In Search of Solutions for All.

What are the greatest obstacles facing today's U.S. foundries? If you asked this question today (as I did a month ago to seven different foundrymen during a modern casting focus group discussion), you probably will hear the following responses:

* a labor shortage on the plant floor and in engineering;

* year in and year out customer price reduction demands;

* overseas competition (China, Korea, Brazil and Mexico);

* overzealous government regulators and regulations;

* OEM design engineers and purchasers' lack of understanding of the metalcasting process and its capabilities.

Alone, each of these obstacles poses a threat to the health of the U.S. foundry industry. Together, without any deterrent, they may signal "a return to the early '80s" for U.S. foundries.

Even with that in mind, the responses still struck me as a bit odd due to the circumstances in which they were delivered-at the recent AFS Casting Congress. If one were to sit in on presentations at the Congress, one would assume the greatest obstacle faced by our foundry industry is a lack of technology and process development. After all, of the 120 presentations given at the Congress, only seven related to suggestions to overcome any of the five obstacles listed above, while a majority of the other 113 focused on technology and process development. Should I believe that the message from the whole (at Casting Congress) is correct, while the messages from the foundry people I interviewed are just isolated cases? Should I believe that our industry needs technology and process development more than management, marketing, human resources, and environmental, health and safety program development? I don't think so. That is why something must change.

Our industry prides itself on its tradition of sharing ideas between facilities, regardless of competition. This "bond among foundries" is credited as being one of the reasons the industry has been successful. Why then, when the industry is facing possibly its steepest stack of obstacles, is the focus of discussion at its annual meeting on technology and process development? When is the sharing of ideas to overcome the true obstacles facing the industry taking place? Does it occur between foundries? Does it occur at chapter meetings?

Our industry is in a struggle for its future. Whether it is offshore competition, OSHA and EPA regulations or competing processes, the profits and marketshare of North American metalcasters are going to continue to erode if steps aren't taken in a new direction. The first step must be a cumulative industry effort to provide new ideas and solutions to some of the problems facing the industry today. (This doesn't mean we should stop sharing technology and process development ideas, but it should be matched with equal efforts to tackle the new problems.) If you, as foundries, believe it is up to someone else to fight all your battles, then you are sadly mistaken. It must be a partnership.

All foundries must begin to learn the "best practices" that are allowing certain foundries to excel.

* What incentive or gainsharing programs have some foundries instituted to attract and retain workers?

* What value-added design advantages have some foundries integrated in their engineered castings so they won't have the same pricing pressure and/or can't be sourced overseas for production?

* What low-or reduced-cost ideas have some foundries used to remain in compliance with environmental, health and safety standards?

* What initiatives have some foundries instituted to market the capabilities of metalcasting to design engineers and purchasers to ensure that casting is the first process of choice for all metal components?

If you have answers to any of these questions, then you must share them with your fellow foundrymen. If you don't have answers to any of these questions, then you must ask those with the answers to share them. Another industry shakeout (like the early '80s) is not in the best interest of anyone because it will result in a reduction of:

* available capacity, forcing customers to find alternative processes for their components;

* the lobbying constituency in Washington, D.C. to fight government regulations;

* the supplier base, resulting in reduced R&D and fewer product/process innovations;

* the talent pool from which to pull workers and engineers;

* a reduced sales and marketing force to change designers' minds about the benefits of castings.

This is a "call to arms." I am challenging modern casting's readers to find the answers to these questions. When they are found, share them in a paper or magazine article, through a presentation at a conference or chapter meeting, or at an association committee meeting. Ideas must be shared so solutions can be developed for the true problems facing today's metalcasting industry.

If our industry wants to compete in the global engineered metal component market, we are going to have to come together as separate companies to become one. The knowledge of a few is going to have to become the solutions for all. Only when this action occurs can the industry overcome the obstacles that threaten its survival and seek out opportunities for growth.

Alfred T. Spada

Executive Editor