As I write this, we are a year away from the presidential election of 2016, but the campaigning, debates, rhetoric and interminable media coverage have already been going on for months.

Anybody who has read Greek mythology knows the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

Forging industry executives and technical experts from around the world recently gathered in Cleveland, Ohio’s new Convention Center for three days of technical papers and exhibits.

The passing of Mary Doyle Keefe in late April at 92 was not lost on us and, combined with another event, prompts the topic for this month.

Readers of this magazine may have noted the start of a series of articles in our February issue tackling the subject of modern commercial forging as an advanced manufacturing industry.

The Forging Industry Association (FIA), the Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation (FIERF), affiliated U.S. colleges and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute recently conducted a technical conference to present and indentify potential collaborative research projects related to resource-efficient manufacturing and productivity improvements.

This issue contains a feature that previews the upcoming Forge Fair 2015. Judging by previous Forge Fairs I have attended, this one promises to offer a good technical program and an exciting show floor.

As FORGE begins its ninth year of publication, its editorial staff is proud to offer readers this handy reference guide to the feature articles it has published during the last three years.

As part of its customer base, the forging industry boasts many dynamic markets, including automotive, aerospace, energy exploration and production, power generation and others.

Some recent discussion with an FIA staff member about the organization’s new salary benchmarking program prompted me to take a closer look at the benchmarking process and how it can be used to advantage in our industry.