FIA company and supplier senior executives are encouraged to mark their calendars for the 2010 FIA Fall Meeting to take place October 25-26, 2010 at The Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center, Peachtree City (Atlanta), GA. The Conference will begin with a lunch at approximately 12:00 Noon on the 25th and conclude at 12:00 Noon on the 26th. We'll open with favorite economist Larry Chimerine discussing key business trends. An election overview from the Laurin Baker groups follows. An overview of European forging trends from the vice president of EUROFORGE will wrap up presentations. Roundtables will end the business day. An evening cocktail reception and dinner will allow for that favorite networking time sought by all attendees. The following day will feature a look at the oil and gas market and the impact of the BP spill. Several new topics and areas relevant to the FIA Strategic Plan will then be presented. The meeting will end with a look at 'High Performance' Leadership skills for taking your employees to the next level. Click here or contact FIA for complete registration information.

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In case you missed it, FIA formed a political action committee (ForgingPAC) to support candidates for federal office who understand the forging industry and support policies that improve our industry's competitiveness.

As of August 20^th ForgingPAC has received almost $20,000 in contributions from individuals who believe in the PAC's mission.  To date the PAC Steering committee has approved financially supporting 16 candidates who support manufacturing in this country, (Click here) for list of candidates.

It is not too late to join in this effort, and I hope you will sign the Authorization to Solicit Form, (Click here), granting ForgingPAC permission to solicit you and your designated staff.

If you have any questions about ForgingPAC or how to become more involved in the political process and FIA, please do not hesitate to contact Roy Hardy. 

FIA was approached by The Laurin Baker Group, our lobbyists, with a concern/problem relative to the ever increasing activity in Washington.   It is common knowledge that if there is reluctance in Congress to address one of the President's priorities, then federal agencies are proposing and implementing rules to advance his agenda.  Between the amount of this activity and the speed at which it is happening there is a need for quick turnaround for The Bakers' technical questions when determining if there is an impact on the forging industry.  In the past a call would be made to FIA offices for advice, and the Technical Director or the Ex VP would assist them.  The problem arises when we are unavailable or if we don't know the answer and then additional calls need to be made and so on and so on.  The staff has come up with a solution to the problem that will also add to the depth of the experience and expertise when answering the open question.

We have created a "Washington Rapid Response Team" that will consist of members of the Public Policy Committee, members of the Safety and Health Committee, members of the Plant Engineering Committee, and FIA staff.   The sole purpose of this group will be to provide quick technical assistance when needed by the Bakers to determine the relevancy of a proposed agency regulations and/or congressional legislation.

The question with background information will be sent to the entire Team in one "blast email", and a request for any and all answers to be sent within 24 hours to the Bakers and copied to the entire team.

Special thanks to the dedicated members who have added this responsibility to their busy schedules.   Volunteer Team members are: Dick Johnston - Trinity Forge; Roy Ludwig - Portland Forge; Rick Recktenwald - Walker Forge; Richard Rooker - Green Bay Drop Forge; Jerry Smith - Ajax Rolled Ring.

FIA is happy to announce the new members of the Open Die/Rolled Ring Committee:  Darryl Hammock - Weld Mold Company; David Morton - Rotek Incorporated; Bill Nardone - Ellwood City Forge; Kevin O'Connell - McInnes Rolled Rings; Kevin Shaw - Lenape Forged Products; Mark Sutton - Erie Press Systems.

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You may have noticed in recent mailings and meeting announcements that FIA and FIERF are sporting a new look. With a strong nod to our collective roots (the anvils) we are going for a simple clean look that clearly shows who we are and the direct connection of the two entities.  We are hesitant to use the word BRANDING, but these designs are meant to demonstrate graphically the bond between FIA and FIERF.

As we are switching over to the new logos we have discovered that the old ones are used in literally hundreds of places, so please bear with us over the coming weeks as we transition to the new ones.  All members will be receiving the artwork for your use on web pages and printed materials in the very near future.

 

 

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·         Ajax Rolled Ring & Manufacturing Uses Forging University in a Creative Way

·         Are You Taking Advantage of the Forging University Safety Training Courses?

·         Safety Star Awards

·         Safety & Health Committee 2010 / 2011 Objectives

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