April 2009 - Posts

• ESOP fables

  If you only have time to read one column about the new rescue plans for General Motors and Chrysler, read this one . The writer quickly lays out the developments in the industry over the past three decades, explaining how the current situation has been Read More... Posted Wednesday, April 29, 2009 9:51 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• Speed it up

  Finally, with almost six months gone since the financial problems of the domestic automakers became most acute, they are acknowledging that bankruptcy is an acceptable option. To those of us who have been arguing for this step since the start of this Read More... Posted Monday, April 27, 2009 1:49 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• A lot of wind

  I recognize the purpose of this ad campaign — centered around the sort of blue-collar cult figures that cable programmers and marketing teams believe are an "authentic" depiction of plain speaking, traditional values — even if I don't get the logic of Read More... Posted Monday, April 13, 2009 4:11 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• Past and present

  A new company, GlobalFoundries , was established recently to manufacture silicon chips for computer processors. If you track keywords in the news (as some of us do), you might already know this: the appropriation of the term "foundry" by computer chip Read More... Posted Sunday, April 12, 2009 10:15 AM by REB | 0 Comments

• Ripple effects

  In a recent post I observed how the metalcasting industry functions as a community. This feature story from the Appleton, WI, Post-Crescent is not specifically about a metalcasting operation, though one gets mentioned. It's about the interactive nature Read More... Posted Friday, April 10, 2009 4:16 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• Future shock

  No one around here needs to be reminded that the fate of GM is a great concern to metalcasters — as are the fortunes of Ford and Chrysler. Of the three, however, GM is the one that has indicated it plans to continue producing cast products in house, in Read More... Posted Monday, April 06, 2009 1:37 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• No cancellations

  The Metalcasting Congress will take place this week in Las Vegas, and promises to be a gauge of the health of this industry in North America. The cancellation last month of the NEWCAST expo in Germany was a surprise — to me, at least. I’d supposed that Read More... Posted Sunday, April 05, 2009 8:45 PM by REB | 1 Comments

• Bellisimo!

  No doubt this story has made it into the mainline press because Easter is upon us, but we don't need a seasonal hook to interest metalcasters in the Marinelli Foundry of Agnone, Italy. It's said to be the oldest foundry in Europe. It's also reported to Read More... Posted Thursday, April 02, 2009 2:58 PM by REB | 0 Comments