Our recently completed 26th Annual Meeting in Tyler, Texas reminds us of what a great industry in which we chose to work. It is reassuring to see how many smart, resourceful, and hardworking Americans there are and how lucky we are to be associated with so many of them.

The Texas Cast Metal Association’s 26th Annual Meeting was a good one covering many of the hot button issues metalcasters face. I wrote a while back in my intro article that hiring was a huge industry problem everyone is talking about. Lennon Martin, Director of Human Resources at Dennison Industries opened our annual meeting with an excellent presentation on this very topic. He discussed a myriad of thoughtful tactics on how to attract applicants and promoting your business to capture and hold new employees.

What do casting buyers really want? The TCMA Team was successful in securing Pamela Hedgpeth the Director of Customer & Supplier Relations of Tuthill Vacuum & Blower Systems. Pamela told us she requires her team members to know how castings are made and what castings do since they are such a unique product. So many buyers purchase part numbers and do not really know what they are buying. She said not all foundries are able to provide consistently reliable castings and her buyers are required to visit foundries for better understanding of foundry processes. This is a refreshing concept, because it is much easier when a customer is knowledgeable about castings.

Mark Ziegler, Executive Director of the Casting Industry Suppliers Association educated and refreshed attendees about his association and updated the group on Foundry market trends. He did a great a job.

James Simonelli, the Executive Director of the California Metals Coalition closed the meeting by providing valuable information on regulations impacting foundries and how his group diversified their Metal Coalition Membership thus growing their numbers and strengthening their association.

Thinking about diversifying and adding to their numbers reminds me of an old adage, “strength in numbers.” The TCMA’s annual meeting is a treasure trove of valuable information and learning. The take homes are many. The unique setting in Tyler with the venues chosen made for relaxing and comfortable exchanges of industry news and information. We must all work together to grow our association. So I humbly ask – spread the word. Increasing TCMA membership is incumbent on all of us, and benefits our foundry industry.

In other news, the TCMA leadership and other Texas foundry personnel head to Washington D.C. for the annual American Foundry Society Government Affairs Fly-In on May 14 and 15. We will make our combined voices heard on critical issues such as:

• Infrastructure Investment
• OSHA’s Silica Rule
• Regulation Reform at the EPA
• Workforce Development

Just a reminder the AFS Texas Chapter’s Annual Leonard Rigamonti Memorial Scholar ship/Endowment Fundraiser is April 27 at the Corsicana Country Club. It is always a great meeting for a worthy cause benefiting the member’s families.

Thank you all; I will end with a quote from Coach Phil Jackson, “The strength of a team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the Team.”

Kind Regards,

Harry Phillips
Executive Vice President
Oil City Iron Works, Inc.
TCMA Chair