Dr. David Armbruster spoke after dinner at the ACC&CE monthly meeting. Dr, Armbruster is Vice President of ACC&CE and one of the association's members who has grown his practice into associated businesses other than consulting. He recounted the events of the 16 years since founding his consultancy and ended by stressing that a key to his successes has been the forging of "Strategic Alliances".

"Strategic Alliance" is a term that Dr. Armbruster uses to denote a relationship with an individual, a company or an organization that function as long-term associates that can by called upon as needed to augment an individual entrepreneur's own talents, abilities and time. With the right handling an entrepreneur can be successful in building and cementing these relationships over the years to be able to take advantage of new "windows of opportunity" as they appear, with confidence that he can obtain the backup to convert them into a new and profitable venture.

For these strategic alliances to work and endure the entrepreneur must see to it that the ally becomes a short-term partner and shares in the benefits of the venture. Some alliances may last for one venture; others may carry over into new ones. Obviously the entrepreneur must be oriented toward people and have the knack for making new friends and gaining their confidence. To succeed over the long run it is essential that the allies are dealt with honestly and fairly so that the entrepreneur keeps a good reputation.

Dr. Armbruster told of the different kinds of allies making up his individual career. Some of his allies were among the following: an organizer of seminars; toll manufacturers; members of trade and technical associations; business plan experts; advertising and promotion specialists; trade show operators. This demonstrates that a successful small business needs many kinds of specialists and it is possible for one person to use the experience and talents of many others without having to learn to do them all himself.

There is another concept that is involved in the making of strategic alliances. That is "Networking". This term is much in vogue today and has many meanings. The one to focus on is the basic idea of fashioning a working style of reaching out to many people and organizations. The regular making of notes of names, addresses, phone numbers and other data makes one ready to contact others when it is timely to make an alliance to step through that "window of opportunity" and act. Members of ACC&CE network with each other; they sometimes form strategic alliances; more of them should.

Dr. Armbruster shows that networking alone is not enough. It is the using of the contacts that one has made that leads to new opportunities and increased income and business activity.

In May, 1998, the Board of Directors contributed a report to Congress's National Science Policy Study, emphasizing the current dominance by the United States in Science and Technology. The document urged that the following key areas be kept in Congress's long-range policy: maintaining U.S. preeminence in all major areas of scientific research and education
fostering the intricate and powerful linkages among science, technology, and societal goals,
providing the world's best education for advanced science and engineering, while cultivating the scientific and technological literacy essential for our diverse citizenry to participate effectively in the decisions and events that shape their lives.

As we of ACC&CE have a stake in the technological future of the United States, we should be concerned about government policy. We benefit in our consulting practices from support for research and the education of new scientists and engineers. We also benefit when general education of the public promotes the understanding and appreciation of hard science as a driving force for national strength.

When Erie Coleman became President in 1996 he proposed that ACC&CE should create ways for members to earn income from ACCCE-sponsored events. He has now made his idea into a real possibility. ACC&CE Council has authorized Coleman to proceed with a specific plan. He will set up and manage a group of seminars, each one organized by a specific person. What follows is Ernie's outline. It deserves your close attention.

About 3-6 different seminars will be planned for the same time and location. Each seminar will have a leader and as many presenters as the leader desires. The leader may be a member of ACC&CE or not. There is a good chance that one or more seminar will be canceled for lack of interest, but there is also a good chance that most of the seminars will be well attended and profitable to their leaders, who will be investors in their own enterprises.

The cost of the seminars will consist of postage, mailing list purchase, printing of advertising, fees to management, cancellation charges, room fees, receptionist, etc. The budget is not developed yet but it could exceed $10,000 for each seminar.

Income will be used to pay all expenses (even for seminars that were canceled), management expenses (this is my personal fee for running the seminars). the remaining funds will be distributed among course leaders who in turn can pay their presenters and keep the profits.

This is the basic idea. It will be developed in more detail throughout 1998 and begin in 1999. If you are interested in being an investing course leader and have a course in mind, please contact Dr. Ernest Coleman by fax (203-595-0833) or E-mail (ECcpt@aol.com). Act now because Ernie must have a plan by the end of summer in order to show the Association of Consulting Chemists & Chemical Engineers, Inc.

If you are interested, act now. Ernie needs 3-5 investing course leaders by September 1, 1998.

Dr. David Armbruster (Vice President, member #622) is pleased to announce his 7th annual "Advanced Radiation (UV/EB) Curing marketing/Technology Seminar" scheduled for October 7-8, 1998 at the Marriott Hotel, Newark Airport, Newark NJ. This seminar presents leading edge knowledge and advanced perspectives on radiation curing markets/technology and related new business opportunities in this high growth (12%) industry.

Brochures and information can be requested as follows; Voice 908-277-1614, Fax 908-277-1573, E-mail: drdavearm@worldnet.att.net. Armbruster Associates Inc., 43 Stockton Road, Summit NJ 07901. Web Site: www.armbrusterassocinc.com.

Turning trees into pulp and pulp into paper takes a lot of chemicals. It also traditionally has generated large quantities of chemical wastes. Especially troublesome in those wastes are the chlorinated dioxins and furans For the last four years pulp and paper companies have been working, spurred by the EPA, to develop new processes that reduce the amounts discharged into the air and rivers. They must look for reduced costs at the same time in a very competitive industry.

Chlorine gas was one traditional agent for breaking down the lignin component of wood, allowing the cellulosic fibers to be recovered for pulp. More chlorine was used to bleach and decolorize the pulp. The same jobs have more recently been done using sodium chlorate, chlorine dioxide or hydrogen peroxide or oxygen.

Statistics collected by Freedonia Group, a Cleveland market research firm, point to a drop of 35% in chlorine sales for this purpose and increases in use of sodium chlorate and hydrogen peroxide of 62% and 290%, respectively, in the 4-year period ending in 1995. Another form of chlorine, chlorine dioxide, is now displacing sodium chlorate as bleach. An industry group called AET (Alliance for Environmental Technology), made up of producers and users of sodium chlorate, was formed to press for its adoption.

Activist groups like Greenpeace and the Environmental Defense Fund have been making strong objections to the manufacture and use of chlorine -- and all its compounds -- in the name of public and wildlife values. Countering this push has been a group, The Chlorophiles, that tries to explain to the public that extreme measures are not the way to go. Specific remedies like bleaching with chlorine dioxide accomplish major results in a more sensible way. One ACC&CE member, Elliott Weinberg (# 637), who is active with Chlorophiles, keeps in close touch with these matters and is available to speak, as he has done many times, on behalf of Element Number17.

These are examples of major shifts over a relatively short time span. It suggests that helping industries to cope simultaneously with the factors of environmental concerns, government regulation, product quality and improved economics offer new opportunities to technical and problem-solving people like consultants, even in old, staid industries.

Coincidences are made possible by prior sensitization. If Dr. Clifford Ballard of AlliedSignal Engineered Materials had not been the ACC@CE dinner speaker on November 19, a recent New York Times article would not have attracted this reporter's attention.

The topic of the Times article was a small electric generator being made by Capstone Turbine of Tarzana, CA. The coincidence came from the crossover between that and Dr. Ballard's talk "Advances in Powder Injection Molding". The common factor was a microturbine rotor manufactured by AlliedSignal.

The heart of the microturbine is a vaned rotor made by precision injection molding of a water-based mixture of mineral powders to form the precursor of the turbine rotor. After drying, the part is fired to convert the minerals to a heat-resistant, tough and strong circular article, shaped with ribbed vanes. A stream of hot gas from the combustion of fuel spins the rotor at 96,000 RPM on "air bearings".

Dr. Ballard in his talk described the process of manufacture of rotors to precision tolerances and showed examples of various sizes.

The Times article reports that Capstone manufactures small power plants using these microturbines to spin generators, making it possible for electricity to be produced at the local level where needed. The massive power plants and the distribution systems they require may be replaced by thousands of the tiny turbogenerators. Capstone expects to make 5,000 of their turbine-driven minigenerators in 1998 and 25,000 the year after.

This is chemical technology applied to creation of an essential material that makes a new, economical energy system workable.

I received a call from an engineer in Connecticut who had a copy of the "Red Book". He was seeking a consultant for a client in the Midwest - which seemed unusual because I am located in the State of Washington. I said I was interested. The client, an equipment manufacturing firm, called and we arranged to meet in Seattle where one of their clients was having corrosion problems with one of their machines.

After reviewing the operation at a food procession firm, I was able to make recommendations both to the user in terms of better cleaning procedures, and to the manufacturer for an improved design and material selection.

The only "long-term" difficulty was that I and my car smelled like smoked fish for a week afterwards.