Fifty y e a r s of

Metal P o w d e r Report
' ~.:{ h e comia;.* )I' :~4e o f
p o w d e r m e : a l l tug: (PM)
g
~:" a s a m e a n s ot t m ) , i u c i n g
e n g i n e e r i n g c o m p o n e n t s , a n be
s a i d to h a v e t a k e n p l a c e ,~,hortly
a f t e r World Wa:e II ~ h e n t h e
German development ol sint e r e d iron, e s p e c i a l l y :For s h e l l
driving bands, became public
k n o w l e d g e . A l t h o u g h thel'e w a s
a g o o d d e a l o f :scepticism in
s o m e m e t a l l u r g i c a l q u a r t e r s , Dr
W.D. J o n e s d i d n o t s h a r e t h a t
s c e p t i c i s m . He w a s a t t h e t i m e
e n g a g e d in t h e p r o d u c t i o n of
metal powders and he pioneered
t h e p r o d u c t i o n of low d e n s i t y
c o p p e r p o w d e r by atoxnization.
T h e r e w a s a l r e a d y a b o d y of
p u b l i s h e d i n f o r m a t i o n o n vari o u s a s p e c t s o f PlVI, a n d J o n e s
c o n c e i v e d t h e idea. of c o l l e c t i n g
t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n in a b s t r a c t
f o r m for p u b l i c a t i o n . He h a d
earlier persuaded the chemicals manufacturing and trading
c o m p a n y F.W. B e r k to e s t a b l i s h
a s u b s i d i a r y for t h e m a n u f a c t u r e
and supply of metal powders.

FIGURE 1: Metal Powder Report back in 1984, when it was

d u b b e d 'El Verde'.

12 MPR D e c e m b e r 1995

T h i s coral)any t r a d e d as P o w d e r
Metallurgy Ltd atd Jones was
m a n a g i n g director. It w a s u n d e r
the msptces of that company
tttat Metal Powder Report
6!~fP:@) a p p e a r e d as a m o n t h l y
abst]:act b u l l e t i n w i t h ,Jones a n d
R.A. H a t z i g a s j o i n t e d i t o r s in
S e p t e m b e r 1946. T h e i n t r o d u c tion Lo t h e first i s s u e s t a t e d :
"Metal P o w d e r Report is
c i r c u l a t e d o n l y to s u b s c r i b e r s
who are genuine investigators,
o p e r a t i v e s , or e x e c u t i v e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h m e t a l p o w d e r s . Having, therefore,
a limited
s u b s c r i p t i o n list a n d c a r r y i n g
n o a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , t h e Metal
Powder Report is n e c e s s a r i l y
e x p e n s i v e a l t h o u g h it is s o l d
at cost".
In fact, t h e a n n u a l s u b s c r i p tion for t h e first v o l u m e w a s
3 . 7 s . 6 d -- 3 . 3 7 in t o d a y ' s
m o n e y . A l t h o u g h J o n e s , in h i s
position at Powder Metallurgy
Ltd, p o t e n t i a l l y h a d a n a x e to
g r i n d MPR w a s a l w a y s strictly
i m p a r t i a l a n d p r o v i d e d reliable
a b s t r a c t s of t h e w o r l d ' s literat u r e o n PM. T h e t r a d i t i o n o f
complete impartiality was maintained
throughout
a n d is
still, of course, the guiding
p r i n c i p l e today.
T h e first v o l u m e c o n t a i n e d
abstracts
from around
the
world, a n d m u c h o f t h e j o u r n a l ' s s u c c e s s c a n be a t t r i b u t e d
to L.A. F l e t c h w h o j o i n e d MPR
in 1954. His skill a s a l i n g u i s t
h e l p e d to b r o a d e n t h e c o v e r a g e
o f t h e g r o w i n g a m o u n t of PM
literature and patented inventions, a n d h e w a s r e s p o n s i b l e
for c o m p i l i n g a l a r g e n u m b e r of
s u p p l e m e n t s p u b l i s h e d in MPR
w h i c h c o n t a i n e d a s e l e c t e d list
o f t e r m s u s e d in PM a n d t h e i r
d e f i n i t i o n s . All t h e E u r o p e a n
languages
were covered by
these supplements plus Chinese, J a p a n e s e , Arabic, H e b r e w
and Afrikaans. Fletcher also
c o n t r i b u t e d m u c h to t h e p r o duction of Jones' renowned
textbook on powder metallurgy
p u b l i s h e d in t h e e a r l y 1960s.
S u b s e q u e n t to J o n e s ' retirem e n t , s u c c e s s i v e m a n a g i n g directors of Powder Metallurgy
L t d a s s u m e d t h e title of e d i t o r

a l t h o u g h t h e d a y to d a y w o r k of
a b s t r a c t i n g t h e ever e x p a n d i n g
l i t e r a t u r e w a s u n d e r t a k e n by
full t i m e a s s i s t a n t s . T h a t w a s
t h e s i t u a t i o n w h e n I t o o k over
t h e r u n n i n g of P o w d e r Metall u r g y L t d in 1969. T h e a c t u a l
work was under the supervision
o f a y o u n g m a n called B e r n a r d
Williams, although my name
a p p e a r e d a s e d i t o r . W h e n in
1971 W i l l i a m left t h e c o m p a n y ,
finding adequate replacements
was not easy and took up more
of my time and energy than I
c o u l d r e a s o n a b l y afford, so I p u t
o u t f e e l e r s to s e e if a s u i t a b l e
buyer could be found. This
p r e s e n t e d s o m e difficulty -- I
cannot recall ever seeing a
s e p a r a t e f i n a n c i a l a c c o u n t for
MPR, b u t it is c e r t a i n t h a t it d i d
n o t c o n t r i b u t e s i g n i f i c a n t l y to
t h e p r o f i t s of P o w d e r M e t a l l u r g y
Ltd. However, word of the
i n t e n d e d d i s p o s a l o f MPR g o t
r o u n d to B e r n a r d W i l l i a m s w h o
c a m e to s e e m e w i t h a p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t h e t a k e it over. A d e a l
was successfully negotiated one
of the clauses being that l
r e m a i n e d a s editor.
For a time Williams ran the
j o u r n a l in h i s s p a r e t i m e a n d
the form and content remained
u n a l t e r e d , i.e. it c o n t i n u e d to be
p u r e l y a n a b s t r a c t j o u r n a l . Williams, however, h a d o t h e r ideas.
As far back as 1952 Jones
foresaw the future development
with a suggestion at a meeting
in L o n d o n in D e c e m b e r o f t h a t
y e a r t h a t t h e r e w a s a n e e d for a
m e d i u m for t h e w i d e r d i s s e m i n a t i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n o n PM
including the publication of
a r t i c l e s of a g e n e r a l n a t u r e in
a d d i t i o n to t e c h n i c a l a n d scientific r e p o r t s . It w o u l d p r o v i d e
i n f o r m a t i o n for d e s i g n e r s a n d
s e r v e to p u b l i c i s e p o w d e r m e t a l l u r g y in a w i d e r world. In
1957 t h e I r o n a n d Steel Instit u t e e s t a b l i s h e d w h a t it called
t h e J o i n t G r o u p for P o w d e r
M e t a l l u r g y a n d a j o u r n a l called,
u n s u r p r i s i n g l y , Powder Metallurgy r e s u l t e d . T h i s p u b l i c a t i o n
a p p e a r e d originally twice a y e a r
a n d c o n t a i n e d m a i n l y scientific
p a p e r s r e p o r t i n g t h e r e s u l t s of
r e s e a r c h work.

Williams, w h o a f t e r l e a v i n g
P o w d e r M e t a l l u r g y Ltd, w o r k e d
as editor of two monthly journals (one on metal forming, the
other on glass making) saw a
n i c h e for a j o u r n a l t h a t w o u l d
p r i n t articles~ of g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t
and news of industrial developm e n t in t h e PM i n d u s t r y . His
e x p e r i e n c e in t r a d e a n d t e c h n i cal p u b l i s h i n g w a s s o o n p u t to
g o o d u s e in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f
a n e w style MPR, a n d h e a p p l i e d
great zeal to the task, not
uaiting for contributions
to
c o m e in b u t g o i n g o u t a n d
getting them.
One development especially
uorthy of mention was the
collection and publication of
detailed information from companies about their activities and
company profiles became a
r e g u l a r a n d v e r y p o p u l a r feature. Sharing the world between
us, W i l l i a m s a n d ! c o v e r e d t h e
PM field in a s e r i e s of s p e c i a l
i s s u e s , o n e for e a c h c o u n t r y o r
g r o u p of c o u n t r i e s , w h i l e l a t e r
on Ken Brookes joined the team
to cover t h e h a r d m e t a l sector.
'~,e c o v e r e d G e r m a n y , S p a i n ,
h:aly, S w i t z e r l a n d a n d A u s t r i a ,
Sweden, the USA and eventually
J a p a n a n d C h i n a , a s well a s t h e
UK. P l a n t s w e r e Visited, p h o t o graphs taken or obtained, and
information collected about processes, products and markets,
including statistical information
~ h e r e available.
U p to t h a t t i m e it h a d b e e n
the case that companies were
e x t r e m e l y r e l u c t a n t to p r o v i d e
s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n . I recall freq u e n t a t t e m p t s by t h e B r i t i s h
Powder Metallurgy Association,
on which I represented Powder
M e t a l l u r g y Ltd, to collect s t a t i s t:ics a b o u t p r o d u c t i o n , b u t little
or n o p r o g r e s s w a s m a d e e v e n
though the information was
i n t e n d e d o n l y for i n t e r n a l circulation. T h e MPR c o m p a n y p r o files c h a n g e d t h a t s i t u a t i o n . I
remember an incredulous reader a s k i n g m e " h o w o n e a r t h do
y o u m a n a g e to p e r s u a d e c o m panies to divulge so much
i n f o r m a t i o n for p u b l i c a t i o n s ? " .
I c o u l d n o t offer a s t r a i g h t f o r ~;ard a n s w e r , b u t I s u s p e c t t h a t
it w a s o u r h o n e s t a n d i m p a r t i a l
reporting that convinced them
t h a t it w a s in t h e i r i n t e r e s t a s
well a s t h a t of t h e i n d u s t r y in
g e n e r a l to be f e a t u r e d in t h i s
way. I c o u l d cite t h e c a s e o f a
company that I didn't visit on
m y first t i p to Italy b e c a u s e t h e
f a c t o r y w a s r a t h e r o u t off t h e

Wil~. A S(HII(';vhLI[ Jl';tI(' IlliINii

~)lIiu('(I. "l'his al)l)r(*ach p r o v e d
i~, hi, (,xlr(,mt,ly s u c c e s s f u l a n d
g i n g (lire('t()r telel)h()lw(t t~) a s k
w h a t w e li'le~llll |)v v i s i t i n g
~.as ex(,nttmily fldl(,wed b y o t h e r
I t a l i a n I'M pmqts i)rodu(~ers 111111 ('()ilR,Yt,/wt.s (n~Aal/izers, e s p e cially in 1l/t' [ S A . It is, o f
not including his company.
I believe t h a t l h e s e ('()ml)any c,~urs(', nl)w the norm, b u t MPR
can j u s t ly c l a i m t,) h a v e b e e n t h e
profiles c o n t r i b u t e d greatly lo
e s t a b l i s h i n g MPR as a l e a d i n g if piolmt!r. S / l b s e l l l w n t l y c o n f e r n o t t h e l e a d i n g j o u r n a l world
ell(.(! i(,])oI~ts ;tlld s e l e c t e d conwide. On a visit to S p a i n m y h o s t
fewn(-e p a p e r s a p t ) e a r e d in t h e
p r o d u c e d a c o p y of a n o t h e r PM j o u r n a l . ( ) t h e r PM c o n f e r e n c e s
journal saying "the coml)etiin E u r o p e , .a3nerica, a n d J a p a n
t i o n " , a n d a d d i n g thai: h i s s t a f f were a t : t e n d e d by MPR's ' r o v i n g
r e p o r t e r s ' , a n d full a c c o u n t s o f
h a d told h i m t h a t t h e y prefetTed
'El Verde'. A t t h a t t i m e MPR
t h e p r o c e e d i n g s a p p e a r e d in
h a d a d i f f e r e n t e o l o u r e d ('(wer
the journal.
e a c h year, a n d t h a t p a r t i c u l a r
The next milestone was
y e a r it h a p p e n e d to be g r e e n
r e a c h e d in 1990. T h e PM i n d u s ( F i g u r e 1).
t l y in E u r o p e h a d b e e n for s o m e
O t h e r n e w f e a t u r e s w e r e also
years taking tentative steps
i n t r o d u c e d a t t h i s t i m e s u c h as
towards the establishment of
a s e l e c t i o n o f t e c h n i c a l m*ieles,
a n a s s o c i a t i o n in E u r o p e c o m n e w s f e a t u r e s a n d a d v e r t i s i n g . It
p a r a b l e w i t h t h e Metal P o w d e r
was perhaps the latter comI n d u s t r i e s F e d e r a t i o n (MPIF) in
b i n e d w i t h a c h a n g e of f o r m a t
N o r t h A m e r i c a , a n d in t h a t y e a r
f r o m t h e s m a l l A5 to A 4 in 1.980
comprehensive agreement was
w h i c h w e r e to h a v e t h e g r e a t e s t
reached and Williams was apimpact on the further developp r o a c h e d to t a k e o n t h e j o b of
m e n t of t h e m a g a z i n e .
e x e c u t i v e secretary.. C o i n c i d e n In 1982 a n e w j o u r n a l t h e
tally, w h i l e n e g o t i a t i o n s w e r e in
I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l o f Re- p r o g r e s s , Elsevier, p r o m p t e d by
fractory and Hard Metals
A m a n d a Weaver, m a d e a b i d to
(R&HM) w a s l a u n c h e d by t h e
b u y t h e two j o u r n a l s MPR a n d
MPR t e a m . T h i s q u a r t e r l y j o u r R&HM. T h i s m a y h a v e h e l p e d to
n a l t o o k over f r o m t h e Planseet i p t h e s c a l e s a n d Williams, n o t
berichte f u r Pulvermetallugie
without regret at seeing his
p u b l i s h e d by M e t a l l w e r k Planb a b i e s p a s s into o t h e r h a n d s ,
see. To c o p e w i t h t h e i n c r e a s e d
a c c e p t e d t h e E l s e v i e r offer a n d
w o r k load, a g r a d u a t e m e t a l l u r joined the European Powder
gist w a s r e c r u i t e d in t h e p e r s o n
Metallurgy Association (EPMA).
of Amanda Weaver who proved
Thus began another chapter
to b e a m o s t v a l u a b l e a s s e t u n t i l
in t h e h i s t o r y o f M P R w i t h
s h e left to t a k e a j o b w i t h
A m a n d a W e a v e r a s editor. It
E l s e v i e r in 1989.
was, for t h e m o s t p a r t , b u s i n e s s
Another
milestone
was
a s u s u a l , b u t t h e t a k e - o v e r by
r e a c h e d in 1 9 7 8 w h e n M P R
Elsevier did not include the
o r g a n i z e d t h e first o f a s e r i e s
conference side which passed
of very successful conferences.
e v e n t u a l l y to t h e EPMA. HowPM c o n f e r e n c e s h a d b e e n h e l d
ever, c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n l i m i t e d
r e g u l a r l y for m a n y y e a r s -- t h e
t h e m e s w a s c o n t i n u e d in MPR
Joint Group held one annually
u n d e r t h e title of 'PM Special
a t E a s t b o u r n e , b u t t h e s e conferFeature'. The news section and
e n c e s w e r e g e n e r a l in n a t u r e
literature and patent abstracts
and papers on the whole range
were maintained and expanded
of possible topics were accepted.
a n d u p d a t e d c o m p a n y profiles
T h e i n n o v a t i o n m a d e by MPR
c o n t i n u e to a p p e a r f r o m t i m e
w a s to s e l e c t a r e s t r i c t e d t h e m e
to t i m e .
a n d t r e a t it in d e p t h . To a c h i e v e
Another achievement with
t h i s e n d , Williams, a b l y a s s i s t e d
t h e m o v e to E l s e v i e r w a s t h e
by F r a n c e s Breakwell, w a s a s s i d introduction of colour printing
u o u s in s o l i c i t i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n s
as part of a revamp of the
f r o m a s m a n y of t h o s e w o r k i n g
design and
layout
of
the
in t h e p a r t i c u l a r field a s p o s s i magazine.
ble. A s it w a s p e r c e i v e d t h a t
In August, 1995, Simon
there was commercial advanPickering who had been assistage in the exposure
thus
t a n t e d i t o r s i n c e J u n e 1993,
afforded, the response from
b e c a m e editor, a n d I a m s u r e
i n d u s t r y w a s e x t r e m e l y good.
that we all wish him and
P a p e r s f r o m w o r k e r s in u n i v e r MPR well.
I
sities and other research establishments
were also freely
A.G. (Gordon) Dowson

MPR December 1995 13