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| 'Inside the
TCMA' featured Article |
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2022 TCMA Annual Meeting Recap |
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TCMA |
June 2022 |
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Greetings Fellow TCMA Members,
I would like to recap our Annual Meeting. As we are all coming out of
Covid isolation and working at moving forward into the new normal
heading to Kalahari in Round Rock for our Annual Meeting was a blessing
I had been looking forward to for weeks. So, it goes without saying that
our Annual Meeting in Round Rock was a highly anticipated and thoroughly
exhilarating event. Gathering the night before at the Double Cut
Steakhouse lounge and greeting all the attending members and spouses and
the dinner on Friday night was wonderful – rekindling friendships over a
wonderful meal, I could not wish for a better start to our meetings.
The next day we gathered for a working lunch at Sortino’s, where your
Chair called the Board Meeting to order. I will not belabor the details
since you will soon be receiving the detailed minutes of the meeting.
Having said that, I think that it is important to note 3 points; first
-our financial investments continue to perform under the direction of
Johnny Hill and Clifford Smith. Secondly, our receipts are down and we
must face that it is up to You and I to solve this issue. We agreed to
produce a new value of membership flyer to use with personal invitations
to attain new membership. WE must rally to this challenge.
Finally, we viewed a presentation from the AFS CastExpo Govenmental
Affairs Panel that highlighted OSHA’s intent to launch enforcement of
their program to combat heat-related work hazards. Foundries should
prepare for an increase in heat-related workplace inspections from OSHA
under this new enforcement program.
Following our Board Meeting we headed to our Annual Conference Program
at Dell Diamond where we were addressed by;
Jared Ware – Deputy Director TCEQ – provided us with his thoughts on how
he leads the TCEQ Program Support and Environmental Assistance Division
(PSEAD), the Office of Compliance and Enforcement (OCE) at the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in Austin, Texas. Directs the
Program Support and Environmental Assistance Division which supports
field operations through a Program Support Section, a Small Business and
Local Government Assistance (SBLGA) Program and a Division Support Team.
He directed to a Youtube training to Get Help with Senate Bill 3 and
Emergency Preparedness Plans https://youtu.be/RBz9u1XfgPo We asked about
help with finding sources to send our spent foundry sand now that the
Foundry Sand Exclusion is approved and asked what is the current status
of the EnvironMentor program – he stated he would provide feedback to
us.
Brad Jones - CEO ERCOT – provided us with a review of what happened
during freeze and power loss during February 2021 and a vision of the
revamped Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) of today and
his projection that we are in good shape for future high demand during
hot summers when we need air conditioning and cold winters when we need
heat. Many in attendance expressed the enormous scale of the outages to
their operations in terms of lost production, damaged equipment, costly
repairs, and lost profits. Brad was confident that ERCOT is on the path
to preventing these issues. And yet only one week after our meeting,
ERCOT issued conservation notices during our unseasonably hot spell –
and yet continues to assert that the grid is stable. Clearly we are not
yet out of the woods.
Joe Hutto – Engineering Manager / Foundry Superintendent Howell Foundry
– provided us with a history how this once traditional Phenolic Urethane
(No-Bake) shop has seen the value in Rapid Prototype printed sand
molding and are banking on the 3D molding technology to charge into the
future. Joe walked us down the reasons where and when the 3D molding
technology has the advantage; Dimensional stability part to part, Reduce
excess machining stock, CAD model direct to 3D mold, No more pattern
cost – repair – warehousing, Extremely Short lead times possible.
Upon conclusion of the Conference Meeting Program, we walked out the
conference room back door into the Dell Diamond baseball field to again
enjoy our time together and cheer on the Round Rock Express baseball
team.
Next up on the TCMA calendar is the AFS Governmental Affairs Fly-In is
coming June 7th & 8th. This is our opportunity to take our message to
Washington D.C. This year five TCMA members are headed to the Fly-In;
Eric Ryan Meyers, Chris Norch, Owen Daniel, Clifford Smith , and I.
Critical matters for discussion at this years Fly-In will include;
Mid-Term Elections preview, Supply Chain Challenges, Energy Security,
Environmental Justice – EPA’s new approach, Critical Minerals and
Materials, and Emerging Employment and Safety rules.
I have attended several TCMA Annual meetings over the years, and each time I
come away with a great appreciation for the value provided by the
program, interaction of our members, and constructive conversations. Our
members are Foundry Owners and Managers in the industry; serious minded
and hardworking individuals that care deeply about our industry future.
We gather as friends and colleges to openly discuss important current
events and issues on the horizon – all opinions and thoughts discussed
and pondered for the benefit of all members. This was and continues to
be the core foundation of the value of TCMA involvement.
I offer a
Special Thank You to all members and spouses who see the value and took
the time out of their hectic schedules to attend this event – your
participation is greatly appreciated. Thank You to those were not able
to attend yet continue to support our activities through TCMA
membership. And last, but certainly not least, Thank You to Dr. and Mrs.
Clifford Smith for another exceptional meeting your efforts and
dedication to TCMA are truly appreciated. Very well done!
Respectfully Yours,
Brett Morehead
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