February 2023 Volume 5

INDUSTRY NEWS

Forge Fair 2023 Schedule Day 1 • Tuesday, May 23 Small booth move-in:

2023 Forge Fair Keynote Speakers Chris Kuehl May 24, 2023 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

7:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

Exhibit halls open:

11:00 a.m.

Dr. Christopher (Chris) Kuehl is the author of Quick Read Economic Update and a frequent speaker at industry events. Chris is the managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence and one of the co-founders of the company. He has been Armada's economic analyst and has worked with a wide variety

Lunch:

Noon–2:00 p.m.

Exhibitor presentations:

2:10 p.m.–4:20 p.m. 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

Reception:

Day 2 • Wednesday, May 24 Breakfast:

Competing Teams: • Cleveland State University – CSU Viking Tunes • Colorado School of Mines – Your Average Metal Band • Georgia Southern University – Eagle Forging • Mississippi State University - Mississippi State University • North Carolina State University – NC State Forge • Purdue University – Purdue Forksmiths • The Ohio State University – Forging Bucks • The University of Alabama – UA Forging Team • University of Cincinnati – Team Alpha • University of North Texas –The Fearsome Fork Forgers • University of Pittsburgh – Metaleros For more information on the FIERF Forging Competition, please contact Amanda Dureiko at 216-781-6260 or amanda@forging.org. 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Chris Kuehl 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Exhibit halls open: 9:00 a.m. Exhibitor presentations: 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Break: 10:30 a.m.–10:50 a.m. Exhibitor presentations: 10:50 a.m.–11:50 a.m. Lunch: Noon–2:00 p.m. Exhibitor presentations: 2:10 p.m.–3:10 p.m. Break: 3:10 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Exhibitor presentations: 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Reception: 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. Day 3 •Thursday, May 25 Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Keynote Presentation: Ben Abbott 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Forging Competition Awards: 9:00 a.m. Exhibit halls open: 9:30 a.m. Exhibitor presentations: 9:40 a.m.–11:15 a.m. Show closes: 1:00 p.m. Exhibitor move-out: 1:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m.

of private clients and professional associations in the last 18 years. He is the chief economist for the National Association for Credit Management (NACM). He prepares NACM's monthly Credit Managers Index. Chris makes approximately 100 presentations each year to business and industry associations in the U.S. and overseas and is available to speak at FIA member company events for a reduced rate. He has a doctorate in Political Economics, advanced degrees in Soviet Studies and Asian Studies and was a professor of international economics and finance for over 15 years prior to starting Armada. Ben Abbott May 25, 2023 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Ben Abbott is a nine-time Forged in Fire champion who began making blades after seeing arms and armor in museums and castles around England when he was 13. Not being able to buy blades at the time, he decided to make them for himself, and has been working on his understanding of their nuances ever

since. He spent many years making knives, tools, ornamental ironwork, jewelry, furniture, and anything else that neededmaking, but still never made himself a sword. The first sword that Ben finally made was the winning khanda sword for Forged in Fire in 2015. Ben has firsthand experience with the pressure and challenges Forged in Fire contestants face and knows the dedication it takes to walk away a champion. From 2000 to 2018, Ben was an electronics engineer at Caltech, working on the LIGOproject which was seeking to directly detect gravitational wave radiation from massive collisions in space. The project won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2015 after detecting gravitational waves from two in-spiraling black holes. Ben left that project in 2018 to become a full-time bladesmith and Forged in Fire judge.

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2023 53