Business View Magazine | September 2019

37 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 THE NON-FERROUS FOUNDERS ’ SOC I ETY regulations and to represent the industry when government rules and regulations affected its members’ businesses. While the names and faces of the members, directors, and staff for the Society may have changed over the past 75 years, the focus of the Society has remained to represent the concerns and interests of the non-ferrous metal casting industry.” BVM: What is your membership, how do you communicate with them, and how do you explain the benefits of membership to potential members? Weaver: “The Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society has two different tiers of membership, regular members that melt and pour non-ferrous materials or ingot, and associate members, which include ferrous foundries as well as leading industry suppliers to the cast metals industry. The recent adoption of the associate membership category is a significant change for NFFS. The category, launched in 2018, was developed in response to the recognition by the Board of Directors that the non-ferrous casting industry consists not only of the foundries themselves, but also includes foundries that pour other materials and the critical industry suppliers that enable foundries to operate successfully. The Board properly recognized that in order to represent the entire non-ferrous metal casting industry, supplier organizations needed to be represented by NFFS, as well. “NFFS has been very successful in maintaining its membership growth. We’ve added nearly 50 percent to the membership roster over the last three years. This success is due in large part to the NFFS membership committee and its tireless efforts to communicate how NFFS helps to address the concerns and interests of the non-ferrous metal casting industry. The Membership Committee also led the way in developing the associate membership category and the related programs and services available to that membership category. However, as with most associations, the challenge is how to properly define the benefits of belonging to a potential member. This is where NFFS has been exceptionally strong. “One of our strengths is in the Occupational Safety, Health, and Environmental programs that have been developed specifically for non-ferrous foundries. Many times, NFFS has provided template documents that can significantly improve a member’s safety program by utilizing industry best practices and by providing a means for members to benchmark their own programs against others in the industry. NFFS members consistently rank the support they receive from NFFS regarding OSHA and EPA issues as among the most important and useful membership offering by the Society. “NFFS also works hard to develop new customer markets, and expand volumes in existing customer markets, on behalf of the industry. As an example, our ICON portal is an innovative new technology that links the casting needs of the defense and military supply chains with the foundries that have the right combination of materials and processes required to manufacture those parts, or to connect those customers with foundries that already have existing tooling for those same parts. Either solution significantly reduces the effort required to locate foundry suppliers by customers,