View the Digital Edition: Click for the full digital edition of the January 2026 issue.
Building a Better Brass Foundry:
For AFS Corporate Member Mueller Water Products, which produces valves and water infrastructure products, along with hydrants and natural gas infrastructure products, the timing for building a new brass foundry in Decatur, Illinois, couldn’t have been better.
The Impact of Sand Testing Frequencies - Why Your Testing More Than You Realize:
Sand testing is a cost-benefit analysis. What personnel resources need to be put toward sand testing to ensure good, reliable process control of the sand system? Foundries don’t sell sand, yet in some ways, sand is still a foundry’s product that they want to ensure has predictable behavior to prevent introducing even more variation—and ultimately scrap—into the casting process.
The Work and Wins of State Metalcasting Associations:
Much of the policy that shapes daily operations happens at the state level. That reality was underscored in a recent members-only webinar, where representatives from seven state associations shared their latest wins, challenges, and priorities.
Industry Pulse Check:
In the late fall of 2025, AFS’s final quarterly survey of the year (with a 14% response rate) found metalcasters cautiously optimistic in their outlook for 2026.
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