2009 OCMA Annual Foundry Tour

On Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 60 representatives of OCMA member companies participated in a tour of Columbus Steel Castings. Columbus Steel Castings (CSC) is the largest single site steel foundry in North America. It predominately manufactures steel castings for the freight rail, mass transit, and heavy industrial industries. The facility covers an area of more than 90 acres with more than 22 acres under roof. During normal economic times, the facility employs more than 1000 Central Ohio residents.

Former OCMA President Joe W. Harden hosted the tour assisted by Chris Hollinger & Michael Yaus. Tour guides were Wendall Crosby, John Frank, Bret Hamm, and Steve Pinkstock.

The history of Columbus Steel Castings contains an interesting note for those who love presidential politics. From 1908 to 1928, Samuel Prescott Bush was the President of Buckeye Steel Castings Company (predecessor of CSC). He was to become the grandfather and great-grandfather respectively of the 41st and 43rd Presidents of the United States of America.

American Foundry Society (AFS) & North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) Government Affairs Conference in Washington, DC

The Ohio delegation regained its number one status at this year's AFS/NADCA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, DC, on May 4-5, 2009. Despite one of the worst economic downturns in our history, members of the Ohio delegation stepped up when they were needed most. All OCMA members should be proud of our record of dedication and support of the national effort to educate our national leaders about the importance of the metal casting industry.

This year's conference was highlighted by a presentation by Professor Peter Morici, University of Maryland, School of Business, and frequent commenter on CNBC, CNN, and MSNBC. Dr. Morici provided an insightful and irreverent analysis of the credit crunch and subsequent deep recession. He outlined actions already taken by the Federal Reserve and the Obama Administration to revive the economy and suggested a return to fundamentals for successful companies. William Kovacs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Todd Johnston, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, warned GAC participants about the threat of climate change and "cap and trade" legislation.

As always, the most important task of the Ohio delegation was reserved for lobbying on Capitol Hill on May 5, 2009. The OCMA delegates began their day with a 10:00 AM meeting with Senator Sherrod Brown's top climate change expert, Joe Shultz. Mr. Schultz is a very well informed individual who supports Sen. Brown's desire to enact climate change legislation without undue harm to Ohio manufacturers. He was very open to the comments made by members of the delegation and promised to work with us, if and when, the Waxman-Markey (W-M) bill makes it to the Senate. Ohio delegate Scott Frens, Fort Recovery Manufacturing, Inc., met with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-8th CD) while the remainder of the delegation met with Senator George Voinovich and his staff. Senator Voinovich, a long-time supporter of the metal casting industry in Ohio, agreed to assist in the negotiations on W-M so that manufacturers would not be faced with extraordinary increases in energy costs.

After lunch, OCMA delegates crossed over to the House side of Capitol Hill and visited the offices of Rep. Jean Schmidt, Rep. Zack Space, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, Rep. Pat Tiberi, Rep. Steve LaTourette, Rep. Charlie Wilson, and Rep. John Boccieri. Delegates also met with Congressmen Steven Driehaus and Tim Ryan.

The AFS/NADCA GAC presents an opportunity to remind our Congressional delegation of the importance of metal casting to the manufacturing base in Ohio's economy. We were successful in recruiting the largest GAC delegation this year and we look forward to a better economy and a larger Ohio delegation next year.

Environmental Update

On Friday, April 17, 2009, US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued its finding that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare. This determination could trigger a series of sweeping regulations affecting any facility or institution that is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The USEPA determination along with the US Supreme Court decision that ordered the agency to examine whether emissions linked to climate change should be curbed under the Clean Air Act (CAA) represents a major shift in the federal government's approach to climate change. The Obama Administration has asked Congress for legislation regulating greenhouse gases suggesting that a legislative compromise would better suit the task before us than regulatory actions under the CAA.

Implementation of the USEPA particulate matter 2.5 regulations is moving forward. Attached is a map of those Ohio areas that have been found in non-attainment for PM 2.5. Facilities in these areas must prepare for more record keeping and additional testing requirements. If you are located in these areas, be sure to check with the local Ohio EPA staff, your environmental staff, and/or consultant to determine what actions your company must take to comply with this regulation.

Ohio EPA has recently altered the reporting requirements for discharge into the surface waters of the state of Ohio. Previously it was required that all such discharges were to be reported to Ohio EPA by telephone. However, under the new requirement if the discharge is small and of little or no consequence, the report can be made by email. Any discharge that presents an imminent threat to Ohio surface waters must still be called in to Ohio EPA.

Beneficial Reuse Update

The long awaited beneficial reuse proposed rules are expected to be released by Ohio EPA before the end of spring. Pam Allen, Director, Solid & Infectious Waste Management, indicated at a recent public meeting that the beneficial reuse rules have been moved to "the front burner".

The draft "Foundry Sands Risk Assessment" developed by USEPA and USDA has been provided to AFS for comment. A subcommittee of the AFS 10-F committee will be responsible for the initial review. OCMA Executive Director Russ Murray is serving on this subcommittee.

OCMA goes to Washington

Prior to delving into the preparation for the next day's meetings on Capitol Hill, the members of the Ohio delegation took a few moments to have their photo taken. The OCMA delegation that included representatives from the non-member die casting facility, Fort Recovery Industries, and Case Western Reserve University met with their Congressional leaders & staff in twelve (12) separate meetings during their day on the Hill. Pictured from left to right are:

Craig Holman, Rick Rogel, Empire Die Casting Company, John Burke, OSCO Industries, Inc., Tom Vann, Visi-Trak Worldwide LLC, Scott Frens, Fort Recovery Industries, Jack Vann, Visi-Trak Worldwide LLC, David Schwam & David Poerschke, Cast Western Reserve University, Ryan Burke, OSCO Industries, Inc., Russ Murray, OCMA. Ross Bushman, Cast-Fab Technologies, Inc., John C. Vaught, Tri-Cast, Ltd., Ken & Dave Seilkop, EPCOR Foundry. Missing from the photo was Dean Jetter, Fort Recovery Industries.