President’s Message

As we prepared this edition of the magazine there has been much activity at SMI to celebrate.

We announced the hiring of our future director, Gary McCoy, to take over for our beloved Lynne Carr. We also announced the joining of the Metal Engineering eXpo with the CASMI SpringWorld show in 2024. Life has not been boring!

This edition of Springs covers a topic that I will not declare myself an expert in — plant industrialization that includes IIoT, Industry 4.0 and many other technologies. I say this previous statement in some jest, as this is a very important topic and one we should learn about. Please don’t sell yourself short as many of the topics that will be discussed may involve equipment that most of us already own that would be great candidates for its implementation.

I pulled a few quotes about this topic from an article by Devin Partida in the online publication TechRepublic:

“IIoT can be a revelation when implemented successfully, but companies may run into obstacles.”

“IIoT represents a network of connected sensors, actuators and other components used to enhance industrial processes. The widely held belief is that using this kind of connectivity throughout a facility enables better data collection and visibility, giving decision-makers more information they can use to act confidently and solve problems.”

Here are the top five obstacles mentioned by Partida. “Failing to specify the purpose and scope” “Experiencing data-related issues” “Struggling to keep a connected infrastructure secure” “Encountering scalability difficulties” “Dealing with resource shortages”

“Challenges exist whenever companies plan to work with new technologies. These are some of the biggest obstacles. However, people should try to stay focused on their goals and positive outcomes rather than being overly discouraged by possible issues.”

Overwhelmed yet? Hopefully this edition of the magazine helps answer some of your questions and further whets your appetite for learning about this topic. As a matter of fact, this is exactly what we as SMI members should expect: timely information about our industry and trends in the overall industrial world that might be applicable to ours. I hope you enjoy it!

In closing I cannot forget to recognize that we have just been through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons here in the U.S. I hope you and your families felt the blessing of remembering and celebrating the birth of whom many of us call our Savior. We have much to be thankful for and an even brighter future to work toward!

God Bless and Have a Crazy Good Day! Gene Huber Jr.

President: Gene Huber Jr., Winamac Coil Spring Vice President: Don Jacobson III, Newcomb Spring Secretary/Treasurer: David DeVoe, Plymouth Spring Past President: Bert Goering, Precision Coil Spring At-Large: Dave Deerwester, The Yost Superior Co. Executive Director: Lynne Carr, SMI

Jennelle Carlier, S3 Wireform • Kelley Christy, Diamond Wire Spring • Joe Devany, Betts Company • Chris Fazio, Diamond Wire Spring • Linda Froehlich, Ace Wire Spring & Form • Brett Goldberg, International Spring • Agustin Estalayo Ibanez, RPK Mexico SA de CV • Adam Jacobson, FENN/Torin • Don Lyons, JonSpring • Rob Meyers, RK Trading • Alex Melnikow, Midstate Spring • Tony Pesaresi, Winamac Coil Spring • Keith Porter Jr., Newcomb Spring • Michael Shapiro, Gibraltar Corp. • Tim Zwit, Motion Dynamics Corporation

Lynne Carr, Advertising Sales, lynne@smihq.org Gary McCoy, Managing Editor, gary@smihq.org Lisa Plefka Haskin, Art Director, lisahaskin95@gmail.com

Chair, Keith Porter Jr., Newcomb Spring • Reb Banas, Stanley Spring & Stamping • Lynne Carr, SMI • Hale Foote, Scandic Springs, Inc. • Patrick Gillum, Gilco Spring of Florida, Inc. • Adam Jacobson, FENN/Torin • Lucas Karabin, Acme Monaco • Gary McCoy, SMI • Michael Shapiro, Gibraltar Corporation • Bill Wynn, Gardner Spring, Inc. • Technical Advisor: Dan Sebastian

Ken Myohdai, Sakura International Inc. Head Office: 3F,4F, ENDO Sakaisuji Bldg., 1-7-3, Bingomachi, Chuo-Ku, Osaka 541-0051, Japan Phone: 81-6-6624-3601 • Fax: 81-6-6624-3602 Tokyo Global Office: 5F Kamei No. 2 Bldg., 2-17-13, Kiba, Koto-Ku, Tokyo, 135-0042, Japan Phone: 81-3-5646-1160 • Fax: 81-3-5646-1161 E-mail: info@sakurain.co.jp

Jennie Franks, Franks & Co. 63 St. Andrew’s Road Cambridge United Kingdom CB41DH Phone/Fax: +44-1223-360472 E-mail: franksco@BTopenworld.com

Charlie Yu, Worldwide Services Co. Ltd. 11F-B, No 540, Sec. 1, Wen Hsin Rd. Taichung, 408 Taiwan Phone: +886-4-2325-1784 • Fax: +886-4-2325-2967 E-mail: marketing@acw.com.tw

Springs (ISSN 0584-9667) is published quarterly by SMI Business Corp., a subsidiary of the Spring Manufacturers Institute: 2001 Midwest Road, Suite 106, Oak Brook, IL 60523; Phone: 630-460-8588.; Web site www.smihq.org. Address all correspondence and editorial materials to this address. The editors and publishers of Springs disclaim all warranties, express or implied, with respect to advertising and editorial content, and with respect to all manufacturing errors, defects or omissions made in connection with advertising or editorial material submitted for publication. The editors and publishers of Springs disclaim all liability for special or consequential damages resulting from errors, defects or omissions in the manufacturing of this publication, any submission of advertising, editorial or other material for publication in Springs shall constitute an agreement with and acceptance of such limited liability. The editors and publishers of Springs assume no responsibility for the opinions or facts in signed articles, except to the extent of expressing the view, by the fact of publication, that the subject treated is one which merits attention. Do not reproduce without written permission.

Cover designed by Lisa Plefka Haskin utilizing Shutterstock photographic imagery.

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26 Plant Industrialization: The Promise of Smart Manufacturing for the Spring Industry

By Gary McCoy 31 Fourslide Spring and Stamping

Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary 32 Forecast 2023: The Spring

Industry Faces Gathering Clouds and Growing Turbulence

By Phillip M. Perry 36 The #1 Thing Businesses

Get Wrong During a Recession

By Jason S. Bradshaw

15 Be Aware Safety Tips A Fresh Start

By Laura Helmrich-Rhodes 19 Dean of Springs A Formula For Success By Dan Sebastian 21 Technically Speaking Stress Relieving One of the Most Common Titanium Alloys By C. Richard Gordon 38 The Spring Industry Celebrates

Modern Manufacturing

By Gary McCoy 40 What’s New in ASD7.14

By C. Richard Gordon 44 Pitt Researchers Show How

Imperfections Can Actually

Improve Alloys 45 SMI Announces

Leadership Transition

2 President’s Message Timely Information About Our Industry 7 Global Highlights 12 Regional Spring Association Report 46 Flashback Parts Forming Machines — 1960/1970 49 Five Questions Alloy Wire International 51 Springmaker Spotlight Change is Our Opportunity: A Profile of Alex Melnikow and Midstate Spring By Gary McCoy 59 Book Corner 61 CTE News 62 Inside SMI 71 Committee Connection 73 New Products 75 Advertisers’ Index 76 Snapshot Katherine E. Dalton, Gardner Spring, Inc.

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