Forging Foundation News October 2023

How to Start a Forging Club: Webinar

FIERF is hosting a webinar to help promote starting a Forging Club at local schools. Join us on October 5th at 2pm ET to learn from Mason Weems at Colorado School of Mines on how they started their Forging Club and what is needed to organize one at your school.

Who should attend: Academia and students

When: Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 2pm ET

Where: Zoom (link will be sent prior to the webinar)

Cost: Free  

Topics covered during the webinar will be:

  1. Coordinating with Staff and Faculty (Getting Appropriate Permissions)
  2. Equipment and Shop Space (Coordinating with Environmental Health and Safety)
  3. Reaching Student Audiences (Connecting with Classes, Clubs, Comps, Locals, and Research)
  4. Teaching (Basics and Safety)
  5. Open Shop (Encouraging Creativity and Exploration)

Mason Weems is entering his first year in the Metallurgical PhD program at the Colorado School of Mines and has been running the school's forging club for the last four years. The club started in 2018 with a group of four graduate students and has since grown to a club with four officers who teach classes and organize open-shop activities for more than thirty users, consisting of students from every department at the school. The forge works in conjunction with other clubs, classes, metallurgy competitions, local smith organizations, and research activities.

Share the registration information with students at your school or schools you work with – all are welcome to attend! Click the red button below to register.

 Third Annual FIERF Golf Outing

FIERF hosted its Third Annual Golf Outing on August 22nd at Firestone Country Club. 120 golfers came out to play Firestone’s famous South Course. More than $60,000 was raised to support the work of the Forging Foundation, providing scholarships, research grants and workforce development opportunities to help build a pipeline of future forgers!

The event could not have been a success without the generous support from our sponsors. Thank you to our Title Sponsors: Advanced Metalforming Lubricants & Gemini Group, Golf Towel Sponsor: Specialty Ring Products, Golf Ball Sponsor: Nucor, Drink Sponsor: AIM Recycling Cleveland, Hole Sponsors: Alton Steel, Bohler, Campbell Press Repair, Ellwood Quality Steel, EST Tool & Machine, Inc., Finkl Steel, Pat Mooney Saws, Trenton Forging, Weber Metals, and Winoa.

 2024 Forging Competition Announced

FIERF is hosting its second annual Forging Competition April 24, 2024, in Milwaukee, WI.  Students will have the opportunity to compete in creating a Halligan bar. Each bar will be put through a series of tests appropriate to the application.  You can expect the bars to be tested in prying, punching, twisting, and striking.  All submissions will include a Halligan bar, a project video, and technical report documenting the design and manufacturing process.

Industry Partnerships Needed:

Students are encouraged to partner with FIA Member companies to complete their entries. Industry partners are asked to work with a team of competing students to provide guidance, materials, and information about forging.

If your company is interested in being an industry partner, please contact Amanda Dureiko at [email protected] to be connected with a competing team.

Click the red button below to register your team. If you would like to fill out a paper registration form, click here.

 Next Gens at FIA Fall Meeting

This past week at FIA’s Fall Meeting of Members, Next Gens (members aged 20-35) gathered to learn more about topics such as reshoring/onshoring, raw materials market, cybersecurity, appropriations, Mexico and South American forging markets, leadership, workforce development and more. 

In addition to the meeting presentations, Next Gen members has other opportunities to network with member executives through the CEO and Next Gen Mixer that was hosted by Forrest Large (FIA MDI Facilitator). Through Forrest’s activities, participants were able to engage in meaningful conversations to learn more about one another and discuss ways we can advance the forging industry.

 MFG Day - October 6 | Forging Day - October 13

MFG Day is officially Friday, October 6, but any day can be MFG day! Annually, there are over 3,000 events held in the USA that take place over the month of October. Events can be virtual or in-person and can include, but are not limited to; presentations, round tables, panel discussions, plant tours, etc. These events provide opportunities for students, parents, teachers, and local community leaders to see and learn more about modern manufacturing.

It is estimated that over the next 10 years, 4.6 million manufacturing jobs will be needed in our economy. Due to the skills gap, 2.1 million of those jobs are estimated to go unfilled. According to a new study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, the cost of those missing jobs could potentially total $1 trillion in 2030 alone.

NEW! Forging Day 2023

The second Friday in October is Forging Day! FIA, with help from Trenton Forging Company, created a Forging Proclamation which members were asked to submit to their local school boards, city councils and county councils. The aim is to educate and bring awareness of the forging industry at the local, community level. Many people are unaware that forging producer and supplier companies are right in their own backyards and significantly contribute to economic development. Our member companies are often the largest employers in their communities, offering high-paying jobs.

It is more important than ever that your forging company participates in MFG Day and/or Forging Day. Create compelling experiences for the next generation and open their eyes to the modern manufacturing world! We want to bring these current students into the forging industry. 

If you plan on hosting a tour at your facility for Manufacturing Day (October 6) or Forging Day this year (October 13), please let us know so that we can help share and promote the event. 

Need help connecting with schools?

Contact FIA/FIERF Senior Manager Foundation & Workforce Development, Amanda Dureiko at [email protected] or call 216-781-6260 and we can help you get students to your plant. 

 

Does Your Company Have Internships Available?

The Forging Foundation has awarded seven students the Al Underys Engineering, Metallurgical & Material Sciences Memorial Scholarship for the 2023-2024 school year! Scholarship recipients are asked to complete an internship with an FIA member company.

Let us know if your company has internships available or will have internships available in the future. Internship positions will also be shared with additional students and schools FIERF is partnered with.

Send internship opportunities to Amanda Dureiko at [email protected]. 

 

Thank you to all of the new and continued supporters of the Forging Foundation.  We couldn’t continue to do what we do with out the generous support from you!

We invite you to partner with the Forging Foundation. A partnership with the Forging Foundation means you will help develop our future workforce!

All contributions, donations, and gifts to the Forging Foundation (FIERF) are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. All administrative costs and event expenses are paid by the Forging Industry Association so your donation goes directly to supporting FIERF programs such as scholarships, forging related research projects, education initiatives, and workforce development programming.

If you are interested in learning more about the Forging Foundation and the workforce development programming that we do, contact Amanda Dureiko at [email protected] or 216-781-6260.