This issue of Casting Source includes a number of features sure to be of interest to parts buyers and designers. In our last reader survey, 93% of you told us that the editorial content in Casting Source is relevant to your job and your career. We appreciate your encouragement and feedback. You also offered a number of suggestions for columns and feature stories. The editorial team has taken your ideas to heart and they are being sprinkled into issues of the magazine on a regular basis.

OEM procurement specialists have always played a critically important role in the manufacturing economy, and the current supply-chain challenges have shined an even brighter spotlight on the role of parts buyers. At the American Foundry Society (AFS), we appreciate the valuable role that parts buyers play and that is one of the reasons we publish Casting Source. It is the only magazine in North America catering to the reader interests of casting buyers and designers. 

It was a genuine pleasure to see more than 120 parts buyers and designers in Columbus this April for CastExpo 2022. You are a vital part of the AFS community. Consistent with AFS’s desire to deliver value to you, the CastExpo show offered a half-dozen presentations designed exclusively for parts buyers, specifiers, and designers. These sessions were presented by experts in design and purchasing matters. The show also featured exhibits from leading foundries from the U.S. and Canada who stand ready to discuss and deliver on your parts needs. 

If you missed CastExpo, not to worry. Metalcasting Congress 2023 will also feature a Buyer-Designer Track with educational sessions aimed at expanding your knowledge of castings and assisting you in your important work. Additionally, we plan to once again to offer the Cast in North America section of the show where you will be able to interact with representatives from leading foundries and discuss your evolving parts-production needs. The show will be held in Cleveland on April 25-27, 2023. We hope you will mark your digital calendar and make a point of attending the event. 

Most foundry sales representatives understand your needs as a buyer or designer and will go out of their way to help you evaluate options for conversions, reshoring of projects, or modification of current designs. If you need to find additional foundries to support your production needs, AFS offers the Casting Source Directory (CSD) online at castingsource.com.  Thousands of casting buyers, specifiers, and designers rely on the free online and printed CSD every year to identify the ideal foundries to cast their needed parts, searching by metal, process, weight, and location. Thank you again for being part of the AFS community!   CS