Modern Casting articles from June 2008

Modern Casting archives from June 2008

American axle strike resolved, GM plants return to production.(Industry News)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The United Auto Workers union (UAW) and American Axle Manufacturing, Detroit, have ratified a new labor agreement that will end a nearly three-month strike that has idled or cut back approximately 30 General Motors...

Hayes Lemmerz will close wheel plant in continued downsizing.(Industry News)
June 1, 2008... Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., announced it will close its aluminum wheel facility in Gainesville, Ga., by the end of December 2008. According to a company press release, the closure is the result of what Hayes Lemmerz has...

Suppliers showcase technology advancements at CastExpo'08.(Product Innovations)
June 1, 2008... This month's product innovations are courtesy of the many exhibitors at CastExpo'08. See page 61 for an extensive list of the latest advancements in equipment, technology, processes and services for metalcasters worldwide. The innovations are...

New Web content: where it's at.(moderncasting.com)
June 1, 2008... Access expanded editorial content at www. moderncasting.com whenever you find the cast metal Where It's At sign (right) in this issue: * Table of Contents: Web-Only article, the 2008 Hoyt Lecture. * Industry News: Podcast with Citation...

Modern casting blog.(moderncasting.com)
June 1, 2008... MODERN CASTING staff members blog about in-house marketing, CastExpo'08 and the annual Casting Competition.

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
June 1, 2008... The April website question asked: How do you expect the green movement to affect the metalcasting industry? Increase Costs 56.7% Improve Image 13.3% Help Stop Climate Change 11.7% Have No...

Frankly speaking ...(EDITORIAL)
June 1, 2008... My editorial in the May issue of MODERN CASTING ("Wake Up and Pay Attention") drew some interesting responses from the industry (see the Letterbox, p. 21). The main question posed was whether the metalcasting industry was born with a sales and...

American axle strike resolved, GM metalcasting plants return to production.(North America)
June 1, 2008... The United Auto Workers union (UAW) and American Axle Manufacturing, Detroit, have ratified a new labor agreement that will end a nearly three-month strike that idled or cut back approximately 30 General Motors (GM) plants, including several...

Hayes Lemmerz will close wheel plant in continued downsizing.(North America)
June 1, 2008... Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., announced it will close its aluminum wheel metalcasting facility in Gainesville, Ga., by the end of December. The company now operates 24 facilities with approximately 7,000 employees,...

Citation Corp. wins Daimler trucks contract.(North America)
June 1, 2008... Citation Corp., Novi, Mich., won a long-term contract from Daimler Trucks North America LLC, Portland, Ore., to supply engine brackets, chassis and suspension components for heavy- and medium-duty trucks. Citation COO Cary Wood declined to...

Wescast opens new metalcasting and machinery operation in China.(Around the World)
June 1, 2008... Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, opened a new metalcasting and machinery operation in Hubei Province, China, on April 8. The new facility was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2007. The company said it currently is...

Foseco acquisition complete.(Around the World)
June 1, 2008... Foseco Plc, Staffordshire, U.K., was acquired by Cookson Group Plc, London, at the end of April, finalizing a deal that had been in the works since October 2007. According to Foseco, the acquisition was approved by the board of directors...

Metaldyne finalizes production transfer in facility closures.(Around the World)
June 1, 2008... Metaldyne LLC, Plymouth, Mich., has completed the closure of two of its U.S. metalcasting plants, moves it announced in early 2007, and released the destination of the discontinued production. The company, acquired by Asahi Tec, Shizuoka,...

Intermet plant wins Honda delivery award.(North America)
June 1, 2008... Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, announced its Stevensville, Mich., plant has received the Honda Delivery Performance Award for 2007, which recognizes 100% on-time delivery. The award is given to Honda part suppliers that do not miss a...

Oberdorfer LLC installs reclamation units.(North America)
June 1, 2008... Aluminum casting facility Oberdorfer LLC, Syracuse, N.Y., recently completed the installation and start-up of a thermal sand reclamation system. The system was designed to allow the company to recycle chemically bonded mold and core sands...

Design school melds art, science of metalcasting.(North America)
June 1, 2008... Art professor Michael Beresford wanted his students to learn about metalcasting, not just how to make sculptures that would eventually be cast in metal. "My goal was that they understood the visual vocabulary of what cast iron could do and...

Sales and marketing can eradicate casting cancer.(Letterbox)
June 1, 2008... Before taking on my current position as general manager of Astech Inc., I served many years with other formidable players in the metalcasting industry. Your recent editorial ("Wake Up and Pay Attention," May 2008) is an accurate observation of...

Metalcasters do have the sales and marketing gene.(Letterbox)
June 1, 2008... It doesn't matter what industry you pick, there are lousy sales and marketing people in any you would research. Do metalcasters put up billboards like Hershey's chocolate might? Of course not. Hershey's can sell to everybody passing by....

Operate your sales and marketing staff like one of your machines.(Letterbox)
June 1, 2008... What a breath of fresh air to see your comments in print ("Wake Up and Pay Attention," May editorial). I am currently the national marketing man (Mr. Cold Call) for Steel Warehouse Company, selling fiat rolled steel and providing qualified...

Developing our sales approach.(Letterbox)
June 1, 2008... As a sales manager for a full service aluminum sand metalcasting facility and machine shop, I agree with the thoughts on the sales approach in the editorial "Wake up and Pay Attention." We have numerous issues with our suppliers in this area,...

Apollo Valves.(Newscast)
June 1, 2008... Apollo Valves, Matthews, N.C., reports that its parent company Conbraco Industries Inc. joined the Supplier Council of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America.

Citation Corp.(Newscast)
June 1, 2008... Citation Corp., Novi, Mich., announced it has completed its first of three waves of Six Sigma Green Belt certifications, a statistically based problem solving methodology, as part of a company-wide initiative to certify 42 Six Sigma Green Belts...

HighTemp Furnaces Ltd.(Newscast)
June 1, 2008... HighTemp Furnaces Ltd., Bangalore, India, recently purchased a license to proprietary austempering technology by Applied Process Inc., Livonia, Mich.

FKI Logistex.(Newscast)
June 1, 2008... FKI Logistex, St. Louis, Mo., a provider of integrated material handling solutions, now offers training opportunities at its Technology & Education Center in Cincinnati. The 31,000-sq.-ft. facility provides companies with a space to train...

Ladish Diecast Tooling.(Newscast)
June 1, 2008... Ladish Diecast Tooling, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladish Co. Inc., Cudahy, Wis., has produced its new brochure in a digital format.

OmniSource Corp.(Newscast)
June 1, 2008... OmniSource Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of carbon steel producer Steel Dynamics, Fort Wayne, Ind., has entered into an agreement to acquire the entirety of joint venture (IV) Recycle South LLC, Spartanburg, S.C.

Nancy Bongert, Neenah Foundry Co.(Personals)
June 1, 2008... Nancy Bongert, Neenah Foundry Co., Neenah, Wis., was awarded the 2008 Fox Cities Woman Manager of the Year award by the Women in Management-Fox Cities Chapter.

Epic Machine Inc.(Personals)
June 1, 2008... Melvin Hodgeson was named government procurement officer to handle bidding on all government contracts for Epic Machine Inc., Fenton, Mich.

Aleris International Inc.(Personals)
June 1, 2008... Aleris International Inc., Beachwood, Ohio announced that Galdino Claro will join the company as executive vice president and chief executive officer, Aleris Americas. The company also announced that Scott McKinley was elected senior vice...

Foseco Metallurgical.(Personals)
June 1, 2008... Dana Coloumbe, Foseco Metallurgical, Cleveland, has been installed as the new president of the Foundry Educational Foundation, Schaumburg, Ill., for 2008-2009. He was previously the first vice president of the foundation and maintains his role...

Obituaries.(Richard B. Jones employee of American Foundry Society )(Richard W. Moore employee of Hamilton-Porcelein)(Robert M. Hampton employee of Midwest Foundry Company )(Obituary)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Richard B. Jones, Hampstead, N.C., died May 3, 2008. He was 81. Jones was director of the American Foundry Society (AFS) from 1978-1981. He began his metalcasting career with J.F. McCormick in the 1960s and finished with Industrial Chemical...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
June 1, 2008... July July 31-August 1--AFS Marketing and Selling of Castings Conference, The Westin O'Hare, Rosemont, Ill. August August 24-27--AFS 20th EHS Conference, Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, St. Louis. September September...

Dust busters: a bill to regulate combustible dust raises questions regarding OSHA's authority.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
June 1, 2008... The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved standards for regulating industries that produce hazardous combustible dusts. The Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act (H.R. 5522), which was passed in the House by a vote of...

EPA proposes new lead limits.(On the Hill)
June 1, 2008... For the first time in 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to cut the allowed air concentrations of lead. The plan sets a new standard within the range of 0.10 to 0.30 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air....

Industry submits comments on FMLA.(On the Hill)
June 1, 2008... Recently, the American Foundry Society provided the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) with comments on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). The FMLA requires businesses with 50 or more employees...

Pride of the plains: a manufacturer of agricultural equipment works with its casting suppliers to seek out casting conversions.(Company overview)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Larry Spaeny, tooling design manager for Great Plains Manufacturing, Salina, Kan., thinks his department has come tip with a good casting conversion design. The part is a mount for a press wheel that is currently...

Improving blind riser efficiency: providing blind risers with adequate passage to atmospheric air and a hotter top metal front will increase your casting yield and reduce your energy costs.
June 1, 2008... Confronted with escalating raw material and energy costs, ferrous metalcaster AG Anderson, a division of AmeriCast Technologies, London, Ontario, Canada, went back to the basics by re-evaluating sound and simple techniques. Blind risers,...

Bacteria killer: testing has proven that copper kills certain disease-causing bacteria. Now that the U.S. EPA recognizes that fact, copper parts could become hospitals' newest weapon against "superbug" MRSA.
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Several copper alloys are now recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as having the legal standing to claim the material kills certain bacteria that are a concern to public health, including the...

Thousands convene for CastExpo' 08.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... CastExpo'08, the largest exhibition of metalcasting equipment in North America took place May 17-20 in Atlanta. Last held in 2005, the metalcasting exposition comprises four days of technical presentations, operational workshops and equipment...

AFS division award winners.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... Engineering Norris B. Luther Distinguished Service Award A.C. Riley, Citation Corp. Jeff Westover Award (in Industrial Engineering) Brian Mervau, Dalton Foundry Best Paper Award Simulation of Hydrogen Porosity During...

Goodrich, Stark awarded gold medals.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] American Foundry Society (AFS) Gold Medals were awarded to George Goodrich, senior metallurgical engineer, Stork Climax Research Services, Wixom, Mich., and Thomas Stark, director, Badger Mining Corp., Berlin, Wis.,...

Scientific Merit Awards.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... At the Annual President's Luncheon, AFS gave its Awards of Scientific Merit and Service Citations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Von Richards II, associate professor of metals casting, Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology, Rolla, Mo.,...

Service Citations.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... Lawrence Helm, technical director, Blackhawk Foundry & Machine Co., Davenport, Iowa, was awarded a service citation for his service and commitment to the metalcasting industry through support of AFS at the national committee and local chapter...

Witt and Taylor Awards.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... The Ray H. Witt Award, which recognizes the authors of an AFS management or marketing paper that exhibits the greatest probability of favorably impacting the metalcasting industry, was awarded this year to Schorn for his paper, "Competence...

CMI Directors' Award.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Roger Reamer, retired vice president, Progress Casting Group, Plymouth, Minn., received the CMI Directors' Award for his contribution to CMI as an instructor and faculty member. Reamer is active in the AFS Aluminum...

Hoyt lecture: time, money for auto R&D worthwhile.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... Since the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has spent $260 million on research and development technologies for reducing the weight of automotive bodies and chassis. By 2011, DOE will have spent $32 million on casting research and...

10 presentations that can help you now: CastExpo'08 featured 66 worthy technical presentations. The following is a look at 10 that offer information immediately useful to metalcasters.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... 1 Cleaner Aluminum Melts in Foundries 2 Aging Effect on Cast Iron Machinability 3 Reducing Gas From Cores in Magnesium Melts 4 Desirable Sand Properties With Aeration Filling 5 Effect of Ti and N on Iron Age Strengthening ...

Touring the CastExpo'08 floor.(Cast Expo '08: Atlanta, Georgia May 17-20, 2008)
June 1, 2008... Even running some of the most up-to-date, smoothly operating metalcasting equipment in the world, the CastExpo'08 floor wasn't a peaceful scene. Energy surged through machine and man alike--diecasting units puffed with hydraulic pressure,...

The lure of growth.(MARKETING MATTERS)
June 1, 2008... A wise person once said: "Learn to see the benefit and harm in everything." Few topics lend themselves to this admonition as well as marketing's most popular objective--growth. Growth is good, right? You bet. If your year-over-year sales...

AFS student chapter hosts annual art symposium.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Arizona State University)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... On March 22, the Annual Spring Desert Iron Symposium was held in Tempe, Ariz. Hosted by the Arizona State Univ. (ASU) Student Chapter of the American Foundry Society (AFS) and Fahrenheit 2150, the event nicknamed "Iron Peep" attracted more than...

Inspiration for AFS student member artist begins with metalcasting.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The metalcasting industry generally is not known as a great sponsor of the arts, but one young artist's passion for sculpting began with a visit to a metalcasting facility and a little encouragement from a...

CMI Course Schedule.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
June 1, 2008... CMI Course Schedule June 17-19 Casting Design (70-08) Schaumburg, Ill. June 23-27 A Hands-On Introduction to Metalcasting (71-08) Pittsburg, Kan. July 7-Aug. 3 Analysis of...

Summer Metalcasting Journal includes research on copper, aluminum.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2008... The summer issue of the International Journal of Metalcasting (IJMC) is due for release this month. This fourth issue marks a full year of IJMC publication and includes ground-breaking research on copper alloys, two articles on the fluidity and...

Chapter meetings.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
June 1, 2008... CENTRAL MICHIGAN June 16--Golf Outing, Location TBA. CENTRAL OHIO June 20--Change-Over Meeting, Eaglesticks Golf Course, Zanesville, Ohio. CHICAGO June 16--Board of Directors Meeting, Location TBA. Aug. 22--Annual Golf Outing,...

Revere: more than a midnight rider: in case you didn't know ...(SHAKEOUT)
June 1, 2008... If Paul Revere faded into oblivion after his famed midnight ride warning American settlers that the British army was on the move, his place in history would be limited to a starlit journey immortalized by the poem, "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry...