The American Foundry Society (AFS)

Birmingham in October 2021, a management summit in Schaumburg in May 2022, an Aluminum Casting Conference in St. Louis in June 2022, and a Sand Conference in Milwaukee in September 2022. AFS presents a massive trade show and congress every three years, and smaller ones the other two years. The large shows, known as CastExpo, draw attendees from around the world to see innovative equipment, new technologies, and robotics operating live on the show floor, making it North America’s largest metalcasting event. CastExpo 2022 will be held in Columbus, Ohio, April 23-26, 2022. It will attract more than 6,000 people from across the industry and there will be dozens of technical, management and educational sessions. The excitement is already building for the show. Your readers can learn more at www.CastExpo.com . BVM: How does AFS advocate for metalcasters in the nation’s capital? Doug: AFS is engaged in advocacy because the decisions being made in Washington have enormous implications for metalcasters. Policymakers can’t be expected to be experts on every topic and industry. AFS’s role is to communicate the importance of metalcasting, to explain the implications of pending proposals, and advocate for improved outcomes. Our Washington office is staffed by Stephanie Salmon, a veteran lobbyist respected on both sides of the aisle, who represents us on legislative and OSHA matters. On environmental issues, we are represented by Jeff Hannapel and Christian Richter of The Policy Group, who have deep, productive working relationships with officials at EPA. Recent AFS policy victories have saved foundries tens of millions of dollars. For example, AFS- sponsored research findings concerning existing non-HEPA sweepers were submitted to OSHA, CEO, Doug Kurkul