Business View Magazine November-December 2018

148 149 THE INVESTMENT CASTING INSTITUTE “For thousands of years, investment casting was exclusively an art form; you see investment castings ev- erywhere in town squares, in churches, in synagogues, usually for artwork and busts. But with the evo- lution of the jet engine in World War II, the need arose for a metal form- ing technology that could create very specialized shapes and forms, such as jet turbine blades, and, in many cases, with high- ly-reactive alloys. That’s where the true need for productionizing the investment casting process came from.” BVM: How did the ICI come about? Fritz: “The Investment Casting Institute is 65 years old. It was formed by a number of entrepreneurs from all over the United States who were working in this field and trying to find other applications. Ev- erybody was doing their own development and the industry, at that time, felt that, through collab- oration, and through sharing ideas and initiatives and working together, this fledging industry could AT A GLANCE THE INVESTMENT CASTING INSTITUTE WHAT: A manufacturer’s trade association WHERE: Montvale, New Jersey WEBSITE: www.investmentcasting.org be directed in such a way that it could experience significant growth, which, in fact, it did. “Since that time, investment casting has not only supported, and flourished with, the aero- space industry, it also has a very strong position in power generation, in automotive, and in a wide variety of industrial applications, including oil and gas exploration, drilling, food processing, recreational vehicles, sports equipment, orthope- dic implants, medical equipment, and a variety of other things.” BVM: Who makes up ICI’s membership? Fritz: “The ICI is comprised of foundries – the folks who are actually pouring the metal – and suppliers to the foundries – the people that manufacture the metals, the alloys, the waxes, the ceramics, the refractories, and the equipment to support the process. “We have four categories of members: we’ve got Regular members, which are North American foundries.We have Affiliate members, which are North American suppliers that are made up of direct material suppliers, equipment suppliers, and consultants. Then, we have Associate Regular members, which are non-North American found- ries. And we have Associate Affiliates, which are non-North American suppliers. “We currently have approximately 275 member companies, internationally, that are involved with the ICI.We don’t have individual memberships, per se; any individual members are honorary members or alumni members. Alumni members are people who have worked in the industry and