November 2019 Volume 1

FORGING RESEARCH

Forging and Casting Industry Summit By Polly Graham and Deckland Barnum

A Forging and Casting Industry Summit was hosted by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and DLA Aviation on Sept. 4 at Fort Belvoir, Va. The objective of the summit was to discuss problem areas for castings and forgings from the perspective of those industries and assign working groups to provide recommendations. More than 50 people representing various DOD suppliers, OEMs, forge shops, foundries, industry associations and Government stakeholders attended this event. The forging industry was well represented with Forging Industry Association (FIA) member forge shops. FIA members in attendance were Ryan Morgan of Canton Drop Forge, Dana Beyeler of Ellwood Group Inc., Bob Pancoast of FOMAS Group, Alex Jennings and Dan Jennings of Specialty Ring Products and FIA President Jim Warren. Application Engineer Walker George from the Forging Defense Manufacturing Consortium (FDMC) also attended. Key government personnel in attendance with respect to the forging supply chain included DLA Forging R&D Program Officer Dean Hutchins and Aviation Forging and Casting Assistance Team (AFCAT) ProgramManager Frank DiPofi. The Summit began with remarks from various government personnel, recognizing industry participants for their attendance and willingness to work towards a common solution. Production and acquisition lead times were reiterated as a key issue for DOD with respect to castings and forgings. Acquisition and production lead time concerns were echoed by representatives of OEMs, compounded by the number of second- and third-tier supplies leaving the commercial market and thus no longer bidding these contracts. Participants were very open about the on-going issues experienced in the industry in relation to castings or forgings, as well as general concerns and challenges associated with doing business as government contractors.Themain areas of focus and their respective discussion points are summarized here: DODAcquisition Processes Various concerns and suggestions were discussed in relation to the government acquisition processes. Under current government contracting processes, the majority of the risk is placed on the manufacturing supplier. Because of this, small order quantities generate little or no interest from the forging industry, as the business case associated with these low quantities is non-existent. Should a forge shop wish to be qualified to manufacture a forging, the government cannot guarantee qualification acceptance or the award of a future contract; however, that invested cost to certify

qualification is not shared by both parties. Therefore, forging suppliers must carefully consider quantity of potential business before investing in qualification. Access to the full technical data package (TDP) for the component, as well as existing tooling ownership, compounds the business risk for the forging supplier. These factors often result in many prime contractors and OEMs unable to bid for these items. Some suggestions discussed included potentially: 1) forecasting future demand and using the forecast to increase order quantities, 2) easing item qualification requirements where possible and 3) considering more business-friendly contracting vehicles. Historically, these types of government contracts are firmly fixed price. A cost-plus contract vehicle would generate more interest and lessen supplier risk. Production Costs Financial risk and overall production costs of manufacturing forgings were another discussion point. Many DOD contractual concerns regarding risk are tied to cost, including fabrication of new tooling and dies, which also contributes to lead time and production cost increases. Significant discussion revolved around the up-front costs inherent with forging processes. The business risk for small producers results in a lack of capital investment from industry, with a significant number of second- and third-tier suppliers leaving the commercial market. Forge shops of all sizes find it costly to reverse-engineer the TDP and qualify parts, making cold start investments on DOD parts without previous procurement history extremely difficult to justify. A competitive and robust supply chain, ample industrial capacity and a capable workforce are essential to both government and industry; however, creating this environment will initially require further capital investment, possibly spurred by government incentives to enable these critical qualities. Workforce An industrial base first needs the capacity to perform the work, which is why a skilled workforce is paramount in any industry. In recent years, the forging industry has had concern regarding recruitment and retention in all areas of skilled manufacturing labor and engineering. Discussions at the summit focused on inaccurate perceptions hindering recruitment efforts, as well as the need for premium pay and automation. Many forge shops are looking more closely at automation as a direct result of skilled labor concerns; however, the length of time to qualify a new process for DOD components, coupled with the

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2019 42