FIA's newest Supplier Member is Budenheim, USA Inc.  (www.budenheim.com) located in Columbus, Ohio.  Budenheim supplies white and graphite based lubricants to the forging industry.  Douglas Lim, VP will serve as Official Representative to FIA.  (614.345-2400)

Four new directors have been elected to Forging Industry Association's (FIA) Board of Directors for three year terms. They are:
 
Patrick Burke, General Manager, Turbine Engine Components Technologies (TECT) Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
Michael A. Kamnikar, Senior V.P., Marketing & Business Development, Ellwood Group, Inc., Ellwood City, PA
Mark Marcucci, President, Gerdau MACSTEEL, Jackson, MI                                                
Ronald A. Wallis,Technical Director, Wyman-Gordon Forgings, Inc., Houston, TX
 
J. Rick Creed, President & CEO, Weber Metals, Inc., Paramount, CA, was elected President. Kevin Crowley, President & CEO, Forged Products Inc., Houston, TX, was elected Association Vice President for the coming year. Eduardo Garza T. Junco, Managing Director, FRISA Aerospace, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and Ken Mathas, President, Cornell Forge Company, Chicago, IL, were elected to the FIA Executive Committee to serve with Creed and Crowley.
 
Four trustees have been elected to Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation's (FIERF) Board of Trustees for three-year terms.  They are: 
 
Douglas R. Brown, President, Inductoheat, Inc., Madison Heights, MI
Paul Dimitry, VP Tech. Service & Prod. Dev., Gerdau MACSTEEL, Jackson, MI
Bruce Liimatainen, Chairman & CEO, A. Finkl & Sons Co., Chicago, IL
Howard R. Mayer, President, The Queen City Forging Co., Cincinnati, OH
 
Douglas R. Brown, President, Inductoheat, Inc., Madison Heights, MI was elected to a two-year term as President of the Foundation. Brad A. Ahbe, President, Canton Drop Forge, Inc., Canton, OH was elected as Vice President for the coming year.
 
Joseph F. Cipriani, President, Keystone Forging Co., Northumberland, PA and Markus Knoerr, Dir. Advanced Engineering, Hephaestus Holdings, Inc. (HHI), Novi, MI were elected to the FIERF Executive Committee to serve with Brown and Ahbe.
 
Tony Biell, Scot Forge Co., has agreed to fill the unexpired 2010 term left vacant upon the resignation of Terry Brown. 
 
 (Back to Top)

Previously announced in a letter to FIA Official Reps on April  22, C. H. (Charlie) Hageman, FIA Executive Vice President/Chief Staff Officer since 1992, and staff member since 1977, confirmed his pending retirement from FIA by the end of the year.  In succession planning by the Board of Directors over the past year, target for his replacement is in the third quarter, with Hageman to remain with FIA  through December (or beyond if needed) to assist an effective transition.  A formal open search for the position  has been placed with Mr. Paul Belford of JDG Associates, Rockville, MD.  (contact: Belford@jdgsearch.com) who will  receive and coordinate resumes and all other calls of interest on behalf of FIA through the close of business on Friday, June 5. 
 
George Mochnal, FIA Director of Research and Education since 1994, has announced September as a target date for his retirement from FIA, also with agreement to stay on longer or as required to assist transition of his successor.    An open search for the  FIA Director of Technology position is underway over the summer  by way of national advertising, referral and solicitation within the industry, including a posting on the FIA Website "Find a job" under the Home page category of "Education and Career Resources".
 
While both retirements are planned for later in the year, FIA President Tim Hunter took the opportunity at the FIA Annual meeting to publicly recognize and thank both Hageman and Mochnal "in advance" for their longtime dedicated service, personal interest and help to FIA and member companies.
  
(Back to Top)

While the economy and Swine Flu fears affected attendance somewhat, the 2009 Annual Meeting was still rated very favorably  -  with speakers and location receiving "Very Good" to "Excellent" ratings from most attendees. Held May 2-5 at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, CA, FIA members enjoyed perfect weather and a California casual outdoor opening dinner party Saturday night. After a welcome from FIA President Tim Hunter, Sunday's business session opened with former Ambassador to Morocco -  Ed Gabriel's look at The First 100 Days of Obama (view slides).This was followed by a sobering yet informative look at the State of the Automotive Industry as presented by Plante & Moran's auto expert Craig Fitzgerald (view slides).

 

Monday opened with the Safety Awards, presented to companies showing excellent and/or much improved plant safety records in 2008 (view winners). Tom Faranda, expert on international affairs, followed with a look at some of the current and future global realities we will face in this growing world of global business. The FIA Official Business session followed, with members approving a $1.5 million budget and a slate of four new Board members (view names). Executive Roundtables closed the business portion of the meeting Monday. Special thanks to Mark Hoosier of Hirschvogel who moderated Automotive Business; Alex Jennings of Specialty Ring Products, moderator of the open die/seamless rolled ring producers business; Don Jones of DeKalb Forge, moderator of General business, and Thom Stys of Weber Metals, who moderated aerospace business.
 
At Monday evening's Annual Dinner/Dance outgoing FIA President Tim Hunter andFirst Lady Gretchen, McInnes Rolled Rings, introduced incoming President and First Lady, Rick and Susan Creed, Weber Metals, to the membership (view slide).
 
Tuesday's final session opened with a look at the North American  economy by Dr. Jack Kleinhenz (view slides). In Summary ...the worst may be over ! FIERF President Doug Brown  then provided an update on FIERF activities (view slides), and recognized McInnes Rolled Ring President & CEO Tim Hunter with a Bronze Anvil Award in recognition of the company's generous pledge of support to the Foundation (view contributor). The meeting concluded with a somewhat controversial session on how being environmentally friendly can actually produce a better bottom line. Andrew Winston, one of the most popular speakers and authors on the subject, shared several recycling and energy saving ideas already in use by small manufacturers to large OEM's such as Caterpillar, ALCOA and GE (view slides).
  

 

FIA has compiled and released the 2008 Industry Profit Report which provides analysis of cost and profit patterns for the industry at large, as well as separate breakouts for the Impression Die and Open Die/Rolled Ring segments.
 
The report benchmarks Cost of Goods Sold, Selling, Advertising, Labor and Burden-Rate Costs, comparison of net worth and annual return on: Assets Employed, Investments and Stockholders' Equity.
 
Profit levels are identified as Gross Profit; Profit on Regular Operations, before and after taxes.
 
Participant companies are compared on a size quartile basis by sales.
 
FIA's Profit Report is unique to the forging industry, not otherwise available from any other source.   Call Diane at the FIA office at 216-781-6260  (diane@forging.org) for more information about these programs and how to get started
 
(Back to Top) 

The Annual 2008 Custom Orders/Shipments and End-Use Markets reports were mailed in April to all participants.  Annual Orders/Shipment figures for Open Die and Rolled Ring segment reported increases in 2008, continuing to break records for shipments and bookings.  The Impression Die segment lagged the record pace of 2007.
 
· Impression Die......-1% shipments and -6% orders .
· Open Die............ +14% shipments and +13%

  orders.
· Rolled Rings ........+23% shipments and +29%

  orders.
 
All FIA members may purchase reports upon request, please call Diane Rothaermel or Mary Ann Ross at 216-781-6260.  You can also see the press release on our website at www.forging.org      
  

Complimentary to the economic review/presentation by Dr. Jack Kleinhenz at FIA's Annual Meeting (see his slides in FIA Quick Read summary of the 2009 Annual Meeting), we enclose a further economic review pointed at manufacturing provided courtesy of David Huether, Chief Economist at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
 
(Click here) to view/print Review.
 
 (Back to Top)

Long time FIA-featured speaker and economist, Dr. Ken Mayland of Clearview Economics, will now make available his monthly 'takes' on the current state of the economy. Like his industry meeting presentations, Dr. Ken's Comments & Reviews are short, direct and understandable-most no longer than one page. However, each report carries a varied look at the many aspects of the economy that are shaping our current financial situation.
 
FIA Members click here to view the reports.
 
(Back to Top)

There were a record number of 112 member company locations that participated this year, and have received the report listingforging industry DART Incidence and Recordable Incidence rates, the only source of such specific information. 
 
Plaques have been presented to companies with the lowest Recordable Incidence Rates and greatest Improvements, in each of the four size groups. Group IV, over 326 employees, led the industry in 2008 in having the lowest Recordable Incidence Rate, and in lowering their Group DART Rate. GOOD JOB EVERYONE!"
 
Again this year, Safety Award Winners will be highlighted in the May/June issue of FORGING Magazine.
 
(Click here) to view/print a list of the winning companies.
 
(Back to Top)

           "Seats Still Available"
 
FIA announces a 30% FIA Member Discount for this year's June 15 -18, Theory & Applications of Forging & Die Design School, 2008 Member Registration Fee was $1,099.
 
The "Theory and Applications of Forging & Die Design" school continues to evolve, reflecting new insights into forging technology and the wide availability of metal flow simulation software.  This four-day school is taught by a team of industry experts and engineering professors who work together to carefully explain principles and practice.  We urge you to join the 1000+ forging employees who have already attended this course.
 
(Click here) to view/print brochure.
 
This will be the only offering of this program in 2009. Class size is limited, (last year's class filled up early, leaving many closed out), please don't wait to register.
 
For additional information, contact George Layne at: glayne@forging.org. 
 
   

FIA announces a 30% FIA Member Discount for this year's offering of the Theory & Applications of Press Forging & Die Design School
 
This is a 4-day program providing forging-specific information regarding the application of various types of presses as well as guidelines for designing tooling for forging and trimming.  Taught by experienced academic and industry experts, the specific goals of the course are:

· Broaden knowledge about press forging
· Provide a basis for objective press selection
· Furnish useful tool design guidelines
· Compare approaches to press automation
· Review guidelines for matching the press to the part

  in terms of size and operational features
 
This program is only offered every two years. The next presentation is scheduled for 2011. If you are interested in attending, it is suggested that you register early.
 
(Click here) to view/print complete program and registration form.
 

(Back to Top) 

 

American Iron and Steel Institute's Steel Market Development Institute has recognized Peter Wright marketing director of Gerdau Ameristeel for his outstanding leadership as chairman of the Long Products Market Development Group from 2006 to 2008. The award presentation was made by AISI chairman Mr. James L Wainscott.

Dave Anderson director of long products for SMDI's Long Products Market Development Group said that "During Peter's tenure as chairman, he successfully expanded the scope of the Long Products Market Development Group outside of the automotive and heavy equipment markets to include structural shapes in the construction market and reinforced concrete pavement for infrastructure. He also led the group to expand work with the forging industry, helping to establish a forging import tracking program."

Wright is past president of the Forging Industry Education & Research Foundation. He was a trustee for 15 years. He is past chairman of the Forging Industry Association Technical Committee. He has published multiple publications on continuous casting and micro-alloy steels, and has one patent for a forging process for the direct quenching of micro alloy steel.

 

For the first time ever, FIA is offering sponsorship opportunities for Forge Fair. A variety of sponsorship opportunities are available, suitable for small, as well as large companies. 

 

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