February 2026 Volume 8

FORGING RESEARCH

While the project selections were finalized in June 2024, the projects did not get on contract until October of 2025 and were not all kicked off until December 2025. This was driven primarily by the timing of the funding, and the contract negotiations. Additionally, the contract vehicle changes delayed progress from February 2025 through May 2025. Each project team had to negotiate their own project agreement separately, and those discussions occurred starting in May, with some teams finalizing in September, right before the government shutdown. As mentioned, while the projects were selected in June 2024, we were unable to announce the winners until all agreements were finalized. FIA will continue to keep its members apprised of project updates over the period of performance for all projects. Our next May FIA magazine issue will feature updates from the other teams and their progress to date. Events such as Forge Fair will also give the teams the opportunity to present their findings to the industry. Once the projects are completed, the final reports will be available for our members, and interviews will be on Forging University with the project teams discussing the technical results and lessons learned over the course of the project.

Funding was secured for the collaborative initiative through the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) Program and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Materiel Readiness (ODASD-MR). Dekland D. H. Barnum, PMP Technical Director Forging Industry Association Phone: 216-781-6260 Email: dekland@forging.org

Forging University is an eLearning platform provided by FIA. It is available free of charge for FIA Members, government (.gov email) officials, military (.mil email) members, and professors and students (.edu email). Nonmembers can purchase access to training courses for a fee.

Courses Available: • Fundamentals of Forging 101 • Safety Orientation • Hammer Safety • Press Safety • Ferrous Metallurgy for Plant Personnel • Induction Heating for Forging

• Courses on HR, Sales & Marketing topics • Lubricants in Forging • Optimizing Die Care • Heat Treatment of Carbon Steel Forging • Upsetter Forging

To Request Your New E-Learning Account and Suggest New Content: Lorean Crowder lorean@forging.org Not a Member? Forging University is a member-only benefit. Contact Tricia Abruzzino for information on joining: tricia@forging.org

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2026 63