NFFS 2023 Annual Report
Membership
2023 NFFS Membership
During 2023, the Non-Ferrous Founders' Society had a total of 162 member companies, made up of 127 foundries and 35 industry suppliers/services providers (Associate members), on par with membership counts for the previous year.
New Members
The following foundries and foundry suppliers/service providers joined as new members of the Society during 2023.
A & B Foundry LLC
Bronze Craft Corporation
Eck Industries, Inc.
Foundry Solutions & Design LLC
Foundry Solutions Metallurgical Services
Hydro-Gear
Morel Industries Inc.
Norican Group
Palmer Manufacturing Supply
Rapid Cast Technologies
Recovered Asset Management
Seville Centrifugal Bronze
THORS
Wieland Chase, LLC
Member Survey
Year after year, NFFS has been pleased to receive consistently high member satisfaction ratings from members who respond to the annual NFFS Member Survey, and 2023 was no exception. The anonymous member survey took place in mid-December, and a total of 56 responses were collected. When asked to rate their overall level of satisfaction with NFFS membership on a scale from 1 to 10, respondents gave an average rating of 9.07. When asked to rate the Society's responsiveness to member needs and current issues, they gave an average rating of 9.13.
New Member Programs in 2023
One of the advantages that NFFS has over larger associations is the ability to remain flexible and to quickly adapt to address emerging member needs and challenges. Every year, the Society releases new programs and benefits to its membership in response to evolving industry and economic trends, as well as in response to direct member feedback. In 2023, the following new programs were introduced:
- Robotics Training Workshop - In March, NFFS held an in-person training workshop, "Fundamentals of Robotic Operations for Foundries," in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The training was conducted in cooperation with the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Metal Casting & Additive Manufacturing Centers and Hawkeye Community College and provided 3.5 days of introductory knowledge and robotic programming fundamentals to students at a very low cost. The sold-out training program included twelve students from six different foundries and organizations.
- Foundry Safety Audit Program - In late 2023, NFFS announced the return of its Foundry Safety Audit Program, available exclusively to NFFS members. The goal of the program is to provide independent review of a foundry’s safety and health efforts against OSHA requirements and enforcement programs. It offers NFFS members the opportunity to participate in an actual in-plant mock OSHA safety audit to ensure their foundry is compliant with the regulations set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
- Automation Training Video Series - NFFS partnered with Flux Automation to release the first three videos in a planned five-video series of technical training sessions intended for entry-level individuals who may be interested in, but intimidated by, automation. The goal of the videos is to provide basic knowledge and break down automation systems into easy to understand segments. The videos are focused on Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), ControlLogix fundamentals, and troubleshooting.