In our blog series, Casting Advocates, we get to know organizations and industry leaders who work to elevate the metalcasting profession. This installment focuses on the American Foundry Society (AFS).

The American Foundry Society is a national organization with a mission to "advance the success of its members and the metal casting industry through advocacy, education and innovation." In support of this mission, AFS works constantly to support technical innovation, advocate for beneficial policies, promote positive perception of the industry, develop workforce skills and provide a range of services and networking opportunities for casting facilities.

This year the Steel Founders' Society of America (SFSA) introduced a national competition to engage students with steel casting and help foundries connect with the next generation of manufacturing professionals. Inspired by History Channel's Forged in Fire, the Cast in Steel competition brings teams of engineering students from around the country together to find out who can cast the best Viking axe. Testing, judging and awards took place prior to CastExpo in Atlanta, GA.

In our blog series, Casting Advocates, we get to know organizations and industry leaders who work to elevate the metalcasting profession. This installment focuses on the Foundry Association of Michigan.

The Foundry Association of Michigan (FAM) is a non-profit organization that works between the Michigan casting industry and state legislators, acting as a liaison and a lobbyist. When Michigan legislators propose new bills that will affect the casting community, either negatively or positively, FAM is there to galvanize member firms around an appropriate response, with the goal of keeping Michigan casting competitive locally and worldwide.

In our blog series, Casting Advocates, we explore the work of organizations and industry leaders who work to elevate the metalcasting profession. Here in this first installment, we focus on the Steel Founders' Society of America.

The Steel Founders' Society of America (SFSA) was first organized in 1902, and initial meetings were a "luncheon club" attended by a handful of casting companies from the Midwest and the East Coast. After more than a century of evolution, SFSA is now a major force in promoting metalcasting competitiveness industry-wide. Today, SFSA works to provide members with the tools and knowledge to succeed in today's high-tech manufacturing environment.