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From the Web: Steel making, fabricating have changed; mfg & politics; 3-D printing semi-solid metals

  1. Steel production has changed dramatically over the years, which is good in some ways, and maybe not so good in others. Watch “Steel Town,” filmed in 1945, and then watch “STEEL: From Start to Finish,” produced in 2006 by U.S. Steel, and you’ll notice some major differences—notably, technology advancements that have made steel production more hi-tech, less labor-intensive, and safer.

    That’s good.

    Something else you may notice is the relative lack of focus on workers in the 2006 video, compared to the 1945 film that depicted real-life steelworkers and lauded the lives they were able to provide their families through their jobs. The steel industry employs far fewer workers than it did decades ago, and some think increasing U.S. production could return employment numbers in the industry to former levels.

    Ronald L. Flucker, a former product manager for U.S. Steel and vice president of marketing for the American Institute of Steel Construction, recently took issue with one writer’s views about the steel industry and how ramping up production is critical for our nation’s strength on several fronts.

    Flucker refuted the writer’s claim that the U.S. does not produce enough steel to meet infrastructure needs and also addressed the lost jobs issue. Regarding the latter, he said, “Modern steel making and rolling practices have reduced the number of required man-hours per ton of production by 80 percent. The domestic steel producing and fabricating industry is no longer labor intensive; it is automated and, incidentally, much more energy efficient than it was. The steel industry will never again employ the numbers of people it did.”

    The same could be said for all businesses that employ automation.

  2. DeGeest Steel Works, Tea, S.D., can relate to changes brought about by automation. The custom fabricator is a “second home” to its 26 employees, some of whom have been a part of the family for more than 30 years.

    DeGeest would like to add to its family, but new additions that meet the company’s requirements are hard to find. Therefore, the business is doing all it can to address the growing demand for employees in manufacturing careers. It gives tours of its facilities and participates in Project Lead the Way, a program in Tea schools that aims to get students interested in STEM areas.

    Next year, DeGeest plans to bring robotics into the weld shop to allow welders to work from more ergonomic positions.

    "Most of the equipment out in the shop, if not now within five years, is going to be run by computers," Scott DeGeest said. "Our challenge now is to find people that are qualified to run that stuff."

  3. Efforts to keep manufacturing on politicians’ minds (especially after the elections are over and shop visits/photo ops taper off) are ongoing.

    Manufacturers are urging the Senate to pass the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act passed by the House in September. Among them is Rick Lies, CEO of State College, Pa.-based Chemcut Corp.

    Lies said, “The U.S. manufacturing community strongly supports the RAMI Act. Its passage would strengthen the global economic competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers such as Chemcut Corp., which I have led for the last nine years. Chemcut products include equipment for photochemical milling of thin metal parts, chemical engraving and metal finishing. All of Chemcut’s manufacturing takes place at its 110,000-square-foot facility in State College and by its 85 skilled and dedicated employees.

    ”At Chemcut, we are proud of and committed to our domestic manufacturing model, but that commitment comes at a cost. Our labor, energy, tax and regulatory costs are greater than our competitors who operate elsewhere, leaving slimmer margins for our company to reinvest in research and development. Therein lies the importance of the RAMI Act.”

  4. Also helping to make the federal case for manufacturing are representatives from Wichita State University who are representing south-central Kansas in the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership summit Oct. 30 and 31 in Washington, D.C.

    The partnership is an initiative to change the way federal agencies leverage economic development funds.

    One of 12 regions participating, the South Kansas group is focusing on developing university centers of excellence and industry-driven curriculum to support manufacturers in design, advanced materials development, automation, and prototyping.

    South Kansas has identified 11,000 workers who could be given skills training to fill jobs in aerospace manufacturing that are open today or that will open because of impending retirements.

  5. Speaking of materials development, Diran Apelian, a professor of mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is researching the use of semi-solid metals, instead of powdered metals, in additive manufacturing.

    According to an article in Computer World, his work could give manufacturers more metals to work with and ultimately create 3-D printed products that are stronger and last longer. It also could enable manufacturers to create specialized parts for medical devices, as well as automobiles and aeronautics.

    Stay tuned as this technology evolves.