The Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (RIA-JMTC) hosted experts and officials across the government, military, industry and academia to discuss how
to best modernize and sustain manufacturing operations critical to national security at the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command Casting & Forging Summit on April 27-28, 2022.
The event was the byproduct of ongoing initiatives to ensure that U.S.-based entities, both government and private, are able to maintain the ability to conduct forging and casting
operations essential to producing military equipment that protects warfighters. The event enabled face-to-face discussions regarding the military’s product needs and outside perspectives from industry and academia on how to move forward.
Non-Ferrous Founder’s Society (NFFS) member John Danko (Danko Arlington) and NFFS Executive Director Jerrod Weaver attended the summit to represent the concerns and interests of non-ferrous foundries, especially those that provide castings as part of the DoD supply chain.
Mr. John Danko stressed the importance of clear requirements from the DoD as part of the provided technical data packages, and emphasized the need to simplify the contract
requirements for small businesses like Danko Arlington. He communicated some of his own foundry’s experiences and obstacles they encountered as they produced numerous different castings for the DoD and the DLA to provide examples where the procurement process could be improved.
Jerrod Weaver added that many DoD supplier foundries are actually small businesses and are facing the same labor shortages as other industries. As a result, foundries have the
luxury of picking which customers they will serve with their limited production capabilities. He stressed the need for the DLA/DoD to be better customers by providing clear and improved technical data sets, reduced qualification and FAT requirements which can be barriers to market entry, and enhanced lines of communication. “This Summit is exciting because together, we’re building the future of the U.S. Army’s manufacturing and sustainment,”
said Maj. Gen. Darren Werner, TACOM commanding general. “What we discussed here will have a direct impact on the future force and how we fight and win.” “The Army needs your help to determine what casting and forging capabilities we need for the future—what partnerships we need to put into place and ultimately what investments we need to make,” Werner said. “As we modernize the Organic Industrial Base, we must also leverage industry standards and best practices. Now more than ever, partnerships across the uniformed services and industry matter.”
The Summit provided immediate benefits by giving the at- tendees better understanding of their counterparts’ needs and requirements on the military and civilian sides of the
industry. Long-term, the TACOM Casting & Forging Summit laid the groundwork for the U.S. government to main- tain access to homegrown equipment for the next 30 years or more. The professional relationships forged during the event will also have lasting effects on national security.
This Article is republished from The May 22 NFFS Notes.
©2024