IN THIS ISSUE:
* CONFERENCES
Eli Lustgarten to Address Bar Products Session
* EDUCATION
Enrollment Opens for Inside, Consultative Sales Classes
* CHAPTERS
Carbon Conference Attendees Invited to Florida Chapter Dinner
Mid-America Chapter Offers Three Scholarships
Southern Cal Chapter Plans Inside Sales Course
Michigan Chapter Schedules “Selling Value” Training Session
Northern Ohio Dinner Features Leadership Speaker Cynthia D’Amour
* BRIEFINGS
Short Items of Interest to MSCI Members
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CONFERENCES
Eli Lustgarten to Address Bar Products Session
Well-known analyst Eli Lustgarten, president of ESL Consultants, will review the market outlook for a range of steel end uses during the Bar Products Division Session at the 2007 MSCI Carbon Conference.
The conference runs February 22-23 at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Conference participants are also invited to attend the Florida Chapter’s Inside/Outside Sales Dinner the evening of February 21 in nearby Jacksonville (see article below).
The Bar Products session will also include panel discussions of the North American supply perspective and the service center perspective on the marketplace.
The supply panel includes Chuck Jones, director, Mittal Steel North America; Jaime Vigil, chief executive officer, Republic Engineered Products, and James Dabney, commercial director, bar products, of Gerdau Ameristeel. The service center panel includes Barry R. Walsh, president, Pennsylvania Steel Corporation; James Hoffman, chief operating officer, EMJ and Robert Hudson, vice president, procurement, A.M. Castle & Company.
Complete conference information and a registration link are on the MSCI web site.
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EDUCATION
Enrollment Opens for Inside, Consultative Sales Classes
Enrollment is now open for the first two MSCI training courses of 2007, “Adding Value Through Inside Sales” and “Consultative Selling for Major Accounts.”
Inside Sales is among MSCI’s most popular classes. Participants in the March 1 class will learn skills and best practices for more effective inbound sales interactions. Among other things, they will use realistic sales situations to gain individualized peer and facilitator feedback.
Inside Sales course information and a registration link are on the MSCI web site.
Consultative Selling, an advanced sales course, is for more experienced sales representatives. Its focus is how to land and retain major accounts. Detailed information about this March 6-7 training session is on the MSCI web site.
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CHAPTERS
Carbon Conference Attendees Invited to Florida Chapter Dinner
MSCI members attending the 2007 Carbon Conference February 22-23 at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa are also invited to attend the Florida Chapter Inside/Outside Dinner the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 21, at the University Club in nearby Jacksonville.
The club overlooks the St. John’s River, adding to a relaxing ambiance for the chapter event.
Information about the dinner has been added to the chapter’s web site. Please address questions to Scott Van Malssen, O’Neal Steel in Jacksonville, at 800-342-5237 (svanmalssen@onealsteel.com).
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CHAPTERS
Mid-America Chapter Offers Three Scholarships
The Mid-America Chapter will award three scholarships of $2,000 each this year to students with a parent who is employed by an MSCI and chapter member company.
Students who are seniors in high school or already attending college as an undergraduate or graduate may apply.
The application form and information about the scholarship program are available on the chapter’s web site.
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CHAPTERS
Southern Cal Chapter Plans Inside Sales Course
The Southern California Chapter is taking registrations for a full-day session of MSCI’s Inside Sales training class, to be held on Friday, March 9 at Friendly Hills Country Club in Whittier.
The class will run from a 7:30 a.m. continental breakfast until about 4:30 p.m. Lunch and refreshments will also be provided.
Should the class reach its 25-student limit, a second class day, March 8, has also been reserved. The second class will occur only if the March 9 slot is filled.
For more information, speak with Scott Ciley, the chapter’s president, at 760-822-4801 (architmgr@sbcglobal.net).
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CHAPTERS
Michigan Chapter Schedules “Selling Value” Training Session
The Michigan Chapter will sponsor an MSCI training session, “Selling Value,” for inside and outside sales representatives on Tuesday, February 13, to be followed by an Inside/Outside Sales Dinner.
The workshop and dinner will be held at the Detroit Athletic Club, 241 Madison Street, Detroit. The workshop runs from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the dinner to follow. The workshop registration fee includes lunch and dinner.
The all-new half-day workshop is for salespeople and managers who want to learn and practice techniques to establish and provide value from the customer’s point of view. The instructor is long-time MSCI teacher Fred Doering, a past president of the Chicago Sales Training Association and a partner in Mindware, a training and development company.
For more information, speak with Frank Mullen, Michigan Chapter secretary, at Griggs Steel, 248-298-0540 (griggssteel@griggssteel.com).
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CHAPTERS
Northern Ohio Dinner Features Leadership Speaker Cynthia D’Amour
Cynthia D’Amour, leadership strategist and president of People Power Unlimited, Ann Arbor, will be the featured speaker next Thursday (January 25) at a Northern Ohio Chapter dinner in Independence.
D’Amour has written six books on business topics including “Are you ONE Relationship Away from Making BIG Money?” She promotes a strategic, relationship-based approach to business growth.
The event at Embassy Suites Rockside, 5800 Rockside Road, begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m., with D’Amour scheduled to speak at 7:00 p.m.
For more information or to register, speak with Teresa Zingale at 330-908-1586 (teresa@247officeexpress.com). The event is priced at $70 per person, or $60 each for a table of 10.
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BRIEFINGS
Short Items of Interest to MSCI Members
MCNICHOLS AFFILIATES WITH CSL: McNichols Company has affiliated with the Center for Services Leadership (CSL) at Arizona State University. Herb Goetschius, president, has been appointed to the CSL Advisory Board. The CSL “strives to improve the business and academic understanding of the distinctive and growing role of services in organizations and with customers,” McNichols said. It said the affiliation was “part of the company’s strategic plan to provide exceptional service to its customers.”
MITSUBISHI-POSCO: Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. has raised its stake in POSCO, the South Korean steelmaker, to 1.4% from 0.9%. The cost was estimated at about $120 million, Nikkei.net reported. The Japanese economic newspaper also said that Nippon Steel has agreed to increase its POSCO stake to more than 5% from its initial 3.3% holding.
BAOSTEEL CHAIRMAN: BaoSteel Group Corp. has named Xu Lejiang at its chairman, succeeding Xie Qihua, who retired. Xu was BaoSteel Group’s general manager and a board member of Baoshan Iron & Stel since 2000. He replaced Xie as chairman of Baoshan, the group’s publicly traded company, last May.
VENALUM PRODUCTION TO RISE: Venalum, a Venezuelan aluminum reducer, plans to increase its output to 441,000 tons in 2007, President Isaias Suárez says. Business News Americas also reports that the company will install a third cylinder production unit during the year. Venalum produced nearly 439,000 tons in 2006.
DAIDO-TIMKEN: Daido Steel Co. of Nagoya, Japan, will form a “comprehensive business partnership” with Timken Co. of the United States, Nikkei.net reports. Under the agreement, Daido will consign to Timken some of its production destined for U.S.-based auto plants. Daido will also supply Timken with materials it needs for products it makes in China. Activity in China involves roller bearing production, Nikkei said.
MITSUI TO SELL ELECTRIC FURNACE STAKES: Mitsui & Co., the Japanese trading company, plans to sell its stakes in 10 electric furnace steel minimills, Nikkei.net reports. The Japanese economic newspaper said holdings to be sold include those in Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co. and, possibly, Toyohira Steel Corp. and Tokyo Kohtetsu Co.
ALCAN BRAZIL: The South American superintendent for Alcan’s Brazilian composites arm, Alcan Composites, forecasts revenue to rise 18% this year. Marcelo Siviero told Business News Americas that 2006 sales totaled 300,000 square meters of material, with 2007’s forecast growth likely because of increased demand from civil construction in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Venezuela. Exports are expected to rise to 35% of production from 26% in 2006.
CHINESE RESERVES EXCEED $1 TRILLION: China’s foreign exchange reserves now exceed $1 trillion, the Peoples Bank of China reports. The central bank says that milestone was achieved at the end of October, with $247.3 billion of reserves added in 2006 alone.
That growth should now slow, Chinese officials said. Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said this week that “cutting the huge trade surplus is the priority task for 2007” because if the surplus widens beyond the 2006 trade surplus of $177.5 billion (up 74% last year), it will “likely transform an economic problem into a political one. The yawning surplus with the United States and European Union has strained China’s foreign trade environment, triggering more frequent trade friction.”
Meanwhile, the value of China’s currency, the Renminbi, or yuan, hit a new high this week of 7.7895 to the U.S. dollar. The Commerce Ministry said the currency could gain 9% to 10% against the dollar in 2007, which will be good in the long run for development of China’s economy.
CHINESE STEEL FORECAST: For what it’s worth, China’s top planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, says raw steel production in 2007 will be 462 million tons, or 10% more than in 2006. That growth rate is eight percentage points lower than growth in 2006, the commission said, but on a larger base. The agency forecasts that domestic demand will also grow by about 10% in 2007, “indicating an equilibrium in supply and demand.” The commission made the same “equilibrium” forecast at the beginning of 2006, which turned out to be a record year for Chinese exports.
ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY DISCUSSION: Attention, lawyers. Winston & Strawn, MSCI’s law firm, offers at no charge an on-line “eLunch” briefing on new federal rules on the electronic discovery process in litigation. The session is planned for January 30 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Central). Marie Lona, who heads the firm’s e-discovery practice, and Derek Barella, a labor and employment relations partner, will speak. To register, click here.
UPDATE YOUR MSCI DATABASE LISTING! All members are encouraged to update their listing in the MSCI database by going to the MSCI web site.
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