'The Past Doesn't Necessarily Predict Future Success'.

For the first time in AFS history, the industry's most prestigious honors--the Gold Medal and the presentation of the Hoyt Memorial Lecture--will be bestowed upon the same individual at next month's 104th AFS Casting Congress in Pittsburgh.

Delivering the first Hoyt Lecture of the new century while being recognized for his widespread contributions to the industry is Paul Mikkola, executive vice president-operations of Hitchiner Manufacturing, Milford, New Hampshire. Previously, he spent 30 years with General Motors, most recently as director-advanced manufacturing engineering for the Powertrain Div.

Mikkola's lecture, "The Past Doesn't Necessarily Predict Future Success," will detail his vision of the path casting suppliers must embark upon in the 21st century. He will recall American manufacturing of the 1980s, and how U.S. manufacturers and the American foundry industry successfully squashed the thoughts of prognosticators who felt that the U.S. economy was a "falling star." Noting that while manufacturing succeeded in reinventing itself in many ways, he will also point out that many other industries fared better in this period of growth.

"I believe that the casting industry has a never-ending dedication to continuous improvement, and this has made significant productivity improvements and cost reductions," he says. "But it will not be enough in the future,"

To succeed tomorrow, he says foundry industry leaders must be far more aggressive in attracting, motivating and retaining top personnel; learning to operate on a global basis; empowering employees; changing measurement systems; and most importantly, applying technology at every turn, an objective to be fully detailed in his lecture.