Find out if your castings stand up against the elite. All castings submitted receive free publicity in Engineered Casting Solutions magazine. The Casting of the Year receives a free year's license of Magmasoft casting simulation software. Click here to download an entry form. For more information, contact Dave Krugman, AFS PR and marketing coordinator, at dkrugman@afsinc.org.

AFS Represents Metalcasters at SAE Meeting
AFS recently sent staff and corporate members to represent the North American metalcasting industry at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2007 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress & Exhibition. The show, held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Rosemont, Ill., drew nearly 3,000 engineers, suppliers and manufacturers from the commercial vehicle industry.

The annual event brings together a global assembly of both on-and off-road customers, providing three days of profitable interaction with engineers, supply managers and executives. Alfred Spada, AFS director of marketing, communications and public relations, stressed the importance of attending end-user industry trade shows: "It is vital to our industry's success that we present ourselves to our potential customers at every opportunity. We attend and exhibit at several end-user shows each year in order to promote the metalcasting industry." For more information, contact Dave Krugman, AFS PR and marketing coordinator at 847/824-0181 or dkrugman@afsinc.org.

Austempered Ductile Iron Webinar Coming
Engineered Casting Solutions magazine has scheduled a free webinar on the benefits and applications of austempered ductile iron (ADI). Scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 4, at either 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. EST, this 45-minute webinar is for designers and buyers of metal castings, as well as metalcasters looking to enter the ADI market. In the webinar, ADI experts will detail how designing with ADI can provide mechanical properties similar to steel with weight and cost reduction opportunities when compared to both aluminum and steel components.

To register for this webinar, visit www.castsolutions.com/adiwebinar. If you have any questions, contact Dave Krugman, American Foundry Society, at dkrugman@afsinc.org.

AFS Committee Member Appointed to NACOSH
American Foundry Society (AFS) Safety and Health Committee member Jennifer Bailey, American Cast Iron Pipe Co., has been appointed to OSHA's National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH).

The 12-member committee advises the secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services on matters concerning the administration of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Each members' term lasts for two years. NACOSH will meet in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 12 where they will receive an update on standards and guidance, including diacetyl, beryllium, and pandemic flu, a presentation on OSHA's operating plan, a presentation on current activities of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and a presentation on NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda. For more information regarding this appointment, contact Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office, at ssalmon@afsinc.org.

DHS To Enforce New I-9 Form Requirements
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that in late December it will begin enforcing the requirements in the new I-9 form listing acceptable forms of identification to prove identity and work eligibility.

On the new form, employers are told they may NOT accept:

• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-570);
• Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570);
• Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151);
• Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327);
• Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571).

The list of acceptable forms of identification was revised in 1996, but it took until the Nov. 7, 2007 release of the new I-9 form before those revisions were finalized. For more information on the new I-9 form, contact Alicia Oman, AFS Washington Office, at aoman@afsinc.org. To read the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) press release, click here.

CMI Offers Metallurgy of Gray & Ductile Iron Course
The Cast Metals Institute (CMI) will be offering a Metallurgy of Gray & Ductile Iron Course Feb. 12-15 at Purdue Univ., Lafayette, In.