Nickel and Stainless Steel - Towards the next 100 years: photo report

The event 'Nickel and Stainless Steel - Towards the next 100 years' in Beijing on 16 May 2012 was the start of our industry's contribution to the Stainless Steel Centenary.

Participants from across the globe  came together to celebrate the centenary of stainless steel and demonstrate nickel's key role in stainless steel production and applications.

The event was organised by the Nickel Institute, supported by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), China Non-Ferrous Metals Industrial Association (CNIA) and China Stainless Steel Council (CSSC).

The sustainability of stainless steel and the regulatory situation for metals in China and worldwide took centre stage at the event.

More than 75% of the stainless steel produced today contains nickel, Nickel Institute Chairman, Tim Aiken, told participants in his opening remarks.

The nickel industry has had an office in China for fifteen years, first set up by the Nickel Development Institute, the predecessor of the Nickel Institute.

An exhibition at the event  showed the many applications and advantages of nickel and nickel in stainless steel.

Dr Fang Gang, President of the National Economic Research Institute, Beijing emphasised that there can be no economic development today without stainless steel. Innovation will become a major factor in driving China's growth.

The history of the cooperation between stainless steel and nickel was outlined by Gary Coates, Consultant to the Nickel Institute.

Stainless was first used in milk tankers in 1931 and is still in use in modern dairies, as well as in medical applications , chemical tanks and pharmaceutical applications.

Mr Li Cheng, Honorary Chairman of CSSC  said that this year is also the 60th anniversary of the first stainless steel production in China. Today, China is installing the best available technology and is capable of making all grades to a high standard.

Richard Matheson  from the Australian stainless steel industry talked about the importance of sustainability in materials selection and how investment decisions shoudld take into account not just the cost but also the carbon burden.

Dashan, "the best known foreigner in China", used his bilingual skills to good effect as MC for the event.

In the press release, Nickel Institute President, Dr Kevin Bradley, talked about stainless steel's "solid 100 years history", calling it "a material for the future". In his speech , he said stainless has "contributed significantly to economic and social development".

An article 'No tarnish on prospects for stainless steel' in the Business section of the China Daily newspaper highlighted expansion and investment plans in the stainless industry in China. A number of articles were published in the international press on the event.

Download the presentations (Prof. Li Cheng - Richard Matheson - Gary Coates) and press release to learn more.