Features

The stepping stones of life – Degrees of separation

1 Apr 2007

During the past decade and a half I have written about 160 columns for Materials World and its predecessors, and I am beginning to wonder how much longer I can...

Buying energy - energy purchasing market options

1 Apr 2007

John Hall of John Hall Associates, UK considers the strategic options for UK companies in the energy purchasing market. As recent analysis shows that price hedging has out-performed one-year volume based fixed price contracts, there is a need for large and small UK energy buyers to become more pro-active and develop sound risk management strategies to achieve maximum benefits.

Drying to save energy - dryer system saves energy

1 Apr 2007

Baggeridge Brick has revitalised its dryer system and managed to save energy. The brief was to produce and install a new dryer system that could be introduced while the factory was still running, thus negating downtime costs. This new system allows the day-to-day running costs to be visually monitored and more easily controlled.

Hedging, whose risk? - the merits of commodity hedging

1 Apr 2007

The benefits and drawbacks of commodity hedging to the various stakeholders in copper and gold mines are analysed.