Nominations open for FIA and FIERF Boards

The best organizations are only as good as their leadership, and the Forging Industry Association and the Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation are no exceptions to this rule. FIA and FIERF have been very fortunate through the years in that industry leaders have consistently stepped up and volunteered their time and talents to serve on these two Boards. This altruism provides the guidance and direction that has allowed FIA and FIERF to consistently provide the services our members need in both good times and bad.

FIA's Nominating Committee will meet in February to select and nominate a slate of nominees to the FIA Board of Directors and the FIERF Board of Trustees for election at the Annual Meeting in May, 2014.

Elected Directors and Trustees will serve for three year terms, through the Annual Meeting in 2017. Candidates from both FIA forging producer or supplier member companies are eligible and will be considered for either Board, subject to the following guidelines, qualifications and preferences:

The FIA Board of Directors provides operating policy and direction to the association and its activities which support FIA's purpose and Mission - "To improve member's global competitiveness". FIA activities are accomplished by committee, staff and member groups through defined, measurable objectives relating to industry marketing, information, public policy, and technology matters relevant to the forging industry and of interest to FIA members. Director candidates are CEO or senior managers who are versed in business operations and strategic planning, motivated to participate and lead in an industry-representative peer-group effort, and able/willing to commit to 3 meeting days per year.

The FIERF Board of Trustees sets direction for, and participates in small working groups to plan and implement highly focused activities relating to Technology, Education and Fundraising matters toward furthering the competitiveness of the forging industry. Trustee candidates should be well versed in either business or technical planning skills, interested in developing long term programs and solutions to these enduring industry challenges, and able/willing to commit to 4 meeting days per year.

FIA members who are interested in serving on either Board, or who would like to recommend a candidate for consideration by the nominating committee, may inquire for more information by either contacting FIA Executive Vice President Roy W Hardy, or any member of the nominating committee listed below.

Members of the FIA nominating committee are:

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The Forging Career Center Offers On Average 1152 Views Of The Jobs You Post! 

FIA offers an Interactive job board in the Forging Career Center.  With its focus on forging industry companies, the Forging Career Center offers members-and the forging industry at large-an easy-to-use and highly targeted resource for online employment connections. 

Both members and non-members can use the Forging Career Center to reach qualified candidates.  Members receive a significant discount!   Employers can post jobs online, search for qualified candidates based on specific job criteria, and create an online resume agent to email qualified candidates daily.  They also benefit from online reporting that provides job activity statistics.  On average our Members job posting are viewed 1152 times.

An added benefit for both employers and job seekers is access to the Engineering & Science Career Network (ESCN), a growing network of leading engineering and science associations.  FIA's alliance with the ESCN increases employers' reach to over 15,000 resumes, as well as job seekers' reach to hundreds of job postings.  The ESCN includes leading engineering and science societies such as the ASM International, ASME and American Society for Quality.

Click "Post a Job" and then you'll need to register by using the "First time users, click here"

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All participants were e-mailed the final report(s) in December - 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 2013 summary data showed:

• The data show an overall Average Straight Time Hourly Rate (ASTHR) for the industry of $19.22.  Average benefit cost per hour is $9.45. Total Average Wage and Benefit costs are $28.51.

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 contact Mary Ann Foote at maryann@forging.org or 216.781.6260.

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Exhibitors Wanted: 2014 International Forgemasters Meeting

The 19th International Forgemasters Meeting (IFM 2014) will be held this September 29-October 3 in Tokyo, Japan. The IFM traditionally brings together hundreds of open die forging and supplier executives representing leading manufacturing companies from across the globe. This extraordinary event will showcase the best in forging technical presentations for the worldwide forging community.

Organized by The Steel Castings and Forgings Association of Japan (JSCFA), the 19th IFM will include an open exhibition of products and services of interest to the worldwide open die forging community. An Exhibitor Prospectus is now available. If you wish to exhibit at the IFM, please visit the JSCFA website at http://www.ifm2014.com/exhibition.html. Applications to exhibit will be accepted on a first come-first served basis. Completed applications should be faxed or e-mailed to the Secretariat no later than May 31, 2014.  

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On-Line Maintenance Training Available to FIA Members

Is your workforce aging?  Do current workers lack skills to effectively meet the needs of new technologies?  Are you having difficulty hiring skilled maintenance technicians?  Finding it hard to locate and/or schedule training?  If so, you are not alone and a new partnership between FIA and Kent State University is ready to help.

Through this partnership, FIA Members can receive a customized program including a needs assessment, job task analysis, industrial maintenance training, monitoring and evaluation in a very cost effective manner.  See the Forging University and Kent State's website for a complete listing of on-line course offerings.

Lisa Goetsch, Director of Workforce Development and Continuing Studies, previewed the programs available through Kent State University at Trumbull for attendees at the FIA Fall Meeting of Members and received very positive feedback.  For more information, she may be contacted at FIAtraining@kent.edu.

IHS and SCRA Applied R&D are embarking on a sweeping update of the National Forging Tooling Database.  FIA member companies included in the database will be contacted to coordinate updates over the next few weeks. 

This database connects customers to forging suppliers.  It operates around the clock and across the country free of charge to the participants.  An added incentive to participate in the database is the Email Alert System offered by IHS to alert forges early of the intent by the Department of Defense to purchase forgings for which forges are tooled for specific National Stock Numbered Parts.  By updating your tooling lists and points of contact, your forge can potentially increase its sales while supporting the warfighter!

FIA member companies can already access the NFTD via https://www.forging.org/member-services 

If you cannot wait to update your data and point of contact information, you can go directly to Chris Bergner Chris.Bergner@scra.org or Jon Tirpak Jon.Tirpak@scra.org at SCRA Applied R&D or Vicki Knauf of IHS at Vicki.knauf@ihs.com.

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As part of the "Technology and Research Days" hosted by FIA in partnership with the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft on April 7 & 8, 2014, we offer the opportunity of an individualized technology assessment of your processes by Fraunhofer Researchers. There are two choices for the assessment; either you identify 3-4 core processes such as machining, lightweight design, material properties or others or the researchers can introduce your organization to technologies that focus on resource efficient manufacturing in forging & machining. Please contact carola@forging.org if you are interested. Assessment opportunities will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis.