non-ferrous founders’ society industry insider
TRANSCRIPT
As part of the national response to COVID-19, the U.S. Department of De-fense entered into a $22 million agree-ment with Rolls-Royce to maintain, protect, and expand critical domes-tic productive capacity for propellers essential to U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs. These projects will begin in July 2020 and help meet increasing demand across the vitally important shipbuilding sector of the defense in-dustrial base.
Using funds authorized and appro-priated under the CARES Act, this De-fense Production Act (DPA) Title III in-vestment will protect and create jobs in the Gulf Coast region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure criti-cal capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness.
Rolls-Royce intends to expand its ex-isting facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi to install a number of state-of-the-art machine tools to support production of propellers for all shipbuilding pro-
grams, reduce production risks, and in-crease throughput. These investments will have long-term benefits for the U.S. Navy and the Gulf Coast region.
Over the next 36 months, the $22 mil-lion government investment will sus-tain and expand critical domestic in-dustrial base capability for propeller machining capacity. The Rolls-Royce foundry will continue to be one of only two facilities capable of supplying the U.S. Navy with this capacity.
“This award will help build the capa-bility and capacity of the Rolls-Royce foundry for our national security needs. The investment emphasizes the importance of this Mississippi facility in strengthening the American ship-building industrial base,” said Senator Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) in an annouce-ment on Friday, July 17th. “With these improvements, the foundry will in-crease its ability to cast and finish large propellers to meet the Navy’s quality standards.”
July 2020
This is a publication of the Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society © 2020. All rights reserved.Sign up to receive this publication by e-mail at www.nffs.org/IndustryInsider.905 E. Chicago Road, Suite One, Sturgis, MI 49091 • Phone 847.299.0950 • www.nffs.org
NON-FERROUS FOUNDERS’ SOCIETY
INDUSTRY INSIDERIndustry news and information for the non-ferrous foundry professional
CALENDAR
August 4 − 5, 2020Audit Committee Meeting
August 18, 2020NFFSummit Webinar: Aluminum Foundries and the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Program
August 18, 2020Membership Committee Meeting
August 19, 2020Executive Committee Meeting
August 19, 2020Webinar: Understand Customer Personality Styles to Help You Sell More Effectively
August 20, 2020Govt. Affairs Committee Meeting For further information, go to: www.nffs.org/events.
Department of Defense Announces $22 Million Agreement with Rolls-Royce to Strengthen Domestic Shipbuilding Industrial BaseExcerpts from press releases of the U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov) and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (hydesmith.senate.gov).
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NFFS INDUSTRY INSIDER July 2020
On July 14th 2020, OSHA published a final rule revising the beryllium standard for general industry that maintains pro-tection for employees while insuring that the standard is well understood and compliance is simple and straightfor-ward. This standard will affect approximately 50,500 work-ers employed in general industry.
The final rule amends the following paragraphs of the berylli-um standard for general industry: “Definitions,” “Methods of Compliance,” “Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment,” “Hygiene Areas and Practices,” “Housekeeping,” “Medical Surveillance,” “Hazard Communication” and “Recordkeep-ing.” It also has a new Appendix A: “Operations for Establish-ing Beryllium Work Areas.”
Key Provisions of the Beryllium Standard• A permissible exposure limit (PEL) for beryllium of 0.2 µg/
m3, averaged over 8-hours.• A short-term exposure limit for beryllium of 2.0 µg/m3,
over a 15-minute sampling period.• Requires employers to: use engineering and work practice
controls (such as ventilation or enclosure) to limit worker exposure to beryllium; provide respirators when controls cannot adequately limit exposure; limit worker access to high-exposure areas; develop a written exposure control plan; and train workers on beryllium hazards.
• Requires employers to make available medical exams to monitor exposed workers and provides medical removal protection benefits to workers identified with a berylli-um-related disease.
Compliance ScheduleAll three standards contained in the final rule took effect on May 20, 2017. The compliance date of this final standard as modified is September 14, 2020. OSHA has been enforcing most of the provisions for general industry since Dec. 12, 2018. The agency began enforcing the provisions for change rooms and showers on March 11, 2019, and engineering controls on March 10, 2020.
OSHA is currently enforcing only the PELs in the construc-tion and shipyard beryllium standards at §1926.1124(c), and §1915.1024(c), respectively.
OSHA Issues Final Beryllium Standard for General IndustrySource: www.osha.gov/berylliumrule
The New Jersey Board of Pub-lic Utilities (BPU) approved a solar incentive program to aid in the transition from the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program to another in-centive program. The Transition Renewable Energy Certif-icate (TREC) program recently became effective to provide certainty to solar projects in development. Companies with single or multiple facilities in the state of New Jersey may be eligible for this program. APPI Energy, the Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society’s endorsed partner for energy procure-ment solutions, estimates that participating companies have the potential to realize significant electricity cost reduction.
Time is of the essence, however. The program has a short lifespan, requires utility approval prior to installation, and must be completed by December 31, 2021. If you have locations anywhere in New Jersey, this program warrants your atten-tion. APPI Energy can provide a no cost assessment for one or more of the three types of solar. This is an exceptional way to reduce your electricity expense and to fix a low price per kWh for the next 15-25 years, all with no capital outlay or ongoing costs.
To learn more, view this single-page document with addi-tional program details, register for a 25-minute webinar on July 30th at 2:00 p.m., or contact APPI Energy at (800) 520-6685 to discuss how your business can take advantage of this opportunity.
New Jersey Approves Renewable Energy Incentive Program
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OVER 12 BILLION KWH UNDER MANAGEMENTYour Industry Expert:Drew Pangborn, CEP800-520-6685D: [email protected]
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NFFS INDUSTRY INSIDER July 2020
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ROTARY MEDIA DRUMSSAND RECLAIMERSSLAG / METAL RECLAIMERSSAND BLENDING / COOLING DRUMS
Waupaca Foundry received the 2020 Better Project award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Plants program for innovations at its Tell City, Indiana plant. The federal program recognizes manufacturers for creating and imple-menting industrial energy and water efficiency projects, as well as renewable energy and energy resiliency projects.
“Better Plants partners are implementing innovative energy efficiency solutions in the industrial space that are cutting costs and energy use and the Better Practice and Better Proj-ect awards honor their leadership,” said Valri Lightner, depu-ty director, advanced manufacturing office, U.S. Department of Energy.
The plant designed and installed a system to remove humid-ity from the air around the plant’s cupola, the furnace used to melt metal. Plant engineers installed a desiccant cupola blast air drying system that removes water vapor from am-bient air prior to preheating in the foundry’s melt tower. Re-moving humidity from the air stabilizes operations through-out the year and reduces energy consumption.
“The system passes air through a desiccant air wheel which works like a filter to remove water from the air, increasing the efficiency of the combustion process,” said Marco Gon-zalez, corporate energy manager for Waupaca Foundry. “It’s like if you’re trying to light a barbecue during a rainy day, the moisture in the air will consume power from your charcoal and they will take longer to light. By removing the moisture from the air, the fuel can burn more efficiently.”
The project reduces foundry coke use, which is the fuel used in the melt furnace, and improves melting efficiency, in turn off-setting rising material costs. Furnaces melt the iron and main-tain temperatures ranging from 2,600 to 2,800 degrees Fahren-heit. Computerized systems constantly monitor temperature.
“The system allows us to avoid weather variations in the pro-cess of melting iron, especially in our southern locations. Sus-tained humidity levels at this plant can have monthly averag-es of 80%, and several days at 100% humidity,” Gonzalez said.
To view the entire announcement, go to https://www.waupaca-foundry.com/en-site/Our-Company-Site/News-Site/Pages/WAUPACA-FOUNDRY-WINS-2020-BETTER-PROJECT-AWARD.aspx.
Waupaca Foundry Wins 2020 Better Project AwardFrom a press release of Waupaca Foundry (waupacafoundry.com).
Barron Industries has taken another step to ensure its pre-cision investment castings meet the stringent quality stan-dards of the aerospace industry. The Michigan-based man-ufacturer has achieved NADCAP Accreditation for Digital Radiography, a Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) process for aluminum, steel and stainless steel components.
NADCAP is the acronym for The National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program—a global coop-erative program of major companies designed to manage a cost-effective consensus approach to special processes and products and provide continual improvement within the aerospace and defense industries. NDT is just one of the special processes that NADCAP includes in its scope of ac-creditation services.
Digital Radiography is becoming the preferred industrial imaging method because of ongoing technological advance-ments and the significant reduction in price. Computed radi-ography (CR) cassettes use phosphor imaging plates to cap-ture the X-ray image, instead of traditional X-ray film. The CR cassette goes into a reader to convert the data into a digital image.
World-leading aerospace companies such as Airbus, The Boeing Company, GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce work togeth-er with industry suppliers to agree to the standard that a supplier must attain in order to become and remain NAD-CAP approved. Increasingly, aerospace companies will only sub-contract with NADCAP approved suppliers, as this is a globally recognized industry-wide standard of work ensuring that a part purchased from India is of similar quality to a part originating from Detroit.
NADCAP accreditation proves Barron’s in-house radiogra-phy complies with the strict requirements of the aerospace and defense industries. Daily system performance checks ensure detection of even the slightest indications, and reg-ular audits verify the company maintains requirements of NADCAP, as well as our aerospace customers, including GE Aviation, Boeing and others.
To read the full article, go to https://www.barron-industries.com/nadcap-digital-radiography.
Barron Industries Earns NADCAP Accreditation for Digital RadiographyExcerpt from a press release of Barron Industries (barron-industries.com).
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NFFS INDUSTRY INSIDER July 2020
Ellwood Engineered Castings, a gray and ductile iron found-ry producing ingot molds for steel and specialty steel ingot casting, announced in 2018 that it was undertaking a $60-mil-lion expansion project to diversify its business and launch an aluminum casting operation adjacent to its current facility in Hubbard, Ohio.
Last month, the company produced its first aluminum test castings—14-in. diameter aluminum billet—though full-scale production is not expected to begin for another few months while the company goes through further testing of its equip-ment and its tooling.
In an interview with the Tribune Chronicle, Patrick Callihan, President of Ellwood Engineered Castings, stated, “For the certification process for our customers, we actually have to take samples from our casts, send them to our customers and then they dissect it. Through their quality labs they test it, they run it through the process, they do all the quality in-spection of it.” He further stated that he hopes to be in “com-plete production mode” by January or February of 2021.
The company has yet to complete Phase Two of its planned project, which will involve a further, but smaller, expansion to the building, and an increase in workforce and production. The aluminum castings produced will primarily supply pro-ducers in the automotive and aerospace industries.
On July 17, 2020, the Youngstown, Ohio-based Business Jour-nal Daily posted a video to its website which includes a tour of parts of the aluminum casting area and an interview with Jeff Nicol, Ellwood’s Vice President of Technical Sales. To view the video, go to https://businessjournaldaily.com/ell-wood-group-preps-for-aluminum-production.
Ellwood Engineered Castings Prepares for Full Production at its New Alumi-num Castings Facility
I2r POWER leadership is pleased to announce Carpenter Brothers of Wisconsin has been selected to exclusively rep-resent water-cooled power cables and electrical bus sys-tems among foundries and metal casters in 14 Midwest and Southern states. Effective immediately, Carpenter Brothers sales representatives will be offering I2r POWER foundry and metalcasting power cable solutions.
“Working with the sales professionals at Carpenter Brothers will allow customers immediate access to high-value power cable solutions beyond the OEM,” said Mike Pinney, founder and president of I2r POWER. Carpenter Brothers represen-tatives will be servicing the foundry market in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, South Da-kota, North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Mis-souri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“Partnering with I2r POWER will allow Carpenter Brothers to offer our customers the engineering, expertise, and crafts-manship to optimize power and reliability from their power cables. I2r POWER has years of experience with any induc-tion system brand, type, or application ensuring Carpenter Brothers can offer our customers the best choice in value,” said Jay Morrison, Vice President of Equipment Sales at Car-penter Brothers Incorporated.
Founded in 2005, I2r POWER is a leading independent de-signer and manufacturer of water-cooled power cables, and has more than 100 years of combined experience in reman-ufacturing and servicing. For more information about I2r POWER, please visit http://www.i2rPower.com.
Carpenter Brothers to Represent I2r POWER Among Foundries in 14 Midwest, Southern StatesFrom a press release of I2r POWER (i2rPower.com).
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Aluminum Foundries and the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFATS) Program Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2020Time: 2:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. CT)Cost: $149, FREE for members
In 2006, Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. Managed by the Cybersecuri-ty and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the CFATS pro-gram identifies and regulates high-risk chemical facilities to ensure they have security measures in place that re-duce the risk of certain hazardous chemicals from be-ing weaponized.
Aluminum Powder is included in the CFATS program as a Chemical of Interest (COI). Aluminum foundries are receiving notice from CISA and DHS that they are re-quired to report their holdings of aluminum powder to CISA via the online survey called a Top-Screen. Failure to comply could result in the imposition of a civil fine and/or the issuance of an order to cease operations.
Foundries that cast and process aluminum should be familiar with CFATS and how it could potentially affect their operations. Join NFFS for a review of the CFATS program, and a discussion of the efforts being taken by the Society to help foundries comply with the rule. As a special bonus, NFFS will provide a template response letter for your foundry to use if you receive a request from CISA to submit the online Top-Screen survey.
Register: www.nffs.org/nffsummit0820
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On June 29th, Moline, Illinois, based John Deere & Co. in-formed 82 workers at its Davenport, Iowa, plant that they would be laid off indefinitely effective August 3rd. Less than three weeks later, on July 16 and 17, those same workers were told the layoffs would not take place.
John Deere representatives did not go into specifics regard-ing the reason for the change, but company officials were quoted in Des Moines’ news publication The Gazette saying, “Each John Deere factory continuously balances the size of its workforce with the needs of the individual factory and to optimize the workforce at each facility.”
Deere & Co. also announced on June 29th that it would be laying off 35 workers at its Waterloo, Iowa, foundry, also in early August. The company stated that those layoffs will still take place as annouced.
According to information required to be provided to the state of Iowa, John Deere & Co. has cut nearly 200 jobs so far in 2020.
Planned Layoff of 82 Employees at John Deere Cancelled
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