The 2020-2021 fiscal year has been a major challenge for the Casting Industry Suppliers Association. When an organization that normally meets as a group as one part of its basic function for unprecedented reasons doesn’t meet – that’s a problem. But I am proud to report that all of our CISA members stuck with us through this and we look forward to meeting again this fall in Des Plaines IL.
The Casting Industry Suppliers Assn. member companies continue to support their metalcasting customers and promote growth and prosperity in the foundry industry. Major changes in certain markets, along with the Covid-19 pandemic, certainly have brought significant disruptions for many of our members. CISA is headquartered in Illinois, where only recently have we returned to somewhat normal levels of business and public openings. The CISA Board of Directors is continually making assessments concerning our activities, and especially meetings and conferences. Conditions are becoming clearer, and in fact the hotels where CISA usually meets are especially eager to offer positive options for us, and so we look forward to our November meeting here.
CISA members companies focus on the critical aspects of quality and safety. They work together as partners with their foundry customers to enhance competitiveness. Typically, we invite key foundry executives to speak at our events to hear directly from these operators their perspectives on quality requirements and safety technology. Foundry suppliers face the needs of their customers, and CISA has certainly been able to provide a forum for foundries to provide this information directly to them. Member suppliers then adopt the necessary changes and breakthrough innovations that come with being a first-class organization.
Our CISA mission statement cannot be repeated too often: “Support member companies in order to facilitate growth and prosperity by providing information, education and business opportunities, and by interfacing with other industry associations” around the world, to benefit the casting industry while fostering rewarding professional and business relationships.” One may interpret this to mean that CISA members can serve themselves best by serving their customers first.
CISA officers and directors are actively involved with the foundry industry and bring forward help and changes to our organization that keep us ahead of the curve. They are providing guidance to help us continue to be the best suppliers to the metalcasting industry that we can be.
The CISA organization is grateful to Badger Mining Corp.’s Steve Ryan, who completed his second year as CISA President at the end of 2020. Now as the Immediate Past President of CISA, he continues to be one of the special individuals who is devoting his time to help make CISA better.
CISA members supply casting and coremaking simulation and optimization systems, machinery, equipment, environmental design and engineering systems, alloys and metals, lab and melting systems, raw metals, materials, and a vast array of other tools and resources for metalcasting. The reason CISA exists is to provide information and systems that will be valuable to our membership and to their metalcasting customers.
I extend personal thanks our CISA companies, for their membership and support throughout the past year of uncertainty. These businesses and members have demonstrated again that they represent “the best of the best” in the metalcasting business, serving the membership generously and helping to make all of us better foundry-industry suppliers.
We value our long relationship with Foundry Management and Technology and CISA once again thanks them for the opportunity to sponsor its August issue, and to communicate our message to metalcasters. Thank you, Robert Brooks and Joe DiNardo for the continuing support and for allowing this forum for CISA to reach out to our membership and the foundry industry. They have been special friends to the Casting Industry Suppliers Association over many years, and we also appreciate their sponsorship and attendance at our conferences. Thanks again FM&T!
Mark Ziegler is the Executive Director of the Casting Industry Suppliers Assn. and has been active in the metalcasting industry for over 40 years. He worked with Unimin Corp. for over 30 years in quality and technical service positions. Mark is the past chairman of the AFS Division 4 Executive Committee (Molding Methods and Materials), and twice chaired the Green Sand Additives Committee. He has been awarded the AFS Service Citation and Ezra Kotzin Award.
Contact him at [email protected] and visit www.cisa.org