February 2021 Volume 3

PRESIDENT'S NOTE

President's Note

The Automation Issue Let me present to you an issue I’ve been thinking about since May 2019, when FIAMagazine first came to be. Yes, I am biased, but we have a must-read issue right here folks! We’ve assembled some of the best forging industry thought leaders and they have delivered 12 automation focused articles, ranging from automation project management, all

Speaking of Growth... I continue to hear about members getting reshoring opportunities, which tells me we need to be ready as this economy improves. I had to go back to our May 2019 issue to pull a quote from our ‘Five Things to Consider Before Diving Into Automation’ article to help me further make my point. We interviewed Jim Morris (then at ACE – now at Adaptec Solutions), and he said this: “You’ve got to get the operators to want to work with you. And no matter what, make sure nobody loses their job. I haven’t seen that happen for 20 years. Nobody loses their job; they just move around in the plant. They get a different job. And it’s important to make sure everybody understands that’s what’s going to happen.” The point here is we’re not keeping that operator because we’re charitable: companies that automate are creating capacity for the next level of growing their business . They need that operator that was displaced by a robot or other automation to be deployed to the next level of business brought in. Sure we have problems finding plant labor, and automation helps us scratch that itch. Some members even claim they would be out of business if they didn’t deploy automation. But from my experience, the most successful forgers are able to take on that next level of growth due to their investments in automation. The world is automating their forging operations. Just ask any equipment supplier where North America stands in automation deployment and you’ll get a sobering answer. Use this issue of FIA Magazine to evaluate what your business could do with automation. And now, I’ll get off my soapbox. Happy reading everyone! ■

the way to product flow using the Theory of Constraints approach. We had a couple of FIA members complete a brief automation survey and share their stories, and one supplier member who is educating us on how our cousins in the die casting industry do automation. We’ve got thought leaders addressing the intersection of lean and automation, as well as automation and its impact on the economy. We are even sharing a great automation article in the metal fabrication space. Dare I say we have enough material here to publish a book! With that declaration, let me share: Automation will now be a One of the unique perks of my position is the in-person member visits and plant tours. The plants with automation are some of our larger and more successful members. Automation takes many forms; it’s not just robots. Material handling, die changes, handling billets, etc. can all benefit from an automated approach. I’ve been in plants with zero automation, but that had cleverly engineered manual solutions; nothing wrong there, but probably not adding much to plant capacity. The ‘lean’ in me suggests it’s all about the most efficient flow of manufacturing the product, busting the bottlenecks, and winning the race to be the fastest to convert raw materials into cash with the best quality. If we do this AND can incorporate automation, well perhaps we increase our capacity to take on new business and grow. permanent section in FIAMagazine. Why the Fuss over Automation?

Sincerely, James R. Warren

President and CEO Forging Industry Association

PUBLISHER James R. Warren jwarren@forging.org EDITOR Angela Gibian angela@forging.org Editorial Staff

Board of Directors

Peter Campbell Joseph Cipriani John Coward Robert Dimitrieff Marcelo T. Garza

Ron K. Janzen Chelsea Lantto John Pale Greg Timmons Dan Ulven

DESIGN Lorean Crowder lorean@forging.org

CHAIRMAN Mike Gill VICE CHAIRMAN Douglas McIntyre

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2021 1