came. For women, there was Navratilova, Austin, Seles and my favorite, Steffi Graf. Now it's Federer, Nadal, Murray, and company. In the women's draw, the Williams sisters, Henin, Cljisters, Sharapova, Ivanovic, Safina, Dementieva and other Russian ladies.

Tennis is indeed royalty. I do not play it anymore, though I hope I could in the near future. There is a tennis court near our neighborhood and it's just a matter of going back to it. Meantime, I do not miss the games on TV especially the Grand slam events. I grew up with it as I grew up in my world of steel.

Michael Jackson, The Steelworker's Son

2009-06-29T01:03:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to learn from CNN that the father of Michael Jackson, the man who drove them to music, is a retired steel worker. And when it was further revealed that he was born in Gary, Indiana, wow, I said to myself, there goes Michael Jackson's steelconnect.

I could easily surmised that Joe Jackson, the father, had worked in US Steel, Gary Works. Fifteen miles from Gary Works is Bethlehem Steel, Burns Harbor Plant. This is where we stayed and trained from February 28 to May 9, 1986 in the operation of Blaw Knox 5 Std cold rolling mill which our company. In fact, days before our training ended, some of our co-trainees from the production group were allowed to visit the Gary Steel plant. When I learned that I was not included on the list to go there, I decided to visit my relatives in New Jersey. I took a Greyhound bus from Howard Johnson in Portage for a short trip to Chicago's O'Hare airport. I could not forget that ride, for I rode alone, and I remember too well where we made a one city stopover: Gary, Indiana.

Gary, Indiana is a steel city near the border of Illinois (near Chicago) and Indiana. It is in fact a city built by steel. It was named after Elbert H. Gary, then the president of US Steel who in 1900's, built this steel mill along the sand dunes of Lake Michigan. Soon after, four other big integrated steel mills, namely, US Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Inland Steel, LTV, and National Steel were built along the shoreline of Lake Michigan stretching 50 miles between the Illinois Stateline and Portage.

I have fond memories of this tiny county, Portage. During our stay there, our official address was 164 Oak Tree Park, Portage, Indiana, a subdivision of mobile houses where mostly retired and old Americans live.

In those early years of steelmaking, steel was king in Indiana. In its heyday, Gary Works accounts for a little more than half of US Steel group total operating production. For many years, it was also the center of automobile industry, not Detroit, Michigan whom we knew is home to the Big 3 auto companies.

I don't know if these steel mills are still there and operating. Starting in the 80's, US steel industry has declined and until now, it has not yet recovered to its once lofty position as one of the world's greatest steel manufacturer.

MJ's father, Joe Jackson, may have seen the writings on the wall early; just as we also experienced and felt in our days the downfall of National Steel Corporation. So he jumped ship and dedicated his time and effort to developing his children and making one of them, Michael Jackson, a music icon, a pop legend. How he pushed his son(s) to stardom is another story.

Michael Jackson of My Time

2009-06-28T02:14:00.000-07:00

It's not difficult to relate to the worldwide outpouring of grief and tributes to the fallen music icon whom they call the " king of pop". After all, he lived in my time and I grew up with his music and artistry. He was 5 and I was 8 when he started to anchor as lead singer of a "brothers act" known as the Jackson 5. The rest is history.

In my teenage years, we would mimic his falsetto voice and studied in guitar their songs which we would sing in private and in gatherings, including caroling. To cite my favorites, Happy, La la la Means I Love You, I'll Be There, Ben, Maybe Tomorrow, Music and Me, and of course Little Drummer Boy, and Give Love on Christmas Day which I would still sing every Christmas.

His One Day in your Life came out in my senior year in college, at the time when we were grappling with the thought that soon we'll be entering the real world and part with friends. His melancholic " Out of My Life" somehow reflected my own love life in those days, so how could I not feel sad and sentimental when now it is being played and replayed all over again?

Then came the 80's and by now going solo, Jacko hit the top. Discos were filled with his signature danceable hits, Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, the highest selling album of all time, with over 50 million sold out copies. To me he revolutionized or even originated the MTV.

As a young professional by then, we hooped and wooped it out. They say he broke up the barriers of race and culture, black and white, as his songs transcended all these. He also somehow broke up political ideologies. I was in Communist Soviet Russia in 1984, the year the Thriller album was released. Anything Western, including music, especially American were of course a disdain to the Communists. But I would often hear Billie Jean in the air waves, and that alone was already phenomenal.

Heal the World, the song he said he would dedicate to the Filipino people was a message universally addressed to the world (in addition to the 1984 We Are The World Single of USA for Africa which he and Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones composed). Heal the world, make it a better place for you and for me. This is the song which our group, Philipine Institute of Chemical Engineers (PIChE) , Iligan Bay (Philippines) Chapter sang with glee and passion during the fellowship night of the PIChE National Convention which we co hosted in Cagayan de Oro City.

I write this tribute to Michael Jackson, not the man (for I didn't like his private life) but the musical genius who had touched those of us who lived in his time. He was up there in the hierarchy of music legends, along with the other genius whom I adore, the Beatles.

We've been together for such long time in music. Now he's out of our lives. His was not a small way to change the world. We'll surely remember him and his place, one day in my, in your life.

The Beginning of My Journey to Steel (Life)

2009-04-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

It all started 33 years ago today on April 21, 1976 when barely a month after my graduation in college with a degree in Chemical Engineering from University of San Agustin in Iloilo City, I, together with 25 other young engineering graduates from prestigious schools in Visayas and Mindanao were formally welcomed to National Steel Corporation in Iligan City. We were selected from among thousands of other engineering graduates who survived the tough written and panel interviews. We were officially called Industrial Engineers assigned to the Industrial Engineering Department, an elite think tank of the company doing standards, methods, and economic analysis in practically all aspects of the business and operations of the company.

Our batch was indeed "star-studded". We were all honor graduates, with a summa and a number of magna, and cum laudes. For the next 18 years, I would stay with the company. We were honed and exposed in managerial, technical, human resource, training and organizational development, marketing, corporate planning, and financial and economic aspects of steel business. Many of us were trained abroad sponsored by JICA, AOTA, UNIDO/UNDP and equipment suppliers, plus our own company sponsored trainings and seminars. I myself had the privilege to undergo a four-month training in Russia and a two-month training at Bethlehem Steel in Indiana, USA. During those years, we were not just witnesses to the company's rise and fall but we were in fact actively involved in all of these endeavors, from concept to implementation and maintenance. Those of us who stayed longer spent perhaps our best years in our professional lives.

In the next few years, National Steel Corporation would recruit more IE's (and later on EMT's or engineering management trainees). This was in preparation for a larger operation of an integrated steel plant. This was a dream, conceptualized in the early 1950's by our predecessors and dreamed about by those who came later, us included. Sadly, until now, this remained a dream. And for those of us who experienced those glorious years of expansion and activities, it is utter disappointment and frustration to see how the steel industry in the Philippines has gone on a backward direction when most of our neighbors have gone a tremendous leap towards integration and industrialization.

Many of us are now in foreign soils, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc. A number are still left in the country, many in the Metro Manila area. This dream is the bond that binds us of our past, present and perhaps optimistic that in our generation, that dream will still be realized. THE DREAM LIVES ON.

Holy Week Memories of Russia

2009-04-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

We returned to training class in Zaporozthahl Training Center the day after we arrived from that enjoyable and educational trip to Kiev. Though we've been away only for a short period, so many changes it seemed happened especially in our surroundings. The plants and the trees had grown again and the leaves appeared so full of life compared to those early days of our arrival when they looked dead and lifeless, covered with snow. It was a beautiful springtime and a Holy Thursday. But there is no holy week in Russia.

Before Lenin and the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, Russia was a Christian orthodox country. Testaments to this were the beautiful and grandiose cathedrals with magnificent domes (often gold plated) and exotic architecture. The czars and their empresses were closely related by blood with the monarchs of central Europe and in those olden times, intermarriages between relatives in monarchies were common. Even at present time, it is not uncommon to see women with crucifix necklaces worn publicly, despite the ban on religion.

In our hotel, which is always frequented by tourists from East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, etc. (the so called Communist bloc), I would often see elderly women wearing such necklaces. At one time at the elevator, just to show to these women that I am also a Catholic, I greeted them with the only words I know they would understand: "Viva El Papa John Paul." They were surprised yet fully delighted to return the same compliment.

Still feeling the Kiev hangover and to break the boredom of the training class, Mike and I found a reason not to attend the next day's class. Every Friday, our three Egyptian and one Pakistani classmates would excuse themselves from class before noon and return to our hotel for their Friday noon prayers facing the direction of Mecca. We always tease them about this but we understood and respected it. So we asked permission from our training director, Comrade Soroko, invoking our Catholic faith and religious practice.

So, on that Good Friday, April 20, when everybody in the city didn't seem to know about it, we rested and prayed in our hotel.

Note: Photos of the cathedrals are HERE.

Kiev, April 15, 1984

2009-04-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

My Motherland Statue

Kiev Subway Train Station

Almost a month after we settled down in Zaporozhye, we arrived in Kiev on a beautiful spring morning of Palm Sunday, 25 years ago today, for a 4-day visit to this capital of Ukraine, then the 2nd most prosperous among the 15 republics of the USSR.

Having obviously lost contact with the outside world, I didn't even remember it was already Holy Week. Booked at Hotel Ukraine, our first impression of the city was good. It was clean, with more beautiful buildings and sloping, hilly streets, some of cobble stones

St. Andrews Cathedral, Kiev

Kiev is an old city, and the 3rd largest city of the Soviet Union after Moscow and Leningrad. It is a city of parks (there were 150 of them all), monuments and memorials, just like any other city there. Places we visited were the Arc of Friendship (where Kiev was founded) overlooking the famous Dneiper River, Prince Andrew Cathedral, the Marinsky Palace of the Czar, War Memorial, Ukrainian Parliament, Chekovsky University, a 100,000 sports complex (home of the Kiev Dynamo Football Club), and the vast Exposition of the Industry of the Ukraine. There were no plant visits this time; it was a purely social and cultural trip, which we liked.

But we equally enjoyed our "on our own" adventures in the city, mingling with the people, drinking in bars and cafe's or just standing idly along the street pavements, enjoying the sites of people passing and couples kissing.

At dinner on our first night, we were delighted to hear for the first time, attendants greeting us "Dobre Becher" (Good Evening!). Service however was still the same. Slow.

St. Sofia Cathedral, Kiev

Kiev was more urban, in fact quite Western in some ways, with more foreign tourists roaming , mostly though from the European Eastern Bloc nations.

It was an eventful visit. Events in later years would prove historic for this seat of Ukrainian power after the disintegration of the mighty Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The EU RoHS Compliance

2009-03-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, a prospective customer conducted a supplier audit of our company; business process, raw material and finished products, quality control, procurement system, etc. This customer is into the manufacture of electrical equipment mainly exported to Europe, specifically Germany. Thus beside assessing our management systems (our company is certified to both ISO 9001 and ISO 14000 Quality and Environmental Management Systems), focus was also on our being "EU Compliant on RoHS Directive".

RoHS ( Restriction on Hazardous Substances) Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and European Council, published on February 13, 2003, restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. It states that by July 1, 2006, products sold in the European Union member states must be made free of these substances.

These hazardous substances were identified as Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Hexavalent Chromium (Cr +6), Brominated flame retardants Polybrominatedbiphenyl (PBB) and Polybrominateddiphenyl ether (PBDE).

The issue on lead actually made headlines sometime ago when it was discovered that the maker (in China) of a popular US toy brand were found to have beyond tolerable levels of lead. Just recently also, on primetime Phillippine news, thousands of slippers for children of a popular brand were cut to pieces and destroyed by government regulating agencies and thousands more were recalled from the market shelves because of the presence of lead used in the paint for the slippers.

When an Indian Steelman Saw Maria Makiling

2009-03-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Our company recently bought a new welder for our Continuous Galvanizing Line (CGL) from Kriton Weld Equipments PVT, LTD, an Indian company based in Makarpura, Vadodara, some 400kms from Mumbai. It is a limited overlap seam welder to replace our old and original Japanese overlap spot welder. Test run was conducted late Saturday afternoon (March 14) and when we resumed operations Monday morning(March 16), our operators were already operating it normally. So far we got what we wanted; a wastage normally due to overlap and zinc drag of only 3-4 inches wide from the previous of more than 1 meter for every weld portion. Over time, we would know its performance as far as weld strip break is concerned.

Mr. J, the electrical engineer sent by Kriton to train and oversee the commissioning run was just all praises for our production and maintenance personnel whom he said were fast learners. In just a day or two, he declared that he has nothing more to do but wait for his scheduled flight back home this Friday, March 20. A pure vegetarian, he does not have any problem with food either, since another Indian (living near our plant and a friend of our employees) is preparing for him. Somehow, this reminded me of my visit to Kolkata seven years ago and how I cope up with Indian food.

We took him to nearby Los Banos to see Mount Makiling's nature endowed eco-tourism places. We went up to the Philippine High for the Arts and admired its panoramic view of Laguna de Bay and Laguna environs. Makati's skyline in fact were even visible. There at the peak, inside the unfinished amphitheater, we had our Indian lunch of basmati (rice), chapati (bread), dal (monggo), cord (yoghurt) and bengam bharta (vegetable dish).

After that filling lunch, we dropped by Pook ni Maria Makiling, a resort area with cottages and Olympic size swimming pool surrounded by age-old trees and vegetation. The peace and quiet are definitely an attraction.We toured UP Los Banos and I always have this comforting feeling every time I set foot in this school. Then we took our Indian visitor too to IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). We told him that the rice scientists from Thailand and Vietnam credited for the success of their countries' rice production all studied in this institute.

He enjoyed his nature trip but will be going back to India, with his mind boggled about the phenomenon and mystic of the Magnetic Hill. Incidentally and this has to be confirmed by others, especially scientists, we discovered a shorter version of magnetic hill somewhere along the many slopes near the school of arts.

Our last stop was an ice cream merienda at the famous Dalampasigan, a floating restaurant by the lake. Mr. J's place is very far from the sea, and seeing the kids enjoying their summer swim in the lake, murky the waters maybe, somehow, like any foreign visitor, he could see the richness of our country- from the mountains to the sea. They may have "Incredible India" but amazing Philippines have " more than just the usual."

A Day In My Life in Russia

2009-03-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

Twenty five years ago today, on March 20, 1984, I arrived in Moscow on a very cold winter morning (7am Moscow time; 12 noon Manila time) to attend the 27th UNIDO/ UNDP Fellowship Program in Iron and Steel Industry at Zaporoztahl Iron and Steel Works in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. I was one of the two engineers representing the Philippines (both of us were from National Steel Corporation in Iligan City) with 15 other engineers from 9 other developing countries attending this 4-month training program. It was my first foreign travel and I traveled alone (my other colleague would follow a week later), and the jitters of experiencing all the firsts in my life I would never forget.

It was a long trip. I left Manila the day before at 3pm bound for Singapore. Here, I would change aircraft, (from Philippine Airlines to Russia's Aerofloat) and had a brief stopover at New Delhi (India) where I was almost left behind. I could not forget the stewardess announcement as we were about to land in Moscow.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in a few minutes, we willl be landing at the Shereyetmevo International Airport. Ground temperature is 10 degrees below zero. Welcome to Moscow."

Below, I could see airport and police personnel on guard, in thick fur coats and hats, the red insignias prominently visible. At the arrival area, for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of helplessness. Nobody spoke English; I could not understand a single Russian word nor comprehend what they were saying. The only word that made sense was "NYET" which I understood to be "NO" because I took out a trolley which the guard prevented me from taking. I was fortunate, a kind European lady helped me in filling out Customs and Immigration papers.

I was expecting and looking for somebody to meet me. But when everyone else had already gone out, I decided to go out also. Just then, a stocky medium height guy approached me and asked "Are you Mr. Delid?" When I answered back, "Yes I am," he offered his hand and introduced himself. "I'm Oleg. I'm from UNIDO. I have come to meet you. Welcome to Moscow." I felt a big big relief.

In the taxi, I asked,"Mr.Oleg, the aide memoir says it's springtime now. But it's still winter." He replied, "Mr. Delid, to the Ukrainians, it's still wintertime. But to the Muscovites, it's now spring." It seemed to me then that Ukraine is far and different from Moscow. Events later will tell that indeed, they are a different people and two different republics.

I stayed in Rossia Hotel, reputedly then, the largest hotel in Europe with 3000 rooms. It was a stone's throw away from the majestic and famous Kremlin and the Red Square. I slept the whole day. In the evening, I joined my classmates from Peru and Yemen for dinner. With the Red Square and Lenin's tomb in the background, we toasted for our safe arrival and wished for our pleasant stay for the next 4 months.

Reaction from Vietnam

2009-03-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

I'd like to share the following comment from a former colleague who is now an expat working in a galvanizing plant in Vietnam.

This is his reaction to my post about Vietnam.

Nono,

I had a look at your other blog in "steelconnect". Unfortunately, there was no mention of any details on your visit with the other steel plant (presumably Phu My Flat Steel) near BlueScope Steel which Antit Macatol and yours truly worked.

Anyway, just to give a little perspective on the status of the steel industry in Vietnam, the following are some of the latest updates:

1. Korean owned POSCO Vietnam located within the general area of the Phu My 1 industrial zone which you visited is currently commissioning a continuous pickle line dovetailed to the 5 stand 6-high tandem cold mill, continuous annealing line and a recoiling line. The reported capacity of this new 5-stand cold mill is 2 million tonnes per year (MTPY). Target commercial run will be on September 2009.

2. A single stand reversing cold mill is currently being put up beside the Phu My Flat Steel in partnership with Vietnam Steel (owner of Phu My Flat Steel) and 2 other investors. The capacity is about 350,000 tonnes per year.

3. Another hot mill & cold mill complex is planned to be put up by an Indian investor (the company name escape me at this time) with about the same capacity as POSCO Vietnam of 2 MTPY.

Why am I enumerating this? This just shows how far the Philippines has lagged from other Asean neighbors. If others are "naghihinayang" about what happened to the erstwhile NSC, I am very deeply disappointed. Whatever happened to our plan to put up an integrated steel plant is now nothing but a dream and continues to become a nightmare as we regressed our development. It won't be long when we really will be the sick man of Asia.

Should there be a gathering of former NSC colleagues soon, I'd certainly try to be there.

ASTM Standards for Galvanized Steel Products

2009-03-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

Our sales people often ask me a common question among our customers in the construction industry; that is, whether our galvanized steel products conform to ASTM A 525 whose complete descriptive title is Standard Specification for General Requirements for Steel Sheet, Zn-coated (Galvanized) by the Hot-dip Process. Another standard similarly asked is ASTM 446 for Standard Specification for Steel Sheet, Zinc-coated (Galvanized) by the Hot-dip Process, Strucutral (Physical) Quality. The latter is the standard specs commonly quoted for Metal Decks or Steel Decks.

The answer to this is, both standards are not anymore used by ASTM. In my copy of the 1996 edition of ASTM Book of Annual Standards, Volume 1.06 Coated Steel Products, it is thus explained; to wit, "Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee A-5 on Metallic Coated Iron and Steel products, this specification was discontinued in 1994 and replaced by Specification A 924 for General Requirement for Steel Sheet, Metallic- coated by the Hot-dip Process and Specification A 653 for Steel Sheet, Zinc-coated (Galvanized) or Zinc-iron Alloy-coated (Galvannealed) by the Hot dip Process.

In newer versions of this ASTM Book of Standards, such explanation can not anymore be found, leaving those who do not know the background wondering what happened to these standards. On the other hand, it is quite surprising and a pity to say the least that 15 years after these standards were discontinued, awareness and dissemination on the newer applicable standards are left wanting.

ASEAN Steel Industry Amid the Global Economic Meltdown

2009-02-25T02:51:00.000-08:00

2008 saw the steel industry in the ASEAN region going in dramatic upward and downward situation. The first half was a significant growth and the 2nd half a massive downturn. Overall for the year however, it still posted an increase, thanks mainly to the high performance in the first half of the year.

According to the SEAISI Newsletter, January 2009 edition (South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute, or SEASI), apparent steel consumption in the first half of 2008 was estimated to reach 25.2 million tonnes, an increase of 10.2% from the 2007 record. The steel output on the other hand was estimated to reach 15.2% or 13% increase year to year. Imports increased by 13% to 15.6 million tonnnes while export was up by 28% to 5.6 million tonnes.

The same article reported that of the 6 nations (ASEAN 6, namely, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines), Indonesia recorded the highest growth rate at 24% to 5.5 million tonnes. Other nations that posted an increase in consumption growth are Thailand (13.6% at 7.45M), Vietnam (10.5% year on year to 5.3M), and Malaysia (5-6% to 4M). On the other hand, Singapore and the Philippines experienced negative growth rates. Singapore's consumption decreases by 12% to 1.8 million tonnes while the Philippines registered a drop by 9.5% to 1.57 million tonnes. Philippine production though increased by 20% to 1 million tonnes but imports dropped by 34% to 0.66 million. When the negative impact of the global crisis started to sink in, i.e, steel prices sharply went down due to weak demand, many steel producers around the world including those in the ASEAN resorted to production cutbacks.

Their report concluded that despite the slowdown in the 2nd half of 2008, overall apparent steel consumption of the ASEAN 6 increased by 4-5% to 45-46 million tonnes, mainly due to the high consumption experienced in the ist half of the year.

How Thick is Your GI?

2009-02-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

I just had a talk with an esteemed former colleague from National Steel Corp (Iligan City). He's now managing a drum-making plant somewhere in Northern Mindanao. Our discussion centered on his query on what could be the technical reasons why for a given GI sheets order, there is a huge and significant difference on prices between suppliers. He is buying GI sheets for their drums and he was comparing the quotations submitted.

I explained the common "technical" reasons relating to price difference. First is on the actual base metal thickness used. While the nominal thickness maybe the same, the actual maybe different and very far in comparison. The use of the old nomenclature describing thicknesses as say Gage 18 for example is misleading. For one, just what is Gage 18 really? Ordinary consumers may not really know what it is really as long as their supplier says it is Gage 18.

In the old book, The Making and Shaping of Steel, Gage 18 is actually MSG ( Manufacturers Standards Gage) Gage No. 18 which corresponds to 1.214mm. But in reality, thicknesses as low as 1.0mm to as thick as 1.4mm maybe passed off as Gage 18. A steel coil with 1.0mm actual base metal thickness will yield more sheets than a coil with 1.2mm actual thickness, thus can command a definite price advantage. This also commonly happens in GI for roofing sheets where the most popular size of Gage 26, which is supposed to be 0.4mm ( originally it is 0.455, then reduced to 0.426mm) would now be 0.35mm and below. With the Metrication system implemented a long time ago, this practice of naming sheets as Gage 18, 31, 26, 16, etc should have been stopped and instead the direct nominal thicknesses as 1.2mm, 0.2mm, 0.4mm, 1.4mm, etc should be used. In the PNS (Pilippine National Standards) and all other international standards, like ASTM, JIS, ISO, etc, the latter is specified

The second factor is on the actual mass of coating. A coating of 100gms/m2 (Z 100) would definitely be price advantageous than a coating of 140gms/m2 ( Z 140). It should be noted that in galvanizing, cold rolled steel coil (CRC) raw material and zinc comprise the bulk of production cost.To get therefore a real comparison, actual apple to apple comparison is needed.

My "Scary" Valentine

2009-02-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

T'was Valentine 2005. My wife decided a simple celebration- a movie date at Glorietta 4 (Ayala Center, Makati); the title of the movie I could not now recall.

I left our plant office a little before 5 for a 1 to 1 1/2 hour drive to Makati. We had hoped to catch an early evening screening time so we still can have a late dinner when the dining crowds thin out. A little past 6 then I was already traversing EDSA Magallanes.

The shortest route would have been to go left to Pasay Road (now Arnaiz Ave) where just a few meters away is the Park Square 1 parking area. Back then however, from 4 to 9pm, traffic here was one way going out to EDSA. So I went straight to EDSA Ayala, made a U turn and turned right on a strip between Dusit Hotel and SM Makati. I passed by a line of buses cramped on MMDA's fence wall, waiting for passengers coming from the back of SM Makati, below the Ayala MRT station. Just as I was about to turn right, some 30 meters away, I heard a very loud deafening explosion. For a moment, I came to an abrupt brake. At that first moment, I thought my tires blew up but I sensed nothing abnormal about the car.

Just then, I saw people running towards the direction of the buses. I then decided to immediately drive away and went up straight to the nearby parking area at Park Square1. Up there, at every floor people were running, cars lining up for exit. I still didn't know what was happening. When I looked down, I was surprised to see streams of people crowding the roads, rushing to the Glorietta malls exits while security guards started to close down the entrances to the malls. The guard at the parking area told me, a bomb exploded at MRT station. By then, I knew my wife was already inside the mall, perhaps at the cinema lobby. I frantically called her to stay where she was while running and rushing past the guards towards the entrance of the mall. I thought I should get inside before they completely close down the mall.

I did not panic, nor at that time felt scared. Somehow, I have borne witness to several bombings when I was still in Iligan City and bomb threats then were not strange. From the food court overlooking the MRT station and the Intercon Hotel, we could see police cordoning off the area, people were shooed away from the site and traffic came to a standstill in that area. There was still no news about the extent and other details. Inside, the shows went on so we still went to our movie date.

After the show, we went towards the direction of Landmark. At a corner store across Shangri-La Makati, we saw people converging, watching TV. Curious, we joined the group, only to find out that it was a news coverage of the bombing.We were aghast to see the damage brought by the bombing. It was no ordinary bombing. It intended to really kill.

The next day, it was all over the news. It was horrible to see the remains of the bus and terrifying to imagine what became of the passengers inside. A car that passed by the bus at the time the bomb exploded was also severely damaged. It could have been me. I missed it by a hairline, thank God. I was at the same spot just 2 or 3 seconds earlier.

It was a terrorist attack, the investigators concluded. A lovely Valentine evening turned bloody.

BPS Technical Committee on Flat Steel Products

2009-02-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

The Technical Committee on Flat Steel Products, otherwise known as TC 64 was finally convened for the first time this year last January 30 at the Bureau of Product Standards Conference Room, 3/F Trade and Industry Building, 361 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City. The main agenda was the formulation of the work program for 2009, but most important in this program is the final resolution and adoption of product standards for galvanized roofing.

The technical committee is the technical arm of the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) in charge of formulation, review, and development of product standards. When promulgated, such standards become a Philippine National Standard (PNS) which will govern the production, distribution, and sale of such product. The TC 64 is composed of representatives from various sectors, namely, the manufacturers, government agencies, testing centers, and the academe. When needed, other sectors like the consumers, and other authorities are likewise consulted.

The manufacturers are represented by Filipino Galvanizers Institute (FGI), Puyat Steel, Union Galvasteel Corp., Steelcorp/Philsteel, Sonic Steel, Tower Steel, Galvaphil, and AC steel. Government agencies include the National Housing Authority(NHA), DTI- Construction Industry Authority of the Phil(CIAP), Metals Industry Research Development (MIRDC). Mapua represents the academe and SGS Phil represents the private sector testing center. A BPS Project Manager serves as the overall coordinator of the group.

So far, the committee has approved the following product standards ready for promulgation.

PNS 127:2004 Cold-reduced steel sheet of commercial and drawing qualities- Specification
PNS 1990:2004 Hot-dip zinc coated carbon steel sheets
PNS 2003:2004 Continuous hot-dip zinc/5% aluminum alloy coated steel sheets
PNS 1993:2004 Continuous hot-dip 55% aluminum/zinc-coated steel sheet of commercial,drawing and structural qualitites.For resolution and promulgation is PNS 67:2008 Hot-dip metallic coated steel sheets for roofing-Specification.

I have been a member of this committee since 1998 and the chairman of its Working Group subcommittee.

Australia Still On My Mind

2009-02-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

I love Melbourne. To my mind, it is the most livable city. It is an urban city yet laid back, not similar to the razzle and dazzle of many urban cities. It is clean, green and generally peaceful. Its shops close early at night; its night life is tame compared to even Manila's nightlife. Its architecture is magnificent, typically classical European, specifically French and British inspired. It is a city abundant with fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products, including meat, of beef and lamb variety. Outside the city, I saw vast green lands on both sides of the highways, cattles and sheep grazing, with only a few vehicles going along or opposite our direction.

I underwent training orientation on the operation of atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) at Varian Techtron's main plant and laboratory at Mulgrave, Victoria, outside Melbourne. Our company bought a unit which will be used to analyze aluminum, zinc, and other elements of our kettle bath of our then newly operated continuous galvanizing line. There were 5 of us and my co-trainees came from Makban (Laguna and Tiwi, Albay) Geothermal Plants and Cebu Water District. All these companies also bought new Varian Techtron units, and our training was part of the package.

I also had the opportunity to visit the Pasminco office (Pasminco was once our suppliers of zinc ingots and a major supplier in the Southeast Asia region) where I had an educational technical discusion with Mr. Mike Ainsley, Pasminco's head of technical services in our region. Pasminco was once the world's biggest zinc producer supplying over ten percent of the global output.

My Pasminco visit was capped by a trip to their zinc smelter plant in Hobart, Tasmania, a small island down south of Melbourne.There I learned that the first exiles from England arrived and settled there before eventually moving to the mainland. And that the famous Tasmanian Devil could not be found in Tasmania. It was in Hobart though where I ate the biggest oysters I had ever seen. Over lunch at a restaurant by the wharf, after engaging a large plateful belatedly knowing it was just an appetizer, I could not have imagined how I managed to still take the main course. Perhaps a bottle of wine each for us with Mike Ainsley proved helpful. Another adventurous sidetrip was a car drive to the island's highest mountain, Mt. Wellington. It was amusing to see the tall pine trees along the curved road becoming smaller and shorter as we went up, ultimately becoming a bonsai up there.

Outside Melbourne, I visited the Furphy Metal Center, a steel fabrication plant specializing in the fabrication of galvanizing kettles. Their company slogan of "Good, Better, Best" was prominently displayed on their plant's walls.l I evaluated their capability to supply us with our requirement; mainly from the technical/quality point of view. I examined their quality records, from mill test certificates of their steel and electrode chemical composition to non-destructive tests, e.g. ultrasonic tests, magnetic particle and dye penetrant tests, etc. I was also able to observe their fabrication process, especially the cold bending process where plates as thick as 50mm(2 inches) are bent and how they were subsequently stress relieved.

There was also this zinc ash recycling plant which i visited within the city itself. It is interesting to note that our zinc wastes, namely, dross and ash, are converted and recycled into high value raw materials for rubber, paint and even pharmaceuticals. At that time, our dross and ash generation were significant in volume and their zinc content still high which made it favorable for this plant. However over the years as we gained experience and knowledge and skill our dross and ash generation were drastically reduced that exporting them to Australia became not feasible.

The last days of my stay in Melbourne was spent with a close friend and fellow Jaycee from Iligan City who settled there 5 years before. We then had a great time roaming Melbourne, from toboggan skiing to mall visits, to boat ride along the Melbourne river and going to the Victoria market for some famous cheese.

The day I left Melbourne, a Saturday, thousands of visitors from nearby New Zealand were roaming the streets, riding the city trams, boozing in sidewalk bars, etc. It was said that almost 30% of New Zealand population descended to Melbourne. They were there for the much awaited rugby match later in the evening between their New Zealand All Blacks team against the Aussies Wallabies team. It was all in the papers. The people in the market were talking about it. It was a great sporting event at that moment.

I took a Sunday midnight trip back to Manila via Qantas Airways. As I approached the check-in and pre-departure areas, I thought the place was noisy, booming, and seemed crowded. I found out that they were the Kiwis who went to see the game and were now going back home. I saw big, wide bodied, tall and seemingly brown skinned (but definitely not white) people. I was told they were from the race of the original natives of their place. The kind, we here in the Philippines and also Australia call aborigines.

Australia On My Mind

2009-02-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

Two events dominated my time and attention over the weekend; and both involved only one subject, Australia, otherwise known as the country Down Under. First was the just concluded Australian Tennis open Championship and the second, the movie simply titled Australia.

The first was a great and historic sporting event, capped by the scintillating win of power playing 2nd seed American Serena Williams over a hapless 3rd seed Russian Dinara Safina and finally a classic 5 set thriller in the men's final, won by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the world's current No. 1, over No. 2 Swiss Roger Federer, not too long ago the dominant player in the tennis circuit.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Federer who entered the match favored by many past champions to equal Pete Sampras' all time 14 Grand Slam Championships. He broke down unabashedly during the Awards Ceremony, watched by an appreciative and roaring full house crowd in and out of the Rod Laver Arena and viewed by millions of tennis fans all over the world. It was a scene which also made my 9-year-old kid cry in sympathy, despite the fact that all throughout the tournament and the final game, he was rooting for his favorite, Rafa Nadal.

Friday evening, while Nadal was struggling against fellow Spanaird and Davis Cup teammate, Fernando Vesdasco in a gripping and epic 5-set-semi-final thriller played in a record 5 hours and 14 min (the longest match in Australian Open history) , my wife and I were watching at a Greenbelt 3 moviehouse one of the most talked and awaited movies, Australia, starring our favorite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, themselves both Aussies.

The movie was a touching story about Australia's aboriginal history and its past separation policy, not unlike the slavery and apartheid issues of the US and South Africa. It was only last year, as the movie's epilogue took note, that the Australian government thru its Prime Minister formally apologized to its aboriginal people for the treatment and this policy. It should be remembered that Cathy Freeman, a champion runner of aboriginal ancestry, who lit the Olympic flame 8 years ago during the opening of the Sydney Olympics, a symbolic gesture of Australia reconciling with its past.

I was in Melbourne many years ago doing several job-related missions for our steel company. My 1-week stay there during the cold winter of July 1997 was the connection of the two recent events to my steel journey.

Stay tuned!

Woody Manner and His American Dream Car

2009-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Flashback: 1986: Bethlehem Steel, Burns Harbor Plant, Indiana, USA

Woody Manner was a retired cold rolling mill operator of Bethlehem Steel and was working as a BIEC/USX consultant. (Bethlehem International Engineering Co./ US Steel Consultants). Standing at over 6 feet and well past 60, he's from Baltimore who spent the best and the longest years of his life in a steel plant.

We met Woody Manner in spring of 1984. We were sent by our company, National Steel Corporation to train on the operations of Bethlehem's 5std cold rolling mill which we bought. From March to May, daily except on weekends, we would meet Woody in a mobile house converted to training center inside the steel complex. He was our lecturer, trainor and mentor.

Woody drives a big American car, a Chevy 6 cylinder (or was it 8 cylinder?) with wood grain dashboard and interiors. He loved this car---big, long, spacious, but most of all, fast and powerful. He would brag to us about this to which we would always sneer and reject. "But Woody, it's gas muzzzler. And why would you like a fast and powerful car when you can't run it at top speed because you have speed limits. Bring it to the Philippines and you can run it to your heart's content. The limit there is just according to you to your limit."

But Woody then would not budge. To him, Americans love big American cars.

Woody's story somehow reminds me of the crisis American car companies are facing today. His attitude in fact sadlly reflected why the Americans lost their grip in the automotive market to the more efficient and convenient Japanese cars. Moral of the story? Well, look up continuous improvement and what does this really mean.

Pittsburgh and Iligan: A tale of Two Cities

2009-01-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

They were once called the steel cities, Pittsburgh in the US and Iligan in southern Philippines.They were cities built by steel. Iligan started in the 1950's and Pittsburgh a century before that. As steel is considered the backbone of the nation, they have contributed tremendously to the progress of their countries and heavily impacted on the lives of many citizens. People from all over flocked and migrated in these cities. They were then the boom cities. Sadly, not anymore today.

I was part of that history. I spent the best years of my life in Iligan. We lived and breathed steel then. Like many who came before and after us, I was a migrant hooked up to the world of steel. I joined National Steel Corporation in the mid 1970's right after earning my chemical engineering degree. I thought I would eventually retire there. We were then the toast of the company. We dominated the social and economic life of the city by our sheer number and financial capability and our youth's adventurous activities. True, there were other major industries there: cement plants, coconut mills, refractories, power plants, chemical industries, etc. But Iligan was National Steel country. When NSC sneezed, Iligan caught pneumonia so to speak. That was the roaring 70's and the 80's, our time.

Is there life after steel? While Pittsburgh is undergoing a successful transition from its fabled steel past, Iligan seemed to live still with its past. Now owned by the Ispat group of India headed by the "other" Mittal, NSC was renamed Global Steel. But it is only in name that it seemed global. It is only a shadow of itself; a far shadow in fact. Gone are the hustle and bustle of men, machineries, equipment, transport both land and sea, etc. Hundreds of its best and brightest are now in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the Midlle East. A significant number settled in Manila and neighboring cities and those who remained in Iligan can do only so much.
It was a lost glory.

Sadly, its present state reflects the state of the steel industry in the Philippines. Instead of moving forward like what our neighboring countries did, it went the opposite. The dream of an industrialized Philippines via iron and steel integration appeared hopeless and lost. The steel industry in the Philippines is and had not been a priority in the country's state of affairs. Quo vadis?

The Russia-Ukraine Gas Row and My Russian Diary

2009-01-28T06:12:00.000-08:00

The recent feud on gas supply between the Moscow and Kiev governments which threatened and affected Europe's own gas supply amid the cold winter season evoke memories of my unforgettable experience in this once mighty superpower called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). I once attended the 27th UNIDO (UNDP) Training for Iron and Steel engineers in Zaporozhye, (Ukraine), USSR from March to July 1984. I was with a group of 17 other engineers from 10 developing countries and one of the two Filipino engineers representing our country.

It was post Brezhnev and pre-Gorbachev time. Glasnost and Perestroika were then unheard. It was Tavareesh(Comrade) Chernenko's era. When I arrived Moscow on a cold freezing day of March in 1984, I couldn't forget the voice of the stewardess of out Aerofloat flight originating from Singapore with New Delhi as stopover.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed at the Shereyetmevo International Airport. Ground temperature is 10 degrees below zero.Welcome to Moscow."

In our taxi to our hotel, (the Rossia Hotel, just overlooking the Red Square, at that time was reportedly Europe's largest hotel with 3000 rooms), I was complaining to Oleg, the UNIDO guy who fetched me. "Mr. Oleg, but I thought it's already spring as per the aide memoir!" His answer was strikingly remarkable, as it dawned on me that not all people in the USSR were Russians. "Mr. Delid, to the Ukrainians, it's still winter time. To the Muscovites, it's now spring."

We were based in Zaporozhye, a large industrial city in the southwestern part of Ukraine, with Zaporohtahl Iron and Steel Works as our base plant. This was an integrated steel complex with about 20,000 workers. All throughout our 4-month stay however, we traveled far and wide the soviet territory to such cities as Kiev, Krivoi Rog, Zdhanov, and Odessa, all parts of Ukraine and Moscow, Liepitz, Cherepovets, and Leningrad, all parts of Russia. Many of the largest steel mills in the world were found in these cities. In all of these visits, one of the things that stuck to our minds was the abundance of gas and minerals. So abundant that even in our written and verbal reports and informed discussions, we would then report that there was no such thing as energy conservation there. There was no need for it. They had lots of it; excess in fact. And we were not referring only to our usual enercon programs of shutting down lights and airconditioning when not in use. We were talking about energy usages on big and various reheating furnaces, etc.

I bid goodbye to Russia on a warm sunny afternoon in July 1884. But as I looked out of the plane's window, trying to catch a last glimpse of this beautiful city by the river, I could then sense that in not too far future, something big will happen that will transform again this country, something in the scale when the October Revolution of the early 1900 took place. Finally, when all I could see was a blurred vision of the city, I closed my eyes, took a long deep breath, and silently told myself; "Doshbedanya, Russia. Spaseeba. Spaseeba Bolshoi." (Goodbye, Russia. Thank you. thank you very much.")

That was 25 years ago. Now they have split up into two different nations under different leaders. Obviously, they have to split up too these resources. But they are still interconnected with pipelines that stretch far and wide to Europe. Fortunately enough before the dispute erupted into a full blown crisis, diplomacy worked and the situation hopefully will return to normal as before.

Philippine National Standard for Galvanized Products for Roofing

2009-01-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

There is now a new director in charge for the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) in the person of Atty. Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba who came from DTI's Consumer welfare and Protection. He replaced long time BPS Director Eng'r. Jesus L. Motoomull as a result of reshuflling of assignments at DTI.

Last January 21, Atty. Dimagiba convened the industry representatives and technical committee ( TC 64) members for a get-to-know-you session, at the same time discuss the status of the product standard for galvanized steel for roofing application. For a long time now, this standard was not yet settled, hence implementation and enforcement apparently is also on hold.

Last June 28, 2008, the former BPS director already signed the standard recommended by the TC 64 but implementation was put on hold since no implementing rules and regulation (IRR) among others were promulgated.

During the meeting, discussions were again made especially on the issue of total coated thickness (TCT) vs. base metal thickness (BMT), mass of coating and service life on the instance of Steelcorp which persistently endorses the BMT approach , as contained in their recent memo ( dated last week) to the the new director in charge.

As a long time member of the TC 64, this seems to me a repeat of the many and countless instances in the past years that this was tackled and agreed upon by the TC members. Nevertheless, the meeting ended with a positive and promising note as clearly proclaimed by the new director.

The new director wants this product finished, approved, promulgated and implemented in 2 months time. He therefore instructed the TC 64 to immediately convene next week to proceed and finished this long overdue product standard.

Vietnam’s (Steel) Outlook

2008-12-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

The 10 million MT local demand was forecast by the government to reach in 2010 but this was already achieved in 2007. The next target is 20 million MT in 2020. Going by their rate of expansion, and barring major and prolonged market crisis, this is very much achievable.

At present, the government has already given a go ahead business permit approval (including the necessary environmental permits and clearances) to 5 big companies to undergo and build integrated iron and steel plants by way of blast furnaces. These are PT Essar and Tata Steel from India, POSCO from Korea and the Tycoon Group from Taiwan. It has likewise given mining permits to develop and extract iron ores in at least 2 different locations identified to have enough reserves of this raw material.

Downstream, all the plants we visited and similarly the others too are poised to go on further expansions. Their sites are ready, their plans are in place but got stalled only by the present global financial crisis. By their own admission however, they are upbeat that there will be turnaround sooner that most expect.

Consider this, just days ago, at the height of the crisis, Ton Nan Kim (which we visited) just bought and put up a company in New York and immediately listed it in the Dow Jones Stock Exchange. This new company now will be their mother company while their plant operation is in Vietnam.

With such optimism, vision, political will, etc., Vietnam indeed will become one of the tiger economies in this part of the world.

Philippine Productivity Quality and Safety Foundation (PPQSF)

2008-12-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

I attended the PPSQF meeting at the Department of trade and Industry (DTI) Building in Makati yesterday, Dec 4. PPSQF is an NGO with companies and industry association as members whose objective is primarily to uphold productivity, quality and safety in industries and consumer products. Right now it is at the forefront of product standard enforcement , assisting the Bureau of Product Standards and the regional DTI’s in this undertaking. Lately, it has been holding meetings and dialogues among members and stakeholders on the issues and concerns regarding product standard enforcement, i.e., going after sub standard products and their manufacturers and sellers.

Yesterday’s meeting focused on GI sheets, steel bars, angle bars, flat glass, and sanitary wares. I was there representing our industry, GI sheets, together with other representatives from other GI sheets manufacturers. Unlike however with the other mentioned products whose concerns were the problems met during monitoring, inspection, and sanctions against erring companies, our industry is not yet on this stage. The reason- GI sheets have no standard yet.

The old standard formulated in 1986 and amended in 1987 (PNS 67) is not anymore applicable and for years now, the Technical Committee (TC) on Flat Steel Products had been trying to come up with a new standard, especially GI sheets for roofing, but until now is unsuccessful in reconciling the different views of the members. The complication arose from the fact that there are now, technically speaking, 3 different types of metallic coated sheets in the market now (generically called GI sheets), namely, the Zinc coated, the 55%Aluminum-zinc (Galvalume and Superlume brands) and the zinc-5% coated products. Each of this product has its own functional characteristic relating to its corrosion and structural integrity performance while in use; commonly called service life. That comparability can not however be yet reconciled; specifically on the minimum mass of coating.

The agreement in the meeting was that, the new BPS Director Atty Vic Dimagiba ( replacing Director Jess Motoomull effective December 1) will reconvene the technical committee where it is hoped that the issue will finally be resolved and a new standard be approved. Pending that, the GI industry, fairly or unfairly is under constant complaint from the public and other groups due to the proliferation of thin sheets with low zinc coating , not only of locally produced materials but also form exports, mainly from China and perhaps Vietnam.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

Risk and Threat Analysis in the Steel Industry

2008-12-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

We just had our Planning Conference and the theme is "We are in a crisis mode." Everybody is.

Scanning the current steel environment, with the effects of the global financial crisis looming in the domestic front, one may be able to see the major risks and threats which should be strategically addressed.

First is the prolonged global recession which is highly probable to happen. Another is the influx of cheap (and probably low quality) imports as neighboring countries will try to look for export market to unload their inventory surplus, which will surely result in the lowering of prices and making the market highly competitive. Such products have already in fact in the past and current year entered the Philippine market. This will force production to attain highest levels of efficiencies, especially on cost reduction.

On the financial front, bank credit facilities will be tightened putting pressure on working capital and may result in material procurement delays, longer collection periods, etc. Liquidity becomes extremely important and significant. Add to that the possible peso depreciation and we have indeed a scenario of business survival.

Obviously, those that may be able to properly control these risks and threats and convert them into opportunities will surely come out as the winners.

Steel Industry in Crisis

2008-12-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

The steel industry is also hit by the crisis bug. After enjoying comfortable sales and margins for 3 quarters on an environment of escalating material prices, steel companies are now hit by high cost inventory due to the abrupt lowering of material prices this 4th quarter and low customer demand. Example is cold rolled coil ( CRC). The year started with CRC prices averaging at USD 700/MT. It continue to increase, peaking at almost USD 1300/MT during the 3rd quarter. Now it went down to as low as USD 600/MT. Scrap iron/steel was selling at P27/kilo but is now at just P5/kilo. Customers don't buy, waiting for prices to still go down. Many companies have stopped production. Massive cost reductions are undertaken, from energy and power to manpower costs.

We've got news from a friend in the Middle East who said that Emirates Steel is on total shutdown; so are Hadeed and Unicoil in Saudi Arabia. At Global Steel in Iligan, which during those glorious years was called National Steel Corporation ( my alma mater), all facilities are in shutdown. They have implemented a 5 day work week and soon, will resort to forced leaves or even lay-offs. Here in Manila, contractual workers will surely be the first to go.

The sad thing is nobody knows when the situation will improve.

Vietnam’s Existing Iron and Steel Industry

2008-12-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, until the late 1990’s, when we talk about the iron and steel industry and market, Vietnam was lumped in the company of countries like Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Bangladesh, etc. But with its pro business, and state industrial policy where foreign capital was welcomed with incentives,, it has leapfrogged from this status to being on the verge of being among its equals with ASEAN and even the Asian region as well, among the likes of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and definitely surpassing the Philippines. With its 85 million population (almost similar to the Philippines), its present total steel demand has reached 10 million MT, more than 3 times the Philippines. This is broken down as follows:5.61 million MT for long products and 4.61 million MT for flat products. 2006 figures for steel per capita is 2244 versus the Philippines which is only around 1800.

Such “open” policy allows businesses to be owned 100% by foreign investors. What is not allowed, typical of Communist governments, is ownership of land, which is still retained by the State, although long term lease of up to 50 years is permitted.

Vietnam steel industry took an aggressive development, and growth starting late 1990’s . Hence, most of the plants and mills, especially all that we have visited, were constructed only after 2000. That is why, we can conclude that Vietnam’s steel plants are new and modern, many of them built and supplied by known companies such as Danielle- Wean United from Europe and America and POSCO in Korea: There are those that have been sourced from China (for its mechanical parts) but process controls and electrical systems were supplied by Siemens, the top supplier as far as controls is concerned. Their technical men have been likewise trained abroad in Europe and China.

Notably, Vietnam’s expansion followed the model of “backward integration”: The plants we visited employed this model. Ton Hoa Sen started as a distributor, then put up its color coating line, then galvanizing line and galvalume line and this year commissioned a cold-rolling mill. Sun Steel started as pipe manufacturer then expanded by putting up its own color coating line and finally a galvalume line.

Accordingly, there are now around 21 galvanizing/ and color coating lines throughout Vietnam.

They said that after years of continued and increasing growth, Vietnam got hit by recession this year with interest rates going up more than 20%. And with such huge production capacities, the steel crisis have hit them for 3 consecutive months now reportedly starting September and continued to October and November..December is projected to behave the same. They are at present holding a total steel inventory of 3 million MT (combined flat, long, section- all steel types), a figure almost already equal to the Philippine annual demand.
The business mood right now is “no business- wait and see” attitude; no movement, no price quotation.

It's interesting to know that like China, Vietnam has cheap labor, even cheaper than the Philippines.

Vietnam in Perspective

2008-11-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

Vietnam is a nation in a hurry. Years of French colonization and two great wars of independence, 1st against the French and the 2nd, against the Americans had put them among the least developed and the least progressive country even just in the ASEAN region. With the fall of the pro- western former South Vietnam government after the Americans finally pulled-out in 1975, what follows next was a reunification and redevelopment process with agricultural development made their 1st priority. Today, Vietnam is the 3rd largest rice exporting country, next only to Thailand and Brazil which is ranked 1st and 2nd respectively.

Saigon Here I Come!

2008-11-29T03:02:00.000-08:00

My boss, a representative and a friend from Marubeni-Itochu Manila (one of our suppliers), and I went to Vietnam, specifically to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) early this month (November 2 – 5, 2008). The trip was arranged and coordinated by both the Marubeni-Itochu Office of Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.

The primary objective of the trip was to explore and determine potential suppliers of CRC, GI, Galvalume and PPGI materials, through plant visits and technical discussions. It likewise gave us an opportunity to understand and update the iron and steel industry of Vietnam, which is by virtue of its closeness to the Philippines, may stand not only as a potential supplier but also as a threat to the local industry. At this time, it has already started to enter the Philippine market.

On the the side, we were able to visit historical places and buildings like the famous French built Notre Dame Cathedral, the Colonial Port Office Building, the former US Embassy (gone however was the balcony where the famous last helicopter escape trip during the siege of Saigon took place; this was immortalized in the award winning play Miss Saigon, whose staging in CCP Manila my wife and I didn't miss), Rex Hotel (built by the French and reportedly the oldest hotel in Saigon), the Reunification Building, the park where the statue of Vietnam’s founding father, Ho Chi Minh stands, the Committee Secretariat Building, and many others.

Over-all, the trip to Vietnam was a fruitful, enjoyable and a learning experience for us.

Next post: "Vietnam in Perspective", and a link to more photos.

Full Monty: The Philippine Version

2008-03-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

The Philippines National Steel Corporation, the country’s largest and only rolling mill plant went on rapid expansion and upgrading of its Iligan facilities in the decade of the 80’s. It was a series of FYEP’s or Five Year Expansion Programs which hoped to finally make its integrated steel plant a reality.

At the turn of the 90’s, signs indicated a short lived progress; ther party’s over. Finally, in 1994, the first of its continuing retrenchment came. I was with the first batch. Not even the entry of Malaysia’s wing Tiek Group and later the Hottic Group, touted as earlier as the saviors but turned out to be just its opposite, could reverse the slide.

Finally, almost at the end of 1999, after 5 years of uncertainty and hemorrhage, the inevitable came. The company and the plant went on complete shutdown. By then, the company’s best and brightest, technical and managerial men especially, went on exodus mostly abroad, like the uS, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

NSC’s and the Philippines’ loss, the gain of these supposed to be industrialized countries. A classic “brain drain.”

Meanwhile, “Steeltown,” once a bustling housing community of NSC’s employees almost became a “Ghostown,” exactly a similar acsene carved out in the movie Full Monty. Lonely, deserted---a gory reminder of steel glory lost.

Verifying SteelConnect

2008-03-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

Let me interrupt myself as I try to claim this blog on MyBlogLog.

I am Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification it so that I could track the traffic of this blog. It sure would be nice to know you, my readers and engage in good conversations with you.

Do drop by often and I'd appreciate it if you share your thoughts with me, too. :)

Obama and My US Experience

2008-03-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Flashback in spring 1986. I was with a group of 13 engineers who were sent by our company, National Steel Corporation (NSC) to undergo training on 5Std. Tandem Cold Rolling Mill Operations and Quality Assurance at Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Burns Harbor Plant in Portage, Indiana, just over an hour’s drive from Chicago. Our company bought this facility described then as both old and new. Old because it was designed and built in the 1970’s. New because , though completed and ready for commission, it was never installed and put into operation. Mothballed before it could even produce its first coil, it just lay there in the warehouse, a stark symbol of the US steel industry recession and decline. And with it came the inevitable; worker displacement, something Barack Obama took concern of at that time.

At the parking lots of street-side grocery halls, we would then see car stickers proclaiming “ Foreign steel steal jobs “. At the shop floor and workplace, we would always be reminded to speak English. The workers were wary, insecure and felt threatened every time we converse in our native language concluding that the more we know, the more their chances of losing their jobs. They learned their lessons from the Japanese who came much earlier than us. The Japanese, they said, were silent and never talked but were busy copying, taking down notes, taking photos and gather whatever information they could obtain. The result? Japan indeed overtook the US in steel technology and production.

In the succeeding years, NSC bought more facilities from US steel companies- 2 Std Temper Mill, Continuous Pickling Line, Electrolytic Tinning Line , among them. US steel was never the same again.

In between our training, we would then take leisurely walks along Lakeshore Drive, view Chicago at the Sears Tower, enjoy the great rides of Great America and much more. Though aware, we were oblivious of the plight of displaced steelmen. Now we knew, during that time, Obama, then a young human rights lawyer was a helping hand to them.

Will Obama therefore finished what he has started before if by the grace of the American people themselves chose him to be their next president?

Barack Obama and Full Monty

2008-03-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

What has Barack Obama got to do with Full Monty? Obama is a US Democrat presidential candidate this year. Full Monty is a lesser known movie (set in Great Britain) in the late 90’s until it got an Oscar’s nomination. Absolutely nothing, or so it seems. Except that Full Monty is a story of displaced British steel workers (presumably British Steel) and how they cope up with unemployment and a bleak future for their families. From steel men, they became or forced to become stage dancers just to eke out a living, finally doing a full monty (British slang for “ going all the way “i.e., nude) as the curtains fall at the end of the movie.

Barack Obama takes pride in listing or justifying his experience (during campaign speeches, interviews and TV debates with another US Democrat presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton) as community organizer and helping US steel workers in the Chicago area who were displaced by the fall of the US steel industry. This was in 1985 to 1987 and this is how they are connected.

This “ steel men “ experience factor in the resume of Obama may yet catapult him as the first ever black president of the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America. If ever it happens, the question will be: will the steel industry be in his agenda and put back the glory years of the US steel industry who has been since those years in the back seat of surging steel economies of Japan, Europe, South Korea, Russia and recently, China and India.

No, I don’t think Barack Obama did a full monty at that time.

Welcome to the world of steel

2008-03-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, for the man of steel, there will be no world without steel. Day by day, technological and environmental developments come in the way, finding new sources, optimizing, rationalizing, and enhancing the many and various uses of this very prime commodity affecting our daily lives- steel.No material can yet, on a widespread scale, replace or substitute steel

Welcome to SteelConnect -- my journey as a steelman, as a man who ponders every day about world where steel was not yet discovered, and a world made modern with the presence of steel.

Again, imagining the world without steel

2008-03-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Let’s stretch down further to our noisy and chaotic world.

No no more infrastructure projects for pork barrel allocations. No more Congress halls and TV cameras for grandstanding and cheap entertainment. No more politicians at last. And the pollution from too much political noise would be wiped out. Very good!

But surely, it would again be another dull and boring world.

Imagine further our world without steel

2008-03-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

The world will finally achieve the long most sought World peace.

No steel for guns, tanks, battleships, fighter jets, helicopters. No buildings and no infrastructure to build bombs and ammunitions. Not even for spears and arrows, bolos and knives. No Spanish Armada to set sail and conquer the world and look for new discoveries. No more wars, so we may think.

A peaceful but definitely a dull and boring world. Is this the world we want?

The World Without Steel

2008-03-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Did you ever wonder what it would be like if no one discovered steel?

Imagine the world without steel.

Steel is considered the backbone of the nation. No industrialization, hence no progress can take place without steel. The following article describes satirically the uses of this prime commodity.

Imagine your world without steel. Then, there won’t be skyscrapers that dot Makati’s skyline. And we will be holding office under thatched nipa roofs, a la Nayong Pilipino sans air conditioners to ward off manila’s heat. There won’t be coolers and refrigerators to obey your thirst for a cold drink. Coke, Pepsi and company will be a drink of the past generation. Manila’s infamous traffic problem, to your relief will be solved, as there won’t be cars, jeeps, and buses to clog the road lanes. The 1-to-2-hour Cubao-Makati trip may extend to a 4-to-6-hour walkathon, unless you go horseback riding. And surely you’ll miss the evening timeslot of Marimar or The Kungfu Kids. Well to tell you quite clearly, you’ll miss them completely as there won’t be TV sets in the first place.

Still it might just be okay with you. You can live with that. Housewives would be very happy because the tempting videokes and beerhouses won’t be around for business. Weekends, the children will have to enjoy the beach as there won’t be megamalls to shop around. Manila Bay though and the Pasig river may not yet still be clean. There won’t be factories to dump wastes, alright, nor will there be ships to discharge their own wastes, but personal wastes may pose a greater threat to health and safety as the sea becomes the biggest discharge of them all.

The world will become larger than ever, larger than Magellan thought it to be. And we may conclude that the earth is in fact flat, not round. PAL’s Lucio tan and Gokongwei’s Cebu Pacific Air will fold up their airline business and go back to shipping of the wooden Galleon trade era. Going to Davao or Cebu and much more America or Europe won’t be an exciting trip anymore, unless you’re the kind who enjoys cruise fro weeks or months. And if you love the Boracay of the past with no electricity, then you’ll love it even more , since the absence of steel towers , transmissions lines and power generating units made of steel and cast iron would make it us back to the dark age. That would make Edison rise from the grave and curse the day he invented electricity.

Ahh! And suddenly , the scenario sinks in your consciousness. Steel is all around us. You see it, you use it, 24/7. Without steel, what would life be?

A dark and bleak scenario? Think again. Where would we be without steel?