Modern Casting articles from September 2007

Modern Casting archives from September 2007

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
September 1, 2007... The July website question asked, "In what area of your operations is there the greatest lack of prospective employees?" Engineering 32.3% Facility Floor 30.6% Upper Management 20.2% Sales/ Marketing 16.9%...

Worth repeating.
September 1, 2007... "We wanted a domestic casting supplier. It's not because we're xenophobic, but we thought it would be necessary to be hands on."--George Lips, American Cast Iron Co.

The myth of deindustrialization.(EDITORIAL)
September 1, 2007... I am a little confused these days. Most of you (our readers), along with the casting buyers I talk to and the general media, have been blitzing me with the message that our U.S. metalcasting industry is dying. Manufacturing in the U.S. is all...

Teksid to sell Italian operations to Fiat Powertrain in ongoing divestment of metalcasting operations.(Around the World)
September 1, 2007... Teksid Aluminum, Turin, Italy, announced that consent from a majority of its shareholders has been received for the sale of its Italian metalcasting operations to Fiat Powertrain, Orbassano, Italy. The consent is another step in the sale of...

Aerospace Machining Company makes first foray into metalcasting market, may continue.(North America)
September 1, 2007... Paradigm Precision, Tempe, Ariz., a manufacturer of machined components for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine engine industries, announced it has completed the acquisition of metalcaster Eurocast, Tunis, Tunisia. As part of a...

Australian companies receive grant for T-Mag development.(Around the World)
September 1, 2007... A $1.65 million grant to develop the T-Mag magnesium casting process has been awarded to a joint venture involving Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and three South Australian companies. The...

DHS issues new immigration rules on employers.(North America)
September 1, 2007... The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Aug. 10 announced a sweeping immigration initiative that places increased responsibility on employers for the improper use of Social Security numbers and greatly expands electronic employment...

Thresher Industries expands in Asia, says Midwest metalcasting site closer.(North America)
September 1, 2007... Thresher Industries, Hanford, Calif., signed a memorandum of understanding with an undisclosed consortium of Korean companies to build an alloy making plant, and an executive at the company says the company has not given up on finding a site...

Intermet facility hits another safety mark.(North America)
September 1, 2007... Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, announced its Archer Creek Foundry, Lynchburg, Va., and its 385 employees--down from 430 earlier this year--have worked 365 consecutive days without a lost-time injury. Steve Lake, president of Intermet's...

Clow Valve program honored with Occupational Safety and Health Administration VPP award.(North America)
September 1, 2007... Clow Valve Co., Oskaloosa, Iowa, recently became the first metalcasting facility in Iowa and the second iron/brass facility in the U.S. to receive OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) MERT award. The award, available to companies in...

Hayes Lemmerz facilities earn supplier awards from Nissan North America.(North America)
September 1, 2007... Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., announced it has been recognized by Nissan North America Inc., Franklin, Tenn., as one of its top suppliers in the U.S. The Hayes Lemmerz automotive steel wheel facility in Sedalia, Mo.,...

Georg Fischer Automotive AG.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... Georg Fischer Automotive AG, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, an automotive metalcaster, will standardize its design data communications and visualization with software from Actify Inc., San Francisco.

Kuka Robotics Corp.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... Kuka Robotics Corp., Clinton Township, Mich., donated two 6-axis robots for the "United States Steel Fun Factory" exhibit at the Detroit Science Center.

Siemens Metals Technologies, Osterreich, Austria, received an order from Minmetals Steel Co. Ltd.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... Siemens Metals Technologies, Osterreich, Austria, received an order from Minmetals Steel Co. Ltd., Beijing, China, for the engineering and supply of key equipment and technological packages of a 2-strand slab caster.

Capital Refractories.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... Capital Refractories, United Kingdom, recently acquired Capital Injection Ceramics Ltd., which provides ceramic cores for the investment casting industry. The ceramic cores joines Capital Refractories' established product line, including...

Stroh Die Casting Inc.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has reached an agreement with Stroh Die Casting Inc., Milwaukee, on alleged clean-air violations at the company's secondary aluminum plant. The agreement, which includes a $20,000 penalty, resolves...

General Motors (GM) has initiated a new contract for the supply of its magnesium alloys with U.S. Magnesium LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... General Motors (GM) has initiated a new contract for the supply of its magnesium alloys with U.S. Magnesium LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah. The multi-year deal will commence at the start of 2008 to ensure uninterrupted supply of magnesium to the...

The Government of Quebec announced it has accepted the conclusions of the board of directors of Alcan, Montreal, Canada, with respect to its acquisition by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... The Government of Quebec announced it has accepted the conclusions of the board of directors of Alcan, Montreal, Canada, with respect to its acquisition by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. The government agreed that the July 12 offer respects the...

According to the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), Charleston, South Caroline, was awarded a one-year, $1 million Castings for Improved Defense Readiness contract.(Newscast)
September 1, 2007... According to the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), Charleston, South Caroline, was awarded a one-year, $1 million Castings for Improved Defense Readiness contract to help the Defense Logistics Agency...

Quality certifications.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 1, 2007... The following metalcasting organizations passed a recent surveillance audit: Precision Enterprises Inc., Warenville, Ill., (ISO 9001:2000); Avalon Precision Casting Co., Brook Park, Ohio, (ISO 9001:2000).

Hayes Lemmerz International.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Hayes Lemmerz International, Northville, Mich., made Fred Bentley COO and president of its Global Wheel Group.

Conbraco Industries Inc.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... President Glenn Mosack, Conbraco Industries Inc., Matthews, N.C., was named the Carolinas Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

ThyssenKrupp Waupaca Inc.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Appointments at ThyssenKrupp Waupaca Inc., Waupaca, Wis., included Gary Gigante to CEO and three new vice presidents--Gary Garbe, human resources, John Cowden, finance, and Franz Ecki, business development.

Intermet Corp.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, moved Anthony Lover to vice president of diecasting sales and marketing.

Citation Corp.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Citation Corp., Birmingham, Ala., made Daniel Lukas board chairman and Cary B. Wood CO0. Ed Buker resigned as CEO.

Pacific Cast Technologies.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Pacific Cast Technologies, Albany, Ore., hired Jerry Attache to be vice president of sales and marketing. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Wheelabrator Plus.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Allen Austin took over at Wheelabrator Plus, LaGrange, Ga., as the company's service manager.

Terri Kelsey joined the Federal Metal Co.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Terri Kelsey joined the Federal Metal Co., Bedford, Ohio, as sales associate.

Denman & Davis.(Personals)
September 1, 2007... Denman & Davis, Clifton, N.J., hired Matthew Beeney to sales.

Obituaries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Obituary)
September 1, 2007... Richard Parris, Pelham, Ala., died July 28, 2007. He was 80. Parris worked for 42 years with Beardsley and Piper, Aurora, Ill., before retiring as senior vice president. He held consulting positions after his retirement with Vulcan Engineering,...

Calendar of events.(Conference news)(Calendar)
September 1, 2007... View the Extended Industry Calendar at www.afsinc.org September September 24-26--The Third International Conference on Light Metals Technology, Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada. October October 4-10--Non-Ferrous Founders Society...

Family Leave legislation pending in Congress: new bill would expand the Family Medical Leave Act by mandating paid leave for employees.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
September 1, 2007... Pending legislation could expand the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide paid leave to employees. Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Ted Stevens (R-Ark.) introduced legislation in June that would provide up to eight weeks of paid leave...

Senate panels approve China currency measures.(On the Hill)
September 1, 2007... Prior to the August congressional recess, two U.S. Senate committees approved legislation giving the U.S. Treasury Department new tools to pressure China to revalue its currency. The Senate Banking Committee bill, passed 17-4, would tighten the...

House passes energy legislation.(On the Hill)
September 1, 2007... This August, the House of Representatives passed comprehensive energy legislation that combines two separate bills aimed at encouraging energy efficiency and the production and use of cleaner forms of energy. The New Direction for Energy...

Technocast builds for the future: Caterpillar and Mexican firm Grupo Industrial Saltillo were the solutions to each other's quests for a strategic partnership in the casting of diesel engine blocks and heads.(Company overview)
September 1, 2007... Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), based in Saltillo, Mexico, was ready to try a different strategy. As a $1-billion, publicly traded company consisting of manufacturing businesses in the construction, housewares and cast auto parts sectors, its...

New diecasting method is on the runner: a method of diecasting runner design that induces a restricted flow can save process costs and improve quality.
September 1, 2007... The design criteria involved in a new, restricted-flow method of diecasting runner design directly contradict some rules that many in the diecasting industry have adopted for decades without questioning. The seasoned diecaster will immediately...

Rounding up casting process modeling: this rundown provides a brief review of the newest simulation software features available to metalcasters.
September 1, 2007... Successful metalcasting facilities in the U.S. need effective and accurate simulation software to stay competitive, especially with increasingly fierce foreign competition. Ensuring a correct pour the first time is a top priority for...

Modeling filters in the future: the standard method of modeling filtration devices is good, but the ability to model actual filters in the future will be better.
September 1, 2007... Pressure drop characteristics are currently the industry-accepted standard approach to computationally modeling filtration devices. The approach involves globally modeling the filtration device as if it were a boundary condition, and many...

Iron streak: cast iron memorabilia honors Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.'s streak.
September 1, 2007... That the cast iron Cal Ripken Jr. memento be a number makes sense. Ripken's career is defined by numbers. Two thousand, six hundred and thirty two, for example, is the number of consecutive games he played in Major League Baseball. He played in...

Import, domestic shipments keep docks busy: U.S. metalcasters are forecast to ship 14 million tons, and imports should rise to 3.6 million tons, as captive tonnage decreases.
September 1, 2007... Stratecasts Inc., Fort Myers, Fla., forecasts a 10-year high for casting tonnage available for sale by non-captive metalcasting facilities in 2008, reaching 13.3 million tons (Table 1)--4.1 million tons higher than 1997 (Table 2). Imports are...

Recasting your marketing skills.(NOVEL SOLUTIONS)(The One-to-One Future)(Book review)
September 1, 2007... George Gendron, editor of Inc. Magazine, called The One-to-One Future, by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, "one of the two or three most important business books ever written." Metalcasters, many of whom only sell one-to-one, will understand...

Choosing the right filter.(CASTING FACTS)
September 1, 2007... The primary objective of metal filtration is to remove from the metal stream non-metallic inclusions, which are a common cause of casting defects and scrap castings. Removing inclusions improves mechanical properties, casting soundness,...

AFS launches new websites, offers poll for all-time casting moment.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
September 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS) transitioned to its new websites with a dynamic change in appearance, navigation and overall design. The website address will remain www.afsinc.org. The Cast Metals Institute (www.castmetals. com), MODERN...

International Journal of Metalcasting to premiere.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
September 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS) is now accepting subscriptions for the International Journal of Metalcasting (IJMC). The premiere issue will be mailed this September. The IJMC is dedicated to leading the transfer of research and...

AFS sponsors machine productivity study.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
September 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS) is sponsoring a research project in conjunction with the Univ. of Missouri-Rolla and U.S. Defense Logistics Agency. The purpose of the study is to investigate and develop methods of improving machining...

AFS seeks participation for policy reform.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
September 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS) is asking metalcasters to take time during the August House of Representatives recess to contact their Representatives, urging lawmakers to cosponsor the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 2942)....

Chapter meetings.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
September 1, 2007... BRITISH COLUMBIA Sept. 27--6 Sigma in the Foundry, Harry Welsh, technical director, Esco Corp., Sheriton Guildford. CANTON Sept. 15--Annual Golf Outing, Sleepy Hollow Golf Course, Alliance, Ohio. CENTRAL NEW YORK Sept....

CMI course schedule.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
September 1, 2007... CMI Course Schedule Sept. 5-Oct. 2 Analysis of Casting Internet Defects (13-08) Sept. 11-13 Practical Metallurgy of Copper Base Casting Alloys (14-08) ...

Labor and HR Conference scheduled for October.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Conference news)
September 1, 2007... The annual Labor Relations and Human Resources Conference will be held Oct. 17-19 at the Sandpearl Resort, Clearwater Beach, Fla. The three-day event will include discussions on win-win scheduling for 24-hour operations, hiring practices for...

Small grinding machine packs productive punch.(New Product)
September 1, 2007... Bringing in value-added grinding operations doesn't have to mean a major reconfiguration of your shop floor. A grinding machine from Maus, Padua, Italy, a supplier of vertical grinding equipment for the automotive, steel and jobbing...

Casting redesign reduces scrap, saves space.(Case History)
September 1, 2007... Space constraints in a large, V-6 outboard motor with up to 225 hp was a critical design point for a customer of Watry Industries, Sheboygan, Wis. The customer's goal for the central component of the motor was to avoid any external plumbing to...

Dust collection.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
September 1, 2007... Cecoaire released a new, large-volume dust collection system that utilizes automated pulse jets for self-cleaning of filters. The system can be custom-engineered for a variety of process material characteristics and specific site requirements....

Rust inhibitor.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
September 1, 2007... Corrosion Stop is B'laster Corp.'s water-resistant spray corrosion inhibitor/protectant. It resists water, displaces moisture, prevents further corrosion and creates a protective barrier. The product is specifically designed for use in the...

Mechanical Vibration Switch.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
September 1, 2007... The IMI Sensors Division of PCB Piezotronics has released the new Model 685A07 Mechanical Vibration Switch for continuous vibration monitoring. The switch includes an external pushbutton reset and a spring-loaded, magnetically-coupled sensor....

Surface preparation & finishing.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
September 1, 2007... The Wheelabrator WS 4/210 Spinner Hanger machine is designed for the chemical-free cleaning and preparation of oddly shaped and delicate parts. The machine is available in a range of sizes with two blast wheels. Applications include automotive...

Pop culture heats up with metalcasting.(SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know ...)
September 1, 2007... Metalcasting is an integral part of many industries, so it's no surprise that it has been featured on television several times in the past few years. Behind the scenes-type shows like Dirty Jobs With Mike Rowe and John Ratzenberger's Made in...