Our March meeting capped off a successful 2011-2012 season for the AFS Ontario Chapter. This will be the last Ingate until the September issue. Your Board of Directors hopes you have a happy and prosperous summer.
Our Next Meeting is Thursday September 20, 2012.
Location: Waterfront Conference Centre
Our Program Committee has set the dates for the coming 2012-2013 season and will be working hard on developing new technical seminars and providing timely guest speakers. To mark the dates on your calendar see the Chapter Program Chart.
The September meeting will be a joint AFS/CFA meeting. The CFA will have their Annual General Meeting in the afternoon before the dinner meeting.
Ticket Prices and Reservations:
It is always difficult to plan the correct number of meals for our dinner meetings since many don”t reserve ahead. This often results in the Chapter paying for more meals than necessary. As a result we have decided to leave the dinner price at $40.00 when reserved but will charge $45.00 at the door. So please remember to reserve ahead.
We ask all members and guests for your assistance in placing your reservations no later than 5:00 pm on Monday September 17th. Dinner tickets are $40.00 if pre-registered; $45.00 at the door. Retiree tickets are $25.00 and students are $10.00. Register at afsontario@bell.net. Please include the names of the people attending.
ONTARIO CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
Our March 22, 2012 meeting was an outstanding success with over 85 people in attendance, including students, scholarship award recipients, past Chairmen, honorees, and our guest speaker.
Our 50-50 winner for the night was Dr. Sophie Lun Sin of Ryerson University.
CELEBRATION OF ACHIEVEMENT
Pat Cline was presented an Award for Recognition for his years of service to the AFS Ontario Chapter. Pat is a service life member and served as Chair in 1991-92 and Past Chair in 1992-93. Pat returned to the Ontario Chapter Board of Directors in 2002 serving as Secretary and in 2004 until 2011 as Secretary/Treasurer.
Pat Cline and Past Chair Dan Peace
Dana Coulombe was presented an Award of Achievement for his long years of service to the foundry industry. Dana has served on both boards of the CFA and the AFS Ontario Chapter eventually serving as President and Chairman respectively. Dana also served as the National Director for AFS Ontario Chapter.
Dana was and still is a driving force in the promotion and development of education to bring young people to the casting industry. He is currently Chair of the CFA Education Committee, sits on the Mohawk College Mechanical Technology Advisory Board, is President Foundry Educational Foundation Canada and is past President of the FEF America.
Dana Coulombe
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
On this evening scholarships were presented to students from Mohawk College, Ryerson University and the University of Windsor.
AFS Ontario Scholarship Recipients
Suleman Ahmad - Ryerson University. Presented by guest Speaker, Tony Valeri
Eli Vandersluis - Ryerson University. Presented by guest Speaker, Tony Valeri.
Wade Marquardt - Mohawk College. Presented by Bob Puhakka, VP Process & Metallurgy, Alloy Castings Industries Ltd.
Roja Moradipour – University of Windsor (Unavailable for Photo)
Mohawk College FEF Scholarship Recipients
Justin Tiffany, Randy MacNab, Prof. Brad Bowman, Wade Marquardt, Scott Cumming, Kyle Rusk (unavailable for Photo)
CFA Scholarship Recipients
CFA FEF Award - Justin Tiffany, Mohaw College. Presented by David Seyler, President
Past Presidents Award – to Kyle Rusk, Mohawk College (unavailable for photo)
Roy Butler Memorial Scholarship - Anthony Lombardi, Ryerson University. Presented by Joe Butler, Pres. Custom Aluminum Foundry
GUEST SPEAKER
Our guest speaker for this evening was Tony Valeri, VP Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, ArcelorMittal Dofasco. His focus was on some of the key issues facing Canadian Industry such as the effects of public policy and global challenges. Today”s companies have to continually reinvent themselves to maintain a competitive edge. They much be open to continuous transformation in a globally challenging economic environment that allows no room for error.
Structural adjustment is required to deal with raw material prices which are being set in China while the selling prices are set in North America. High material costs, depressed steel prices, over capacity and the price of the Canadian dollar creates hurdles for steel makers. Where ArcellorMittal Dofasco once supplied 11 appliance manufacturers, there are now only 2 such companies and they are expected to close in 2014. Seven years ago the company supplied 11 can manufacturers with only two left now.
To combat this, the company is committed to continuous improvement through value plans, reinvesting in its facilities and assets to improve and extract value. The company is looking at pension changes and how it”s delivered. They are resetting expectations of what can be afforded to make them a stronger, more prosperous company for the future to provide employment and commitment to the community. It will be difficult for the next two years but there is still a strong future for steel.
YOUR ELECTRONIC INGATE
Note: As long as we have your correct email address you should get your copy of the Ingate. If you or if anyone you know who is a paid up member of the Ontario Chapter did not receive their issue of the Ingate please contact us at afsontario@bell.net
INGATE SUPPORTERS
Since this will be our last electronic Ingate until September the Board of the AFS Ontario Chapter would like to thank all who have supported us by their business card and ad donations this year and hope you will continue with your support in the future. If you would like to advertise in the Ingate (and also on our website) please contact us at afsontario@bell.net. Please note the funds donated from advertising go towards scholarships for students interested in our industry. If you see errors or have changes to make with your ad, please contact us so we can correct it.
AFS ONTARIO CHAPTER LIBRARY
The AFS library has an excellent collection of the latest editions of our industries literature and foundry information. The AFS resource base is the most comprehensive collection of foundry information in the world. In addition to books; video and CD”s are also available. Remember, you get the best price available when you purchase or order through the chapter library.
ROSTER CORRECTIONS
We ask that you check your membership roster for errors. Please note that the information in the roster is detail we receive from AFS headquarters in Chicago. We can assist with any corrections by contacting our Membership Chairman, Vince Skinner and he will forward to the Chicago office. You can email Vince with your changes at vskinner@penalloy.com.
AFS ONTARIO WEB SITE
We have a new look and new features on our web site. By checking our site you can keep abreast of what is happening with our chapter. It also allows you to quickly access our sponsors” web sites. As always we are open to your suggestions for improvements both with our web site and the Ingate. You can send your comments to skopysh@cogeco.ca or afsontario@bell.net.
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
April 17 – 20, 2012 ~ AFS 116th Metalcasting Congress
April 25 – 27, 2012 ~ World Foundry Congress
May 2 – 4, 2012 ~ AFS Government Affairs Conference
August 12 – 13, 2012 ~ AFS Environmental 101 Seminar
August 14 – 15, 2012 ~ AFS 24th Environmental Health & Safety Conference
August 16 – 17, 2012 ~ AFS Chapter Officers Conference
September 16 – 18, 2012 ~ AFS Executive Conference
CMI COURSE SCHEDULE
** For more information please visit www.afsinc.org and click on “Cast Metals Institute”. The Cast Metals Institute provides intensive, specialized education for metal casters by metal casters. Since its beginning in 1957, CMI has presented over 3,000 courses to 65,000 participants representing nearly 5,000 individual companies – dramatic evidence of the acceptance of CMI as a vital contributor in the continuing development of foundry personnel.
