I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t too big on field trips as a kid. I deduce this because, frankly, I’m wracking my brains and can’t remember the details of a single one. Only vague shadows remain of noisy bus rides, endless boring exhibits, and our mashed paper-bag lunches. 

Hey, sign me up for the next one!

But field trips got much better in my work life as an editor in the construction equipment industry. Manufacturers used to invite members of the trade press to special tours and hands-on events. The best one ever was a company that flew us to Tuscon one spring, then bussed us to a huge reclaimed mine where they demo’d numerous pieces of heavy earthmoving equipment for customers. I didn’t know how different this trip was going to be till we piled out of the shuttlebus and the message from the main spokesman settled over us. 

“Go ahead and pick any machine you want to try,” was the gist of his announcement. “Climb into the cab, turn on the ignition, and go dig a hole … or scoop some dirt over onto that heap over there.” So, tossing caution to the wind, 10 journalists fanned out and played in the dirt for the next four or five hours! That day, I learned––and I mean really learned––what it actually felt like to be an equipment operator.

You know, it’s true: You don’t know what you don’t know, but boy, when you experience a process or operation in person for yourself, it turns on a huge lightbulb that can illuminate your work back at the office. That thing you thought you understood suddenly becomes incredibly real, and it turns out there’s way more to it than you imagined. 

Something we hear from a foundry executive in this issue underscores the great value that a foundry field trip would have for you, whether you’re sitting in the casting buyer’s chair or working on the parts design engineering team. In our “Sourcing Q&A” with Fall River Foundry President and CEO Brennen Weigel, he says the No. 1 thing that can help OEM engineers and purchasing personnel achieve greater knowledge and success is this: Go tour your foundries. Custom-made castings for your company’s products are complex, and the process through which they are made is wildly fascinating. Your castings aren’t magically pulled off a shelf–– they begin as white-hot melted metal poured into molds that are then shaken out on a conveyor, cleaned, maybe machined, and treated to a host of other available value-add services. 

Never seen it with your own eyes? I promise your field trip to your foundry partner is going to knock your socks off––and better still, it’ll make you an even smarter casting decision-maker than you already are.