Supplier Panel

On January 30th, the AFS TC Chapter hosted a supplier panel at Joseph’s Grill in St Paul. The meeting was attended by over 30 interested chapter members. There was good discussion from the four experienced panelists about pricing trends, material supply, lead times, and product development for metals/alloys, silica sand, chemicals and bond products.

They were: Dan Herbst of Carpenter Brothers Inc.; Steve Ryan of Badger Mining Corporation; Douglas DeSmit of ASK Chemicals; and Al Jacobson of Minerals Technologies; American Colloid Company. Many thanks for their participation and insight!

AFS Twin Cities Chapter will host a supplier panel discussion on Tuesday, January 30th beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Joseph’s Grill in St. Paul, MN. The panel will discuss pricing trends, material shortage, lead times, product development and more. Management, Supply Chain and Purchasing professionals are encouraged to attend!

Meet the panelists:

Metals/Alloys: Dan Herbst, Carpenter Brothers, Inc.

Dan has a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He began his career in the foundry industry in 1997 serving as the Plant Metallurgist for Grede Liberty for six years. Dan then worked at MetalTek International in Waukesha for 12 years in various roles including: Foundry Process Engineer, Petrochem Foundry Superintendent and Melt Superintendent. Dan moved to the supplier side and has held the role of Technical Sales for the past 7 ½ years.

Silica Sand: Steve Ryan, Badger Mining Corporation

Steve Ryan is a member of Badger Mining Corporation’s Industrial Sales Team.  He has over 40 years’ experience in marketing, sales, sales management in mining and related industries.  He currently serves as the Treasurer of the AFS Northeast Wisconsin Chapter and is a Past President of the Casting Industry Suppliers Association.

Chemicals: Douglas DeSmit, ASK Chemicals

Doug has been in the foundry industry since 1974. Doug has held various positions related to core machines, core making and technical sales and service. Doug has worked for ASK Chemicals since 2015 as the technical service manager for North America, and in 2021 he also took on the responsibilities of the Cold Box Process Technical Project Manager

Bond: Al Jacobson, Minerals Technologies; American Colloid Company

Al graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in Industrial Engineering.  Al worked for Grede Foundries for 33 years where he held various roles in the foundry including Process Engineer and Mold/Core Superintendent.  In January 2023, Al joined American Colloid Company as Technical Sales Manager for their Metalcasting Division. Al has been an active member of Twin Cities AFS and served as Board Chairman in 2018-19.

Schedule:

5:00pm      Social Hour – Hors d’oeuvres sponsored by Badger Mining

6:00pm      Dinner

6:45pm       Panel Discussion

Register below by Thursday, January 25th at 5pm. 

Click here to view newsletter.