Ductile iron's history belongs to the U.S. foundry industry.

"Iron seemeth a simple metal but in its nature are many mysteries, and men who bend to them their minds shall, in arriving days, gather therefrom great not to themselves alone but to all mankind." - Joseph Glanvill, 1636-1680

While rapid technological progress continues to surround metalcasters, truly novel inventions in cast materials that become wholeheartedly embraced by the engineering community have been far less frequent. However, one such quantum discovery - ductile iron - was unveiled 50 years ago at the 1948 AFS Casting Congress. Regarded as the industry's most significant achievement of the 20th century, the ability to produce an as-cast spheroidal graphite iron structure forever altered the cast metals industry.

In this edition of modem casting, we chronicle ductile iron's history and remember the pioneering researchers, foundrymen and suppliers who went before us. In particular, we honor Keith D. Millis of International Nickel Co. (INCO) and Ductile Iron Society (DIS) fame, whose serendipitous discovery at age 28 "tamed the reaction between magnesium and cast iron to produce a spheroidal graphite structure." After notching its first recordable tonnage in 1958, ductile iron has grown to capture 29% of the total casting market today.

The wheels for the pages that follow actually started turning in the DIS T&O Meeting in October 1996. In the hotel lobby, DIS Executive Director Jack Hall and I first explored how the DIS and AFS/modern casting might work together for the 1998 Keith D. Millis World Symposium on Ductile Iron, to be held this month in Hilton Head, South Carolina. From then on, plans were drawn for the two organizations, which had grown a bit distant in recent years, to collaborate in planning and promoting the event and publishing its proceedings. The issue in front of you evolved out of this partnership.

Our hope here is to take you on a trip down ductile iron's memory lane. To do so, we have turned the pages of AFS Transactions and American Foundryman; conversed for hours with industry old-timers; pored through Millis' notebooks that Lyle Jenkins (DIS technical director) handed me in his wife Joan's laundry tub during one of several visits that AFS Vice President of Technology John Lewensky and I made to their Decatur, Illinois, home; and attentively listened to the audiotapes of the 25th anniversary of ductile iron luncheon at the 1973 AFS Casting Congress in Montreal. Several of the quotations sprinkled throughout the issue were shared at that meeting.

I never had the opportunity to meet Keith Millis. Unable to travel, he died at age 77 a month after my first DIS meeting in 1992. However, in researching ductile iron's history and speaking with his son, Steve, and his contemporaries, I now have a better sense for the man and his contributions. We hope that you will now, too.

This two-year experience has also provided more practical insight into today's oft-discussed (and written about) concept of partnering. This month's Symposium represents two organizations (which some may say compete to a degree) joining together in hopes of increasing their service to customers. With that, I've learned that if you can compromise and not let pride become an obstacle, pooled organizational strengths can truly enhance the service to the customer.

Millis would be proud to see that this collaboration followed the spirit that he and others set forth years ago, when competing foundries worked hand-in-hand to solve each others' problems. From what I've found, Millis never cared much if his firm's alloys were the ones used, as long as the foundry found a way to produce a quality ductile iron. He realized that a healthier foundry would be a healthier customer - and casting supplier - for all in the long-term.

We also take this opportunity to congratulate the DIS on its 40th birthday this year. In the early days, recalled Fred Jacobs, retired, Texas Foundries, "Every little gray iron foundry was hopping on the bandwagon and tossing magnesium in helter-skelter, which resulted in a bad name for ductile iron early on." INCO's dedication, and then the DIS, he said, kept inferior-treated castings from stomping out Millis' invention. The wisdom of the Society's founders 40 years ago certainly played a role in its rapid rise to success.

There's the saying, "History belongs to the winner." The winner in this case is the foundry industry. Regardless of whether you pour the iron or not, it's an accomplishment that deserves a significant place in the industry's trophy case.

A special thanks goes out to Ken Kirgin, Gene Muratore, Lyle Jenkins, Ken Guise, Ezra Kotzin, and Carl Loper, Jr. for their assistance in putting this special keepsake issue together.