You are ready to begin building your cost model, or perhaps you are in the process of electing/upgrading your ERP software and want to plan through how it will support your cost model. 

In prior articles (December 2021 FORGE and February 2022 Industrial Heating), we discussed the reasons behind the importance of understanding margins (price minus cost) for the seller of any product or service. Your Cost Model is the framework for calculating costs.

Sheffield Forgemasters signed up as a Tier One Partner with the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland. The move will give the 200-year-old company, which was recently taken into public ownership, access to the AFRC’s research-and-development facilities focusing on emerging advanced manufacturing technologies such as residual stress, advanced furnaces and forging expertise in Industry 4.0 data analytics and modeling. 

Sheffield Forgemasters signed a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce SMR to jointly explore commercial mechanisms for a long-term collaboration on the supply of forgings to the Rolls-Royce UK Small Modular Reactor (SMR) fleet. The project directly supports the United Kingdom’s civil nuclear industry and the development of SMRs in the U.K., with Sheffield Forgemasters able to supply the complex nuclear-grade demonstrator forgings as part of the regulatory process.

In late July 2021, an announcement was made by the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) that it would launch an offer to acquire Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited (SFIL). The agreement was to allow the government to refinance and take control of the company to secure the supply of components critical to the military and security interests of the MoD, as well as to secure future defense programs.

The University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, is opening an office in Sheffield, United Kingdom, to provide local forging and forming houses with easy access to support from the research center located near Glasgow Airport in Scotland. Supported by Sheffield City Council and operating out of an office on the Olympic Legacy Park, the AFRC’s new base will effectively bring the research lab directly to the manufacturers. The office will help South Yorkshire companies tap into leading metallurgy capabilities, numerical and analytical process modeling tools, and some of the most advanced industry-scale forging and forming equipment in the world over 260 miles away in Scotland.

A strategic plan is a roadmap for the managed growth of a company. This process can be managed by an experienced CFO or other outside facilitator.

Understanding the different hardness testing types and systems can be useful to determine an optimal solution. Hardness testing functionality has evolved, and now users can dial into world-class-caliber instrumentation that more closely aligns with their applications at hand.

U.S.-based suppliers can optimize processes, uptime and cost for the long haul with responsive expertise and readily available parts and service.

To illustrate this situation, we will discuss the actual story of a small automotive repair and towing business. The business had a regional towing contract with AAA Auto Club, which gave the business top priority on all service calls.