Ask anyone in the business on any given day to predict which way the markets will go and the proven answer is always the same. “It’ll go up and down”. The basic function of the Lon-don Metal Exchange is to pro-vide companies in the metals industry with an opportunity to protect themselves against losses that may arise from adverse movements in metals prices. This procedure is known as hedging. The LME is used by miners, smelters, semi-fabricators, stockists and merchants alike to reduce their exposure to the risk of prices moving con-trary to their interests. Hedging should, therefore, be regarded as a form of insur-ance. It can be defined as the establishment of a position in the futures market equal in quantity and timing but oppo-site in position, to that held in the physical market. For instance, a producer or fabricator who owns or buys metal, sells the equivalent quantity of futures as a hedge. Thus he would be long of physical or cash metal and

short of futures. This is a sell hedge and is designed to pro-tect the value of his stocks or purchase against a possible price fall. If this eventuality should occur the loss on the cash value of the metal would be offset by the profit on the futures position (which could be bought back at a lower price than it was sold). If

however the price were to rise, there would be a loss on the short futures position, but this would be compensated for by the rise in the value of the cash physical metal. In either case, the hedge effectively locks in the market price pre-vailing at the time the futures position is opened for the pe-riod of time until the futures position is closed. A buy hedge is the reverse

procedure and is used to pro-tect a possible price increase. One big advantage of the LME as a hedging medium is that it is possible to trade specific daily delivery dates, thus ena-bling hedging transactions to be accurately related to physi-cal trading at least for the first three months into the future. Its value as a hedging me-dium is further enhanced by the fact that the LME official settlement prices (which are cash quotations) set the sell-ing prices for many of the world’s physical metal trans-actions. It is well known that a ‘perfect hedge’ is only pos-sible if the physical metal is priced on the terms of the

quotations on the futures mar-ket on which the hedging is done. This is why the LME attracts hedging business from around the world.

Hedging—a means to reduce risk in Metal Price

Taipei Financial Center:

Kam Kiu supplies 500 MT of powder coated alu-minum materials for the curtain wall of the build-ing.

Kam Kiu Newsletter 金金金金

K a m K i u ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l ) L t d .

Kam Kiu’s Material were tested in 6.8 magnitude earthquake Four people were killed and several others injured when 2 construction cranes fell from the 60th floor of the Taipei Financial Center during a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on 31st Mar., 2002. The Taipei Finan-cial Center will be the

world's tallest building when completed at a height of 508 meters with 101 sto-ries. Steel rods and other objects rained down on the streets injuring about 10 others and damaging sev-eral cars.

Kam Kiu’s aluminium mate-rial for the curtain wall cladding of the building were “tested” by the earth-quake, and proved to be strong and fit. There were no report of damage on the structural aluminium mate-rials during the quake.

Issue 4

Newsletter Date: 18th Apr, 2002

Aluminium railing and fencing

2

Tips for evaluating Chinese extruders

2

Die manufacturing control process

3

New resources in Kamkiu’s Sales Team

3

Kam Kiu’s TQM 4

Inside this issue:

Page 2

Aluminum railing and fencing is characterized with its corrosion resis-tance, lightness, pleasing appearance, and mainte-nance free. It is becoming increasingly popular espe-cially for industrial and

seacoast area where the atmosphere causes rapid deterioration in most other railing materials. Aluminum extruding is a versatile metal-forming process that enables de-signers, engineers, and manufacturers to take full advantage of a wide array of physical characteristics: Light Weight: It is about one-third the weight of iron, steel, cop-per, or brass. Lightweight aluminum is easier to han-dle, less expensive to ship, and is an attractive material

for applications. Strong: Aluminum profiles can be made as strong as needed for most applications. They resist strains and impacts, often more satisfactorily than traditional materials. Corrosion Resistance: The excellent corrosion resistance of aluminum is due to the presence of a thin, hard protective film of aluminum oxide that bonds tenaciously to the surface. Further protection can be done by applying paint or an anodize finish. It does not rust like steel. Appealing Appearance: Aluminum has an inherent advantage over most other metals because of its attrac-tive appearance and good corrosion resistance. There

are many different finish-ing techniques that can be used. The more common

ones are: liquid paint (including acrylics, alkyds, polyesters, and others),

powder coatings, anodiz-ing, or electroplating. The high gloss powder-coated finish actually resists ultra-violet rays, helping to keep its low maintenance beauty for years. The powder coat-ing is durable and comes in a huge variety of colours

Kam Kiu works closely with its customers in devel-oping shapes, colors, mod-els, and even the fittings to meet the market demand.

It is always a headache for international buy-ers to evaluate aluminium extruders in China. All of the Chinese extruders can show their ISO 9001 or 9002 certificates. And yet, a qualified extruder for export market is far be-yond an ISO certificate can tell. Following are 6 quick tips to help international buyers to quickly pick up their best out-sourced supplier: A good Chinese aluminium extruder should:

1. Provide safety helmets, and safety glasses for visitors,

2. Have security guards salute to visitors at the entrance,

3. Always deburr the cut profiles, and remove the saw chips after cut,

4. Always separate profiles from each other to avoid scratches,

5. Have daily production briefing, and weekly production meeting,

6. Post KPI (Key Performance Index) measure-ment charts in work place.

Aluminium Railing and Fencing

6 quick tips in evaluating Chinese Extruders

Kam Kiu helps

customers colouring

the metal in 3 ways:

Anodizing,

Paint,

Powder coating

K a m K i u ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l ) L t d .

Kam Kiu Railing Facbrica-tion: - bending, - drilling, - punching, - chamfering, - deburring, - flaring, - cut to length

Kam Kiu’s safety helmet and glasses

Kam Kiu’s security guards

Kam kiu’s daily production briefing

Page 3

The extrusion process has many variables in it. Some of the variables can be con-trolled, yet some can not. Controlling as many of these variables as possible helps produce the highest quality extrusions available. One variable in the process can be eliminated when the die quality is controlled with very tight parameters. This will help reduce die pulls and increase quality and consistency. One way to achieve this is to improve die manufacturing proc-esses.

Die Manufacturing: Many of the die manufacturers in the world have changed their manufacturing proc-esses from manual machin-ing to CNC machining. This has allowed them to manufacture dies with tighter tolerances, allowing for a more repeatable, con-sistent outcome. From the CAD drawings CNC pro-grams are made to perform most of the critical aspects of the die automatically. This would include Wire EDMing of the die openings after heat treatment, milling of the bearing lengths, ports, pockets and flow ar-eas of the dies.

Much of the world still thinks it’s cheaper to ma-chine dies manually due to the difference of the cost of labor vs. the cost of this CNC equipment. While this might be true the quality of the products are vastly dif-ferent.

As simple as this might seem it took many years to develop the processes to perform these tasks. De-veloping macros and family of parts programs helps reduce the time it takes to make CNC programs. You can take the time to de-velop these processes yourself, or you can employ the assistance of someone who has already been down that road and shorten the learning curve.

Are your extrusion dies per-forming as well as you think they should? Gary W. Dion, has 30 years of results-oriented experience in the aluminum extrusion indus-

try. He

can assist in developing and implementing training programs for workers to help you achieve greater success in your factory.

duct sales of our extrusion products in Singapore and Dorothy will co-ordinate all administrative functions between our plant and of-fices as well as back-up our local and regional sales efforts in Singapore. And we are also delighted to announce the appoint-ment of Mr. Vladan (Vlad) Milovanovic as

We are happy to have 2 new colleagues joining our Singaporean Sales Team, they are: 1.Mr Freddy Lee (李李仁仁仁) as Sales Manager 2.Ms Dorothy Lee (李李鸾鸾鸾) as Sales Co-Ordinator. Fred will assist and con-

our Sales Manager in Syd-ney. Mr. Milovanovic has extensive experience in aluminium extrusion indus-try. He has worked as Sales Manager for Capral, the biggest extruder in Austra-lia,for over 10 years.

Die Manufacturing Process Control - To ensure quality extrusion

New resources in Kam Kiu’s International Sales Team

3 Critical Aspects to

ensure quality

extrusion:

1. Die design and

Manufacturing,

2. Extrusion Control,

3. Die maintenance

K a m K i u ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l ) L t d .

G. W. Dion Com-pany LLC 1910 Lakeville Road

Leonard, Mi, USA 48367

Phone: 1-248-969-3022

Fax 1-248-969-0370

www.mich.com/~gwd

Rm 17, 18/F Concordia Plaza, 1 Science Museum Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon Hong Kong

KAM KIU (INTERNATIONAL) LTD.

In most companies, quality inspection is done after the last manu-facturing operation is completed. Kam Kiu’s customers can be rest assured, however, that quality is checked at every stage in the manufacturing process. From start to finish. We have built our Total Quality Management (TQM) system, which ensures the best products reach our clients. Through our en-tire process, quality check results are recorded from all stages of manufacturing. We make sure all permanent records confirm that the die has been made as specified, extrusion be run at proper speeds, temperature be maintained at the optimal level, and all di-mensions be strictly kept within tolerance. The quality assurance procedures at Kamkiu plants meet the most stringent requirements. This TQM system has been awarded ISO 9002 accreditation .

Quality is the key

Phone: +852 97381863 Fax: +852 30054790 Email: info@kamkiu.com

The Premium Aluminium

Fabricator in Asia

Check our Web site: Http://www.kamkiu.

com

K a m K i u ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l ) L t d .