The Forty-fourth General Assembly was held in Lisbon, Portugal, on October 13th 2003.  The technical presentations, together with a tour of the EPCOS plant at Évora, a cocktail reception to open the meeting, sightseeing activities in Lisbon, Évora and Monsaraz, and a Gala Dinner at the Museu dos Coches completed an excellent programme from October 12th to 14th.

Mr C. Edward Mosheim retired from the position of Technical Promotions Officer after serving for four years: the association thanked him for all his diligent work in this role.  

Mr William A. Serjak succeeded Mr Mosheim in the technical post, and the association welcomed him to his new situation.

Plant tour: EPCOS

More than one hundred delegates toured the capacitor factory of EPCOS in Évora, and were most impressed by the highly automated equipment which produces capacitors tested for 100% reliable quality.  The staff of the plant were most welcoming and proved highly informative guides, and the T.I.C. is most grateful to everyone for this extremely well organised tour, especially President and CEO Mr Jose Vale Afonso who oversaw the entire operation.

Tours

On Monday October 13th the group of those accompanying the delegates visited the city of Lisbon, seeing sights which ranged from the Moorish Alfama district to the modern aquarium in the park arranged for the recent Expo.

Their tour on Tuesday took them to the Alentejo region, to the UNESCO heritage site of the historic town of Évora, and to the tiny village of Monsaraz perched high on a rocky outcrop overlooking the river which forms the Spanish border, soon to become a huge reservoir.  The delegates who toured the plant in Évora also visited the town and spent time in Monsaraz, where an intricate treasure hunt activity including ancient games was arranged, drawing our attention to the details of the village houses when we could be distracted from admiring the beauty of the view.

All four groups, by an amazing feat of timing, met for a splendid lunch of typical Portuguese dishes at the Convent of Ourada.

Gala Dinner

The Gala Dinner in the Carriage Museum of Lisbon, hosted by EPCOS and the T.I.C., was the highlight of the social events, and most memorable.  The tables were set among the exhibits - resplendent coaches and carriages with their own history of royal and noble owners - sparkling with candlelight.  Music from the 17th century was played and we were entertained by elegantly costumed ladies and gentlemen who performed baroque dances.

Technical programme

Review of the year
by Ed Mosheim, Technical Promotions Officer of the T.I.C.

Tantalum capacitors - challenges and developments
by John Moore and John Prymak, Kemet

Tantalum industry in China
by He Jilin, Zhang Zhongguo, et al., Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Corp.

A comparison of niobium, niobium oxide, tantalum and aluminium capacitor technologies
by Dr T. Zednicek, Dr Z. Sita, Dr C. McCracken, S. Zednicek, W. Millman and J. Gill, AVX

With pick and pan - mining and processing of tantalum ores
by Richard Burt, GraviTa

New developments in conductive polymers for capacitors
by Dr Klaus Lerch, Dr Udo Merker, Dr Klaus Wussow and Dr Stephan Kirchmeyer, H.C. Starck

Niobium compounds for capacitor applications in Brazil
by Solon Y. Tagusagawa and Alberto A. Ono, CBMM, and Masana Imagumbai, CBMM Asia

Niobium in crystal ware
by A.T. Pereira and A.D. Menezes, CBMM - Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração, and F.W. Strauss and D. Silva, Cristallerie Strauss, presented by Antonio Telhado, CBMM

Future of tantalum capacitors - technologies and markets
by Dr Werner Lohwasser, EPCOS SA, Portugal

Tantalum chip capacitors in the automotive arena
by Martin Rudert, Robert Bosch GmbH, Automotive Electronics Division