Casting Source is the only regularly published magazine in North America produced exclusively for buyers, specifiers and designers of castings. We recently conducted a reader survey and your responses were overwhelmingly positive. Moreover, your suggestions for future content will help shape the pages of the magazine in 2022. 

The first insight from the survey concerns the high marks you have collectively provided concerning the content. Fully 93% of you indicate that the magazine’s content is relevant to your work and/or profession. Similarly, 45% of you read or scan every article cover to cover, and another 51% read or scan all articles of interest. That means 96% of respondents are examining the entire magazine, issue after issue.
Futurists have long predicted the demise of magazines in general, but our 2021 survey shows that 73% prefer reading Casting Source in the printed, hard-copy format. Just over one-quarter of respondents now report reading it mostly in the digital version at castingsource.com. 

Readers also provided us with numerous great story ideas for future issues, coupled with a lot of comments along the lines of “keep up the great work.” We appreciate the strong reader response to the survey and will be implementing many of the story ideas. 

Casting Source has a unique niche. For readers, it’s the publication they can count on to make them better informed as they undertake casting design and purchasing. 

For advertisers, it’s the one magazine and digital product that allows forward-thinking foundries to strengthen their brand and advertise their capabilities to their targeted audience—the designers and consumers of castings. As metalcasting is a $44 billion industry in the United States alone—and even larger when one considers Canada and Mexico—advertising in Casting Source is an investment that pays off in stronger brand recognition and in generating leads. As more and more OEMs look at reshoring (which is a major focus of this issue), foundries that maintain a presence in Casting Source are well positioned to win a larger share of that exciting new business. David Kathe and Fabio Cavalieri of the AFS staff are committed to helping foundries make the most of their advertising budgets. 

This magazine was first published in 1998. In late 2019, it was rebranded from the previous title, which was Metal Casting Design and Purchasing. Concurrently, the publication got a fresh new look and a number of new experts were lined up as regular columnists. The new tagline—The Leading Resource for the Metalcasting Supply Chain—encapsulates in eight words our vision and aspiration for Casting Source. 

We also encourage you to mark your calendar for CastExpo 2022 in Columbus, Ohio, April 23-26. Leading foundries will be exhibiting and looking forward to speaking with you about your parts-related challenges and their capabilities. Casting Source editor Shannon Wetzel has also put together a Buyers and Designers Track for CastExpo with six expert speakers. These sessions are free to registrants. You won’t want to miss it. 
Thank you again for being a part of the Casting Source community!     CS