Document jgL3ZXapw43M2eXEy8yX29qMQ

nillUTES SALE3 PnO.IOTlOJ COrtuITTSS Asbestos Textile Institute October 3# 1168 Hotel Hershey, Herahey,Pa. Page *1- The Seles Promotion Committee met on October 3, 1966 with repre sentatives of four member oompanlea in attendance* One area of concern of this eonrnittee is the very real threat of imported Japanese asbestos textiles* At our meeting in Atlanta last June, it was suggested that we investigate the possibility of insti tuting "dumping" charges against the Japanese industry. We requested oounsel to prooeed through an approach to the Board of Trade Commiss ion* Mr* Flocken has submitted his comprehensive report on the subject* Zt can be summarised briefly at this time by saying that we all feel that this approach has little chance of success* "Dumping" charges have been successful in a ratio of about 3 In 50. After exhaustive discussion, we foel that our complaint is indeed flimsy and the. entire subject has been shelved. Many members have reported that Japanese cloth is demonstrably infer ior to doth made in U.S.A* With thia in mind, we obtained a roll of Japanese cloth and asked the Technical Cors-iittee to arrange phys ical tests on it by each company. At this time we wish to express our appreciation to the Technical Committee under the leadership of John Hawkins for the report on the results of this testing. The test J results of each company were sent to John Hawkins who compiled and submitted them to thia oommlttee. In general, the physicals were standard. However, they do reveal two areas which we feel could be exploited in the market. Despite the faot that they have a high asbestos content-ASTM Orade "A"--it was reported that they failed to pass a standard flame test. Members felt that this was because they (the Japanese) used acrylic fibers es a carrier. The cloth also had a relatively poor warp tensile. This was particularly revealed and emphasised in the heat aging test whereby the residual tenslles after heat aging were decidedly inferior to standards maintained by ell member companies. In addition, ons company was able to detormine that the Japanese seemed able to use shorter fibers in their cloth than we in tnls country. Thie contributes to their lower costs but. In addition, causes lower tensile strengths. Copies of the report were given to member companies in attendance and copies will be sent to those companies who were unable to attend. Zt was decided that no collective action would be taken ae a result of theae tests but each member can uee the report ae he soes fit. We foel that the cloth does not represent an economic purchase in relation to its projected life and that the data can be helpful in proving thia premise. 9 (continued) t \  Minutes Sales Promotion Committee - continued: Page -2- Ae has now beeoae ouetomary, the greatest proportion of our time was consumed in the diaoussion of the problems of air hygiene. Everyone was Impressed with the impaet of the symposium held on Wednesday, afternoon (October 2,1968). Ho one can be sore conoemed than the responsible members of our conraittee. And yet we are frustrated at our inability to cone up with concrete proposals for collective aotion. We ere not short on suggestions. But after thorough diaouss ion# and excellent professional advice from Mr. Flocken (Counsel) we end up deciding that oolleotlve action would introduce far more problems than it would eolve. Eduoation of our sales forces and our customers seems to be the only constructive tool we have at this time. Finally, we discussed onco more the purchasing procedures of the Federal Government and the hardships they impose on members. Though, we made an attempt this year to try to have them alter the system, we were not successful. As long as the system works--as it does-- to the advantage of the Government, there is no ohanee here to alter it. Again, no collective action teems advisable and efforts will be discontinued. Respectfully submitted, H.Q. Scowcroft Chairman 0