Where are Springs Used? - Spring Manufacturers Institute

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From Dave Weber 

This message has taken me forever to complete. I don’t know why, 

except maybe that business is fi nally picking up, it’s spring and I’m 

thinking golf instead of springs, or maybe it’s writer’s block like Grisham 

gets before he cranks out another best seller. I should confess that by now, 

the editor is pleading, “Write something! Please!” 

This issue of Springs is all about our product, and the many places 

and ways that springs are used. It should be a “no brainer” about which to 

write, but I struggled with the “hook” – the central point. Finally, it came 

to me on the way to work this morning. We’ll come to it later. 

So let’s talk about springs. Let’s talk about where our springs go, what they do and, even, 

whether or not we could live without them. 

What happens the fi rst time you meet someone and they ask what you do for a living? 

After you say something like, “I manufacture springs,” or, “The company for which I work 

supplies springs to the Big Three automakers,” do you get that look that says, “You do what?” 

Then, all you have to do is look around, start pointing out all of the places that springs are 

found, and you’ve got them so impressed that they think you have invented the next fl avor 

of Ben & Jerry’s. 

Our products are all over. I mean everywhere! Could we live without them? I don’t 

know. I suppose. Certainly, the onset of electronics has cut into our market. But stop and think 

about all of the places we fi nd these parts and you realize almost nothing moves without them. 

Appliances of all kinds rely on them, and every sort of machine in the world surely has some 

type of spring in it, if only to hold a door closed. That’s just for starters. Motors wouldn’t work 

without brush springs, satellites might not be able to unfurl their solar panels, and tiny little 

surgical instruments might not be saving lives. You get the picture, I’m sure. 

I can’t help writing about our products without some mention of one of our past presidents, 

Roy Vinderine. Roy had this notion that our parts are not just commodity items. You 

don’t just go to the hardware store and buy one for your lunar rover. Springs are chock-full 

of metallurgy, mechanical engineering, design work and, sometimes, they even have to look 

aesthetically pleasing. All this makes our parts unique and gives credibility to Roy’s contention 

that we are letting our customers get away with murder by driving our prices through the 

fl oor. We produce a product that is essential to our daily lives, and we should be compensated 

accordingly. 

Now we’ve come to the hook. It dawned on me that this issue is not just about the things 

we make and where they are used. It’s also about the fact that these parts are our livelihood. 

They support hundreds of thousands of people in all walks of life. They are cursed by engineers, 

sometimes. They end up being the fi nal items designed in complex machines, and we 

are asked to make them work wonders in places never designed for them. Our coiler operators, 

our grinders, machine tool people, sales staffs, and on and on are supported by these little 

mechanical wonders. Having said all of this, I believe Roy was right. Unfortunately, I don’t 

know how to make the rest of the industry believe it’s so. 

Finally, while you’re reading about all of the interesting, unique places springs are used, 

keep in mind all of the people supported by our industry. Isn’t it a source of great pride and 

satisfaction to be involved in such a special skill? We may not be the largest manufacturing 

sector, but we are surely an important part of the whole picture. 

2 SPRINGS July 2004 

Springs Magazine Staff 

Rita Schauer, Editor 

editor@smihq.org 

Lynne Carr, Advertising Sales 

info@smihq.org 

Sandie Green, Assistant Editor 

Ken Boyce, Publisher 

Springs Magazine 

Committee 

Chair, Scott Rankin, Vulcan Spring 

Terry Bartel, Elgiloy Specialty Metals 

Randy DeFord, Mid-West Spring & 

Stamping 

Ritchy Froehlich, Ace Wire Spring 

Bob Herrmann, Newcomb Spring 

LuAnn Lanke, Wisconsin Coil 

Spring 

Gordon Ritter, Automatic Spring 

Products 

John Schneider, O’Hare Spring 

Europe liaison, Richard Schuitema, 

Dutch Spring Assoc. 

Technical Advisors 

Loren Godfrey, Colonial Spring 

Michael Limb, Spring Consultants 

Advertising sales - Japan 

Ken Myohdai 

Sakura International Inc. 

3-14-805 Senbonminami 

1-Chome, Nishinari, Osaka, 

557-0055 Japan. 

Phone: +81-6-6659-2012 

Fax: +81-6-6659-2061 

E-mail: sakurain@po.sphere.ne.jp 

Advertising sales - Europe 

Jennie Franks 

Franks & Co. 

P.O. Box 33 Moulton 

Newmarket, Suffolk, 

England CB88SH 

Phone: +44-1638-751132 

Fax: +44-1638-750933 

E-mail: franksco@BTopenworld. 

com 

Advertising sales - Taiwan 

Robert Yu 

Worldwide Services Co. Ltd. 

11F-B, No 540, Sec. 1, Wen Hsin Rd. 

Taichung, Taiwan 

Phone: +886-4-2325-1784 

Fax: +886-4-2325-2967 

E-mail: stuart@wwstaiwan.com 

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) 495-8588; Fax: (630) 495-8595; 

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. 


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. 


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 Rachel Slick

9 

12 

39 

61 


FEATURES 

9 Everywhere! 

The many uses of our products. 

By Konrad Dengler, special contributor 

12 Where are Springs Used? 

Springmakers offer a glimpse beneath the surface to reveal some 

of the common and unusual ways springs play a role in our lives. 

21 What Then? 

A look back at the future uses of materials technology. 

Yesterday’s sci-fi becomes tomorrow’s standard. 

By Terry Bartel, Ph.D., Elgiloy Specialty Metals 

39 Ferrari First to Ride on all Titanium Springs 

Titanium suspension springs offer lower weight and excellent 

corrosion resistance. 

By Kurt Faller, Timet Automotive 

44 Outsourcing Update 

Are the U.S. government, state governments and other groups 

working for or against the offshoring of jobs to countries with 

low labor costs? Let’s take a look at what’s currently on the table. 

By John Guzik, Williams Mullen Strategies 

49 American Manufacturers: It’s time to Innovate or 

Evaporate 

By Robert B. Tucker, The Innovation Resource 

61 Spring Material Market Pressures 

What’s causing the escalating prices and surcharges, and when 

can springmakers expect them to level out? 

COLUMNS 

43 Be Aware: Safety Tips From Jim Wood 

Noise is Hazardous. 

47 IST Spring Technology 

Cautionary Tales Part XXIII – Springs Everywhere. 

By Mark Hayes 

53 Checkpoint: Business Tips From Phil Perry 

Health Savings Accounts: Taming the health insurance monster. 

DEPARTMENTS 

2 President’s Message 

27 Global Highlights 

35 Inside SMI 

57 New Products 

63 Advertisers’ Index 

63 Sprung 

64 Snapshot

The many uses 

of our products 

By Konrad Dengler 

Special contributor to Springs 

Springs are necessary in many 

technical constructions. The following 

article gives an insight into 

the wide variety of spring applications. 

In addition, European 

spring manufacturers describe 

production examples and general 

considerations for spring design. 

A World of Springs 

Objects of daily private or 

business life wouldn’t work without 

technical springs. In an article 

published some weeks ago in the German 

commercial newspaper Handelsblatt, Horst Dieter Dannert, 

secretary of the German spring manufacturers association 

VDFI, illustrated this fact well when he said, “Every light 

switch, every valve, whether in a power station or in a 

kitchen, needs a spring. Technical springs are everywhere, 

where something is moving.” 

The First Contact 

Which was the fi rst spring you saw in your life? Maybe 

it was a well-visible suspension spring of a baby carriage, 

an automobile or a railroad car; maybe it was the torsion 

spring of a clothespin; maybe it was when you took apart a 

ballpoint pen. In this case, you noticed that objects contain 

springs that are normally invisible, and, if the pen’s 

small compression spring jumped out and disappeared, you 

learned that springs have a clear technical function. 

Springs are literally the basis of the physical world. The 

author of this article remembers that, in one of his very fi rst 

physics lessons, the teacher gave an introduction into the 

matter of physical parameters and relations by means of the 

“spring test.” The teacher fi xed a helical tension spring onto 

a measuring scale and hung various weights on the lower 

eye. The pupils observed a proportional relation between 

load and spring length, and learned their fi rst physical formula, 

which described “Hooke’s law.” 

Everywhere! 

Function Principle 

Regardless of the particular function 

of a spring, it can be said that all springs work 

according to a principle: By changing their form, they store 

energy or set it free. In this way, they enable the function of 

technical systems, like a leaf spring in a door-handle; or they 

act as cushions that bring harmful shock energy under control, 

like disk springs in the buffer of an engine or a railroad 

car. In every case, there is a play of forces and forms. As the 

operating conditions can vary greatly, with many parameters 

acting on the spring, there is a nearly endless number of 

construction possibilities concerning the material, form and 

structure of a spring. 

Variety of Forms 

Most springs show well-known forms. But there is no 

form limitation. Springs can have a “typical” form like the 

helical compression spring in a ballpoint pen, but a simple 

blade or a clip can also be a spring, and there are even complex 

forms that, at fi rst sight, seem to be works of modern 

art. Some years ago, at the annual VDFI convention, Dr. 

Thomas Blum from the managing board of the Wafi os engineering 

works showed pictures of bizarre wire forms that 

looked like abstract art but were technical springs. The curious 

form was the result of a phenomenon that is well known 

in the spring industry: The designer of a complex technical 

system had forgotten to consider the spring in his construction. 

Only at the end of the development process had he 

SPRINGS July 2004 9

noticed that a spring was necessary to make the construction 

work. A spring manufacturer was confronted with the task 

of developing a spring that could be mounted into the space 

that by chance was left free. 

Holistic Consideration 

As it can be very diffi cult or even impossible to design 

a suitable spring under these conditions, a designer should 

consider springs as early as possible in the productdevelopment 

process. Not doing this poses another risk, 

too: Possible negative interaction between the spring and 


other parts of the fi nal product. Once, a spring manufacturer 

received an order to produce torsion springs based on 

a customer drawing. Some time later, the customer claimed 

many cases of spring fracture. At fi rst sight, the reason was 

a complete mystery. But when analyzing the operating conditions 

of the spring, the spring manufacturer discovered 

that the customer had overseen a particular when designing 

his spring: The spring had to be fi xed around a bolt. During 

operation, the spring’s diameter changed at each load 

cycle and always touched the bolt. A spring fracture was 

inevitable. The problem could have been easily avoided by 

making the spring diameter larger. 

Consultation and 

Development 

“When a spring manufacturer 

designs a spring, there are many aspects 

which must be considered,” explains 

Thomas Dann, managing director of 

Richard Bergner Technische Federn 

GmbH & Co. KG (RIBE), a German 

manufacturer of springs, fasteners and 

assemblies based in Schwabach near 

Nuremberg. “In order to check all these 

aspects, there must be a close cooperation 

between customer and spring 

manufacturer. The spring manufacturer 

should know all the details of the later 

operating conditions of a spring. But 

the designing process must also consider 

the manufacturing process itself 

– the testing and the packaging of the 

manufactured springs and their further 

treatment by the customer. Rather often, 

springs are to be automatically assembled 

with other parts or automatically 

introduced in assembly groups.” 

Steinar Gravås, managing director 

and part owner of Norfjær AS, a spring 

manufacturer based in the Norwegian 

capital, Oslo, says: “Of course all the 

load characteristics of a spring and its 

lifetime must be known. But the spring 

manufacturer must also know boundary 

conditions, like the mounting space 

available for the spring; and external 

infl uences on the spring, like high or 

low temperature, vibrations, humidity 

and corrosive effects. One outstanding 

example of our production is a spring 

for a stabilizer which works in a water 

depth of 800 m. The spring has a guarantee 

period of 35 years.” 

The company, founded in 1936 and 

since 1999 the only spring manufacturer

in Norway, has a work force of 10-12 employees and serves 

about 850 customers in many branches. In March 2004, a 

new factory hall in Lithuania, one of the new member states 

of the European Union, was put into operation. 

Application Variety 

Generally said, for many spring manufacturers the 

automotive industry and, above all, its suppliers are a very 

important group of customers. Who has ever counted the 

number of springs in a car? There must be thousands of 

them. The most well known are suspension, clutch and valve 

springs. But also in the gearbox, in the steering system, in 

the airbag system, in the braking system and in the safety 

belts, springs guarantee a secure 

function. These and many other 

springs are security elements, as 

the security of the vehicle and its 

passengers depend on them. Springs 

like those in the seats help passengers 

to have a comfortable journey. 

Other springs, wire forms and clips 

fi x the interior paneling. 

RIBE produces springs, wire 

forms and clips for several of these 

tasks, as well as assemblies and fastener-spring-combinations. 

In some 

cases, the spring guarantees the 

pre-load of the fastener or levels out the fastener elongation 

caused by higher temperatures. In other cases, the fastener 

element prevents buckling of the spring. One production 

example is the spring for the sunroof air shield of a convertible 

car. “For 95 percent of its lifetime, the spring is under 

load,” says Dann. “If you think about the climatic infl uences 

like heat and cold, and the fact that it must work precisely 

even after 10 years, you can imagine that this type of spring 

is the result of a complicated development process.” 

The spring manufacturer Paget and Glover Springs based 

in Willenhall, West Midlands, UK, also has a large production 

program covering springs, clips and wire forms made 

of different materials. Besides automotive, industries like 

aerospace, medical and locks get their springs from P&G. 

One of the recent products is a spring that has been 

developed in cooperation with a motor company. The spring 

will be used to bring the camshaft of a new car model into 

an accurate position. “There is much development work 

behind such a spring,” explains Jack B. Glover*, one of the 

three directors of the company. “Experience is one of the 

strong points with which spring manufacturers can maintain 

their market position.” 

The North Italian spring manufacturer Mollifi cio Valli 

Srl also works with the automotive and other industries. 

“Recently, we developed, together with a car manufacturer, a 

spring which is used for adjusting the steering wheel column. 

It prevents the steering wheel part from falling down,” says 

Angelo Passarotti, technical and commercial manager of the 

In many cases, it is no 

longer suffi cient for 

designers to consider just 

the spring; it is also 

important to consider how 

it will interact with 

complex systems. 

Everywhere! 

company, which is situated near the 

Lago Maggiore. 

Another spring has been 

developed for the trunk hood 

construction of a luxury car – a 

small-size Ferrari for car model 

collectors. The company also 

makes many other springs for toys, 

such as educational toys that help little children develop 

their senses. The springs work behind dial disks, levers and 

buttons. When these elements are touched by the child, the 

springs make different mechanisms work, and sounds can be 

heard. 

The spring manufacturers 

mentioned in this article, like 

most spring companies, supply 

several different markets. Even if 

springs for vehicles and automotive 

parts have a great importance, 

other industries should not be 

overlooked: Springs are used for a 

multitude of products: machines, 

computers and typewriters, 

household electrical appliances, 

electrical systems and fi ttings, 

white goods, micro pumps for 

coffee machines, bicycles and 

motorcycles, sports equipment like trampolines, cameras, 

lamps, spray cans, emergency stop systems of power saws 

and elevator cabins, doors and gates, briefcases, home 

furniture, offi ce chairs... 

Conclusion 

The world is full of springs; they are needed nearly 

“everywhere.” As there is a huge variety of applications 

and a lot of factors to be considered, the requirements of all 

spring applications cannot be satisfi ed with a few “standard” 

spring products. In many cases, it is no longer suffi cient for 

designers to consider just the spring; it is also important to 

consider how it will interact with complex systems. The 

assistance of simulation programs is limited. Therefore, 

spring manufacturers can be assured of their competitiveness 

if they have experience, mental fl exibility, an aptitude 

for technical contexts, product and production know-how, 

modern production equipment, and the willingness to help 

their customers fi nd optimum solutions. 

Konrad Dengler is a special contributor to Springs. 

A freelance correspondent, Dengler writes about the wire 

and spring industry in Europe for several industry publications. 

Previously, he was editor of Draht. He is an engineer 

in materials sciences and works as a technical journalist 

and translator. Readers may contact him by e-mail at 

KDengler@t-online.de or by fax 0049 9135 6982. � 

* Jack B. Glover died after this interview, on May 16, 

2004. His successor is Ron Garland, operations manager. 

SPRINGS July 2004 11

Photo courtesy of NASA 

Where are Springs Used? 

Springmakers offer a glimpse beneath the surface to reveal some 

of the common and unusual ways springs play a role in our lives 

Leeco Spring International, Houston, TX 

We have designed and made springs for NASA and its 

contractors since it opened its doors in Houston (but that is 

another story in itself). We are really proud of the fact that 

Leeco has springs on the moon. 

One high point in our work with NASA was when 

Leeco received recognition for its contribution to the Skylab 

Emergency Thermal Shield Development team in 1973. 

One of the items Leeco developed was a constant force 

spring that was part of a unit that would retrieve a cable. 

When working outside the ship, the astronauts could extend 

this cable some 30 feet. We called the spring “The Peanut” 

because that’s what the unit looked like. 

We also made special Belleville washer sets that went 

into some of the fi rst American nuclear subs. 

We have been working for a number of years now with 

the Engineering Group in China, developing springs that will 

be used in different mechanical functions for the huge dam 

being built there. 

Another interesting and challenging project was the 

smallest spring we ever produced. It was made from 0.003 in. silver with a 0.051 inside diameter. It was used by a seismograph 

company as an electrical contact, and the pitch had to be held extremely close. 


Reell Precision Manufacturing, Saint Paul, MN 

For many springs in products like small clutches, brakes and valves, 

precision is important. Wrap spring clutches in paper-handling equipment, 

copiers and sorters, for example, need to engage and disengage quickly and 

precisely. Even minute variations in the spring can cause engagement timing 

to be too fast or too slow; or cause the clutch to slip, grab or disengage erratically. 

To ensure diameter consistency in its clutch springs, Reel developed 

and patented a new way to control the diameter of the spring while it is being 

wound. The wire-bending system uses a piezo-electric crystal to control the 

position of the forming tool while the coil is being formed. 

The machine monitors and adjusts the diameter of the spring 

400 times per second while it is being formed. This compensates 

for material inconsistencies and forming tool wear. 

Although the process was developed specifi cally for 

Reell’s clutches, it has been used in a variety of applications, 

such as medical devices, scientifi c instruments, testing equipment 

and precision automotive components. 

Reell also manufactures custom and standard constant 

torque hinges for laptop computer screens, enclosures, medical 

and offi ce equipment, and automotive storage panels. 

The hinges are designed to provide a smooth, fl owing feel 

and constant torque over the life of the product.

Vulcan Spring & Manufacturing Co., Telford, PA 

The ultimate goal of any springmaker is to take a project from an idea to 

a fi nal product and to see the product in actual use. Vulcan Spring has had a 

number of consumer toy projects that have reached this goal, including the 

original GI Joe talking doll. The original GI Joe was the fi rst major spring 

job for Vulcan’s founder and chairman, Alex Rankin. It utilized a constant 

torque motor spring. With a keen eye for detail and numerous attempts at 

a design, Vulcan was able to see this project through to production. At the 

time this was quite an accomplishment, as nothing similar had been mass 

marketed. To this day, the original talking GI Joe doll is a coveted collector’s 

item. 

Every day, millions of people wake up looking for that fi rst cup of 

coffee and their toasted bread, bagel or muffi n. With the springs provided by 

Vulcan, they are able to enjoy their morning meal. Vulcan Spring provides 

constant force springs for many applications, including this toaster. The force of 

the spring is adjusted so that each possible product that could be toasted will be 

gently lifted up and not ejected. As simple as that sounds, these springs undergo 

much SPC and testing prior to becoming “toaster worthy.” With a high level of 

engineering, design and quality, Vulcan provides everyday products with dependable 

constant force springs. 

Diamond Wire Spring Co., Pittsburgh, PA 

Every once in a while we all get those bizarre phone requests for springs 

that differ from the typical industrial customer. We’ve had our share at Diamond 

Wire Spring over the years, but a recent one really stands out. It was April 2003 

when our Catalog Division received a call from a frantic buyer 

requesting large, heavy springs capable of holding up ladies’ 

shoes. Our Catalog manager referred the call to me and said 

to be careful with this person because he was requesting parts 

to be made and shipped within one week. 

After approximately 20 phone calls back and forth, we 

fi nally got the order to manufacture several quantities of 10 

different sized springs, ranging from 6 in. to 36 in. long. These 

parts were to be sent to every Kenneth Cole (fashion designer) 

store across the country, from New York to San Francisco. 

Experience has taught us a few lessons over time, and 

after fi nalizing the design, we requested payment in advance. 

A check was received, and manufacturing began immediately. 

We used over 6,000 lbs. of wire for all the parts, then had to 

package the various sizes in sets and ship them out to over 35 

stores. All this happened in less than fi ve days. As they say in Nina Fazio-Williams, Southwest Division sales manager. 

every business, “Anything for 

an order.” 

Mid-West Spring 

Manufacturing, 

Romeoville, IL 

The springs shown are used 

as prostheses for human fi ngers 

and must mimic the movements 

of finger joints during their 

defl ection. 

The springs are made from a 

special cross-section music wire. 


They are a unique geometry conical spring with special diameter and 

pitch requirements. 

Wisconsin Coil Spring Inc., Muskego, WI 

Thirty years ago, a start-up entrepreneur walked into Wisconsin 

Coil Spring with money bulging out of his pockets. Sensing 

demand would be high for his latest product – a conical compression 

spring designed to stop gas siphoning – he couldn’t be 

bothered with business basics, such as company checks. The 

entrepreneur pulled out a wad of bills to pay cash in advance for 

his parts. He then grabbed the springs and made a beeline for a popular regional street fair. In the wake of the 1973-74 Arab 

oil embargo, prices for gas skyrocketed, long lines of cars snaked around service stations and pilfering of gasoline was on 

the rise. To stop petty thievery, anti-siphon springs that could be inserted into the fi ll pipes of gas tanks became a hot commodity 

– so hot that the spring industry experienced 

material shortages of 0.080 in. 

Peterson Spring, Southfi eld, MI 

December 17, 2003, marked the 100th anniversary 

of powered fl ight. As everyone knows, Wilbur and 

Orville Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, 

OH, were the fi rst to successfully accomplish this feat. 

In honor of the Wrights’ accomplishment, replicas 

of the Wright Flyer were built by four separate groups 

across the U.S., including the Wright Redux Association 

in Glen Ellyn, IL. 

In 2002, the engineering fi rm that was building 

the replica of the Wright engine supporting the project 

approached Peterson Spring for help. The company 

was building a replica of the Wright engine and needed 

the intake and exhaust valve springs, as well as a few 

double torsion springs for engine timing. As one could 

imagine, there were no blueprints for 

these components but, using drawings 

supplied by the Smithsonian Institute, 

Peterson Spring was able to fabricate 

the beehive valve springs needed. The 

engine was built, and the replica made 

several successful fl ights. It is now on 

display at the Chicago Museum of Science 

and Industry in honor of the Wright 

brothers’ accomplishment. 

For a more futuristic project, 

Peterson Spring was contacted by the 

Western Michigan University (WMU) 

solar car race team to make front end 

suspension, and axle and brake components 

for its Sunseeker vehicle. Peterson 

worked with the design team to make 

their parts stronger and more durable 

than those used in prior models by using 

T6 aluminum. The project was an excellent opportunity to work with college undergraduates on how to provide functional 

prints with manufacturing in mind, rather than drawing and design purely from the standpoint of engineering design. Even 

so, it was a challenge to set up and manufacture some of the parts. The Sunseeker, capable of reaching speeds of 72 mph, 

came in fi fth of 20 entries from universities around the U.S. It also won the Inspector’s Choice award from the American 

Solar Challenge offi cials. 


Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy 

Piping Technology & Products Inc., Houston, TX 

Recently, PT&P designed and manufactured three custom-built 

disc spring arrestors with clamps for an energy company in Louisiana. 

The arrestors provide resistance by utilizing disc springs (Belleville 

washers) stacked in a series within the assembly housing to produce 

a specifi c spring rate. 

By using large disc springs, very high spring rates may be 

obtained. The arrestors are capable of operating in both tension and 

compression. 

The diameter of each disc spring is 9 in. with a thickness of 1 in. 

The overall pin-to-pin dimension for the assemblies 

varied with a minimum of 35 in. and a maximum 

length of 57 in. The maximum length that can be 

accommodated is 120 in. The clamps were made 

for 18 in. and 30 in. diameter pipes. 

The shock arrestor will see a maximum 

operating load of 43,000 lbs. The spring rate of 

each arrestor was designed at 40,000 lb./in. and is 

designed for a maximum displacement of 2 in. 

In addition, PT&P supplied the Navy and its 

magnifi cent aircraft carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk, 

with a large quantity of spring hangers to support 

piping in the boiler room. The Kitty Hawk displaces 

80,800 tons fully loaded, is 1,046 feet long 

and has a beam of 130 feet. It can reach speeds of 

30-plus knots and has approximately 85 aircraft. 

It is powered by eight boilers, four geared steam turbines 

and four shafts of 280,000 shaft horsepower. The ship has 

a complement of 2,932 personnel and approximately 1,782 

in embarked air crew personnel. 

Spring Drums Thunder Tubes 

Century Spring Corp., Los Angeles, CA 

Among the most unusual projects Century Spring has 

undertaken has been springs used as musical instruments. 

The Thunder Tube and the Spring Drum each have a 

unique sound that is generated by moving the drum so that 

the vibrations of the spring are transmitted to the head. The sound of these instruments has been described as a cross between 

a cuica, a thunder sheet, a suspended cymbal roll and the roar of a lion. 

In order to create this distinctive sound, Century had to maintain a precise spring pitch (or coil spacing) so the instruments 

would meet the customer’s particular tone requests. 

Kinefac Corp. Sleeper Division, Worcester, MA 

The Sleeper Division is applying its Micro-Coiler to an ever-expanding range of the very small diameter coils and springs. 

The coil shown in the photo, left, surrounding 

a human hair is of the type used 

on catheter guide wires. This prototype is 

made from 0.001 in. diameter wire to a 

coil outside diameter of 0.0086 in. The 

material is an alloy of platinum when the 

coil is used to provide for fl uoroscope visibility, 

or 304V stainless steel when used 

for structural purposes. The diameter is 

held to a tolerance of +/- 0.0002 in. 

16 SPRINGS July 2004

Associated Spring, Farmington, CT 

Spring packs have been a part of automotive transmissions 

for many years. They consist of a stamped 

ring, or rings, that hold compression springs in a fi xed 

location. The spring pack is used to provide an evenly 

distributed axial load to its mating elements in a transmission. 

Recently, a team of Associated employees 

came up with a unique design for this common product, 

and Associated was awarded a patent. The new design 

holds the spring pack in a pre-compressed state. This 

can be critical when the free height of the spring pack 

interferes with the positive alignment and assembly of 

the transmission’s bladder seals. Thus, the design has 

given the company a tool to compete in a niche market. 

Another innovation occurred during a Belleville 

Symposium Associated held to share manufacturing 

information among divisions, and help develop and 

improve processing methods. A sales rep came up with 

the idea of coiling a dovetail Belleville spring. He then 

began investigating the current manufacturing methods 

of large-diameter, thin-wall Belleville washers. Associated 

staff took a fi nished Bellevile washer and cut an EDM (Electrical Discharged Machining) -shaped dovetail across 

the width to prove the theory. The load results were identical to a standard Belleville. Next, they investigated material and 

purchased pre-tempered steel with a round edge. The round edge eliminated the need to remove burrs by the expensive tumbling 

process. Next, they built the required tooling to coil the part fl at and punch in the dovetails. By coiling the part, they 

were able to reduce the material by 50 percent. This design was also awarded a patent. 

MOYER 

C O M P A N I E S 

Computer controlled 3 axis grinder offers more than 

downfeed and crush grinding. Easy set-up. Wheel 

wear compensation, automatic grind line and dress 

position.Performance data displayed. 

(36 Inch Spring Grinder) 

Flexible | Accurate | Easy 

The Moyer Magic Touch Probe System 

brings new sensory capabilities to 

speed and accuracy in a retractable 

contact probe system. 

(Magic Touch Probe System) 

4x4 or 4x8 Three Way Sorting Chute. 

MOYER 

C O M P A N I E S 

“the leading edge of spring making technology” 

www.moyercompanies.com 

Merlin’s intelligence and innovative 

design features establish new standards 

for accuracy, increased percentage of 

good parts, real time operator data and 

scrap reduction. (Merlin Freelength Gage) 

Nothing Compares. 

MOYER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC. 

P.O. Box 422 • Fremont, IN 46737 

Phone: 260.665.2363 • Fax: 260.665.2393 

105 North Wayne Street • P.O. Box 935 • Fremont, IN 46737 

Phone: 260.495.2405 • MOYER PROCESS AND CONTROL COMPANY, INC. 

Fax: 260.495.1290 


Propaganda leafl et dropped by the U.S. in Afghanistan. 

Gifford Spring Co., Garland, TX 

In 2002, we were privileged to participate in our country’s efforts 

in Afghanistan by manufacturing springs used in the propaganda 

“bombs” that were dropped before our troops arrived. 

Our springs are also movie and entertainment stars. We manufactured 

a unique spring for a company that makes animatronics for the 

fi lm industry and for theme parks. Our spring animates the jaws of 

sharks to operate in a terrifyingly lifelike manner. 

Gifford Spring Co. has also manufactured springs used to 

refurbish vintage trolley cars. The marriage of “something old” (the 

original trolley) and “something new” (our springs) 

brings history to life. 

Minus K Technology, Ingelwood, CA 

Wherever there is a building vibration problem, 

the springs in Minus K vibration isolation tables and 

platforms can help. With these isolators, sensitive 

instruments don’t have to be used only on the ground 

fl oor of a building, and researchers don’t need to come 

in at 4 a.m. before traffi c starts. 

Typical applications include: microscopy, microhardness 

testing, metrology/fl atness measurements, 

microelectronics fabrication, aerospace structures/ 

spacecraft systems, analytical balances, biology and 

neuroscience. 

Nano-K vibration isolators provide vertical-motion 

isolation with a stiff spring that supports a weight load, combined 

with a negative-stiffness mechanism. The net vertical stiffness is 

made very low without affecting the static load-supporting capability 

of the spring. Beam-columns connected in series with the 

vertical-motion isolator provide horizontal-motion isolation. The 

horizontal stiffness of the beam-columns is reduced by the “beam 

column” effect. (A beam-column behaves as a spring combined 

with an NSM.) The result is a compact, passive isolator capable of 

very low vertical and horizontal natural frequencies and very high internal structural frequencies. 

The isolators typically use three isolators stacked in a series – a tilt-motion isolator on top of a horizontal-motion isolator 

on top of a vertical-motion isolator. A vertical-motion isolator is shown in the drawing, above. 

Kirk-Habicht Co., Baltimore, MD 

In 1998, John Huber asked us to 

work with him on an apparatus he was 

building for throwing pumpkins. He 

needed to get some extension springs for 

his machine called “Hypertension,” which 

he wanted to enter in the World PunkinChunkin 

Championships. We defi nitely 

thought that this was an unusual project, 

but it also seemed like it would be fun to 

do. After some design modifi cations to 

the springs, John and Hypertension went 

on to win the 2001 championship with a 

throw of 1,578.2 feet and the 2002 championship 

with a throw of 1,728.34 feet in 

the catapults division. 

The World PunkinChunkin Championships started in 1986 and are held annually in Millsboro, DE, at the intersections 

of routes 305 and 306. To learn more about this event, you can visit the Web site at www.punkinchunkin.com. � 

18 SPRINGS July 2004

With so many activities at 

WAI's International Technical Conference 

in Mexico this October.... 

Lively discussion about the latest wire and 

cable industry topics is the forecast for 

WAI’s 2004 International 

Technical Conference in 

Querétaro, Mexico. 

Exceptional technical articles, 

local plant tours, 

exhibits, and informal social 

gatherings will provide the necessary 

business climate for you to learn more 

about the industry and about the 

business conditions particular to 

Mexico’s wire and cable sector. Most events 

will be held at one of Mexico’s distinctive properties, 

the Hacienda Jurica. 

Use the three-day program to network with 

OCTOBER 18-20, 2004 • QUERÉTARO 

M E X I C O 

...the last thing you'll discuss is the weather. 

colleagues or to clear up hazy technical 

questions with any of the industry experts who 

will be on hand. 

The ferrous and nonferrous technical 

presentations will be simultaneously 

translated into Spanish and 

English. The conference is jointly 

sponsored by the Asociación 

Nacional de Transformadores de 

Acero, A.C. (ANTAAC), which represents 

ferrous wire manufacturing 

operations in Mexico. 

For further details about how to participate in 

this informative technical conference, contact 

WAI at Tel.: 001-203-453-2777, or look for forthcoming 

details on www.@wirenet.org. 

International Technical Conference organized by 

The Wire Association International, Inc. 

1570 Boston Post Road • P.O. Box 578 • Guilford, CT 06437-0578 USA 

Tel.: (001) 203-453-2777 • Fax: (001) 203-453-8384 • Web site: www.wirenet.org

Most experts agree that the rate of technology doubles 

every 12 to 18 months in most fi elds, with some 

industries far outpacing that rate. As technology consumers, 

we can appreciate this fact every time we purchase a 

new computer, wonder if our PDA will work with the latest 

downloads or look at the advertisement for plasma screen 

televisions. Bill Gates’ statement in 1981 that “640K ought 

to be enough for anybody” helps prove 

the point. Sometimes we forget the rapid 

pace at which changes can and do take 

place throughout industry, including 

materials. Materials technology may not 

progress at the rates experienced in the 

electronics or medical fi elds, but it is 

growing and affecting us in many ways – 

at home, at play and at work. 

Five years ago, I had the distinct 

pleasure of being a keynote speaker at the 

Close the Loop Technical Symposium, 

hosted by the Spring Manufacturers Institute 

(SMI). The topic of my presentation dealt with what we 

might expect to see happen in materials in the future. It was 

not aimed specifi cally at the spring industry but discussed 

materials in general, and suggested ways that technological 

advancements might eventually impact spring materials 

and manufacturers in the future. This article provides a brief 

update on the technologies that were discussed in 1999 and 

takes another look ahead at what we might expect in the future. 

Aerogels and Thin Film Coatings 

At Close the Loop, I described the concepts of aerogels 

and thin fi lm diamond coating techniques. Aerogels are 

also known as “solid smoke” in some circles because that is 

exactly how they appear: as if someone had frozen smoke in 

place. Most aerogels are silica-based and weigh much less 

than one-hundredth of the same material in solid form. In 

1999, these materials were pure laboratory curiosities whose 

uses were mere speculations. One anticipated application 

was to replace the gas-fi lled space in thermal-paned windows, 

since these materials were estimated to have R-values 

in excess of 30. This speculation has become a reality. 

However, the true use of these materials is turning 

out to be culture-growth media for biological and medical 

research, and for collecting specimens in outer space 

exploration. Aerogels are thick enough to trap fl ying space 

particles yet won’t damage them on impact like a hard 

surface would. 

Thin fi lm coatings, including diamond fi lms, are also 

playing a part in many of our everyday lives. If you wear 

glasses and have one of the newest scratch-resistant lenses, 

you may already be using one of the latest thin fi lm technologies. 

Scientists have developed the capability to apply very 

thin diamond fi lms to vastly improve the scratch resistance 

of the glass surface. 

Other uses involve application of the thin diamond 

fi lm on wear-sensitive surfaces or on surfaces requiring 

resistance to various corrosive agents. Although still in its 

infancy and relatively expensive, this technology does have 

some very widespread appeal because it offers opportunities 

to solve material problems that currently have limited 

solutions. 

What Then? 

A look back at the future uses of materials technology. 

Yesterday’s sci-fi becomes tomorrow’s standard. 

By Terry Bartel Ph.D. 

Elgiloy Specialty Metals 

As a side issue, the introduction of these thin fi lm coatings 

has also inspired and necessitated the development of a 

whole new generation of testing methods and equipment. Tie 

this in with the advancements being made in computers and 

nanotechnology, and we are beginning to see a whole new 

generation of portable testing and inspection equipment. 

Carbon and Stainless Materials 

Of course, all springs are produced from some material. 

For purposes of this discussion, carbon steel, stainless steel 

and some of the more exotic alloys will cover nearly 100 

percent of everything used to produce a spring. Although 

probably not appreciated or noted by many, there have 

been several improvements in the materials used for spring 

applications. 

One major change that has affected virtually all carbon 

and stainless steel springs is the development and constant 

improvement of the continuous-casting process. The raw 

material producers’ goal in developing this process was cost 

savings. With the continuous casting process, they could 

produce a billet that they could use for direct rolling to a 

hot-rolled rod, which eliminated the pouring of huge ingots 

of material and the subsequent reduction of this ingot to the 

starting billet. The fi rst attempts were in the carbon steel 

industry in the very early 1980s and seemed to be doomed 

due to very poor product quality. Initial reaction of the 

industry was that the product would be useful only for very 

low-cost, low-quality springs or possibly welding wire. 

However, through continued perseverance and development 

work on such items as surface quality and internal soundness, 

the process gained wide acceptance. The next logical 

step was to apply the technique to stainless steels. Needless 

to say, this was the case, and today all carbon and stainless 

steel material used for spring production (with a few exceptions) 

comes from continuous-cast material. 


Exotic Materials 

However, the more exotic materials have not followed 

the same route as carbon and stainless steels. This is due 

mostly to the cost and relatively lower usage of these materials. 

After all, why spend the money on an exotic material 

unless it is absolutely necessary? Most of these materials 

are cast as ingots and require the full spectrum of thermalmechanical 

processing steps in order to yield a material that 

can be drawn into spring wire. 

Typically, the melting processes employed in producing 

these materials involve one or two of the following three 

techniques: VIM (vacuum induction melting), ESR (electorslag 

remelting) or VAR (vacuum arc remelting). These 

processes are designed to provide materials with clean 

microstructures (reduced inclusions) and/or lower residual 

contents. Considering the applications of these materials 

in high-speed rotating devices, implantation in the human 

body or placement in highly corrosive environments, the 

cleaner and more uniform the microstructure, the better they 

perform. 

All three melting processes have continued to be 

improved, leading to cleaner and stronger materials. They 


What Then? 

have even been applied to select stainless steels as part of 

the process of continually improving those materials, too. 

More recently, development work was initiated on and 

material produced using all of the processes: VIM + ESR 

+ VAR. The purpose of combining the three processes is 

to produce a material that is even more highly refi ned and 

contains even fewer inclusions. The goal is to improve the 

possible corrosion resistance of the material and enhance the 

fatigue performance; the fewer fatigue nucleation sites, the 

better the fatigue life. However, only those applications that 

can justify the high processing costs of these materials will 

benefi t from these improvements. 

Up and Coming Materials Technology 

At the symposium, I discussed the manufacturing of 

materials by means of chemical vapor deposition, mechanical 

alloying and spray technologies. These are all techniques 

that are being used today for very specialized applications to 

meet specifi c needs. 

In recent years, mechanical alloying has been applied to 

the manufacture of alloys that do not or cannot be produced 

by more conventional means. In it, powders of the various 

constituents are blended and compacted, yielding a material 

with the desired properties. Although of limited application, 

it is useful in producing components that have property 

variations from one location to another, for example a 

centrifugal compressor that requires high strength at the

There are already companies in existence that 

promote the computer modeling of metallurgical 

structures to solve specifi c application problems. 

You provide your specifi c need, such as strength, 

creep resistance or corrosion resistance, and they 

use their computational models to design an alloy, 

processing technique or combination thereof to 

meet your requirements. 

hub and excellent creep resistance at the outer blades. Such 

items are already in routine production. 

Chemical vapor deposition and spray technologies were 

suggested in 1999 as possibilities for producing materials of 

the future. Today, vapor deposition is already being using to 

manufacture some of the more sophisticated computer chips, 

and we will most likely continue to see great advances in 

this fi eld as we continue to build more powerful computers. 

Based upon my discussions with sources in the industry, 

I had predicted that some of the materials in use today 

would be produced by means of spray technology. That has 

not yet come to pass. However, the technology is currently 

used to provide wear resistant surface coatings for very 

specifi c applications, such as engine blocks or other hightemperature 

high-wear applications. Furthermore, work 

does continue in developing materials produced by spray 

technology – mainly in the more exotic materials due to the 

current cost of producing them. However, if history proves 

anything, it is that once a technology has been developed for 

one industry it is quite often applied to other fi elds as well. 

Spring Applications 

The question then becomes, “How do these various 

techniques come into play in the spring industry?” 

As we continue to strive for improvement, we will be 

driven to search for more and better solutions to reducing 

cost (probably the biggest factor of concern for everyone at 

this time). We are also going to be forced toward improving 

performance and being less dependent on foreign raw 

material sources (something that will never be realized in its 

entirety). 

In the past, we have tried to enhance material performance 

by plating lower cost materials with a second 

element or alloy. We have tried to develop alloys with 

highly modifi ed compositions to take the place of the more 

costly, exotic materials. With little effort, many of you can 

probably name at least two or three situations in which an 

alloy has replaced an exotic material. This work will continue 

and will affect all materials. 

Likewise, the vapor deposition and spray technologies 

offer methods in which a material can be altered to provide 

the desired characteristics while using a much cheaper 

supporting substrate. Although still expensive, as these 


What Then? 

technologies are applied to other fi elds, the cost of production 

will decrease, which will then allow them to be applied 

to more cost-conscience industries. 

In addition to those already discussed, there are even 

more technological developments that may affect the future 

of the materials used for the manufacture of springs. 

Computers and Materials 

The concept of using computers for modeling metallurgical 

reactions is not new. Some of the earliest attempts 

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were made in the early 1960s at Northwestern University and 

other institutions throughout the United States. One of the 

very fi rst used the computer to model the spinodal decomposition 

reaction in an attempt to defi ne the microstructural 

outcome. In its simplest form, the spinodal reaction is the 

creation of precipitates from a uniform elemental mixture. 

The reason that it was chosen is that it was the only metallurgical 

transformation that was mathematically described. 

The effort required the use of a mainframe computer – only 

because that is what was available and the limited computational 

capabilities of the existing technology. 

Today, that work could easily be performed on even 

the most basic of laptop computers. In fact, if you were to 

pick up any one of several metallurgical publications, you 

would fi nd at least one article discussing the mathematical 

modeling of one of the many metallurgical 

transformations. Only the great leaps in 

computer technology have made this possible. 

This same mathematical modeling technology 

is also allowing these researchers the ability 

to do “what if” scenarios in manners not dissimilar 

to those used by accountants with their 

fi nancial spreadsheets. 

There are already companies in existence 

that promote the computer modeling of metallurgical 

structures to solve specifi c application 

problems. You provide your specifi c need, 

such as strength, creep resistance or corrosion 

resistance, and they use their computational 

models to design an alloy, processing technique 

or combination thereof to meet your 

requirements. How successful this is will be 

proven only with time. 

Computers are also being used more 

and more in the development and analysis 

of failure modes. Again, due to the greatly 

increased computational capabilities of 

computers, this work is taking us along paths 

never envisioned even 10 years ago. Potential 

failure sites will be identifi ed and, by creating 

the proper “what if” scenarios, we will be able 

to modify our designs and/or material characteristics 

to produce springs with much higher 

performance characteristics. 

Nanotechnology and 

Microstructural Manipulation 

At the symposium, I discussed some 

of the work that was currently underway 

in microtechnology. The timing was right, 

but the magnitude of scale fell far short of 

what was truly emerging. The prefi x “micro” 

means “10 -6,” whereas “nano” means “10 -9.” I 

showed photographs of microgears that were 

150 microns across, but by today’s standards 

in nanotechnology these gears are dinosaurs.

The emergence of nanotechnology is nothing short of 

phenomenal in the past three to four years. Every leading 

university and research center has channeled major efforts 

into nanotechnology research with growth yet unabated. All 

you have to do is to look in any technical publication, and 

you will fi nd articles on new developments in this fi eld or 

ads for research personnel. 

What nanotechnology means to the materials industry 

remains to be seen. However, if one envisions that 

small microgear that I discussed, it does not take very 

long to realize that the material used 

to produce such a gear cannot be 

produced from ordinary metals with 

their relatively large grain sizes. We 

will require a whole new generation 

of materials to meet the needs of 

this emerging technology. There are 

already research efforts underway 

with the goal of developing metals 

with nanometallurgical structures. 

This means that we are in the process 

of developing metals with grain sizes 

that are going to be virtually impossible 

to measure using ordinary light 

microscopes. This also means that 

we are going to have to develop new 

techniques to produce these metals 

because even small inclusions would 

be catastrophic; hence the possible 

need for such processes as the spray 

or vapor deposition techniques previously 

mentioned. 

At this time we can only guess 

at some of the properties these 

“nanometals” will possess. They will 

defi nitely have higher strengths than 

the metals we currently employ and 

may even exceed the 500+ ksi (3,450 

MPa) values observed in amorphous 

materials. We can also expect greatly 

enhanced fatigue properties due to 

the extremely fi ne grain size. Combinations 

of the various technologies 

may even give us composite materials 

that will yield even more benefi ts 

as yet unimagined. 

Another technology that is being 

highly developed is microstructural 

control. This is not a new subject, 

as industry has been working on 

such technologies as single grain 

growth for items like engine blades. 

Research has also been conducted in 

producing precisely controlled metallurgical 

reactions in some of the 

carbon and stainless steels to create 

FOR THE 

LATEST IN 

SPRING 

GRINDING 

TECHNOLOGY 

CONTACT 

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ABRASIVES 

TO... 

microstructures of very precise defi nition in an attempt to 

yield specifi c properties. 

More recently, work has been initiated on the control 

of dendritic and eutectic solidifi cation in specifi c alloys. 

Although the existence of these types of structures has 

been known for decades, we have generally avoided them 

because they have proven to be detrimental in many cases. 

But the reason these structures have been detrimental is that 

they were not controlled and had developed as the result of 

improper or insuffi cient processing. The current research is 

ANCHOR® 

A B R A S I V E S 

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aimed at the development of very specialized microstructures 

with specifi c properties. This may be strength, shear 

resistance, impact resistance or even specifi c electronic or 

magnetic characteristics. Much of this work is only beginning, 

but you can already fi nd technical articles in some of 

the scientifi c journals along with descriptions of potential 

applications and benefi ts. 

What Then? 

This has been an attempt to give everyone a brief idea 

of some of the work that is progressing in the materials fi eld. 

I have purposely left out the names of companies and most 

universities so that this does not sound like a commercial 

endorsement. My sole purpose is to stimulate thinking about 

what the future might hold for both metals and the spring 

industry. If you are interested in more information, you can 

contact me directly or simply type in some of the key words 

in your Internet search engine. You will fi nd far more details 

than could be included in this short discourse. 

As to how these technologies may apply to the spring 

industry – let your imagination run a little bit. It really does 

not take very much thought to see what computers have 

already meant to the industry. Some of the developments 

on the horizon mean that we will see increased control 

and degrees of freedom in the manufacturing process. The 

advancements that will be made in nanotechnology will 

make our current miniaturization efforts seem like child’s 


play. The advances in material technology that loom on 

the horizon will obviously affect the more expensive and 

specialized materials fi rst. However, such things have a way 

of spilling over into our everyday lives, and they are doing 

so at an ever-increasing pace. Even the cheapest of carbon 

steels will benefi t by the improvements that are now being 

made to the specialized materials. We have no choice in 

today’s world but to continuously strive for ways to make 

our products both better and more cost effi cient. In the long 

run, the technologies mentioned in this article will do both. 

And yet, if even a portion of the things that I have 

discussed comes to pass, I will again have to ask myself the 

question: What then? 

Terry Bartel earned his Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering 

from Michigan Technological University. Following 

graduate school, he spent four years as a materials scientist 

for the materials laboratory in the United States Air 

Force and Wright Patterson Air Force Base. He then joined 

National-Standard Co., where he worked as the manager of 

new product development for 20 years. In 1998, he joined 

Elgiloy Specialty Metals in Elgin, IL, where he is general 

manager of wire. Bartel has written numerous technical 

articles on phase transformations and materials applications, 

and is active in several metallurgical societies. 

Readers may contact him by phone at (847) 695-1900 or 

e-mail at terryb@elgiloy.com. �

Overseas 

The concurrent 

wire 2004 and 

Tube 2004 trade 

fairs in Düsseldorf, 

Germany, attracted 

more than 61,000 

visitors from 72 

countries, compared 

with 60,000 

in 2002. The fairs 

took place from March 29 to April 4, 

2004, and included 1,696 exhibitors – 

967 for wire and 729 for Tube. 

At wire 2004, visitors reported 

they were interested primarily in wire 

producing and fi nishing machinery 

(48%); materials, specialty wires and 

cables (37%); machines for producing 

wire products (23%) and process 

engineering tools (22%). The majority 

(81%) of visitors to 

wire 2004 came from 

industrial sectors. 

“This was the most 

successful trade fair we 

ever had in Düsseldorf. 

We are very satisfi ed,” 

says Dr. Horst Birkmann 

of Wafios AG, 

president of the 

International Wire 

and Cable Exhibitors 

Association 

(IWCEA). “We are 

very confi dent that 

the large number of 

quality contacts will 

turn into successful 

business deals. The 

trade fair in Düsseldorf 

has encouraged exhibitors 

to invest in the future.” 

The next concurrent 

staging of the wire and 

Tube shows will take 

place from April 24-28, 

2006, at the fairgrounds in 

Düsseldorf, Germany. 

Alloy Wire International, West Midlands, UK, recently 

purchased a new “in-line” annealing furnace from Meltech- 

Larmuth. This furnace will improve energy effi ciency and 

increase annealing capacity at the Brierley Hill site. 

Wafios AG, Reutlingen, Germany, has acquired the 

manufacturing rights to the tube bending machine product line 

of Trumpf Rohrtechnik GmbH + Co. KG (formerly Pulzer 

Biegetechnik GmbH), Reutlingen. As of July 15, 2003, Trumpf 

ceased development, production and sale of tube bending 

machine products. Wafi os and Trumpf are making every effort 

to ensure a seamless transition of responsibility. Wafi os has 

assumed responsibility for service and spare parts supply for 

all existing Trumpf/Pulzer tube machines worldwide. 

In acquiring the rights to the Trumpf tube-bending program, 

Wafi os AG has carried its tube strategy a step further. 

The addition of the Trumpf/Pulzer products to Wafi os’ existing 

wire and tube bending line expands the range of possible 

tube products the company can produce. Furthermore, Wafi os’ 

decades of experience in CNC bending technology can now 

be applied to an even wider range of products for the tube 

industry. Wafi os is represented in North America by Wafi os 

Machinery Corp. in Branford, CT. 

Overseas Events: 

Sept. 22-25, 2004: wire China, Shanghai, China; Messe 

Düsseldorf China, +86 21 62797338, www.wirechina.net. 

Sept. 24-27, 2004: Australasian Wire Industry 

Association Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, AWIA, 

+61 2 94849856. 

Oct. 26-30, 2004: EuroBLECH 2004, Hanover, Germany; 

Mack Brooks, +44 (0) 1707 278200, www.euroblech.com. 

Nov. 10-12, 2004: Wire Asia, Shanghai, China; Mack 

Brooks, +44 (0) 1707 278 200, www.mackbrooks.co.uk. 

June 7-10, 2005: Machine Components 2005, Shanghai, 

China; Business & Industrial Trade Fairs, (852) 2865 2633. 

June 9-12, 2005: Mould & Die Asia 2005, Hong Kong, 

China; Business & Industrial Trade Fairs, (852) 2865 2633, 

www.mould-die.com. 

Dec. 6-9, 2005: FabForm 05, Nuremberg, Germany; 

Mack Brooks, +44 (0) 1707 278200, www.mackbrooks. 

co.uk. 

North America 

Industrial Steel and Wire Co. in Chicago, IL, has 

appointed Lena Alvaladero and Amy Leska to the customer 

service team. Alvaladero has been with the company for over 

12 years and has held a variety of positions. Leska joined 

the company in 2004 and brings over six years of experience 

from the cable industry. 


Pyromaitre Inc. in St-Nicolas, Quebec, has announced it 

has been assessed and found to comply with the requirements 

of ISO 9001:2000. The company is registered at the Bureau 

de normalization du Quebec. 

DelStar Technologies Inc., in Middletown, DE, has 

acquired the assets of Industrial Research Machine Products 

LLC and Coretec Plastics Inc. Both are privately held manufacturers 

and marketers of extruded profi le tubes and cores, 

serving the fi ltration and industrial markets. DelStar will keep 

the acquired manufacturing and sales operations of both companies 

at their current locations in El Cajon, CA, and Richland, 

PA. DelStar has other manufacturing facilities in Middletown, 

DE, and Austin, TX, as well as sales offi ces and technical 

support in Bristol, England and Shanghai, China. The DelStar 

product line includes Naltex plastic netting sleeves to protect 

and separate springs and other products. 

DoAll Co. in Des Plaines, IL, 

has named John Mullin as chief 

operating offi cer of the company. 

Mullin has the company-wide 

responsibility for all operations and 

will oversee the restructuring of 

DoAll’s distribution organization. 

This will include the development 

of a regional distribution network 

and the implementation of a new 

communications system that will increase customer service 

levels in the call centers. He has more than 20 years of experience 

in logistics, operations and hands-on management of 

multi-national distribution companies. 

Hudapack Metal Treating Inc., in Elkhorn, WI, has 

expanded its capabilities and capacity by acquiring the assets 

of Midland Metal Treating Inc. in Franklin, WI. Hudapack 

Metal Treating has a substantial aluminum heat-treating capability 

along with induction and atmosphere processing. The 

new acquisition is named Hudapack Franklin and provides 

the additional capacity of 40 heat-treating units and 40,000 

square feet to Hudapack Metal Treating’s current plants in 

Elkhorn and Glendale Heights, IL. Hudapack Franklin, along 

with the other two plants, is registered to ISO 9000-2000. 

Metal Coatings International in Chardon, OH, has 

achieved compliance with the ISO 9001:2000 standard. The 

scope of the registration includes the design, development 

and manufacturing of specialty coatings for the worldwide 

market. The company also has manufacturing facilities in 

Japan, France, Brazil and Mexico. 

Victor Lam has been appointed chemist in the research 

and development department. He will develop new topcoats 

and make improvements to existing products. He has 

a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of 

Wisconsin-Madison. 


In addition, Christian Schiele has been promoted to the 

position of customer quality coordinator at Metal Coatings. 

He will conduct the quality audit program, the customer 

satisfaction ISO activity and the formal training of licensee 

personnel in the technology seminar programs. Schiele has 

been a technical service engineer for metal coatings’ Geomet 

and Dacromet lines of corrosion resistant coatings for over 

three years. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from Kent 

State University. 

The management of Colonial/Handee Spring LLC and 

Triple A Spring Ltd., in Bristol, CT, have announced the 

merger of the two companies. Operations will continue under 

the name of Colonial/Handee Spring LLC in the facility at 

95 Valley St., Bristol. Colonial/Handee has been in business 

since 1946 and is ISO 9001:2000 certifi ed. The company 

works extensively with various industries, including aerospace, 

automotive, electrical/electronic, hardware, mining, packaging 

and plumbing. Its capabilities include compression, extension 

and torsion springs; fl at springs; wave washers; stampings; and 

prototype development. 

Triple A Spring Ltd. was founded in 1956 and works 

closely with the lighting, HVAC, military, automotive and fastener 

industries. Its capabilities include fourslide parts, torsion 

springs, wire forms, prototype development and assemblies. 

Triple A Spring has developed various product stocking and 

replenishment programs to dovetail with customer requirements 

for kan-ban or pull-type inventory, long-term contracts, 

safety stock, and blanket orders. 

Customer service contacts Terri Bentley and Michelle 

Ross will continue to serve customers, who can reach them at 

their existing phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. 

Production personnel will also remain with the company. 

Peterson American Corp., in Southfield, MI, has 

announced the successful completion of the ISO 14001 audit of 

the Maumee plant in Holland, OH. Other Peterson facilities that 

have achieved ISO 14001 certifi cation are the Heath, Kingsville, 

Windsor, CIMA, Madison Heights and Troy plants. 

Two officers of the Chicago Association of Spring 

Manufacturers Inc. (CASMI) have been promoted within 

their companies: Joe Sirovatka serves as secretary/treasurer 

of CASMI and has recently been named president of Lewis 

Spring Co. He has been with Lewis for seven years and has 

served as vice president of manufacturing and other key positions 

within the company. Bill King, CASMI director, has 

been promoted vice president of manufacturing of Dudek & 

Bock Spring Manufacturing Co. He has also served as general 

manager and other positions during his four years of employment 

with Dudek. 

CASMI’s Spring World 2004 trade show is coming to 

Rosemont, IL, October 14-15. The show is held at the Donald 

E. Stephens Convention Center, near Chicago’s O’Hare International 

Airport. “More exhibitors are being added every week,

and we are approaching the level of participation seen in 2002,” 

says CASMI executive director Gerald Reese. This means that 

choice of available space is more limited. If you are planning 

to exhibit at Spring World 2004, check out space available at 

www.springworld.org. Click on the top tab “To Exhibit” and 

then click “Booth Space” in the left margin of the fl oor plan. 

Red-colored space is sold, and blue-colored space is available. 

You can reserve space online, call (847) 433-1335 or e-mail 

info@casmi.org. 

Attendees have indicated that there is much to learn on 

the exhibit fl oor by talking to exhibitors and other attendees. 

CASMI is organizing a program to provide visitors with 

answers to their technical and business management questions 

by directing them to exhibitors and other attendees who 

can provide specifi c information. The concept is that visitors 

can get answers to many of their business questions from 

exhibitors and other industry professionals. CASMI will set 

up centers where spring manufacturers and wire formers can 

bring their questions and be directed to those who can supply 

the answers. The idea is to maximize the value of time spent 

in Rosemont for attendees and exhibitors alike. 

The HS Spring Group in 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 

has announced that Patricia 

(Patty) Switaj has joined 

the company as executive 

account manager for the HS 

Spring Automotive Division. 

She brings to HS Spring 15 

years of outside sales experience 

in the automotive 

industry, including spring 

and regulator spring sales for 

the last six years. Her work experience also includes 

various supervisory positions in manufacturing, quality 

assurance, inside sales and marketing. In addition, 

Switaj has a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology 

and a master’s degree in general administration from 

Central Michigan University. Her offi ce is located in 

the Detroit, MI, area. 

Gordon L. Ritter executive vice president of 

Automatic Spring Products Corp. in Grand Haven, 

MI, has announced his retirement on June 25, 2004, 

after 39 years with the company. 

Ritter holds a bachelor of science degree in accountancy 

from the University of Illinois and a master’s 

degree in business administration from Grand Valley 

State College. He is a Certifi ed Jonah by the Goldratt 

Institute. Among his many other achievements, he is 

the longest serving member of the Springs magazine 

committee. He most recently received the Outstanding 

Citizen Award from the Chamber of Commerce. He 

plans to enjoy spending time with his wife, Eileen; and 

their children and grandchildren. 

The Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI) is offering 

two online seminars. The fi rst is on June 29 and will concentrate 

on Machine Guarding. OSHA maintains that guarding must 

be made a part of each setup routine. This seminar concentrates 

on the most typical types of equipment found in springmaking 

facilities and various methods of guarding that have been 

acceptable to some OSHA inspectors without establishing a 

precedent. The seminar will be taught by Jim Wood, SMI regulations 

compliance manager. SMI is also offering a seminar on 

July 27 concentrating on Fundamentals of Failure Analysis. 

This seminar will concentrate on what leads to failure mode 

and how to avoid it. It will be taught by Luke Zubek, SMI 

technical director. For information on these seminars, contact 

SMI by phone at (630) 495-8588, fax at (630) 495-8595 or 

e-mail at services@smihq.org. 

Anchor Abrasives Co. in Tinley Park, IL, has announced 

that it has successfully made the transition to the ISO 9001:2000 

standard. The registrar was ABS Quality Evaluations. Anchor 

Abrasives specializes in the design and manufacture of 

resin, epoxy, and oxychloride-bonded nut inserted discs and 

cylinders. The products grind a variety of bearings, springs, 

ceramics, cutlery, hand tools and automotive parts. 


Bristol Spring Manufacturing Co., in Plainville, CT, has 

announced that Intertek Testing Services has certifi ed Bristol 

Spring’s quality-management system to the quality standards 

of ISO 9001:2000. Bristol Spring is a manufacturer of precision 

custom wire forms, coil springs, torsion springs, double 

torsion springs, extension springs, fourslide stampings, power 

press stampings and assemblies. 

Electronics Inc., in Mishawaka, IN, will be conducting 

its 14 th annual Shot Peening and Blast Cleaning Workshop 

and Trade Show on Oct. 26, 27 and 28 in Dearborn, MI. The 

workshop is three days of intensive instruction on all aspects 

of the shot peening and blast cleaning industry. Topics covered 

include: Peening Theory, Equipment, Applications and 

Practice; Machine Setups; Almen Gage Practice, Auxiliary 

Equipment; Statistical Process Control; Understanding Specs 

and Prints; Machine Maintenance; Blast Cleaning Tips and 

Techniques; Masking Techniques; and Training for Auditors 

and Inspectors. The trade show will feature companies that 

provide products and services to the shot peening and blast 

cleaning industry. Attendees are product design engineers, 

machine operators, foremen, supervisors, maintenance staff 

and quality control engineers from around the world that 

want to improve the quality and control of their shot peening 

and blast cleaning processes. For information, contact Electronics 

Inc. by phone at (800) 832-5653 or Web site at www. 

shotpeener.com/EI. 


Wire Rope Corp. of America (WRCA), in St. Joseph, 

MO, recently underwent an independent audit to upgrade the 

company’s quality certifi cation to ISO 9001:2000. WRCA 

manufactures wire rope and specialty lifting products, and is 

the largest producer of wire rope in North America. The audit 

was conducted by SRI International, a quality system assessment 

service and Quality System Registrar. With the new ISO 

certifi cation, WRCA remains the only wire rope manufacturer 

in the world to be QPL Qualifi ed and certifi ed by both API and 

ISO, according to the company. 

North America Events: 

June 29, 2004: Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI), 

Machine Guarding, online seminar (630) 495-8595, www. 

smihq.org. 

July 27, 2004: Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI), 

Fundamentals of Failure Analysis, online seminar (630) 

495-8588, www.smihq.org. 

Oct. 12-13, 2004: Society of Manufacturing Engineers 

(SME), Alternative & Advanced Energy Technologies: 

Manufacturing Challenges & Opportunities, Dearborn, MI; 

(800) 733-4763, www.sme.org/aet. 

Oct. 14-15, 2004: Chicago Association of Spring Manufacturers 

(CASMI), Spring World 2004, Rosemont, IL; (847) 

433-1335, www.springworld.org. 

Oct. 26-28, 2004: Fabtech International, Cleveland, OH; 

(800) 733-4763, www.sme.org/fabtech. 

Nov. 13-16, 2005: Fabtech International, Chicago, IL 

(800) 733-4763, www.sme.org. 

Correction: In the article “Material Market Shakeup” 

written by Raquel Chole in the April 2004 issue, David Merrills’ 

name was misspelled. Merrills is the vice president 

– national customer service manager of Industrial Steel & Wire 

Co., Bristol, CT. Springs regrets the error. 

It is with deep regret that Springs magazine 

announces the passing of two distinguished members 

of our industry: 

In January 2004, Edward E. “Bud” Laird, 

founder of three Connecticut wire businesses died. 

He started Connecticut Wire Machinery Co., New 

England Wire Co. and United Wire Co. Inc. Laird 

retired from United Wire in 2003. He is survived by 

his wife, Helen; three children; 14 grandchildren and 

three great-grandchildren. 

In May 2004, Louis E. Palazzo, founder of 

Imperial Spring, Milldale, CT, died. Serving as the 

company’s fi rst president and most recent chairman, 

he remained active in special engineering projects 

until recently. He was past president of both the New 

England Spring and Metal Stamping Associations. He 

is survived by his wife, Mary, fi ve sons, Louis, Larry, 

Paul, Michael and Benjamin and fi ve grandchildren.

Canadian Springmakers Fight Duties on Imported Stainless 

The Spring Manufacturers Association of Canada (SMA) is working to overturn an April 2004 ruling by the 

Canada Border Services Agency applying dumping duties of up to 108 percent on all grades of stainless steel wire 

imported into Canada. The duties were imposed in response to an application by Central Wire Industries Ltd. 

SMA president Don Brouillard of Newcomb Spring in Mississauga, Ontario, says, “The impact of this ruling will 

grievously harm the Canadian spring industry. As an association, we do not understand how Central Wire Industries 

Ltd. can service the Canadian spring industry. The do not produce, to our knowledge, nickel-coated wire and do 

not have the structure in place to respond to the small-volume immediate requirements that can only be supplied by 

warehouse suppliers.” The SMA urged all Canadian spring manufacturers to fi le a Request for Product Exclusion 

with the government and to contact their Member of Parliament. 

The Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI) supports these efforts, and submitted the following letter on April 

20, 2004, in support of its member spring companies in Canada: 

The Secretary 

Canadian International Trade Tribunal 

Standard Life Centre 

333 Laurier Ave. West 15th Floor 

Ottawa, ON K1A 0-G7 

Canada 

Attn: Susanne Grimes, Acting Secretary 

Re: Stainless Steel Tariffs, Tribunal Inquiry No. NQ 2004 001 

Dear Ms. Grimes: 

The Spring Manufacturers Institute urges you to look closely at the reason for the tariff on stainless steel and 

then at the companies it will hurt most. It is our understanding that the tariff is aimed largely at annealed stainless 

wire, but erroneously impacts spring wire, which is an entirely different commodity. We urge you to reconsider this 

judgment and relieve Canadian spring makers from this unintended burden. 

I write on behalf of the 24 Canadian members of the Spring Manufacturers Institute. We are a trade organization 

comprised of companies located in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Part of our goal is helping our members 

remain competitive in a world manufacturing market. 

We ask how much more diffi cult can the government make the conduct of business in your country? Spring 

manufacturers in both of our countries are already subjected to increasing prices for steel and additional surcharges 

as a result of material shortages and other economic factors. The new Canadian import duty of up to 108 percent, 

which is being levied on our members who purchase stainless steel spring temper wire outside of Canada, only makes 

the spring industry more non-competitive. 

This is a result of an anti-dumping case recently waged by Central Wire Co. Is this really the intent of the action 

by Central Wire? How are our Canadian brothers supposed to remain competitive, or even in business, with the 

imposition of tariffs such as we have seen in the last two weeks? 

The world needs a level playing fi eld on which to compete. We hope that this misguided attempt will be corrected. 

Otherwise, we fear the loss of not only valuable jobs, but also whole companies. 

Sincerely, 

David E. Weber, President 

Spring Manufacturers Institute 


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Spring Business Showing Positive Signs 

The corner is clearly in sight. Now the question is whether 

we’ve turned it or not. 

There is ample evidence that things are getting better. 

Based on an unscientifi c study that consisted of informal 

talks with springmakers, it seems like the fi rst quarter of 

2004 continued a growth pattern that started to evolve in late 

2003. 

Grudgingly, springmakers concede that business is “OK,” 

or “actually pretty good right now;” or “margins aren’t great, 

but at least there are margins.” 

Following a brief and preliminary review of the responses 

to the fi rst-quarter SMI Key Business Trends survey, it seems 

like the majority of North American springmakers saw business 

increase from the last quarter. Generally speaking, the survey 

is showing that fewer companies are experiencing decreases; 

while those with increases are matching those that feel business 

is plateauing. So to paraphrase, “If it ain’t going down, then it 

must be going up”…or something like that. 

This trend seems to be refl ected in other performancesensitive 

areas: Cancellations remain steady to decreasing, 

while lead times and average hours are both equally up. 

Lead times are especially intriguing. The fi rst-quarter 

lead-time increase is the largest such increase in several 

quarters. Hopefully, this signals the start of a period in which 

springmakers can begin planning rather than adjusting to dayby-day, 

or week-by-week schedules. As long as cancellations 

remain in check, the springmaking business may be witnessing 

a resurgence. 

Unfortunately, it’s “always something.” In this instance, it’s 

steel prices, shortages and surcharges that are dampening the 

prospects for long-term prosperity. However, indications are that 

the steel issue will moderate in the second quarter. � 

Congressional Help on the Way 

U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), chair of the Small 

Business Committee, has authored the SMART (Small Manufacturers 

Assistance, Recovery and Trade) Act. The bill (S.1977) 

now in committee, includes several promising elements: 

Ken Boyce is the executive vice 

president of the Spring Manufacturers 

Institute. He brings more than 20 years 

of association management experience 

to the institute and has achieved the 

Association Forum of Chicagoland’s 

Certifi ed Association Executive designation. 

Readers may contact Boyce 

by phone at (630) 495-8588 or fax at 

(630) 495-8595. 

• Establishment of an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 

Manufacturing and Services in the Commerce Department. On 

April 8, the Administration announced its intent to nominate 

Al Frink for this position. He is co-founder and executive vice 

president of Fabrica International, a manufacturer of carpets 

and rugs, in Orange County, CA. Thirty years ago, Frink helped 

lead the business into an internationally recognized company. 

Fabrica’s commitment to R&D has helped the company grow in 

the last decade and stay on the cutting edge. Fabrica has been 

in business since 1974 and employs more than 400 people. 

• Formation of an Interagency Manufacturing Task Force 

comprised of representatives from the Departments of Treasury, 

Defense, Energy, Health and Human services, Homeland 

Security and Labor; Environmental Protection Agency and 

Small Business Administration; plus a representative of the 

president’s executive staff and two additional presidential 

nominees. 

• Appointment of an Assistant U.S. Trade Representative 

for Small Business who will promote trade interests for small 

businesses and ensure their concerns are considered in trade 

negotiations. 

• Establishment of a Small Business Manufacturing Task 

Force to evaluate and identify whether additional programs and 

services are necessary, as well as identify and propose policies 

that support small business. 

• Creation of a Small Business Loan Program for exporters. 

Of course, the economy is fragile and vulnerable to almost 

any kind of setback. The Chinese policy on its monetary 

manipulations remains troubling. Multinational corporate fl ight 

to China and other low-cost countries is also hampering job 

growth and profi t potential. Election year economic policies 

also make interesting reading. Only a naïve idealist would 

claim victory at this point. But we can’t ignore the positive 

signs that are coming at us on a more regular basis. � 

World Spring Industry Cooperation 

International issues within the spring industry are glowing 

with positive benefi ts. SMI representatives Dave Weber of AV 

Weber Co., Dan Sebastian of MW Industries and myself met 

with representatives of the Japanese Spring Manufacturers 

Association and the European Spring Federation during a 

meeting in Düsseldorf in April. 

Topic for discussion was the development of international 

standards for springs. Five years ago, we discussed the global 

marketplace and the wonderful prospects for U.S. companies. 

No one envisioned the severity of competition that would 

jump out at us from the Internet. However, as our customers 

– and their customers – take on a global scope, we need to 


create a set of standards that can both protect us and guide us 

in pursuit of those international markets. 

An agreed-upon standard for compression springs is about 

ready for submission to ISO. On the international “to do” list 

are proposed standards for drawings, extension and torsion 

springs, testing procedures and other items. 

It’s a slow process because of the necessity of translating 

different languages, but eventually the spring industry will be 

united by a set of technical standards. � 


Study Shows How 100 Small Manufacturers 

Thrive Despite Offshoring 

For the past four months, spring industry business has been 

brisk and margins actually exist. In fact, lead times are getting 

longer, too. That means springmakers can begin planning for 

the future, a little bit. 

During a recent conference, “Real World Strategies for 

Competing in a Global Marketplace,” which was sponsored by 

the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), we heard 

that China is not invulnerable. There are successful companies 

employing new strategies to position 

themselves against the growing infl ux 

of Chinese imports. 

Ben Vickery of the Manufacturing 

Extension Partnership outlined 

proof that: 

1. U.S. manufacturers have 

advantages, too. 

2. It is not always economic to 

manufacture in China. 

3. The growing Chinese domestic 

market is also an opportunity. 

4. Not all of China’s advantages 

are sustainable. 

When spring manufacturers 

negotiate with customers, it may be 

wise to spell out some of the issues 

that favor U.S. manufacturers. Unfortunately, 

many multinationals only 

view today’s balance sheet or look for 

quarterly results. For that reason, the 

multinationals are after quick fi xes or 

spikes rather than long-term benefi ts 

and relationships. It is necessary to 

break through that bias, and Vickery 

provides some insights and details on 

evidence that points in our favor. 

For instance, it is certainly fi nancially 

advantageous to deal with 

customers that are nearby. Reduced 

freight and lower inventory are 

benefi ts that accrue to business relationships 

with nearby companies. In 

addition, springmakers can point out 

the benefi ts of JIT, quick turnaround 

and customization as reasons to place 

orders locally – not to mention U.S. 

innovation, manufacturing capabilities 

and quality. 

The hidden costs of dealing with 

low-labor-cost countries like China 

often come as a surprise to OEMs 

because of logistics, penalties and 

fees such as: added freight costs, 

duties, fees and carrying costs; and

costs related to communication and management oversight. 

There are risk factors at work, too. 

OEMs should be reminded of risks involved with: 

• Business ethics. 

• Legal hassles. 

• Corruption. 

• Intellectual property theft. 

• Currency shifts and political instability. 

• Inadequate infrastructure. 

Certainly, the growth of the Chinese domestic market 

requires attention. Within the foreseeable future, we expect the 

Chinese middle class to grow substantially. This growth will 

require more product remaining within the nation’s borders 

and reduce the availability of exports. 

The domestic growth will eat away some of China’s 

“advantages.” As population moves into the cities for better 

paying jobs, the Chinese government will be forced to redirect 

its efforts to focus on social issues. As domestic pressures 

grow, the state-controlled banking system will be stressed. 

China’s safety-net practice of covering fi rms by state-owned 

banks will sustain greater pressure, and China may be forced 

by international pressure to revalue its currency to refl ect 

market-driven valuation. 

A revalued yuan would result in China’s losing a 25 to 40 

percent currency advantage, thereby making U.S. exports more 

favorable and decreasing the value of China’s exports. 

U.S. competitiveness doesn’t stop here, says Melissa 

Kelly-McCabe of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 

which conducted a study of 100 successful small and mediumsized 

manufacturers. These companies use certain strategies 

to remain profi table and successful. 

These strategies are not “quick fi xes.” Readers who have 

stayed this far into the article but who want an easy way out 

of our economic issues should stop reading about now. 

McCabe and the MEP are pretty smart. They are adamant 

that lean manufacturing, automation dependence and reduced 

margins alone will not succeed against Chinese manufacturing. 

McCabe says the most successful, adaptive companies build 

their strategies upon a three-corner plan: 

1. Focus on specialized product or process capabilities. 

2. Develop a unique, innovative product or process technology. 

3. Choose customers wisely, especially those with proximity 

needs. 

Toughest of all is the need to differentiate your company 

from all others. Strategy No. 1 requires a manufacturer to 

search its soul to fi nd that capability that allows it to differentiate 

itself. Does the ability to form metal parts translate 

into some other manufacturing capability that augments your 

springmaking talents? Find a niche, and aggressively serve 

and expand into that niche. Holding a niche position allows a 

company to build a more secure customer base and to generate 

meaningful margins. 

Actually, this recommendation is easier to suggest than 

implement. But it’s critical to long-term success. 

Other strategies include developing a unique product or 

process and, fi nally, targeting business where proximity to the 

customer provides service advantage. 

Right now, about midway through 2004, it is diffi cult to 

predict the future trends awaiting business and manufacturing. 

Today’s strength is taken for granted tomorrow. So staying 

ahead of trends is important, and that requires risk taking. 

However, every entrepreneur has taken risks and understands 

the risk-reward payback. 

Furthermore, the fl ash of a new product or innovation lasts 

only briefl y before others try to duplicate. So innovation and 

product development is an ongoing venture. 

The way we do business has changed. And we must adapt 

to remain competitive. Adaptive companies have a greater 

chance of future survival, regardless of China’s manufacturing 

capabilities or any future disruptive forces. Such companies: 

• Expect change and proactively manage it. 

• Are forward-looking. 

• Assess new opportunities, even when times are good. 

• Anticipate and respond to market changes. 

• Find new competitive advantages. 

• Are constantly evolving. 

The profi le of adaptive companies is quite distinctive. 

They keep a fi nger on the pulse and evaluate the viability of 

current customers, or shift to new customers and markets that 

offer better opportunities. It is important to stay close to the 

customer and get to know what’s happening so you know well 

in advance about any signifi cant shifts that may occur. Successful, 

adaptive companies spread the risk by diversifying 

the customer base and they aggressively sell and market. Most 

importantly, they understand and shift competitive advantages. 

Adaptive companies also take risks. Owners need a vision and 

occasionally must make a leap of faith. 

We have changed. Our products and services have 

changed. Staying ahead requires change. However, with these 

recommendations and suggestions, we can realize that we have 

a plan to get ahead and continue our long-term success. � 

SMI Technical Program Expands 

Associations work against the tide. 

It’s when conditions are toughest that associations have to 

generate the greatest support for the membership. 

SMI has added Luke Zubek, a 10-year veteran of Inland 

Steel, to its staff as a full-time technical director. An expert in 

failure analysis and metallurgy, Luke brings a new capability 

to the SMI list of services. 

Previously, Michael Limb provided much technical support 

on a part-time consultant basis. His efforts on behalf of 

SMI meant the services needed to be expanded as the scope 

of variety of technical projects increased. 

We envision Luke providing invaluable support to the 

members and springmakers throughout North America. 

He will present his fi rst educational program on Failure 

Analysis via Webcast on July 24. Visit www.smihq.org for a 

complete description and registration information. � 


SMI Staff Focus 

Luke Zubek 

Technical Director 

Family: Wife, Sue. Two girls: Eve, 21 months, and 

Sonya, 4 months. 

Started at SMI in: April 2004. 

Before that, I was: Working for Ispat Inland 

Bar Products. 

My most outstanding qualities are: Persistence 

and sense of humor. 

Favorite pastimes/hobbies: Fishing, raising 

two wonderful girls, snowboarding and triathlons. 

If I weren’t working at SMI, I would: Be 

fi shing. 

If I were stranded on a desert island, I 

would want these three things with me: My 

wife and two children. 

Best times of my life: Watching my daughter’s 

fi rst steps. 

I knew I was an adult when: I made my fi rst 

car payment. 

The one thing I can’t stand is: Tin foil. It’s Sonya, Sue, Luke and Eve Zubek. 

not made out of tin! 

A really great evening to me is: A really good blues band. 

Favorite book/author: “A Deepness in the Sky” by Vernor Vinge. 

Favorite song/artist: There are so many good musicians out there; it’s diffi cult to choose. I’m a big fan of Buddy 

Guy, Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal. 

Favorite food: Rare, blackened New York strip steak. 

I’d like to be remembered at SMI for: Being at the right place at the right time. 

But people will probably remember me for: Being the fi rst full-time on-staff technical director. � 

SMI Elects Board of Directors 

On May 4 at the SMI Spring Convention in Savannah, 

GA, the membership held its board of directors election. The 

new 32-person board includes six members who have never 

before held board seats and four others who are returning to 

the board after a period of time away. 

All directors serve two-year terms and are eligible for reelection 

at the end of the fi rst term. Following completion of 

a second consecutive term, a board member must vacate his 

seat for a minimum of one year. 

Directors 

Canada Region 

Jeff Wharin, Bohne Spring (2005) 

Chicago Region 

Dennis Backhaus, Spiros Industries (2005) 

S.J. Banas, Stanley Spring and Stamping (2006) 

Rick Richter, R-R Spring (2005) 

Michigan Region 

Gerald Baker, Michigan Spring (2006) 

Steve Moreland, Automatic Spring (2006) 

Mid-Atlantic Region 

John Petry, Sandvik (2006) 

New England Region 

Bud Funk Jr., Fourslide Spring Products (2006) 

Richard Rubenstein, Plymouth Spring (2005) 


Pittsburgh-Ohio Region 

Russ Bryer, Spring Team (2006) 

Gary Dickerhoof, Yost Superior (2005) 

Southeast Region 

Tom Armstrong, Duer/Carolina Coil (2005) 

Southwest Region 

Ron Curry, Gifford Spring (2006) 

Kevin Grace, SEI Metal Tek (2006) 

Ron Hubbard, Newcomb Spring of Texas (2005) 

West Region 

Mike Betts, Betts Spring (2006) 

Bert Goering, Precision Coil Spring (2006) 

Directors At Large 

Reb Banas, Stanley Spring & Stamping (2006) 

Ron Banas, Stanley Spring & Stamping (2006) 

Tim Bianco, Iowa Spring (2006) 

Tom Fodell, Associated Spring (2005) 

Linda Froehlich, Ace Wire Spring (2006) 

Mark Habicht, Kirk-Habicht (2006) 

Kirk Manning, Haldex Gatphyttan (2006) 

Scott Rankin, Vulcan Spring & Manufacturing (2006) 

Ted White, Hardware Products (2006) 

Tim Zwit, CCS Trading (2006) 

Executive Offi cers 

Dave Weber, AV Weber, president 

Dan Sebastian, MW Industries, vice president 

Maurie Johnson, Precision Products Group, secretary/treasurer 

Ken Boyce, SMI, executive vice president �

Titanium suspension springs offer lower 

weight and excellent corrosion resistance 

The 2004 Ferrari Challenge Stradale, 

recently introduced in the U.S., is the 

fi rst automobile sold in America to employ 

titanium suspension springs, and the fi rst 

production car anywhere to use titanium for 

both front and rear suspension springs. The 

titanium springs are part of a design strategy 

to minimize weight and maximize performance 

by focusing on lightweight materials 

and advanced fabrication technologies. 

CIMA S.p.A., San Salvo, Italy, produced 

the springs from elastically wound coils of 

Timetal LCB supplied by Timet Automotive, 

Morgantown, PA. 

The Challenge Stradale, which was 

derived from the Ferrari 360 Modena, breaks new ground 

in the use of titanium. Titanium has long been used for 

connecting rods in Ferrari engines due to the performance 

benefi ts provided by the metal’s exceptional strength and 

very low mass, which is especially advantageous for reciprocating 

parts. On the Challenge Stradale, titanium is used 

for the fi rst time on a production sports car for the suspension 

springs and the wheel bolts, to take further advantage 

of its high strength and low mass. The titanium front springs 

yield a 39% weight savings over the Modena’s high strength 

steel, and the rears, which are a complex dual-rate design, 

yield a 28% savings. But Ferrari also designed the titanium 

springs to be 20% stiffer than the steel springs on the 360 

Modena. In general, higher stiffness means a spring must 

accommodate more load carrying capability with less defl ection. 

In most spring designs, this means additional material 

(and mass) is required. For an apples-to-apples comparison, 

had the titanium Challenge Stradale springs been the same 

stiffness as the steel springs on the Modena, the weight savings 

would have been even greater at 52% for the fronts and 

42% for the rears. 

Aerospace Performance, Automotive Processing 

Titanium alloy springs, produced primarily from Beta-C 

titanium (Ti-3Al-8V-6Cr-4Mo-4Zr), have long been used 

in aerospace applications because of their high strength and 

SPRINGS July 2004

very low mass. But high strength has been achieved in the 

aerospace alloys only through extensive, time consuming and 

costly materials processing – numerous cold work steps or 

long age treatments (24 hour cycles for the fi nished parts is 

common), or both – that would be prohibitive in automotive 

production. The Challenge Stradale titanium springs are produced 

from Timetal LCB titanium (Ti-6.8Mo-4.5Fe-1.5Al), a 

patented alloy specifi cally developed by Timet for automotive 

springs. The high strength of the material is attributable to 

alloy chemistry rather than additional processing procedures. 

Extensive cold work and extended aging are not required. 

Age times are compatible with the thermal cycles available in 

the existing infrastructure for steel spring processing. 

While being the basis for its high strength, the unique 

alloy chemistry of Timetal LCB offers other benefi ts as well: 

lower cost (LCB stands for Low Cost Beta) and exceptional 

performance. The alloying constituents used in the material 

Reduced Unsprung Weight 

and the Value of Titanium Springs 

The importance of unsprung weight vs. sprung weight to vehicle performance 

is not always clearly understood, but if you have ever been roller skating, roller 

blading, snow skiing or water skiing, you are already familiar with the concept. 

Think of your foot, lower leg, ski and boot (or skate) as the unsprung weight. 

Your knee and leg muscles are the suspension and springs, and everything else 

is the sprung weight. If you hit an uneven surface or undulation while skiing or 

skating, your foot is either defl ected or unsupported, and your knee and leg try to 

accommodate the change in order to keep your body proceeding under control 

in the chosen direction. If the unevenness or undulation is too abrupt, your skate 

or ski will lose contact altogether, and the results may be dramatic. The outcome 

will be determined by a variety of factors, including your weight and leg strength; 

the speed; the size of the defl ection; and the weight of the skate (or ski and boot), foot and lower leg. 

Now imagine what would happen if the unsprung weight was increased by adding a 50 lb. weight to each foot. The shock 

of hitting the uneven surface would be greatly increased, and the inertia of the higher weight defl ected in a new direction would 

not be able to be easily controlled or overcome by the leg muscles. Depending on the weight of the skier or skater, a whole new 

path might be charted. 

However, if the unsprung weight could be reduced instead of increased, the shock would be lessened (because there would 

be less mass involved and it would be a lower proportion of total mass) and the defl ection could be more easily controlled as 

well. The skier or skater would be more comfortable, and better traction and directional stability could be maintained longer at a 

higher speed. 

While the analogy of the skier or skater and the automobile is hardly precise, the principles are the same. The unsprung 

weight of a car and its relationship to the sprung weight determine the ride and road-holding characteristics of the vehicle. If the 

unsprung weight is reduced in proportion to the total, these characteristics can be enhanced. 

Because suspension springs are typically considered half unsprung weight, half sprung weight, any reduction in spring weight 

can translate directly into improved ride and road-holding performance. Accordingly, the value of titanium springs to an automobile 

manufacturer must be measured with these performance benefi ts in mind in addition to typical cost-of-weight-saved 

measurements. When the total benefi ts of weight reduction, both total weight and unsprung weight, are considered – in addition 

to new packaging opportunities that titanium springs provide – selecting titanium springs may be one of the most cost-effective 

decisions a performance-driven manufacturer can make. 

Another less obvious benefi t of reduced spring weight should be considered as well: The option to use larger wheel and tire 

packages for better road-holding performance. Although larger wheels and tires can increase unsprung weight, use of titanium 

springs can help offset this increase. Thus, the manufacturer has more options for meeting the vehicle’s performance design goals. � 

SPRINGS July 2004 

are based on a ferro-molybdenum master alloy used widely 

in the steel industry. As such, they are substantially less 

expensive than the pure chromium, vanadium and molybdenum 

required for other beta titanium spring alloys. They 

result in production of a titanium alloy that is lower in cost, 

yet offers the performance expected of the beta aerospace 

alloys. Indeed, from a structural effi ciency standpoint, 

meaning spring response per unit of mass, the alloy’s low 

shear modulus (45% less than CrSi spring steel), combined 

with its high strength, makes it a superior material. 

While titanium springs have been used in aerospace for 

many years, titanium materials have only been available as 

straight bar or small, 100-pound coils – forms inappropriate 

for automobile production. Automotive spring producers 

work from a variety of incoming coil sizes, but 4,400 

lbs. is typical for a CrSi steel alloy coil. Timet Automotive 

developed new processes to provide automotive spring man-

ufacturers with Timetal LCB elastically wound coils in any 

size required, up to 1,800 lbs. (Due to density and modulus 

correction, an 1,800-lb. Timetal LCB coil makes the same 

number of springs as a 4,400-lb. CrSi steel alloy coil.) This 

gives high-volume spring manufacturers the option to wind 

titanium springs on automatic CNC spring winders with a 

manufacturing cost structure similar to that for steel. 

Prior to starting the Challenge Stradale design work, 

CIMA had never worked with titanium. CIMA and Timet 

worked together to optimize tooling modifi cations and 

special manufacturing parameters. After an initial learning 

curve, CIMA’s automatic CNC spring manufacturing from 

elastically wound titanium coils has become routine. 

Corrosion Eliminated, Handling Improved 

That titanium springs make an important contribution 

to vehicle total weight reduction is obvious, but they 

provide less obvious benefi ts as well. Reduction in the mass 

of the springs improves handling and ride characteristics. 

In suspension design, low relative unsprung weight (the 

weight of all the components between the road surface and 

the point where the suspension is attached to the chassis) is 

critical to traction and ride quality. The lower the unsprung 

weight, the faster these components can react to road surface 

undulations and irregularities, maintaining better traction 

and transfering less shock through the suspension to the 

body, thus improving the ride. Because of the semi-dynamic 

function they serve in the suspension design, springs are 

typically viewed as half sprung weight, half unsprung 

weight, so the use of titanium springs provides quantifi able 

ride and handling performance improvements in addition to 

vehicle total weight savings benefi ts. 

A Ferrari spokesperson also cited as important the 

exceptional corrosion benefi ts of titanium, noting that steel 

requires a protective coating that must withstand severe tests 

in order to assure satisfactory corrosion resistance during the 

life of the vehicle. In contrast, titanium exhibits essentially 

total immunity to corrosion in the automotive environment, 

and requires no time-consuming, environmentally sensitive 

and expensive paint or protective coating processing of any 

kind. Nor does it require the built-in corrosion allowance 

that actually adds weight to steel springs. The spokesperson 

also noted that, henceforth, titanium will be considered 

whenever weight reduction is a primary consideration. 

Kurt Faller is the president of Timet Automotive in Morgantown, 

PA, the automotive operation of Titanium Metals 

Corp. (Timet). Readers may contact Timet Automotive by 

phone at (610) 286-1200. 

CIMA S.p.A. is part of The Belfi n Group of companies, 

Milan, Italy. CIMA is a manufacturer of springs, specialized 

clamps, fasteners, shock absorbers, and other industrial and 

automotive products. Readers may contact CIMA by phone 

at +39 039 602 31 or Web site at www.cimabelfi n.com. � 

Ferrari Challenge Stradale Sheds 243 Pounds 

The Challenge Stradale is reminiscent of the earliest Ferrari approach to design and development, where the emphasis 

was on delivering the highest possible performance with few concessions made to luxury and extensive or elaborate creature 

comforts. The pursuit of exceptional performance for the street meant the application of engineering principles and practices 

normally employed in racecar development. In turn, that meant paying close attention to vehicle weight in order to optimize the 

horsepower-to-weight ratio. It is safe to say that had they been available, talking trip computers, unfolding cup holder clusters 

or multiple speaker stereos would not have been considered for inclusion. Racecar engineering was joined with Italian styling 

elegance, and the cars that resulted set a standard which continues today. The Challenge Stradale is the most recent embodiment 

of that standard. 

The Challenge Stradale weighs 243 lbs. less than the Ferrari 360 Modena from which it was derived. Its curb weight of 

2,822 lbs. is about 750 lbs. less than the Lamborghini Diablo VT (3,583 lbs.); 1,200 lbs. less than the Aston-Martin Vanquish (4,012 

lbs.); and 350 lbs. less than the Porsche “track lightweight” GT2 Turbo (3,174 lbs.) – all of which compete against it in price and 

performance. Its engine, based on the 90° V8 of the 360 Modena, is the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever built by Ferrari, 

producing 425 bhp at 8,500 rpm. 

The 360 Modena, introduced in 1999, was designed to achieve low weight combined with high chassis rigidity. To accomplish 

this goal, for the fi rst time in a production Ferrari, the body, chassis and primary suspension components were produced entirely 

from aluminum. This design approach using low-mass materials and advanced fabrication techniques suggested the direction for 

future production vehicles. 

The Challenge Stradale pushes the lightweight design objective of the 360 Modena even further for production cars, 

bringing together on one vehicle a range of advanced lightweight materials technologies. For example, carbon fi ber is used for 

structural parts, such as the fl oor pan, door panels and seat shells, as well as fi lter boxes, the exterior mirrors and various trim 

components. The brake discs are carbon-ceramic, achieving a 15% deceleration improvement while yielding a weight reduction of 

16%. And, for the fi rst time in a production car, titanium is used for front and rear suspension springs, as well as the wheel bolts, 

taking advantage of the metal’s unique high strength, low weight, high corrosion resistance characteristics. � 

SPRINGS July 2004

TiMET Automotive 

900 Hemlock Road 

Morgantown Business Park 

Morgantown, PA 19543 

610.286.1200 (tel) 

610.286.3831 (fax) 

A Division of Titanium Metals Corporation 

This article is reprinted from Springs, The International Magazine of Spring Manufacture 

a publication of the Spring Manufacturers Institute, July 2004, Vol. 43 No. 3. Copyright 2004.

Rise 

To meet today’s challenges with 

the competitive advantages 

SMI can bring you. 

Solve 

Learn 

Your problems with SMI’s 

technical resources. 

Through SMI’s educational 

programs. 

Connect 

To key relationships with others 

in your industry. 

Today’s economic challenges 

require a proactive response. 

Strengthen your company by 

joining SMI today. 

Visit www.smihq.org 

for more information 

or call (630) 495-8588. 

Grow 

Your company with SMI.

Noise is Hazardous 

OSHA’s Hearing Conservation standard and the lack of 

hearing protection rank near the top of all violations pertaining 

to personal protective equipment. Just issuing hearing 

protection devices to employees is not considered compliance 

to the program. Also, wearing hearing protection devices is not 

a voluntary program; it is much more complicated than that. 

All hearing conservation programs must be in writing, 

complete with a management statement explaining the dangers 

of industrial noise and the necessity for hearing protection. 

Furthermore, programs must make the use of hearing protection 

devices mandatory. 

Who are the Affected Employees? 

To determine which departments and/or employees the 

program would affect, you must conduct exposure monitoring 

in the various areas of your facility. Retain the services of an 

industrial hygienist (this is normally a free service provided 

by workers’ compensation insurance carriers) to take eighthour 

time-weighted average testing in any department that 

has a sound level reading of 85 decibels or more. Based on 

the results of the eight-hour testing, you can initiate a hearing 

conservation program. 

The Hearing Conservation standard establishes a permissible 

noise level of 90 decibels for eight hours and requires the 

employer to reduce exposure to that level by use of feasible 

engineering and/or administrative controls. However, all 

employees whose noise exposure equals or exceeds an eighthour 

time-weighted average of 85 decibels must be included 

in the hearing conservation program. 

Jim Wood is the regulations 

compliance manager for the Spring 

Manufacturers Institute (SMI). A 

certifi ed instructor of the OSHA Out- 

Reach Program, Wood has developed 

SMI Safety Audits, seminars and 

In-House Safety Training. These programs 

help companies in creating 

safer work environments, limiting 

OSHA/Canadian Ministry of Labor 

violations and insurance costs, and 

preparing for VPP or SHARP. Readers 

may contact Wood by phone at (630) 495-8597 or e-mail 

at regs@smihq.org. 

Be 

Aware 

Safety Tips 

from Jim Wood 

Hearing Program Procedures 

OSHA-compliant hearing conservation programs are 

comprised of the following fi ve basic components: 

1. Exposure monitoring to establish program guidelines. 

Employees are entitled to observe monitoring procedures and 

must be notifi ed of results. Employers must continue monitoring 

as product or process changes make it necessary. 

2. Audiometric testing of all affected employees. This provides 

an opportunity to educate employees about their hearing 

and the importance of protecting it. Establish a baseline, and 

monitor employees’ hearing annually. 

3. Hearing protection is mandatory. Let employees choose 

among the types of hearing protection devices that are suitable 

for their noise level; comfort encourages compliance. Employers 

must provide protection without cost to the employees. 

4. Train all affected employees annually. When workers 

understand the reason behind the hearing conservation program 

and the need to protect their hearing, they will be better 

motivated to actively participate in the program. They will also 

be more likely to cooperate by wearing their protectors and 

taking audiometric tests. Training must include the purpose, 

advantages and disadvantages of various types of hearing 

protectors; the selection, fi t and care of protectors; and the 

purpose and procedures of audiometric testing. 

5. Record Keeping. Noise-exposure measurement records 

must be kept for two years. Records of audiometric test results 

must be maintained for the duration of employment. Audiometric 

test records must include the name and job classifi cation 

of the employees, the date, the examiner’s name, date of last 

equipment calibration, measurement of background sound 

levels in audiometric test room, and the employees’ most recent 

noise exposure measurement. 

Jim’s Regulatory Tip 

As of Jan. 1, 2004, you should have begun documenting 

all Standard Threshold Shift (STS) cases that have results 

in a total 25-decibel level of hearing loss above audiometric 

zero by checking the hearing loss box (M)(5) on the 300 Log. 

Check the hearing loss column for all cases, whether they are 

the result of a one-time incident or cumulative over time. You 

will enter the total number of hearing loss cases on a specifi c 

line on the revised 300A Summary at the close of the 2004 

recording year. � 


Outsourcing Update 

Are the U.S. government, state governments and other groups working for or against the offshoring 

of jobs to countries with low labor costs? Let’s take a look at what’s currently on the table. 

The fervor surrounding outsourcing for the past few 

years quickly shifted to an uproar when in February 

2004, Gregory Mankiw, the U.S. president’s chief economic 

advisor, called outsourcing “a new way of doing international 

trade.” Since then, an infl ux of anti-outsourcing 

legislation has arisen on both the Federal and State level. 

Background 

Data shows that in 2000 the total number of U.S. 

jobs outsourced was 102,000, and in 2004 the number 

is approaching 300,000. By 2015, it is predicted that the 

number of jobs outsourced will grow to 3.3 million. This 

trend has been fueled in part by the large discrepancies in 

wages between the U.S. and other countries. For example, 

in the U.S. a telephone operator earns an average wage of 

$12.57 per hour, while at the same job in India a person 

earns less than $1 per hour. 

These differences can even be seen in fi elds such as 

Financial Analysis/Research, where in the U.S. a person 

averages a wage of $35 per hour, while in India the average 

is merely $6 per hour. The same trends can be seen for 

salary workers as well. A computer programmer in the U.S. 

earns, on average, $60,000 to $80,000 a year. In countries 

such as Poland and Hungry, computer programmers are 

compensated, on average, $4,800 to $8,000 annually. 

While the issue of outsourcing reaches far beyond lowwage 

wars, the following focus on wages and job loss arose 

due to the increasing effect outsourcing has on the U.S. 

manufacturing sector. 

Effects occurring due to emerging markets and the 

relocation of supply chains do attribute to outsourcing; however, 

reliable data with the ability to quantify these effects is 

currently unavailable. The same lack of data is also true in 

the scope of the increasing cost of raw materials in the U.S., 

which is also cited as a reason for the increasing amount of 

outsourcing taking place. 

Bush Administration 

The Bush Administration’s comments support outsourcing. 

Time and time again, President Bush and members 

of the Administration, such as Secretary of Treasury John 

Snow, Secretary of Commerce Don Evans and Gregory 

Mankiw, chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic 

Advisors, have championed outsourcing as a means for the 


By John Guzik 

Williams Mullen Strategies 

U.S. economy to become more competitive and effi cient. 

The Administration is fearful of enacting anti-outsourcing 

measures that may bring U.S. economic isolationism and/or 

international backlash. 

U.S. Congress 

Both chambers of Congress have taken up the issue of 

outsourcing. Bills have been introduced that focus on call 

centers, federal contract requirements and federal grants/ 

funding. However, no broad measures have passed in either 

the House of Representatives or the Senate to entirely ban 

outsourcing. 

House of Representatives 

• Rep. Jim Walsh (R-NY) has introduced legislation 

(HR 3134) that would require federal contractors to have at 

least 50 percent of their work force in the U.S. 

• Rep. Maxine Waters (D-NY) has introduced legislation 

(HR 3911) that would prohibit companies that have 

outsourced jobs offshore during the past fi ve years from 

receiving federal grants, federal contracts, federal loan guarantees 

and other Federal funding. 

• Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH) has introduced HR 3816, 

the “Call Center Consumer’s Right to Know Act.” This 

legislation would require each employee in the call center 

to disclose the physical location of such employee at the 

beginning of each telephone call. It would also subject companies 

to Federal Trade Commission civil fi nes for failure to 

comply. 

• Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has introduced legislation 

(HR 3820) to prohibit outsourced federal contracts from 

being performed outside the U.S. 

Senate 

In 2003, Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) and Sen. George 

Voinovich (R-OH), offered a provision adding to legislation 

funding the Department of Treasury and the Postal 

System, preventing these agencies from contracting out 

jobs performed by government employees to private sector 

companies that perform these services outside the U.S. This 

fairly limited provision was included in the Omnibus Spending 

bill passed by Congress and signed by the president. 

Other legislation introduced, but not passed, by the 

Senate includes the following:

• Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has introduced S 2094, 

which would prohibit outsourced federal contracts from 

being performed outside the U.S. 

• Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) introduced S 1873, which 

would require each employee in the call center to disclose 

the physical location of such employee at the beginning of 

each telephone call. 

State Level 

On May 17, 2004, Tennessee became the fi rst state to 

enact an anti-outsourcing law. The new law directs state 

procurement offi cials to give preference in bids for such 

services to contractors employing workers only in the 

United States. The bill (HB 2340) passed the state Senate 

overwhelmingly, 29-1. 

There are currently 35 other states with proposed 

legislation to restrict outsourcing. The majority of these 

state-based bills focus on prohibiting the work performed 

on state contracts, coming from overseas and/or from non- 

U.S. citizens, and call center restrictions. A few examples 

include: 

Michigan 

• Legislation has been introduced in Michigan (HB 

4940) to require that departments and all state agencies shall 

not enter into a contract for the purchase of services unless 

the contract shows that only citizens of the United States, 

legal resident aliens, and individuals with valid visas shall 

perform the services under that contract or any subcontract 

under thereof. 

Indiana 

• Legislation introduced in the state Senate (S. 0004) 

provides that a contract for services entered into by a state 

agency must specify that only citizens of the United States 

and individuals authorized to work in the U.S. may be 

employed in the performance of services under the contract 

or any subcontract. 

• Another bill has been introduced in the state House 

(HR 1101) to require that contracts for services entered into 

by a state agency must specify that only citizens of 

the United States and individuals authorized to 

work in the United States may be employed in 

the performance of services under the contract or 

any subcontract. 

Outside Players 

Other groups and organizations have also begun 

to voice their position on outsourcing. The U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce has come out as an advocate 

in support of outsourcing. The Chamber believes 

that outsourcing will lead to a more competitive 

U.S. economy and, in the future, more jobs for 

U.S. workers. The National Federation of Independent 

Business (NFIB) follows the same line 

as The Chamber of Commerce. NFIB believes that 

outsourcing provides a way for small businesses to 

survive, especially in a slow economy. Through outsourcing, 

these small businesses are able to benefi t from low-cost IT 

services, which drastically reduce their total overhead costs. 

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and 

its members are split. While the larger multinational members 

of NAM wish to promote outsourcing as an effi cient 

cost-cutting mechanism, the smaller companies believe that 

outsourcing is detrimental because it is forcing many of 

them out of business due to their inability to compete. 

The same goes for many technology-based organizations, 

like the American Electronics Association (AEA). 

AEA is fi ghting against outsourcing since nearly all of its 

members are at risk. However, the AEA does not support 

restrictive trade legislation, which may trigger international 

economic backlash, as a means to offset outsourcing. 

Editorials in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, 

The Washington Post, and USA Today, have taken a 

wide range of views. Most of them are against outsourcing, 

yet with one common thread: The U.S. cannot, as a reaction 

to outsourcing, become an isolationist economy. Though no 

editorial has offered any solution, they are all in fear as to 

the side effects of any anti-outsourcing measures. 

John Guzik is vice president of Williams Mullen 

Strategies, a government relations fi rm in Washington, 

DC, representing manufacturing. Readers may contact 

him by phone at (202) 293-8144 or Web site at www.williamsmullen.com/wms. 

Research associate Jeff Mrowka also 

contributed to this article. � 


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Cautionary Tales 

Part XXIII Springs Everywhere 

By Mark Hayes 

Springs are used in all forms of transport – road, rail, air, 

sea, snow and space (to deploy the solar panels) – and it is 

often quoted that 40-50 percent of all springs are used in these 

industries. Springs are also used in all white goods (washing 

machines, cookers, etc.), toys, computers, televisions, telecommunications, 

audio equipment, and mechanical, electrical 

and electronic equipment. They are used in the mechanical 

and electrical fi ttings of buildings, and sometimes even in 

building foundations – as in the concert hall in Manchester, 

England, which is mounted on springs to isolate the inside of 

the hall from noise and vibrations on the outside. Factories 

for assembly, food production, power generation and mining 

rely upon them. 

It seems extremely likely that every manufacturing industry 

utilizes springs in most, if not all, of its products – a fact 

that has been admirably demonstrated by other articles in this 

edition. The title “Springs Everywhere” prompted IST to think 

of the many environments in which springs are used and, in 

particular, the fact that some spring designs are used in many 

different locations. 

One of the services provided by IST is failure analysis 

(at least one broken spring is received from somewhere in 

the world every working day), but the results of the many 

examinations that are carried out have to be kept confi dential. 

Nonetheless, it is inevitable that generalized conclusions will 

be drawn from these investigations. One of those conclusions 

is that a common design fault that leads to spring failure is 

inadequate consideration of the operating environment. Indeed, 

it is often heard that a spring works without problem in most 

sites around the world, but gives problems in only one or two. 

It is nearly always the case that the working environment will 

Mark Hayes is the Senior Metallurgist 

at the Institute of Spring Technology 

(IST) in Sheffi eld, England. Hayes manages 

IST’s European Research Projects, 

the spring failure analysis service, and 

all metallurgical aspects of advice and 

training courses given by the Institute. 

Readers are encouraged to contact him 

with comments about this column, and 

with subjects that they would like to 

be addressed in future installments, by phone at (011) 44 

114 252 7984 (direct dial), fax at (011) 44 114 2527997 or 

e-mail at m.hayes@ist.org.uk. 

Spring 

Technology 

be the cause of the problem, and that there will be some corrosion 

on the failing springs but none at all on the springs that 

are operating satisfactorily. 

An example of the working environment causing a spring 

failure problem has been quoted so often in the IST Spring 

Failure and Prevention training course that it seems reasonable 

now to put the results in print, albeit anonymously. A stainless 

steel compression spring made from 4.4 mm diameter wire 

was working within ink in a printing machine. After a few 

months of use, the springs would fall into three to six pieces. 

The problem was happening only at one plant despite the 

spring’s use in many plants. Visual examination of the fracture 

showed immediately that the spring had failed due to fatigue, 

as pictured in Figure 1, below. The fracture is rather green in 

color, but that is due to the green ink. 

IST’s conclusion was that failure was due to corrosion 

fatigue, which astonished the springmaker who saw no rust 

and knew that the spring didn’t fail when fatigue tested. Further 

investigation, though, revealed that the ink, suspended 

in alcohol, was becoming acidic in use. It was only then that 

the spring failed. The ink should have been neutral. When 

the pH came under control, the spring lasted forever and the 

springmaker received no further orders. 

Failure analysis can have unwelcome results for spring 

manufacturers, but this is not the main point I want to make in 

this Cautionary Tale. The most important point is that control 

of the environment is vital for satisfactory spring performance. 

Corrosion 

fatigue 

initiated here 

Figure 1 Fatigue initiated at the inside surface × 6.1. 



The secondary point is that simultaneous corrosion and fatigue 

can cause failure where either fatigue or corrosion alone would 

not. In stainless steel, it might not be possible to see any red 

rust at all; however with corrosion fatigue, you often see several 

fractures in one spring. In contrast, most ordinary fatigue 

failures are at one position only. 

A similar story can be told about suspension springs for 

cars. These springs are more susceptible to failure in some 

countries than others. The most frequent failure mechanism 

is stress corrosion cracking or corrosion fatigue. In countries 

where the weather is hot and dry, the paint protection may be 

sandblasted off, but the springs last for the life of the vehicle. 

In hot and humid countries, the paint fi nish remains intact and 

the springs last very well. In countries where the weather is 

cool and wet, and where salt is used on the roads in winter, the 

risk of failure occurs once the paint fi nish has been penetrated. 

This is why OEM specifi ers require especially thick paint today 

that will last > 720 hours in salt spray testing. However, once 

the spring starts rusting the risk is always there, especially if 

the strength of the steel is high. Tests at IST have shown that 

suspension springs last three times as long before they fail by 

a stress corrosion mechanism if the spring steel hardness is 

reduced by 50Hv. �

American Manufacturers: It’s Time to 

Innovate or 

recent issue of Time magazine contains an article titled 

A “What Can America Make?” Folks, when general 

interest publications like Time start doing articles on the dire 

state of American manufacturing, you know this has become 

a big issue. The U.S. lost 3 million manufacturing jobs in 

the last three years, and countless marginal players have 

ceased operations. There is, despite an up-tick in factory 

orders, still a deep sense of resignation in this sector that 

asks, “How can we possibly compete with China when all 

they do is produce knockoff products with a wage scale that 

is so much lower than ours?” 

It’s suddenly an urgent question, and one that has 

become Topic A when manufacturers gather. Recently, I 

addressed a metals industry conference whose theme this 

year was “Saving North American Manufacturing.” Can it 

be saved? I think so. Truly, it’s time to embrace innovation 

in a way that we’ve never embraced it before. And there are 

precedents to guide our response. 

This isn’t the fi rst time 

Twenty years ago Japanese manufacturers presented a 

similar threat with higher quality products that often sold for 

less. Then U.S. business publications screamed cover stories 

that asked, “What can America make?” The response was 

nothing less than the Quality Revolution in the U.S.A., and 

manufacturers embraced Quality Circles, excellence, TQM 

and other methods, or they didn’t survive. 

This time the world is different, more inner-connected 

and more complex. It’s not “us” versus “them.” Some of the 

same fi rms that howl the loudest about China’s juggernaut 

actually have plants in China and/or import much of their 

wares from that country. As an entrepreneurial nation, we 

see the progress of individual fi rms in China, India and other 

countries and salute their achievements. After all, hard work 

and sacrifi ce should pay off for anyone with the smarts to 

produce what customers want to buy, if only they will play 

by the rules, and respect patents and intellectual property 

rights, etc. Meanwhile, some manufacturers here are not 

so easy to admire as they exhibit the attitude that when the 

going gets tough, the tough get going – to the golf course. 

Optimism about the state of U.S. manufacturing 

Yet, just back from travel in industrial America’s heartland, 

I’m optimistic about the future of U.S. manufacturing. 

I think we’re beginning to see a response that, while hardly 

By Robert B. Tucker 

The Innovation Resource 

as widespread as the Quality Revolution of two decades ago, 

is nonetheless spirited. “If you can’t manufacture in the U.S. 

effi ciently and economically, you don’t know how to manufacture,” 

says LeRoy Nosbaum, CEO of $285 million Itron 

Corp, a Spokane, WA, maker of utility meter readers. But I 

wonder, how many people in your industry would be willing 

to be quoted saying such a thing? Would you? 

Companies like Itron are part of the Manufacturing 

Vanguard. They are passionately engaged in fi guring out 

how to compete on their strengths, rather than weaknesses. 

(I like what Patricia Panchak, editor-in-chief of Industry 

Week, says in a recent column: “Many manufacturers are 

so worried about competing on cost, their greatest weakness, 

that they are failing to compete on innovation, their 

greatest strength.”) Vanguard companies are consistently 

moving up the value 

chain and rethinking 

their innovation “Many manufacturers are so 

approaches, much like worried about competing on 

they did their quality 

cost, their greatest weakness, 

process two decades 

ago. They are making that they are failing to compete 

innovation an embed- on innovation, their greatest 

ded, all-the-time 

process and involving strength.” – Patricia Panchak 

everyone in the quest 

for better ideas. 

In the past 12 months, I’ve worked with makers of 

everything from garbage trucks to industrial valves, from 

rubber components to food and construction equipment, and 

with industrial process providers ranging from heat treaters 

to industrial perforators. I see that every industry has a 

few mavericks like Itron that are out-thinking the competition 

when others are hunkering down. Their leaders aren’t 

content to wring their hands, or look to Washington for 

relief. Their mantra is: This may be the biggest challenge in 

a generation but let’s roll up our sleeves and go to work. 

Based on my study of 23 Innovation Vanguard companies for 

the book “Driving Growth Through Innovation,” and recent conversations 

with manufacturing CEOs, here are four suggestions 

for kicking off the Innovation Revolution in your company. 

Suggestion 1: Broaden Your Defi nition of Innovation 

You hear a refrain among manufacturers that goes like 

this: “I know we’re supposed to come out with whiz-bang 

new products like they do in other industries, but in the 


[insert name of industry here], that’s a tall order. There’s 

only so much you can do with a [insert product category 

here].” And this usually ends the discussion. 

Actually, it should be the beginning of a whole new 

type of brainstorm. If you assume innovation is merely a 

synonym for new products, think again. What about strategy 

innovation, such as entering new markets with your existing 

products? What about supply chain innovations? What 

about value-adding service enhancements that allow real 

time responsiveness, make the customer’s life easier, and 

otherwise take on the customer’s problem in ways the 

competition is unable or unwilling to do? Such strategy 

innovations are a bold new frontier that many fi rms have 

never pursued. 

If everyone in your industry is pushing the envelope 

in the product realm, do what Dell did and innovate in the 

strategy realm – by serving customers direct. Another example: 

furniture maker Herman Miller, based in Zeeland, MI, 

is bundling more of its products into total solutions for the 

end customer, rather than just developing new products. The 

combination is harder for competitors to copy. Key: broaden 

your defi nition to include not just products but also services 

and service enhancements, processes, technology, and strategy 

initiatives that grow top- and bottom-line revenue. 

Suggestion 2: Get Serious About Process Innovation 

Process innovation includes TQM, lean manufacturing, 

ISO, Six Sigma and dozens of other methods for increasing 

productivity and cutting costs. Although you can’t cost-cut 

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your way to prosperity, redoubling efforts at process innovation 

isn’t today a luxury; it’s a necessity. 

Think of productivity growth as an index of process 

innovation in your fi rm. Now ask yourself a tough question: 

Are you satisfi ed with the rate of improvement in business 

practices, space utilization and manufacturing effi ciency? 

Between 1995 and 2000, productivity in the manufacturing 

sector rose by an average annual rate of 4.3 percent, according 

to the Department of Labor, compared with 2.2 percent 

for the overall non-farm economy. These improvements are 

impressive, but they are only a start. There’s more effi - 

ciency and productivity to be gleaned. Consider: How have 

you increased productivity over and above your industry’s 

average? Successful manufacturing in the U.S. will require 

a relentless focus on process innovation, but not at the 

expense of product and strategy innovation. 

Suggestion 3: Benchmark Innovative Manufacturers 

When was the last time you picked up the phone and 

invited yourself to visit a manufacturer that is defying the 

trends and thriving in these times? They are out there, and 

the time you spend benchmarking could provide the motivation 

you need to come up with your next breakthrough idea. 

My suggestion: Become active in your trade association and 

attend conferences to gather new ideas and meet progressive 

manufacturers. As I’ve often said, “There’s no such 

thing as a mature market or a commodity product, only 

tired imaginations.” The greatest asset you bring to your 

company in times like these is your ability to inspire fresh- 

INTERNATIONAL

thinking experimentation and assaulting the “this is the 

way we’ve always done it” assumptions. Benchmarking is 

guaranteed to enable you to do just that. 

Suggestion 4: Unleash the Creativity of Your People 

Your skilled work force is a global competitive advantage 

- but only if you see it that way and engage people 

creatively. There’s no question that you’re going to need to 

produce more, and more with fewer and fewer people. Yet 

few manufacturers truly tap the mega-asset of people power. 

Not so at B. Braun Medical, a $750 million medequipment 

maker in Allentown, PA. Braun went through an 

automation project to rethink and redesign how it produces 

syringes and intravenous clamps. But it 

used creative suggestions from workers 

to reduce error rates to the point that 

its vastly superior sterilization process 

became a competitive advantage to customers 

–more important than low-priced 

competitive products. “The more innovative 

you are, the higher your pricing 

power,” CEO Caroll Neubauer told Time. 

Appleton Paper, Appleton, WI, goes 

further. As I describe in “Driving Growth 

Through Innovation,” Appleton involved 

all its employees not just for cost-savings 

ideas, but also for new product and new 

market ideas. In a recent year, this “all 

enterprise approach” generated 700 ideas. 

“We already had a suggestion program 

for cost-saving ideas,” explains Dennis 

Hultgren, Appleton’s vice president. 

“With GO [Growth Opportunities], we 

now regularly solicit ideas from everybody 

in the company. These people are 

out there; they know our technologies, 

and they are perfectly capable of thinking 

up new uses for them. What we’ve 

learned is that it’s important to bring 

everybody in on it. Everybody wants to 

contribute if asked, but not everyone was 

being asked.” 

Conclusion 

The recent improvement in factory 

orders might cause some to believe 

that the good old days are returning and, 

therefore, that taking bold action isn’t necessary. 

That would be a big mistake. What 

can U.S. manufacturers make? Plenty. I’m 

convinced that those who are willing to 

embrace innovation can make anything 

and everything now and in the future, 

despite the uneven playing fi eld. But how 

they make it will change dramatically. 

Jack Welch, former GE chairman, 

used to say that if the rate of change 

inside your organization was less than the 

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rate of change outside it, the end was in sight. Even though 

you’ve probably got some initiatives going in your company, 

are they the right ones? What is one action you will 

take today to embrace the Innovation Revolution? 

Robert B. Tucker is president of The Innovation Resource, 

an innovation-consulting fi rm based in Santa Barbara, CA. A 

frequent keynote speaker at conferences – including the SMI May 

2004 Convention in Savannah, GA – he is the author of “Driving 

Growth Through Innovation: How Leading Firms Are Transforming 

Their Futures.” Readers may contact him by e-mail at 

rtucker@innovationresource.com or phone at (800) 239-6681. � 

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Health Savings 

Accounts 

Taming the health insurance monster 

For most employers, the cost of health insurance is a frontburner 

issue that only seems to get hotter as the fl ames 

get higher. Premium increases have registered in the double 

digits for three years running, according to surveys conducted 

by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA. And many 

businesses with fewer than 50 employees are seeing premiums 

jump 18 to 35 percent, say reports from the Midwest 

Business Group on Health, a Chicago-based consortium of 

80 employers. 

Is the only answer to drop health insurance altogether? 

Not necessarily. More employers are looking at a new vehicle 

called the “Health Savings Account”(HSA), which promises to 

reduce wasteful medical spending by appealing to employees’ 

self interest. Under these plans, the individual who spends less 

money on medical care ends up with more cash in pocket. 

And employee control over medical spending means, in turn, 

a lower fi nancial burden for the employer. 

HSAs took effect Jan. 1, 2004. Unlike their predecessor 

Medical Savings Accounts, which could only be used by organizations 

with 50 or fewer employees, HSAs can be used by 

the large employers who traditionally drive health insurance 

innovation. Most observers expect large employers to roll out 

these programs quickly in calendar year 2005 after shuffl ing 

the paperwork this year. Smaller organizations should then 

follow suit. 

One spring company taking a wait-and-see attitude is 

Diamond Wire Spring, which has 80 employees in three manufacturing 

plants and a catalog division. Health insurance is a 

top-of-mind topic at Diamond, since the company has been hit 

with some hefty increases in the past. Indeed, health insurance 

premiums are now Diamond’s fastest growing expense item 

with the exception of raw materials. 

Phillip M. Perry is an award-winning journalist specializing 

in the fi elds of business management and law. Over 

the past 20 years, his byline has appeared 

more than 3,000 times in publications 

such as World Trade, Business, Corporate 

Risk Management, Human Resource 

Executive and The Legal Times of 

Washington. Perry’s awards include The 

American Bar Association’s “Value to the 

Reader Award.” Readers may contact 

him by fax at (212) 226-5580 or e-mail 

at phil@pmperry.com. 

Checkpoint 

Business Tips 

From Phil Perry 

“Health Savings Accounts are still so new that I would be 

hesitant to try them,” says company president Donald Fazio. 

Like many other employers, Fazio wants to see how the new 

vehicles shake out in the real world beyond the policy-maker’s 

ivory tower. 

Fazio notes that there are just too many unknowns with 

the new vehicles. “We don’t have an idea of what the savings 

will be,” he says. “I haven’t seen any quotes on premiums for 

the high-deductible insurance policies either.” 

How They Work 

An HSA combines two fi nancial vehicles: The fi rst is 

a personal, employee-owned savings account dedicated to 

money earmarked for future medical needs. The second is a 

high-deductible health insurance plan. This plan kicks in when 

medical expenses exceed the specifi ed deductible. Trustees for 

HSA plans may be any of a number of fi nancial institutions, 

such as banks, credit unions and insurance companies. 

Both the employer and the employee can make contributions 

to the savings account. Employer contributions 

are excluded from employee income for tax purposes, and 

employee contributions are deductible from taxes. Annual 

contributions can be made up to the deductible, which must 

be at least $1,000 for individual coverage and at least $2,000 

for family coverage. Annual out-of-pocket (including deductibles 

and co-pays) will not exceed $5,000 for individuals and 

$10,000 for families. 

Money withdrawn is not taxable if it is used to pay for 

qualifi ed medical expenses, including specialist visits, drugs 

and long-term care services as well as the purchase of continued 

health care coverage for the unemployed individual (via 

COBRA). The interest and investment earnings generated by the 

account are also not taxable while they remain in the HSA. 

Funds withdrawn for non-medical purposes will be 

included in the account holder’s gross income, taxed accordingly 

and subject to a 10-percent penalty. 

Come retirement time, the money in the savings account 

can be withdrawn without penalty. With such an incentive, it’s 

apparent how health care expenses are reduced: Employees will 

spend money only on health care that’s really needed. The less 

the employee spends, the bigger the accumulated nest egg. 

“I do like the fact that HSAs shift some responsibility 

to the individual,” says Fazio. “It’s good that people start to 

ask, ‘Do I need this medical attention or don’t I? It makes 


people think before they utilize 

their actual dollars.” Such fi ltering 

will reduce the amount of money 

wasted on unneeded procedures, 

Fazio believes. “We have become 

spoiled here in the United States 

with the coverage we have had all 

these years.” 

Employers Win 

Will prudent spending translate 

into lower insurance costs for 

employers? The answer is most 

often “yes” for smaller organizations 

facing large premium hikes. 

Here’s an example from Marcus 

B. Newman, an employee benefi ts consultant at GCG Financial, 

an insurance services fi rm in Bannockburn, IL. One of 

Newman’s clients has three employees in a traditional health 

insurance plan now facing a 39-percent premium hike that will 

bring monthly outlays to $3,700. By switching to an HSA with 

a monthly outlay of $3,072, the group will save nearly $8,000 

in annual premiums. 

An attractive feature is that employers need not put any 

money into the savings accounts, although they may opt to do 

so. “Straight up employers can say, ‘We will put less money on 

the table,’ ” points out Mark D. Wincek, head of the benefi ts- 

Get More Information 

For the most comprehensive and 

authoritative information about Health 

Savings Accounts (HSAs), visit The U.S. 

Department of the Treasury Web site at 

www.treas.gov/offi ces/public-affairs/hsa/. 

The law fi rm of Kilpatrick Stockton has 

made available a continuing round of excellent 

reports on HSAs. Go to www.kilpatrick 

stockton.com, then click on “Publications” 

and then “Legal Alerts.” Then scroll down to 

the “Employee Benefi ts” section for several 

HSA communications. 

and-compensation practice at the 

law fi rm Kilpatrick Stockton and 

a partner in its Washington offi ce. 

“Such employers may feel better 

about switching to HSAs because 

they have been thinking of getting 

out of the business of providing 

health care altogether.” That the 

employer is put in the driver’s 

seat is one of the biggest attractions 

of HSAs: Business owners 

can feel more in control of premium 

levels. 

The HSA as a full replacement 

product at smaller employers, then, 

is looking pretty good. But how 

about larger businesses? They will be loathe to dissolve their 

current insurance offerings and will likely add HSAs as an additional 

option. In such cases, employer contributions to the HSA 

will need to be equivalent to those of other plans. Whether these 

larger employers will enjoy savings is still an open question. 

What’s the Catch? 

Although HSAs seem like an imaginative solution to 

the health insurance puzzle, there is a hidden price: The programs 

require employees to shoulder more responsibility for 

their own insurance plans. For each health care expenditure, 

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they must make sure the proper paperwork is fi led with the 

sponsoring organization. And they must make sure the expenditure 

is allowed under the terms of the high-deductible health 

insurance policy to avoid the risk of unanticipated additional 

expense. The diffi culty is that HSA law allows individuals 

to spend money on a larger array of medical procedures than 

are included in the benefi ts schedules of the accompanying 

insurance policies. 

Of course, reading the fi ne print of insurance policies 

and managing fi nancial paperwork are not the most popular 

activities for most of us. The problem is even worse for 

individuals without a fi rm command of the English language. 

“These plans will be problematic for organizations with non- 

English-speaking work forces,” warns Newman. “Most of the 

instructional material is in English.” This will certainly pose 

a problem among manufacturers. “Many springmakers have 

employees who are not fl uent in the English language,” says 

Fazio. “That’s true in our own Texas facility and for a small 

percentage of people in our South Carolina facility.” One 

company concerned about the language barrier is Jackson 

Spring & Manufacturing, Elk Grove Village, IL. “Even with 

a regular HMO insurance program we have a lot of educating 

to do,” says Winnie Kunkle, the company’s offi ce manager. 

“We still have issues when people get mixed up about how 

they need to get a referral from their primary care physician to 

see a specialist. Even though we have people to translate, the 

language barrier is still a problem.” Kunkle feels that a more 

complex HSA will just pose additional problems. “Employees 

will defi nitely need to be educated on how to use the program. 

That involves time and money and, therefore, may not be as 

cost-effective as we are being told.” 

The Road Ahead 

Maybe HSAs are circuit breakers for health insurance 

programs that have grown too hot to handle. But succeeding 

with one will take communication. Finesse those educational 

demands and you may fi nd an HSA a great way to lower the 

fl ames under the health insurance pressure cooker. � 

You’re in the News 

• Global Highlights • New Products 

• Perspectives – Letters to the Editor 

Of all the departments you fi nd in Springs, these are 

the most special, for they depend on you. 

As reader forums, these departments serve you best only 

when you take the time to read and respond. 

So as you read Springs, please remember: This is your 

magazine. Take the time to let us and your colleagues 

know about you. 

You can submit news about people, plants, events, 

new products and letters to Springs by mail at 2001 

Midwest Road, Suite 106, Oak Brook, IL 60523; 

e-mail at editor@smihq.org; or fax at (630) 495-8595. 


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Trading Company 

THE COMPETITIVE EDGE 

235 Bond Street 

Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 

847.640.9771 

Fax: 847.640.9793 

GENERAL INFORMATION 

rksales@gte.net 

TECHNICAL SUPPORT 

rktech@gte.net

Roll Straighteners 

Witels Apparate-Maschinen Albert GmbH has introduced 

three roll straighteners. The ERS HL PO series offers straightening 

forces for high-strength process materials with a diameter 

or cross-sectional height between 5.0 mm and 40.0 mm. The 

suffi x HL PO following the product designation ERS stands for 

the features of defi ned and reproducible roll adjustment using 

mechanical position indicators and a specifi c hydraulic system. 

An adjustment force applied manually by operating personnel 

is converted into a straightening force up to 300kN by the 

hydraulic system, with the straightening roll being positioned 

with an accuracy of about 0.01 mm. 

The NT series features minimized 

deformation under load, high precision 

and a quick-response locking mechanism 

suitable for high-strength wires. The roll 

diameter and the distance between straightening 

rolls have been optimized in order to be able to straighten 

process materials that have a wide range of diameter sizes. NT 

straighteners are available in three sizes (NT 740 is pictured), 

with straightening ranges from 0.8 mm to 2.0 mm, 2 mm to 

4.0 mm and 4.0 mm to 6.0 mm. 

The DRS CT straightener was developed to replace the 

traditional procedure of changing out complete straightener 

sets when the process material dimensions or the straightening 

range is modifi ed. The double straightener is notable for its 

two different straightening ranges, each of which is integrated 

in a precision main body with all its mechanical elements. The 

roll diameter and spacing have been optimized for each of the 

two straightening ranges, making it possible, for example, to 

process wire diameters from 2.0 mm to 5.0 mm on one side of 

the straightener and from 5.0 mm to 8.0 mm on the other side. 

For more information, contact Witels Apparate-Maschinen 

Albert GmbH by phone at +49 30 723 988-0 or e-mail at 

info@witels-albert.de. 

Industrial Parts Detergent 

Alconox Inc has developed Tergajet powder and Solujet 

liquid detergents. They are phosphate free, low foaming, 

biodegradable, readily disposable and free-rinsing cleaners 

for parts washing. They have been formulated to be effective 

on diffi cult residues that require emulsifying, penetrating and 

wetting. They are suited for use in parts washers, spray washers 

and ultrasonic systems, as well as manual and immersion 

cleaning. They are effective on metals such as stainless steel 

and aluminum, and such substrates as glass, Tefl on, ceramics 

and alkali-resistant plastics. They can be used to remove all 

types of residues including oils, organics, resins, adhesives, 

particulates, salts, oxides, metal complexes, inorganic residues, 

chemicals and solvents. For information, contact Alconox Inc. 

by phone at (914) 948-4040 or e-mail at cleaning@alconox. 

com. 

Contact Marking System 

Dell Marking Systems Inc. has introduced an automatic 

contact marking 

system designed 

for ease of assembly 

and operation. 

Components are 

shipped in one package 

that includes a 

double-acting air 

cylinder, mounting 

plate, control 

valve, disposable 

marker, springloaded 

holder, tubing, wiring, and a package of solvent wipes 

for cleanup. Two marker tip sizes are available in ¼ in. and 

5/ 8 in. diameter. They are suited for manual and automatic 

applications. The valve-action tip produces a round color 

spot on any smooth, dry work piece. The colors available are 

yellow, red, green, blue and white. For information, contact 

Dell Marking Systems by phone at (248) 547-7750 or Web 

site at www.dellid.com. 

Fine Wire Payoff 

TAK Enterprises has introduced a motorized payoff for 

fi ne and very fi ne wire. The modular payoff is designed to 

accommodate a wide range of fi ne wire materials, like gold 

tungsten, sliver, aluminum, molybdenum, nitinol, stainless 

steel and platinum, 

from 0.006 in. to 

0.050 in. It utilizes 

a low-stress 

“French Curve” 

unwind path that 

reduces the typical 

“bird nesting” wire 

condition. 

The payoff’s 

advanced features provide for more precise control of any 

down stream straightening process as well as a built-in loop 

control of up to four feet of pulled wire that acts as a clutch 

during startup and incremental feed. 

Each wire guide rests on a free-fl oating precision bearing 

sleeve that automatically tracks with the lay down of the 

material on the spool. The payoff is equipped with a snag 

detection sensor and shutdown signal output that eliminates 

lost production time. The payoff takes little fl oor space and 

measures 57 in. high, 43 in. wide and 43 in. deep. It can 

accommodate up to 60 pounds of material. For information, 


Nonfer Nonferrous 

ous 

Wire ire. . 

±0% Toler Tolerance 

ance 


Brass 

Phosphor Bronze 

Copper 

Copper-Chromium- 

Cadmium 

Nickel 

Nickel Silver 

Cupro Nickel 

Copper-Nickel-Tin 

Zirconium Copper. . . . . 

Wire as fine as .001” in Round, 

Square or Shaped on High-Volume 

Spools. Plating in gold, silver, 

copper or other materials. 

Only wire specified at ±0% 

tolerance will do for your 

precision spring or contact 

application. Wire, direct from 

the mill, shipped to you, 

anywhere in the world 

Ask for a catalog or CD or visit 

our web site for complete physical 

and mechanical data. 

Certified ISO 9001-2000 

www.littlefallsalloys.com 

www.littlefallsalloys.com 

LITTLE LI TLE FALLS FALLS 

ALLOYS ALL YS 

189 Caldwell Ave. 

Paterson, NJ 07501 

Fax (973) 278-7345 

Tel (973) 278-1666 

Toll free (888) LFA-WIRE 

email: info@lfa-wire.com 


contact TAK Enterprises by phone at (860) 583-0517 or Web 

site at www.takenterprises.com. 

Spring Coiling Machines and Multiformers 

OMD S.p.A. Offi cina Meccanica Domase has introduced a 

range of CNC spring coiling machines that offer linear, rotary 

or torsion cutoff for the manufacture of cylindrical, conical, 

concave and convex compression springs with closed or variable 

pitch. Models C6 and C9 process wire with diameters up to 

9.0 mm to springs with a maximum outer diameter of 150 mm. 

The CNC-controlled coiling lathes WH 10, WH 20 and WH 30 

complete this product line. The multiformers manufacture any 

shape of spring and/or bent component. All torsion and bending 

units are controlled as independent axes through a PC-based 

Windows system. The main features include wire orientation 

and rotating quill, coiling head for push coiling and pivot, selfteaching 

system without any restriction of using standard tools, 

automatic control of production dates, automatic correction of 

spring dimensions, integration of spring testing devices and 

tele-assistance through modem. The models MF 1.5, MF 3 and 

Mf 6 process wire in different diameter ranges starting with 

0.4 mm up to 6 mm. The maximum outer diameter of the parts 

is 140 mm. For information, contact OMD S.p.A. by phone at 

+39 0344 97496 or e-mail at info@o-m-d.it. 

Cutting Tools 

Sandvik Coromant has introduced two cutting tools. The 

Xcel tool is designed for machining of titanium alloys and 

heat-resistant super alloy materials. It offers advantages when 

semi-rough turning into shoulders that were not previously 

available with a single tool. According to the company, some 

of the features are: reduced notch wear and faster cutting speeds 

than rhombic inserts; ability to machine into corners to produce 

complex shapes; accessibility in confi ned spaces; possibility 

to machine in two directions; and reduced radial forces and 

constant chip thickness compared to round inserts. 

The CoroMill 210 milling cutter is designed for face 

milling and plunge milling applications. Extremely high chip 

volumes can be removed at feed rates up to 4 mm/tooth and 

metal removal rates up to 1,400 cm 3/min can be achieved. The 

CoroMill 210 is useful for internal milling of deep cavities 

and milling externally along deep shoulders. It is available in 

diameters of 25-82 mm with 9 and 14 mm inserts with four 

cutting edges. For information, contact Sandvik Coromant by 

phone at +46 (0) 26-26 60 81 or Web site at www.minettmedia.co.uk. 

Metalworking Fluids 

ITW Rocol North America has announced the extension 

of its licensing agreement with Sugimura of Nagoya Japan for 

the manufacturing of all Cedar Lubricants products in North 

America. Cedar Lubricants produces metalworking fl uids for 

the steel, automotive, appliance and machine tool industries. 

Cedar Lubricants offers stamping, drawing, cutting, heading 

and heavy-duty fl uids and rust preventatives. The product 

line is being manufactured at the ITW Rocol North American

DeWitt, Iowa chemical manufacturing facility. For information, 

contact ITW Rocol North America by phone at (847) 

657-6185 or e-mail at cfuhr@rocolnorthamerica.com. 

Stress Indicating Film 

Sensor Products Inc. announced the addition of Pressurex 

TPSF to its line of tactile pressure sensor fi lms. This is a 

tactile pressure sensor fi lm that enables the measurement of 

contact pressure beginning at 2 kg/cm 2 up to 3,037 kg/cm 2 

(28 PSI to 43,200 PSI). This line is suited for those applications 

involving high contact pressure or severe impact, such 

as metal forming and stamping, or anywhere high-contact 

force must be calibrated and measured. For more information, 

contact Sensor Products Inc. by phone 

at (973) 884-1755 or Web site at www. 

sensorprod.com/pressurex. 

Spill Caddy 

New Pig Corp. has introduced the Pig 

MRO Spill Caddy for aid for non-corrosive 

spills of up to 14 gallons. The Spill Caddy 

is easy to locate and self-contained with a 

double-wall polyethylene construction to protect its contents 

from moisture, dirt and damage. It is rust- and corrosionresistant, 

making it durable enough to be stationed outdoors. 

The Spill Caddy can be wheeled directly to the spill site and 

features adjustable shelves to allow customization of absorbent 

supply. For information, contact New Pig by phone at (800) 

468-4647 or e-mail at hothogs@newpig.com. 

Spindle Alignment Kit 

Pinpoint Laser Systems has introduced a spindle and 

shaft alignment kit for industrial machinery. Machine operators, 

plant engineers, and maintenance professionals can use 

it to check the alignment and performance of their machinery 

quickly. The kit consists of a laser that is mounted to the drive 

shaft, spindle, or a gearbox fl ange and projects a precise reference 

beam along the centerline. A digital target receiver catches 

the laser beam and provides a measurement reading to show if 

the receiver is off center. Angular errors can also be measured 

and eliminated. The system measures misalignments as small 

as 0.0001 in. and will operate over distances of 80 feet for large 

machinery applications. It can be attached to a PC for printouts 

and record keeping. For information, contact Pinpoint by phone 

at (800) 757-5383 or Web site at www.pinlaser.com. 

Belt Conveyor Oven 

Grieve Corp. has developed the No. 820, a 550 °F. electric 

belt conveyor oven. Workloads travel atop an 84-in.-wide, 1 

in. × l in. high-carbon steel fl at wire conveyor belt with ½ HP 

motor drive, variable from 2.9 to 8 ft. per minute; through a 

6-ft.-long open belt loading zone; 20-ft.-long insulated heat 

zone with recirculated airfl ow; and a 6-ft.-long open unloading 

zone. A 360 kW power supply is installed in Incoloy-sheathed 

tubular heating elements, while a 24,500 CFM, 20 HP recir- 

culating blower provides vertical 

downward airflow onto the workload. 

For information, contact Grieve 

Corp. by phone at (847) 546-8225 or 

Web site at www. grievecorp.com. 

Vacuum Cup Assemblies 

Anver Corp. has introduced a 

line of vacuum cup assemblies that 

are only activated when they touch 

an object and remain normally closed to prevent air loss if 

nothing is present. The Push-In Valve Vacuum Cup assemblies 

feature Delrin probes that protrude slightly from the center and 

touch an object fi rst to open the vacuum fl ow, providing instant 

attach and release. Designed for high cycle pick-and-place 

applications, they improve automation equipment effi ciency 

by preventing air loss when there is nothing under the suction 

cup. The vacuum cup assemblies reduce air consumption in 

equipment when a large bank of suction cups is connected to a 

single manifold. They are available in 10 sizes and in a variety 

of materials. For information, contact Anver Corp. by phone 

at (800) 654-3500 or e-mail at anver@anver.com. 

Work Cell Rotary Blast System 

Guyson Corp. has developed a sub-compact rotary spindle 

blast system for automated surface treatment in single-piece 

fl ow manufacturing. The Model RXS-400 is suited for vari- 

Conveyor Furnaces • Paint Systems 

Incline Parts Conveyors • Tray Furnaces 

AND INTRODUCING 

Indexing Furnaces 

JN now has 15 models covering heating areas from 

14–2,400 sq. in. that produce superior quality and 

efficiency while eliminating tangling. 

All JN products feature a 2 year warranty, 

low energy consumption, adjustable 

heights and digital technology. 

For a complete catalog, call 

or visit our website today. 

JN’s got Stress Relieving down to a Science 

2692 Delta Lane � Elk Grove, IL 60007 

847. 860.1220 � Fax 847. 860.8953 

info@jnmachinery.com � www.jnmachinery.com 


ous applications including shot peening and deburring. For 

information, contact Guyson by phone at (518) 587-7894 or 

e-mail at info@guyson.com. 

Appliance Industry Fact Book 

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers 

(AHAM) has published the 2003 Home Appliance Industry 

Fact Book. It provides a comprehensive statistical overview 

of the major home appliance industry. The book is designed 

to provide a current and historical picture of the major home 

appliance industry’s output and its relationship to other economic 

factors in the United States. The collection of AHAM 

and government statistics on the home industry begins with an 

overview of the industry as it relates to economic and housing 

indicators, and follows with fi ve chapters on manufacturing, 

industry shipments, consumer value, energy consumption and 

effi ciency, and import and export data. It is available in fullcolor 

PDF format on CD, and includes downloadable Excel 

data of each table and chart in the book. 

For information, contact AHAM by phone at (202) 872- 

5955 or Web site at www.aham.org. 

Mist Collector and Air Purifi cation System 

Trion Inc., a division of Fedders Engineered Products 

has introduced the Vomp 600 Vertical Oil Mist Precipitator. 

This electronic mist collector removes oil/coolant mist and 

smoke at the source and is useful for screw machines, surface 


and centerless grinders, CNC machining centers, turning 

lathes and parts cleaning systems. The Vomp 600 helps bring 

facilities into compliance with OSHA and EPA standards while 

improving employee safety and working conditions, protecting 

equipment, plant fi xtures and work-in-progress while reducing 

plant maintenance costs. 

Trion also introduced the Air Boss T-Series air purifi cation 

system for industrial use. This electrostatic air cleaner 

is designed to remove smoke, fumes, and oil/coolant smoke 

and mist from an industrial environment. It can be customized 

for specifi c applications. For information, contact Trion Inc. 

by phone at (919) 777-6225 or e-mail at mmaness@trioninc. 

com. 

Solvent and Paint Recycler 

ChemChamp Corp. and Safety-Kleen have introduced 

the 18-gallon Minimizer to recycle solvents and paint waste 

derived from cleaning processes. Processing 18 gallons of solvent 

at a time, this unit can cut down on the amount of solvent 

waste generated by painting facilities and manufacturers. The 

Minimizer 18 uses ChemChamp’s distillation technology to 

take soiled solvents from various cleaning operations, separate 

all of the oil, dirt, paint and other debris, and supply the user 

Taking Spring Design to the Next Level 

Software that combines engineering expertise 

with customized calculators, helping 

you design quality springs 

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� Choice of Design Mode: 

� Power User: Flexibility with input of 

values, backsolving 

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� Customizable input/output fi elds 

� Backsolving for quick solutions to complex equations 

� Customer-ready, printable reports 

� Versatile plots and drawings 

� CD-ROM or Web-based access 

Online demo available at www.smihq.org 

Spring Manufacturers Institute 

2001 Midwest Road, Suite 106 

Oak Brook, IL 60523-1335 

Phone (630) 495-8588 • Fax (630) 495-8595 

A joint development of the Spring Manufacturers Institute, www.smihq.org 

and Universal Technical Systems, www.uts.com

Spring Material 

Market Pressures 

What’s causing the escalating prices and surcharges 

and when can springmakers expect them to level out? 

At its Spring Convention in May 2004, the Spring 

Manufacturers Institute hosted a panel of wire suppliers 

to provide springmakers insight into the current climate 

and what might be expected in the months ahead. The panel 

included Dan Gutos, vice president of Leggett & Platt Inc. 

in Carthage, MO (representing commercial-grade materials); 

Steve Kraft, marketing manager of Precision Steel 

Warehouse in Franklin Park, IL (representing warehousing 

and distribution); Kirk Manning, vice president – sales and 

marketing of Haldex Garphyttan Corp. in South Bend, IN 

(representing ferrous valve-quality materials); Dave Shollock, 

product manager of Sandvik Materials Technology in 

Clark Summit, PA, (representing stainless and nonferrous 

materials); and Bill Snyder, vice president – commercial of 

American Spring Wire in Bedford Heights, OH (representing 

general spring materials). 

Snyder opened the discussion with an explanation of 

the factors that contributed to the rising costs, decreased 

availability and surcharges on material springmakers have 

experienced for the past six months or so. 

First, he pointed to the shaky domestic steel industry. 

“The U.S. steel industry is roughly 100 million tons. 

Of that, 56 million is currently in bankruptcy or has been 

in bankruptcy over the last 10 years,” he said. “So, over 

half the industry has been in bankruptcy. In addition to the 

bankruptcies, there have been a number of closings, so the 

production capacity has dramatically gone down as well.” 

The weakened dollar is another factor. Steel is a product 

that transports very easily. When the dollar was stronger 

than other currencies, the U.S. was a very attractive place to 

import product; now it’s not. 

Added to that are tariffs. “With nine countries that have 

a dumping order on them, it makes it very diffi cult to go and 

buy product from those countries because they would have 

to pay a tariff of about 10 to 15 percent to sell product here,” 

said Snyder. 

Furthermore, steel consumption is up, and there aren’t 

enough raw materials to meet the demand. One reason for 

this is China’s rapid growth and increased material consumption. 

“China is in the process of building 15 cities the 

size of Columbus, OH,” explained Snyder. “From 2000 to 

2004, China added more steelmaking capacity than we are 

able to produce in this country. Yet, even though China is 

rapidly growing its steel industry, it cannot keep up with 

its internal demands. This is putting a pinch on the supply 

side of the issue, and a lot of our raw materials, instead of 

being available for manufacturers in the United States are 

now going to China.” Though not as dramatically as China, 

consumption is also up in other countries, such as the U.S. 

where industries like agricultural equipment, heavy construction 

and Class A trucks are up 15 percent. This further 

adds to the steel shortage. 

There are two types of raw material used to make wire 

rod, and both are in short supply. In the U.S., steel producers 

generally use electric furnaces, which use scrap to make 

wire rod. Offshore producers often use blast furnaces, which 

melt iron ore, coke and limestone into pig iron to make 

wire rod. Scrap and the materials to make pig iron are in 

short supply. As a result, prices for these raw materials have 

jumped considerably. Snyder gave an example: “Scrap used 

to be $80 to $150 per ton. It peaked in 2003 at about $300 

per ton. Yesterday [May 3, 2004], it was $240 to $250 ton.” 

To make matters worse, the cost of the energy steelmakers 

need to run their furnaces has also gone up, and ocean 

freight costs have tripled. 

“In talking to a lot of the steel people, they’ve said that 

at no time in the history of the steel business have they seen 

a point when all three of the primary drivers of steel prices – 

metallics, energy and transportation – have all gone up at the 

same time,” says Snyder. 

Because of these cost pressures, “Steel producers are 

taking a very strong position with us,” Snyder states. “If 

wire makers want steel, they have to get current on their 

invoices because the steelmakers are busy. They’re no 

longer absorbing the extent of the cost increases.” 

“Put simply,” says Snyder, “the extremely favorable 

steel market we once knew – excess supply and weak 

demand, which resulted in continuously falling prices – is 

gone.” 

After Snyder concluded his presentation, panelists were 

introduced, and attendees invited to ask questions. The fi rst 

was, “Did the Bush 201 tariffs on steel contribute to the current 

problem?” 

Kraft said that the tariffs actually helped the U.S. steel 

industry, bringing about consolidation in some cases, and 

helping steel mills in bankruptcy to become healthy again 


in other cases. “I’d hate to think what the situation would be 

today without some of those suppliers,” he said. “In effect, 

201 did have some positive impact just because there are 

more suppliers and more capacity available today.” 

Shollock, on the other hand, said, “The tariff had very 

little or no effect on 302 stainless material, the bread and 

butter of stainless steel for spring manufacturers.” 

Panelists agreed that duties on rod coming in from other 

countries, such as Trinidad, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and 

Europe, have had a greater impact on the current material 

situation than the 201 tariffs. 

Regarding surcharges, one panelist explained that 

surcharges on raw materials, such as nickel and scrap, are 

generally set according to whatever the cost was two months 

prior, so the cost in May will dictate the surcharge for July. 

In light of escalating material costs, spring manufacturers 

are concerned about their ability to honor the pricing 

structures spelled out in their ongoing contracts with 

customers. Panelists reported that no wire rod suppliers are 

entering into any contracts with them beyond a two-month 

period. Because raw materials are in such short supply, some 

panelists have been put on allocation for wire rod. One said 

that his rod suppliers are currently sending up to 30 percent 

less than what was ordered, and there is no negotiation on 

price. The exception is stainless steel, which is not as scarce, 

so there have been no allocations on that material, and none 

are expected. 


Because of the current uncertainty, material is generally 

purchased according to the price in effect at time of 

delivery, not at the time of order, said one panelist. 

Wire suppliers have helped spring manufacturers 

communicate the situation to their customers, and even 

automotive companies have eased up on their cost-down 

demands. Communication and customer education will 

remain important during this uncertain period in the material 

market. 

Looking at the future, what, if anything, can be done to 

alleviate the material shortage? 

China banned the export of scrap and coke from their 

country. The World Trade Organization (WTO) fi led suits 

against China for doing this. India, foreseeing the material 

shortage, restricted the export of steel from their country and 

subsidizes companies that make parts from steel and export 

them. The WTO will get involved in cases that violate trade 

regulations, which will help ease some of the global need 

for raw material. 

In addition, bankrupt wire rod producing facilities 

coming back on line, such as Georgetown, which was 

recently purchased by International Steel Group, will help 

ease the material shortage. 

At the time of the panel discussion, there were indications 

that material prices may have peaked. Here is what 

panelists were experiencing, as of early May: 

“I see demand increasing for stainless steel. I see alloy 

surcharges slightly decreasing,” said Kraft. “I see lead times 

going out, though, on 302 stainless. Therefore, I predict 

another base price increase this year, but a slight surcharge 

decrease on 302 stainless this year before leveling out.” 

“As steel mills look at their product mix, they’re going 

to focus on the areas that are the most profi table,” says 

Gutos. “Historically, wire rod hasn’t been one of those areas, 

so those prices may not go down as quickly as raw materials 

go down, just because of where their focus is.” 

Shollock said, “Swedish mills aren’t coming to us 

anymore wanting to sell product in the U.S. because of the 

currency situation. In addition, Europe is picking up a lot, 

with Germany being the engine. Therefore, I don’t see 302 

stainless coming down in price for the next 12 months.” 

“We saw a decrease in the scrap surcharge from one of 

our suppliers,” says Manning. “However, they increased the 

base price twice the amount of the decrease in scrap.” 

So, what does all of this mean? 

Many factors have converged to put pressure on the 

material market. The rapidly growing Chinese economy 

has been one of them, but not the only one. The soft dollar, 

troubles in the U.S. steel industry, rising utility and transportation 

costs, and the recent gains in the U.S. economy 

have all played a role. The good news from panelists is that 

they do see an eventual leveling out of prices and easing 

of the material shortage. However, springmakers hoping 

for a return to the favorable pricing of the ’90s, will be 

disappointed. That won’t be happening anytime soon, and 

certainly not this year. �

A 

A.I. Technology 

(800) 858-0395 / 14 

Admiral Steel 

(800) 323-7055 / 30 

Alloy Wire International 

(866) 482-5569 / 50 

Anchor Abrasives 

(708) 444-4300 / 25 

C 

Chicago Association of 

Spring Manufacturers Inc. 

(847) 433-1335 / 6, 7 

E 


(847) 695-1900 / 54 

Euroform Technology LLP 

++ 44 (0) 1299 851 535 / 52 

F 

Forming Systems Inc. 

inside front cover 

(877) 727-3676 

Fenn Technologies 

(860) 594-4331 /10 

G 

Gibbs Wire & Steel Co. Inc. 

inside back cover 

(800) 800-4422 

H 

Haldex Garphyttan 

(888) 947-3778 / 46 

Sprung 

I 

Industrial Steel & Wire Co. 

(800) 767-0408 / 8 

InterWire Products Inc. 

(914) 273-6633 / 1 

Instron 

(800) 726-8378 / 26 

J 

JN Machinery Corporation 

(847) 860-1220 / 59 

K 

Kiswire Trading Inc. 

(201) 461-8895 / 19 

L 

Larson Systems 

(877) 780-2131 / 60 

Lesmo Machinery America 

(905) 761-6165 / 48 

Link Engineering 

(734) 453-0800 / 23 

Little Falls Alloys 

(973) 278-1666 / 58 

M 

The Mapes Piano String Co. 

outside back cover 

(423) 543-3195 

Moyer Companies 

(260) 665-2363 / 17 

N 

NIMSCO 

(563) 386-9590 / 22, 51 

Northeast Steel Corp. 

(800) 822-1278 / 48 

P 

Pyromaitre Inc. 

(418) 831-2576 / 55 

R 

RK Trading Co. 

(847) 640-9771 / 32, 33, 56 

S 

Shinko Machinery Co., Ltd. 

++ 81 6 6794 6610 / 3 

Simplex Rapid 

(563) 386-9590 / 5 

Spring Manufacturers 

Institute 

(630) 495-8588 /24, 42, 60 

Suzuki Metal Industry Co. 

Ltd. 

(800) 800-4422 / 34 

U 

Ulbrich Stainless Steels & 

Special Metals, Inc. 

(800) 243-1676 / 36 

United Wire Co., Inc. 

(800) 840-9481 / 29 

V 

Varland Metal Service 

(513) 861-0555 / 62 

W 

Wafi os 

(203) 481-5555 / 26 

Wire Association 

(203) 453-2777 / 20 

SPRINGS October 2004 63

Jeff Wharin 

Bohne Spring Industries Ltd. 

Occupation: Co-owner and director of manufacturing at Bohne Spring Industries Ltd. in Toronto, Ontario, 

Canada. 

Spring industry affi liations: Spring manufacturers board of directors (Canada), SMI Membership 

Committee co-chair. 

Birthplace: Oakville, Ontario, Canada. 

Current home: Oakville, Ontario. 

Family: Married to Rosheen for 21 years; daughters 

Caitlin, 17, and Alexandra, 16; son Joshua, 12; Cobi the 

dog; and Chloe the cat. 

What I like most about being a springmaker: Every 

day every product is different. I am amazed at all the 

products and applications with which we are fortunate to be 

involved. 

Favorite food: Shrimp. 

Favorite read: Automotive magazines. 

Favorite musicians: Neil Young and U2. 

Hobbies: Golf, fi shing and more golf. 

Favorite places: The Muskokas; Kuai, Hawaii; Sydney, Australia. 

Best times of my life: Watching the sun set and moon rise at the cottage. 

A really great evening to me is: An evening out with good friends. 

The one thing I can’t stand is: People who are always negative and constantly complaining. 

My most outstanding qualities are: Solid people skills, a good listener. 

People who knew me in school thought I was: A rebel. 

I knew I was an “adult” when: I got married. 

If I weren’t working at Bohne Spring, I would like to: Have become an architect. 

The most diffi cult business decision I ever had to make was: To buy out the business from my father 

and enter into a partnership with my brother. 

I wonder what would have happened if: My father had not asked me to come and join the family business. 

Role models: My father, Don Wharin. 

I would like to be remembered in the spring industry for: Being honest and fair. 

But people will probably remember me for: Being Don Wharin’s son. 

64 SPRINGS October 2004

Where are Springs Used? - Spring Manufacturers Institute

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