(Bloomberg) - A metals manufacturer faked test results and provided faulty materials to NASA, causing more than $700 million in losses and two failed satellite launch missions, according to an investigation by the U.S. space agency.The fraud involved an Oregon company called Sapa Profiles Inc., which falsified thousands of certifications for aluminum parts over 19 years for hundreds of customers, including NASA.The bad parts were used in the making of Taurus XL, a rocket that was supposed to deliver satellites studying the Earth's climate during missions carried out in 2009 and 2011. The launch vehicle's fairing, a clamshell structure that carries the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere, didn't fully open, causing the unsuccessful launch, according to a statement from NASA."When testing results are altered and certifications are provided falsely, missions fail," said Jim Norman, director for launch services at NASA in Washington. He added that years of scientific work were lost because of the fraud.News of the satellite failures comes a week after Norsk Hydro ASA, the current parent company of Sapa, agreed to pay $46 million to NASA, the Department of Defense and others to resolve criminal charges and civil claims related to the fraud, which took place from 1996 to 2015.The company admitted that employees had faked test results related to the metal's strength and reliability under pressure. Sapa Profiles, now known as Hydro Extrusion Portland Inc., also agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and is barred from U.S. federal government contracting."Corporate and personal greed perpetuated this fraud against the government and other private customers, and this resolution holds these companies accountable for the harm caused by their scheme," said Brian Benczkowski, assistant attorney general of the criminal division at the Department of Justice, in an April 23 statement.A spokesman for Norsk Hydro said the case has been settled. Last week, it said it has invested "significant time and resources to completely overhaul our quality and compliance organizations.

Aluminum parts manufactured with falsified data are flying on Boeing jetliners today and were used extensively across all the company's commercial products, according to a person briefed on the impact to the plane maker. The material is unlikely to cause safety concerns, the person added. But the problem presents a significant headache for the plane maker, which will have to account for all of the suspect aluminum and ensure every component meets regulatory standards. Boeing (BA) acknowledged that it was notified about the issues with the Japanese metals company. Boeing "has been working closely and continuously with our suppliers ... to ensure timely and appropriate action, including comprehensive inspections and analysis throughout our supply chain," a spokesman said in a statement. "Nothing in our review to date leads us to conclude that this issue presents a safety concern," said Boeing. The Kobe Steel scandal has shaken corporate Japan and sparked concern across the global supply chain in aerospace as well as the automotive manufacturing and rail industries. Related: Kobe Steel shares crash again. Can it survive fake data scandal? Kobe Steel has admitted it fabricated data related to the quality and strength of aluminum and copper used in a range of products at hundreds of companies -- from cars to defense equipment and airplanes. The company said it was undertaking a broad investigation into its initial findings. The suspect aluminum has been used to make parts from Japanese manufacturers Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Subaru, which make major structural portions of Boeing's jets, as well as Nabtesco, which supplies the plane maker with mechanical components called actuators that move the jet's flight controls. A spokesman for Subaru said, "We are still investigating this situation with our supplier base to see which parts contain this steel, and to see if there is any risk posed at all." Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nabtesco did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kobe Steel is required to submit data attesting to the material properties of the parts it makes for companies that supply parts to Boeing's factories. A portion of material it is building with is set aside for testing. In many cases, data collected in testing didn't pass strength tests and were disregarded, the person briefed on the Boeing findings said. Kobe said in a report released on Friday that "a portion of the inspection items ... was not conducted, and inspection data was rewritten" on its aluminum products. Kobe said the aluminum parts in question were manufactured between September 2016 and August 2017, but Boeing and its suppliers are looking farther back to determine the extent of the impact. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, manufacturer of the new Mitsubishi Regional Jet, said it affected parts are used on test aircraft it is flying today. Production standard aircraft won't be delivered until 2020. A spokesman for Boeing rival Airbus said it does not use Kobe aluminum on its airliners, but parts of the landing gear on its new A350 XWB is forged from Kobe's titanium. Kobe also supplies non-aluminum parts for engines that fly on many of Airbus's jets. Kobe has not indicated titanium is part of its inquiry into falsified data.

WATERLOO - When Ron Bender told his wife Christine he was thinking of investing in a new anodizing plant next to the machining business they have owned for more than two decades, she was hesitant.
"I just thought, 'Really?' We have 22 years in this. Do we really want to start another business now?" Christine recalls.
But the hesitation didn't last long. In October of last year, the Benders opened KW Anodizing Ltd., located next door to their RJB Machining business in Waterloo.
They realized the anodizing facility was the best way to protect the viability of their machining business, which makes parts for cameras, lasers and other electronics products for high-tech companies in the area.
The new facility has the capacity to do medium-sized anodizing jobs for RJB's customers, as well subcontracted work from other machine shops in the area. It can do black and clear anodizing, as well as yellow and clear chromate coatings on metal.
Anodizing is a process that involves putting aluminum parts into a bath of electrolyte solution and passing an electrical current through it in order to penetrate the metal with a tough, resistant film.
Unlike paint, the film seeps into the metal and gives it a finished look. It's the sleek black metal look you see around the lens of a camera or on smartphones and music players, for example. Parts for the aircraft industry also are anodized because the process gives the metal more durability under stress.
Of course, anodizing is an entirely different kind of business from machining precision parts. It involves chemical solutions, detergents and dyes and big tanks of boiling water. "It was a bit scary because this was a whole different world for us," Ron says.
It was also risky from a business point of view because setting up an anodizing line required an investment of nearly $1 million. And anodizing represents only a fraction, perhaps a tenth, of what the Benders get for a part, which explains why it made sense for them to contract out that work for so many years.
But the stringent requirements of their customers forced them to act. Small anodizing subcontractors might not have the latest technology to satisfy high-tech customers who are extremely picky about the final look and function of their parts.
"This is our niche," says Ron. "Our attention to detail is so high." If even a little bit of oil gets stuck in a tiny hole or corner because a metal part wasn't cleaned properly, the anodized coating might not be uniform, which could mean scrapping a very expensive part, he says.
"A lot of the parts we make, like the camera parts, have very high cosmetic specifications," Christine says.
There are big specialized anodizing plants with the newer equipment in Ontario, but those facilities want high volume, fast production jobs, she says. "They didn't want to have to baby our parts in the way that our parts needed to be babied." The Benders, who employ 66 people at RJB, added almost 8,000 square foot to their main plant on Colby Drive to move some machining equipment from the building they leased next door. The anodizing equipment, including 18 tanks for the water and electrolyte solutions and racks and filtration equipment, were then installed next door.
The anodizing facility was built with the latest in clean air and water filtration equipment. "We were able to take advantage of the latest technologies," Ron says.
One of RJB's employees, Emil Spatar, was promoted as general manager of KW Anodizing. Originally from Romania, Spatar had already proven himself as a hard working employee, with a sharp eye for detail.
Although anodizing was a big learning curve for him, "he knew more about it than most people here and understands the quality behind it and what it has to look like," Ron says. Three people run the anodizing facility.
It took until March to get everything working to the satisfaction of the Benders. "But now we are getting quality that is actually a little better than expected," Ron says. "We are getting the nice, rich colours." The Benders hope to fill the capacity of the 3,300-square-foot facility by getting contracts from other machine shops. "We think there is enough of a market here," Ron says.
Christine, who handles the books for RJB, says the scrap ratio in the machining business is going down because the company does anodizing in-house, "and that helps in saving costs all along the line." Their machines are not making as many parts over again, which frees them up do more. "We have a faster throughput," Ron says.
Manufacturing was in a deep recession in 2009 when the Benders began making the investment in anodizing. "But sometimes, a recession is the best time to start a business," Ron says.
"We really couldn't afford not to do it," Christine now says. "Even after 22 years in business, we are obviously not done, and to keep a business viable, you have to keep moving forward.

Firefighters cleared a 150-foot area of the Opa-locka Executive Airport in south Florida after a 55 gallon drum located either on or near part of a dismantled aircraft was discovered to be containing exposed, depleted uranium, NBC 6 South Florida reported. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Arnold Piedrahita Jr tweeted that a haz-mat scene was dispatched to the scene to assess the severity of the situation and monitor the levels of radiation. The rescue team later reduced the size of the impacted "hotzone" to just a five-foot perimiter and declared that the depleted uranium posed minimal to no hazard. As the investigation entered into the afternoon, the Department of Environmental Protection said someone had dismantled an old airplane, then placed some of the parts within the drum later determined to contain Uranium 238. According to a local NBC affiliate, a spokesperson for the DEP identified the depleted uranium as from aluminum parts that had been removed from the aircraft. Opa-locka is a reliever airport which serves as a secondary landing field for aircraft normally going in and out of the larger Miami International Airport. It also is a hub used by the United States Coast Guard for air and sea rescue stations. Depleted uranium is a radioactive product used in military munitions and fission bombs, and is regulated by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Earlier this week, RT reported that the US military's use of depleted uranium during the war in Iraq has led to a sharp increase in cases of Leukemia and birth defects, according to some local doctors. "After the start of the Iraq war, rates of cancer, leukemia and birth defects rose dramatically in Najaf. The areas affected by American attacks saw the biggest increases. We believe it's because of the' illegal' weapons like depleted uranium that were used by the Americans. When you visit the hospital here you see that cancer is more common than the flu," Dr. Sundus Nsaif told RT. According to a local NBC affiliate, officials at Opa-locka say there are no reported injuries. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department has asked the US Environmental Protection Agency for assistance.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) reported Q3 earnings that beat estimates and the stock price rallied on the news. The positive results were driven by success in the downstream business (that makes aluminum parts for cars, planes, etc.) and productivity enhancements. However, Alcoa's results should be viewed in the context of aluminum prices, which were stable for Q3 and did not provide a headwind like in previous quarters. Going forward, aluminum prices will continue to drive the stock price. Aluminum prices are trading near multi-year lows and face headwinds, but have held a key level, so far. In this article, I will analyze the dynamics of aluminum prices and the impact on Alcoa. Although I am still cautious about aluminum, there are a few positives to watch.Basic Thesis On AlcoaThe following is my basic thesis about Alcoa from my previous article:My recent articles on Alcoa can be found here:LME Aluminum PricesThe price for aluminum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) is $1,875 m/t (3 month buyer). Aluminum prices have been weak for a couple of years:(Source: LME.com)However, in Q3, the price of aluminum was fairly stable.(Source: LME.com)As a result, aluminum prices did not act as a significant headwind for Alcoa like in previous quarters. Just because Alcoa generated good results in Q3, does not mean that aluminum prices are no longer a key driver of the company or the stock.Alcoa's management estimates that a $100 m/t swing in aluminum prices has a $240 million impact on annual net income (source: Alcoa's Q3 2013 earnings presentation)Alcoa can counter the negative effect of lower aluminum prices with productivity improvements and other actions. However, the headwind still exists.PremiumsThe price that Alcoa gets for the aluminum that it produces is based on the LME price, plus regional premiums (plus any value-added impact).Regional premiums have started to show some weakness:(Source: Alcoa Q3 2013 earnings presentation)Proposed changes to LME rules may be dragging down regional premiums: LME changes hurt aluminum premiums - Alcoa executives.Supply / DemandAlcoa updated its supply/demand outlook for aluminum and projects a 400,000 m/t deficit in 2013, a slightly larger deficit than projected at the end of the last quarter.(Source: Alcoa Q3 2013 earnings presentation)Despite the projections for a deficit, aluminum prices have been weak.Rusal, another large aluminum producer, seems more concerned about the supply/demand balance. Rusal's management recently stated:For more about production cuts, please see my previous article.Other MetalsThe trend in aluminum is similar to the trends in copper, gold and silver. It will be interesting to see if the broad weakness across the metals continues or if divergences emerge.In the meantime, weakness in gold/silver could continue to be a negative catalyst for aluminum.Aluminum (3 month buyer):(Source: LME.com)Copper - iPath Dow Jones UBS Copper Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSEARCA:JJC)JJC data by YChartsGold - SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:GLD):GLD data by YChartsSilver - iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:SLV):SLV data by YChartsFinancials & ValuationThe key aspects of Alcoa's valuation:EstimatesAnalyst estimates increased slightly following the Q3 results.Stock PriceAlcoa's stock has been making lower-highs going back to 2011.I have been watching the $8 level as a key "bounce or breakdown" point. Although the stock dipped below $8 over the summer, it has bounced back.On an encouraging note, Alcoa's stock price has made higher-lows since July and has acted well following Q3 earnings.(Source: FreeStockCharts.com)Short InterestShort interest in Alcoa's stock has been increasing over the last few months.(Source: Nasdaq.com)Analyst SentimentPrior to the Q3 results, there were a couple of notable downgrades:Following Q3 earnings, analysts still seemed cautious:Key PositivesI have been (and remain) cautious on Alcoa, but it is important to recognize a few positives. The stock price may bottom before good news emerges.ConclusionsAlcoa generated good results in Q3. However, aluminum prices were neutral, compared to a headwind in previous quarters. This leads me to believe that the price of aluminum is still the key driver for the stock, despite the company's positive operational performance.Aluminum still faces more headwinds. Alcoa's supply/demand forecast seems to be at the optimistic end of the industry. The supply glut may continue to put pressure on aluminum prices.Despite the negativity, Alcoa's stock price has held up well. Maybe the negativity is priced-in.The key levels remain an $8 stock price and aluminum above $1,800 m/t.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above should not be construed as investment advice. This article is not tailored to specific investment objectives. Reliance on this information for the purpose of buying the securities to which this information relates may expose a person to significant risk. The information contained in this article is not intended to make any offer, inducement, invitation or commitment to purchase, subscribe to, provide or sell any securities, service or product or to provide any recommendations on which one should rely for financial, securities, investment or other advice or to take any decision. Readers are encouraged to seek individual advice from their personal, financial, legal and other advisers before making any investment or financial decisions or purchasing any financial, securities or investment related service or product.Information provided, whether charts or any other statements regarding market, real estate or other financial information, is obtained from sources, which we and our suppliers believe reliable, but we do not warrant or guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of this information. Nothing in this article should be interpreted to state or imply that past results are an indication of future performance.THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AS TO ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE OR ANY LINKED WEBSITE.Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in AA over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. 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