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Metal Casting Best Practices Implementation
at PA Foundries - Final Report Available
Led by Dr. Robert Voight at Penn State University's Department
of Industrial Engineering, and supported by Lehigh University's
Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) and the DEP Office of Energy
& Technology Deployment, a three-year project was recently
completed with the Pennsylvania Foundry Association (PFA) aimed
at improving energy efficiency and environmental performance at
member businesses. Assessments performed by IAC staff at
multiple foundry operations, and in conjunction with PFA and PSU
staff, identified the best waste reduction and energy-saving practices
among participating foundries. This information was shared to
achieve sector-wide performance improvements at PFA's 30th annual
meeting, held on May 16, 2005, in State College, PA. Click
here to view a copy of the final report. Plans to create a
stronger metal casting industry in Pennsylvania through continued
partnering is the true legacy of the project. The project was
funded through a Pennsylvania Environmental & Energy Challenge
(PEEC) grant.
Pennsylvania Vision and Roadmap Documents
Available
The Pennsylvania Metalcasting Industries of the
Future (IOF) work group has finalized and published their Pennsylvania
Metalcasting Vision
and Roadmap.
The goal of the IOF work group was to assess the current state
of the Pennsylvania metalcasting industry and provide a vision
for it's future. The roadmap combined with the vision serves as
a resource and guideline to formulate collaborative partnerships
between Pennsylvania's metalcasters as well as public and private
assistance organizations. Please contact Ric
Illig (717) 772-5834 if you would like to have a printed
version.
Economic Impact
Metal casting is a major engine of PA's manufacturing economy,
accounting for 2% of this sector's 800,000 jobs and 1% of the
$200 billion yearly output.
Ferrous Foundries
PA has the second highest concentration of ferrous foundries in
the nation. PA's ferrous metal casting sector consists of 64 iron
foundries, 29 steel foundries and a dozen steel investment firms.
PA ferrous foundries employ nearly 10,000 workers whose annual
production exceeds $1 billion in value. As a group, PA ferrous
foundries pay total annual wages of $300 million. The annual output
from PA iron foundries approaches $700 million. Steel and steel
investment foundries ship castings on a yearly basis worth $200
million and $100 million, respectively. Iron shops employ 6,000
workers. Steel foundries provide over 2,000 jobs, and steel investment
shops employ 1,000.
Non-Ferrous Foundries
PA's 102 non-ferrous foundries rank the state 5th nationally in
the number of non-ferrous facilities. Aluminum foundries are predominant
with 45 shops. Copper-based alloys are poured by 25 PA non-ferrous
foundries. There are a dozen PA aluminum diecasters and 13 other
non-ferrous metals diecasters.Of the 5,700 jobs provided by PA
non-ferrous foundries, aluminum and aluminum diecasting shops
each account for about 1,750. Other PA diecasters employ about
1,200. Copper-based alloy foundries employ over 1,000. The annual
payroll of PA non-ferrous foundries tops $180 million, consisting
of $58 million from aluminum diecasters, $51 million from aluminum
foundries, $37 million from other non-ferrous diecasters, $28
million from copper-based alloy shops, and the remainder from
other non-ferrous PA foundries.
The annual output of PA non-ferrous foundries is worth nearly
$1 billion. Of this amount, about 2/3 is produced by the aluminum
sector. The remainder is about evenly split between copper-based
alloy foundries and other non-ferrous diecasters.
A Vision for the U.S. Metal Casting Industry
2002 and Beyond
A Vision for the U.S. Metal Casting Industry
2002 and Beyond is now available online. The industry's unified
vision outlines long-term goals for the industry. View the
new Vision
(pdf).
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