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.

The Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, Mich., was the site of this multi-faceted conference that brought some of the industry’s best technical people together to exchange ideas and present updated technologies.

In this page in our previous issue, we discussed the continuing emergence of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and the organizational steps taken by the Obama administration to nurture and disseminate them in this country.

Those fortunate enough to have attended FIERF’s Tech Days in early April (generously hosted by The Timken Company) got eyes- and ears-full about additive manufacturing (AM) technologies from a few presenters. 

When it comes to U.S. energy policy, I am as big a fan as anyone in weaning ourselves from the frenzied feeding at the udder of big oil. Anybody around during the Carter administration can hardly forget the images of long gas lines during the fuel shortages of the late 1970s. 

Fortune has truly smiled on me. Through my years as an editor, I have been exposed to the collective wisdom and business savvy of industry leaders at every turn through personal relationships and by attending numerous conferences and trade shows. 

Those who supply metal components to industry are keenly aware of the rapid emergence of induced hydraulic fracturing – known as “fracking” – as a technique used to liberate natural gas from shale deposits deep below the earth’s surface. 

Having walked the metalworking beat for a long time, I have seen lots of techniques and technologies used to produce the finest metal products.