Highlights from AFS Industry 4.0 2026
“Companies need to know their destination before choosing their tech. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there,” said Jim Wetzel, co-founder of NxGen, quoting […]
“We Need You”: Gen Z Finds Careers That Matter at Ashland Foundry & Machine Works
John Mingst grew up in Bethpage, New York, a manufacturing town shaped by its long history of military and aerospace innovation. He remembers family members talking about working on the […]
The End of “Post and Pray” Hiring: The Talent Pipeline Being Forged by METAL and LaborUp
The United States manufacturing sector isn’t just facing a worker shortage; it is dealing with a systemic failure in talent acquisition. As an industry, we pour millions of dollars into […]
Fueling American Defense and Aerospace: How a Miller Castings Engineer Prepares Tomorrow’s Metallurgists
When Cal Poly Pomona graduate Eric Cramer began his career as a process and product development engineer in the metal industry, he had no professional foundry experience. He was hired […]
Forging the Future: How UTK’s Amy Wheelock is helping guide future metalcasters
The revitalization of American manufacturing relies heavily on bridging the gap between traditional metal trades and cutting-edge engineering. At the forefront of this movement is a concerted effort to build […]
Forging the Future: How Hands-On Experience is Shaping the Next Generation of Engineers
The manufacturing sector in the United States is at a critical inflection point, requiring brilliant young minds who are ready to tackle modern challenges with innovative, sustainable solutions. At just […]
Four Generations of Excellence: How HFW Industries Inc. Strengthens American Metal Manufacturing
Harold Watson started HFW Industries Incorporated in 1947 in a two car garage. World War II had ended only two years prior, and the United States emerged as a global […]
Navigating NDAA Section 805 Compliance and the Role of METAL
The compliance landscape for United States defense contractors underwent a major shift on June 30. With Section 805 of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) now officially […]
The Horseman’s Axe: College Students Discover Careers and Community at Cast in Steel 2026
The first time Marisa Holding heard about Cast in Steel, an upperclassman walked into the University of Wisconsin–Madison holding what looked like a spear. Not a prop. Not a replica […]
Creativity is Contagious: Q&A with Yellow Goose Forge’s Jason DiCosimo
Craftsman and retired Marine Corps Sergeant Major Jason DiCosimo started blacksmithing simply because one of his woodworking clients needed custom metalwork. But after he forged metal for the first time, […]
From Bootcamp to Career: How METAL and Laborup are Rebuilding America’s Manufacturing Workforce
METAL, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute®, and funded by the Department of War’s IBAS Program, was built to revitalize American manufacturing through hands-on training. Now, in a new […]
Uniting Small Manufacturers: Q&A With Russell Winter, Founder of US MFG
Russell Winter has spent most of his life on a machine shop floor. As a third-generation tool and die maker, Winter cut his teeth at his grandfather’s company in Illinois, […]