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Dear Metalcasting Industry

Shea Gibbs

Dear Metalcasting Industry,
I’ve had a nice time getting to know you over the past six and a half years.

When I first walked into the offices of the American Foundry Society in February 2006, I didn’t know slag from silica or cores from copes. What a long way we’ve come, you and I.

Today is my last day as managing editor of Metal Casting Design & Purchasing magazine. While my work with you feels anything but done, my wife was offered a great job in Virginia, and she had to take it.

This isn’t goodbye, metalcasting industry. After all this time exploring your ins and outs, I know one thing is certain—you’re everywhere. When my family climbs into our car for the drive away from Illinois, you’ll be there. When I cook the first meal in my new home, you’ll be there. And when I walk down the streets of my new city, you’ll be there too.

And oh the memories you’ve provided me. You took me all across this nation, metalcasting industry, from the Amish country in Pennsylvania to the deserts of Arizona. In addition to sending me to nearly half our great states, you allowed me to stamp my passport in Canada, Mexico and Brazil. I know more about manufacturing today than I ever thought I would, and I am a better person for it.

Please, metalcasting industry, don’t make this harder than it has to be. I’ll miss you too, but you know as well as I do that life is cyclical. I’ve seen you through the roaring times of the mid-2000s, to the Great Recession, to your burgeoning recovery. Certainly you’ll have no problem seeing me through a simple change of location.

My only regret is I won’t have the chance to see what you become in the future. With economic conditions improving and research and development investments on the rise, I see nothing but clean, defect-free castings on the horizon.

Best of luck to you, metalcasting industry, not to mention all the wonderful people you’ve introduced me to over the years. With their help, I know you’ll succeed.

Sincerely,
Shea Gibbs