ThyssenKrupp Presta Cold Forge (www.thyssenkrupp.com)

is a cold forging producer of custom forgings for the automotive supplier industry located in Danville, IL.  Darrin Johnson, Sales Engr. serves as the company's official representative to FIA. (217-709-1500)

 

Fontijne Grotnes, Inc. located in Itasca, IL. (www.fontijnegrotnes.com) makes sizers, expanders, shrinkers, rollformers and tooling for the rolled ring industry.  Ken Best, VP Sales & Marketing, will serve as Official Representative to FIA.   (630-875-1201)
 
Axis LLC, located is Paragould, AR is an open die custom producer of forgings for the railroad, aerospace and drilling markets.  Tim Dunagan, General Manager is the company's official representative to the Association. (870-215-4500)

 

Spurred principally by Washington discussion pertaining to the Employee Free Choice Act, the importance of Energy and Climate change policy to the forging industry, discussion of certain tax credits vital to all manufacturers, and desire to tell a challenged, "bailout-obsessed" Congress about today's and future economic realities of industrial America, more than 20 FIA members have pre-registered for FIA's next (6th) annual Lobby Day, March 12 in Washington. 
 
FIA Lobby firm The Laurin Baker Group, is coordinating FIA's event and scheduling appointments between representatives on the Hill with their FIA constituents, individually and in FIA teams.  Washington is very busy at this time with hotel space at a premium and the time requirement tight for scheduling Congressional appointments  past Friday Feb 27.  Nonetheless, interested members motivated enough to participate are urged to contact Jennifer Baker Reid [email protected] as soon as possible for assistance about getting on board with this opportunity.  Thanks again for your support!

 

 

http://cardcheck.ohiomfg.com is a direct link access providing more information about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).  The site is provided by the Ohio Manufacturers Association and part of a larger effort by several state associations.
 
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Wall Street record lows, automotive industry bailouts, bank failures, the credit squeeze, stimulus packages, green companies going gold, President Obama... for the most part, all non-existent entities at the last FIA Annual Meeting in May, 2008 - just a few short months ago. North America and the world are changing at a rapid pace. To help keep up, please plan on attending the 2009 FIA Annual Meeting of Members where we will confront and dissect most of these issues head on.

 

Scheduled for May 2-5, 2009 at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, CA, the meeting is packed with useful presentations. We'll look at the first 100 Days of the Obama Administration and how it has and will impact us personally and professionally. We'll take an extensive look at the world and domestic economic conditions and focus on the issues and countries likely to have the largest impact on us. And the largest market segment for the forging industry and one in great turmoil, we will pay special attention to the automotive industry and its present and future conditions.  Finally, a look at how more and more companies of every size are finding out that eco-efficiency can actual give your company a strategic advantage. All these topics and more will be discussed amongst attendees personally at the four general business roundtables - always a popular session.

As we realize all companies are watching their bottom lines, we have kept attendee fees to 2007 levels, in spite of increase in costs.

 

Please click here for full meeting information and registration materials.

 

Plant Tour - Table Top Exhibits - Cleveland - Hotel Cutoff March 23rd
 
A Tool for Global Competitive Survival.  Successful companies always strive to achieve a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Today's forging manufacturing leaders know that optimized production is the path to survival and increased profitability. Successful companies are continuously seeking new ways to leverage the potential of their manufacturing operations.
With presentations from industry leaders, and a wide array of table top exhibits, Conference attendees will be introduced to the latest and best advances in Automation, Quick Die Change, and Lubrication Application technologies that the industry has to offer.
 
Who should attend? Forging industry CEOs, plant managers, technology directors and managers, plant and chief engineers, engineering managers, and plant maintenance managers are encouraged to attend this conference.
Table Top Exhibits - Space Available
 
(Click here) to view/print Conference Program and Registration Form, or contact George Layne at [email protected]. 

 

A Workshop for Industrial Engineers and Lean Practitioners
 
Objective
This workshop will present proven ideas, methods and software tools for designing both Lean and Flexible facility layouts for high-mix low-volume multi-product multi-machine manufacturing facilities.  It will show how to integrate facility design strategies pioneered by Toyota with new software based on the method of Production Flow Analysis (PFA) developed in the early 1970's.    
 
Agenda
If you wish to receive an electronic copy of the agenda, please email me at [email protected] or call me at (614) 688-4685. 
 
Dates
March 16-17, 2009
 
Location
Room 281, Baker Systems Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
http://www.osu.edu/map/building.php?building=280

 
 Registration Fee
$150 per person payable by check to "The Ohio State University".
 
 A Special Bonus for Attendees
You could also attend the JobshopLean Simulation on March 18 at no extra cost!  This simulation is essentially a manual interactive game that uses a hypothetical multi-machine multi-product jobshop to demonstrate a variety of JobshopLean best practices that have been proven to work in practice.  In particular, it demonstrates how to put into practice the ideas, methods and software tools that will be discussed in the workshop. 
 
This event is being sponsored by Manufacturing Engineering Inc. (www.mfgeng.com) and will be conducted at their corporate offices.  For further information on this event, please email Jerry Hoskins at [email protected] or call him at (614) 487-7900 x103.    
 
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]

or call me at (614) 688-4685. 

 

Over 50 FIA company members that participated in the Annual Hourly and Management Wage and Benefit surveys recently received reports that cover more than 30 hourly, 7 supervisory and 29 management job titles' annual base salary, bonus/profit sharing and benefit package information.
 
Reports detail industry information for the year including:
� Average total wage and benefit cost for hourly workers was reported as $25.40;
� Supervisory salary increases averaged 2.95%;
� An average 3.14 ratio of production to management employees;
 
Non-participant FIA Members may purchase the reports for $500 each by contacting Karen Lewis ([email protected] or 216.781.6260)

 

 

All FIA Member Custom Forging Companies in North America should have received their 2008 Annual Confidential Survey of Profits. 

NO COST to participate.  REQUIREMENT:  complete the FIA Annual Orders, Shipments & End-Use Markets survey sent to you in January.  If you have not yet completed that survey, contact FIA to receive the forms or download the PDF forms you need by clicking the link below:
 
    Impression Die (Closed Die) Form [click here] 
    Open Die Form [click here]   

    Rolled Ring Form [click here] 

The deadline to participate is March 16, 2009.  If you have not received the questionnaire, call FIA  - 216.781.6260 - and ask for Diane or Mary Ann.

 

 

By Jan 31, 38 FIA members replied to five general questions asked about business conditions.  Responses from 20 Closed Die and 13 Open Die/Rolled Ring producers, and 5 supplier members are tabulated on the enclosed  5 charts in  response to 1. 2009 sales forecast;  2.  Current employment;  3. Sales range (size) of respondents;  4.  Employment projection for 2009; and 5.  Salary adjustments.

 

Click here to view/print chart.

 

The Safety & Health Committee's latest Newsletter has been posted on the FIA Website.
 
In this issue:
    o Safety, Luck No Match Against Stupid Factor
    o OSHA Inspector's Manual
    o OSHA Says 2008 Enforcement Success
    o Safety Star Awards: Scot forge, ATI Portland Forge, Eaton Corp.
    o Eye Safety Tip Sheet (Spanish Translation)
 
Click here to view/print Newsletter

 

 

 

Members now have easy access to energy efficiency and savings tools developed by the Department of Energy (DOE) on the Energy Efficiency and Savings Tools section FIA's homepage.  FIA and FIERF have partnered with the DOE's Industrial Technologies Program to help members increase their energy efficiency and decrease costs with
� Software Tools - Quick Plant Energy Profiler; Process Heating; Air; Steam & more;
� Process Heating Sourcebook - a 114 page resource;
� Best Practice Tip Sheets - for process heating; steam; motors and compressed air;
� Case Studies; Save Energy Now Webcasts; and
� Energy Audits available through Industrial Assessment Centers
 
Contact George Mochnal ([email protected], 239-394-5717) or Karen Lewis ([email protected], 216.781.6260) for more information or to provide feedback on your experiences with these tools.
 
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"I would highly recommend starting a summer internship program within your company if you have not done so previously.  From the past 2 summers we have had 7 summer interns and 3 have gone on to become full-time engineers. It is our goal to develop our summer interns into future Weber Metals employees and through our extensive program we have been very successful in achieving our goals.  We plan on hiring summer interns for many years to come."

  Andrea Bloom, Weber Metals
 
Andrea goes on to say the purpose of their internship is to "provide a well-planned and supervised experience that integrates the student's academic preparation into a related, applied work experience in our manufacturing environment.  Our summer interns will be challenged to think outside their normal thought process to come up with functional solutions that will help lay the foundation for their future careers."  As part of the program, students are partnered with a sponsor and a mentor as well as the department head for whom they will be working.
 
For more information on summer internship programs see the FIERF produced How to Organize a Successful Internship Programor contact the Foundation Office at 216.781.5040 for student resumes and Magnet School contact information.

 

 Scholarship Application Deadline is March 15
 
Charles W. Finkl Scholarships are awarded to 15 university engineering juniors each year.  Children, grandchildren of employees or students who have worked for FIA Member Companies or with a connection to the forging industry are given priority for the scholarships that award $4000 over the students' junior and senior years.
 
See the Finkl Scholarship Website for complete guidelines and application materials.   Applications must be submitted by March 15th.   Students will be notified in May.
 
Over 80 students have benefited from these scholarships since the A. Finkl and Sons Co. established the program to honor Chuck Finkl's passion for the forging industry and education.  Contributions have also been received from many FIA Members. 

 

The FIERF supported Master's research of Elizabeth Ann Bilitz at Illinois Institute of Technology has been completed and is available to FIA Members.  The research on The Effect of Nickel Content on the Thermal Processing of 4330 Alloys (pdf) hot tensile tested three modifications of forged 4330 steel.  Comparisons of nickel content ranging from 1.75 to 2.85 wt. % nickel tested over a temperature range of 950-1300C are reported.  The highest nickel sample set showed losses in ductility at lower temperatures. 
 
Ms. Bilitz graduated in December and is now employed as a metallurgist at A. Finkl and Sons.

 

 

FIERF Magnet School Professor Robert Voigt has been named the inaugural recipient of the Penn State Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Society (PSIMES) Faculty Appreciation Award.  The award recognizes current industrial engineering faculty members who have had a significant impact on the careers of alumni of the Penn State IE department. 

Dr. Voigt is an active participant in the Foundation's University programs hosting the August meeting of the FIERF Board on campus and supervising the FIERF Fellowship research of Mr. Rodrigo C�liz on the Design of Robust Temperature Specifications for Billet Induction Heating in cooperation with Keystone Forge and Inductoheat, Inc. 

 

 

 

Sponsors of Forge Fair 2010 will gain added visibility for their companies, demonstrating their support for the forging industry, as well as making it possible for FIA to lower Attendee Registration Fees for the second Forge Fair in a row!

Click here to view/print Program Outline