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FIA Quick Read Newsletter

December 2012

 

 

Calendar
EVENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forge Shop Best Safety Practices Workshop

 

 

 
WelcomeFIA Welcomes Four New Members! 
 

ATI ATI Ladish Forging (www.forging.com) of Cudahy, WI joins FIA as part of the ATI Group's Portland Forge membership. ATI Ladish Forging supplies highly engineered forgings, primarily to the aerospace industry. Gary Vroman, President, will be primary contact for FIA (414.747.2611).

 

Cunico Corporation (www.cunicocorp.com) is an impression die producer of custom specialty fittings, piping systems and values for the US Navy located in Long Beach, CA. Chris Ratcliff, Executive Vice President, Operations, will serve as Official Representative (562.733.4605).

 

Forja de Monterrey (www.forja-mty.com.mx) is an impression die producer of custom forgings for the automotive/truck and oil field markets located in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.  

Gustavo Braga, Projects and Technology Manager, will serve as Official Representative (+528183050030).   

 

 

J.L. Becker, A Gasbarre Furnace Group Company  (www.jlbecker.com), located in Plymouth, Michigan, J.L. Becker provides engineered custom thermal heating equipment to the forging industry.  Sarah Schultz, Marketing Manager will serve as Official Representative (734.656.2000).

 
TwoThe Laurin Baker Group, LLC: 2012 Election Results and Outcome

The 2012 elections are finally in the history books, and while there are plenty of things to love or lament for both political parties and most citizens, it seems to us that after all the sound and fury and a record amount of money spent, not much has changed.

To read more (Click here) 

  

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FifteenForge Fair Exhibit Booth Reservations Up 33%

Based on early indicators, Forge Fair 2013 looks like it may set some records. Compared to the same time out from last Forge Fair, we have 33% more Exhibit Booths reserved, 11% New Exhibiting Companies, with 15% of the Exhibitors that exhibited in 2010 enlarging their booths.

 

Why reserve your Exhibit Booth Early?

  • Receive preferential booth assignments
  • Reserve a preferential Exhibitor Presentation slot

 

(Click Here) to view/print Exhibitor Brochure.

 

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ThirteenForge Fair Sponsorship Opportunities

Once again, FIA is offering sponsorship opportunities for Forge Fair 2013, March 26-28.

Sponsors of Forge Fair 2013 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! A variety of sponsorship opportunities are available, suitable for small, as well as large companies.

 

As a sponsor you receive:

 

Special recognition at sponsored events: Signage that FIA will print, and display.

Sponsor Sign for Sponsor's Booth

Sponsor Recognition in Show Guide

Sponsor Recognition on FF Web Page

 

(Click Here) to review Available Opportunities

 

Please contact: Billie Hurt at [email protected] or 216-781-6260 for sponsorship advantages and information regarding discounts.

 

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FIA members, do you have surplus forging stock that you would like to sell or trade? Or are you looking for surplus forging stock to purchase? FIA would like to advertise your surplus material on the FIA Website. This service is offered to FIA member companies at no charge.

 

Companies looking to advertise their surplus materials, please send your list, including contact information, in Word, Excel or PDF, to George Layne at: [email protected].

 

Companies looking to purchase surplus forging stock (Click here)

 

FourteenForge Fair Attendee Brochure Mailed

Forging producers worldwide are invited to see, compare, and shop vendor companies from across the globe who are bringing their equipment, materials, services and ideas for practical solutions to the forging industry during FORGE FAIR 2013. Sponsored by Forging Industry Association, this opportunity comes only once every three years

 

(Click here) to view/print Attendee Brochure.

 

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SixIn Memoriam 

SAD NEWS...

 

Linn Osterman, former V.P. of Sales and Marketing for the Timken Corporation, passed away November 21 in Seneca, SC. He was 68.  He was married to wife Lydia for 45 years. Linn was very active in FIA and served on its Board of Directors from 2003-2006. The family wishes memorials be made to the American Cancer Society in lieu of flowers. Lydia Osterman may be contacted at 523 Beacon Shores Drive, Seneca, SC 29672.

 

 

 

 

    

  

   

  

FIA recently learned of the passing of Naga Manohar. Naga was the president and owner of Federal Forge (now Bharat Forge America) in Lansing. During his tenure at Presrite, Naga served on the FIA Board of Directors in the 1980's, and also on the FIERF Board of Trustees.   

  

 

 

   

 

 

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FourManagement Compensation and Hourly Wage & Benefit Results Show Optimism for 2013

All participants will be e-mailed the final report(s) on December 10, 2012 - at no cost.  To provide results to participants in a significantly timelier manner, FIA has streamlined the survey process by publishing results in electronic format.  All participants will be sent final reports via e-mail ONLY. 

 

In 2012 summary data showed:

 

  • Results in both surveys show many companies are anticipating increases in compensation or increasing workforce in 2013. 
  • The data show an overall Average Straight Time Hourly Rate (ASTHR) for the industry of $19.28.  Average benefit cost per hour is $9.48. Total Average Wage and Benefit costs are $28.75.

 

Information contained in the reports is valuable for salary reviews, contract negotiations and setting pay for new hires.  Results allow you to benchmark your benefit packages and pay scales against companies like your own.

 

Non-participating FIA Members may purchase the reports at $500 each.  If you have not received your copy, or would like to purchase reports, please call Mary Ann Foote at 216.781.6260.
  
  
  
SevenLehigh Heavy Forge and B&W Joined by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in Announcing Supply Agreement for B&W mPower™ Reactor Forging

 Companies Lead Nuclear Manufacturing Renaissance in U.S.

 

 (BETHLEHEM, PA - November 28, 2012) - Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation and The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) (NYSE:BWC) were joined by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett today in announcing a supply agreement for B&W mPower small modular reactor (SMR) forgings.

 

Under terms of the agreement, Lehigh Heavy Forge and B&W plan to jointly participate in the fabrication and qualification of large forgings for nuclear reactor components which are intended to be used in the manufacture of B&W mPower SMRs.

 

Prototype and standard forgings would be manufactured at Lehigh Heavy Forge's Bethlehem facility as B&W moves into the component manufacturing phase of its program. The B&W-Lehigh team will be working to revitalize the United States manufacturing infrastructure needed to supply heavy forgings for the commercial nuclear power industry after a national capability gap of more than three decades.

 

Lehigh Heavy Forge will use the process of manufacturing prototype B&W mPower forgings to seek a Material Organization Quality System accreditation with ASME for future heavy component manufacturing. Lehigh Heavy Forge also has plans to make additional facility upgrades to support future B&W mPower reactor manufacturing needs.

 

Governor Tom Corbett said, "For some time now I have used a simple equation to help explain moments like this. Energy equals jobs. These small modular reactors promise to take us farther down the road to energy independence while creating new jobs and sustaining old ones right here in Pennsylvania."

 

"Cooperation between the United Steelworkers Union and Lehigh Heavy Forge has been key to Lehigh Heavy Forge's success, and we look forward to continued growth and American jobs associated with the mPower program," said United Steelworkers Local 2599 President, Jerry Green.

 

"We have been making significant capital investments in our facilities as we get ready for what we believe will be a strong push for small modular reactor heavy components," stated James J. Romeo, President of Lehigh Heavy Forge. "We look forward to using our unique capabilities and demonstrated experience to be a significant contributor to the B&W mPower reactor's successful deployment."

 

Christofer M. Mowry, President of Babcock & Wilcox mPower, Inc., said, "As we move forward with plans to deploy the B&W mPower reactor, one of our commitments is to use U.S.-based suppliers. American manufacturing is at the heart of the history of both our companies, and we are proud to have Lehigh Heavy Forge join the mPower America effort in bringing small modular reactor manufacturing expertise back to the U.S."

 

B&W recently was selected as the winner of the U.S. Department of Energy's Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program. The funding B&W will receive under the program will support the development of its B&W mPower reactor technology and help the Company maintain its position as the global leader in SMR development.

 

B&W and its affiliates also have executed 150 Memoranda of Understanding with B&W mPower reactor suppliers in 36 states. These represent the first wave of B&W domestic supplier engagements that would expand U.S. supply base capabilities and supplement B&W's existing group of nuclear suppliers. As anticipated market opportunities mature, these business relationship agreements are expected to evolve into domestic strategic supplier agreements establishing capacity and pricing terms for future mPower SMR projects.

 

About Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation

A subsidiary of WHEMCO Inc (Pittsburgh, PA), Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation in Bethlehem, PA operates the largest open die forging press in the Western Hemisphere and is the last super heavy forging operation in the United States. The forging facility, a leader in open die forging since 1887, is a key supplier of high quality product to a variety of markets including nuclear energy, power generation, rolling mill, custom open die, capital goods, hydroelectric, shipbuilding, and defense.

 

About B&W

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a leader in clean energy technology and services, primarily for the nuclear, fossil and renewable power markets, as well as a premier advanced technology and mission critical defense contractor. B&W has locations worldwide and employs approximately 12,700 people, in addition to approximately 10,400 joint venture employees. Learn more at www.babcock.com.

 

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

B&W cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the plans, commitments, expectations and beliefs expressed regarding SMR technology, the B&W mPower reactor, SMR market opportunities and the evolution of our supplier relationships. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, our inability to finance B&W mPower research and development efforts and adverse changes in the demand for or competitiveness of nuclear power. If one or more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see B&W's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. B&W cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.

 

  

B&W Media Contact:                                                                                             Investor Contact:

Aimee Mills                                                                                                             Jenny Apker  

 Communications Manager                                                                                     Vice President and Investor Relations

434.841.8541                                                                                                        704.625.4937

[email protected]                                                                                           [email protected] 
   

 

Lehigh Heavy Forge Media Contact:

Allan Robertson

Vice President Marketing and Sales

610.332.8112 � [email protected]

               

  

TwelveDepartment of Defense Manufacturing Consortium (FDMC) completed its annual review in Cleveland  
The Department of Defense Manufacturing Consortium (FDMC) completed its annual review in Cleveland, Ohio on October 4th.  This review was conducted by a team of government and industry representatives to ensure the FDMC FAST Program is addressing the needs of both industry and the Department of Defense.  The day started at SIFCO Forging which featured two successful Job Shop Lean Projects conducted between The Ohio State University and SIFCO.  Additional topics included detailed presentations by other project leaders addressing simulation, work force development, supply chain problem solving, and more.  For additional information about FDMC and how to participate in FDMC Projects, contact Jon Tirpak at 843-760-4346 or [email protected]   
  

  

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EightSIFCO Success Story

 Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Work Cell to Reduce Time and Cost 

 

THE CHALLENGE                            

  • The NDT   (Non-destructive testing) department provides non-destructive testing of forged products by magnetic particle inspection and penetrant inspection.
  • Currently, the layout design of the NDT department is inefficient(Figure1). The flow of production is in batch mode, transportation distances are large, waiting times for fork lift support are high and queues buildup between Mag/De Mag and Grind operations.
  • An unbalanced work load exists among operators in this HMLV (High-Mix,Low-Volume)setting.  It is quite common that work load varies significantly between inspector and grinder with different daily production plans;different products have different processing times for the sub-tasks in their inspection processes.

To read more about  Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Work Cell to Reduce Time and Cost (Click here)

 

Managing a Custom Forge Shop using a Visual Capacity Schedule 

 

THE CHALLENGE

  • Today, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems typically being used by any high-mix, low- volume custom forge shop,such as SAP, ORACLE, MICROSOFTAX, appear to lack good Finite Capacity Scheduling functionality.
  • In the case of the SIFCO Forge group, their ERP system (MicrosoftAX) is currently scheduling their forge shop assuming infinite capacity which floods the shop with very high level sofin-process inventory of orders (Work In Process).
  • The Daily Dispatch Report that MS AX produces is not a standard dispatch report, which necessitates considerable (and labor-intensive) manual adjustments to produce a daily schedule for each of the forging hammers.
  • The visual display used to convey the daily schedule for each forging hammer is confusing which necessitates numerous meetings with shop floor supervisors and operators to communicate their job assignments.
  • The challenge of this project was to streamline scheduling process to reduce costs and improve scheduling efficiencies.

 To read more about Managing a Custom Forge Shop using a Visual Capacity Schedule (Click here)

  

 

ElevenForge Shop Best Safety Practices Workshop - January 23, 2013 -Cleveland

The Forge Shop Best Safety Practices Workshop is a one-day workshop where safety professionals from FIA member forge shops, as well as safety industry professionals, will share their best safety practices with you. The workshop will be held at the Crowne Plaza Cleveland Airport Hotel.

Workplace safety requires providing a safe work environment for your employees. An injured worker is an unproductive employee, costing your business the services of a valued employee as well as driving up your insurance costs. While catchy slogans posted on signs can be effective cautionary reminders, responding to safety issues immediately can reduce the number of incidences of workplace mishaps.

 

For additional information (Click here)   

 

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NineFIA Orders & Shipments Questionnaire Coming Soon!!

Mid-January is just around the corner and the FIA Annual Orders/Shipments and End-Use markets survey will be coming your way.

 

WHY FILL THIS REPORT OUT?

  • The results are free if you fill out the questionnaire.
  • All company data is kept confidential and only reported in the aggregate.
  • As a member you receive the FIA/Global Insights, forging specific, Quarterly Forecast report free for a year.
  • If a non- member you receive the First Quarter of the Forecast report free.   If you wish more quarters, you will receive a large discount.

This Questionnaire will be coming your way in mid-January via e-mail as an interactive PDF or if you wish we can send you a hard copy.

 

For more information please call the FIA office (216-781-6260) and ask for Diane or Mary Ann

 

Click herefor more information on the Forecast report.

 

  

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