Congressmen Gain Insight into Foundries/Metalcasting Industry at Utah Showcase. (Industry News).

The Utah 2001 Industry Showcase offered AFS an opportunity to present the metalcasting perspective on manufacturing directly to three Utah Congressmen.

The Congressional forum called "Utah Industries of the Future (IOF)--A Strategic Partnership to Meet Our Nation's Challenges," was held on Aug. 29, the last day of the three-day showcase in Salt Lake City.

During his 5-min presentation, AFS Executive Vice President Dwight Barnhard described the foundry industry and the part that foundries play in manufacturing to U.S. Reps. James Hansen, Chris Cannon and James Matheson. Before being elected, Cannon was a partner in a Utah metalworking business that included a foundry.

"We demonstrated to them the ties between metalcastings and all manufacturing industries--medical, military, petroleum, mining and agriculture--the whole spectrum of what metalcasting supports," said Barnhard.

To emphasize his point, Barnhard handed the Congressmen an assortment of metalcastings that included a hip replacement joint, a heart valve, a petroleum valve, an ergonomic control handle used in agriculture, a fan blade for mining equipment and a part used by the U.S. Navy. The petroleum and mining components were cast by foundries in Utah.

"I explained to them that we were small, closely-held businesses, for the most part. Our history is such that we're independent and we tend to just do a job and go on," said Barnhard. "That's no help to us in times like these when people want to move manufacturing to somebody else's backyard. We have to help others understand the value of metalcasting."

The Congressmen responded positively to Barnhard by asking what the government may be able to do to help.

"We talked about understanding our business better and crafting regulations that accomplish what they need to do without putting business out of business," Barnhard added.

The Congressmen also expressed a strong opinion that foundries have to get their story out and market their contributions, according to Barnhard.

Participants in the Congressional forum included public officials who spoke about the goals and objectives of the Utah IOF; industry leaders who explained the challenges facing companies; and national industry associations that presented their perspective on the IOF program and what it offers on a broader scale.

Also at th Showcase, AFS Technical Director Steve Robison presented a session called, "Aluminum Melting Technology: Maximizing Melting Equipment for Energy Conservation." Robison provided an overview of aluminum melting and casting with an emphasis on enhancing profitability by decreasing energy consumption.