Meetings
The 1999 annual meeting of the Ductile Iron Society is scheduled for May 19-21, 1999, and will be held at the Holiday Inn City Centre in South  Bend, IN.

Business
Automotive component supplier Intermet Corporation has gone on-line to a highly secure "virtual private network" in order to enhance the exchange of vital design and engineering data with Honda R&D Americas, Inc. The electronic communication system, or extranet, is being utilized by Honda and other automobile manufacturers to more efficiently transfer design information to their North American suppliers. Intermet is the first foundry company and one of the leading suppliers overall to establish this type of connection with Honda R&D.
 
Specifically, the collaboration provides for the confidential transfer of component engineering data such as solid models that are created with product design software platforms common to both Intermet and Honda.
 
Foseco Inc. has named Milchap Products, of Milwaukee, WI, a distributor of Foseco Foundry Products in Wisconsin, Minnesota and northern Illinois. The addition of Milchap Products will facilitate delivery of Foseco products and services to this region of the United States.
 
AMCOL International Corp. through its minerals operation, Volclay International, has acquired the assets of Tae Kwang Bentonite Co. located near Kyungju, Korea. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
 
The company, now called Volclay Korea, will be headed by S.W. Kant, the new managing director.

People

Jerry Wurtsmith  
Jerry Wurtsmith has been named Plant Manager of the Applied Process, Inc. production facility in Livonia, MI. He comes to the position with 27 years of experience in manufacturing and human resources in the metals processing industry. Mr. Wurtsmith holds a BS in Education and an MS in Industrial Relations from Wayne State University.

Kathy Hayrynen  
The Technical Director of Applied Process, Inc., Kathy Hayrynen, has been inducted into the Presidential Council of Alumnae (PCA) of the Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. The Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department of the University nominated Dr. Hayrynen for the honor "because of her professionalism, service to community, family-related accomplishments, education and service" to Michigan Tech. As a member of the Council, Dr. Hayrynen is committed to three years of support to enhance the organization’s mission. The University’s announcement of her appointment notes that she will act as an advisor to the President of the University and to the institution’s Educational Opportunity Department, and "will work to advance women students and alumnae by helping to develop their leadership and professional skills."
 
Dr. Hayrynen is a 1993 graduate of Michigan Tech and now resides in Northville, MI.

Joseph A. Mentz  
Intermet Corporation announced today that Joseph A. Mentz has been named general manager of the Intermet Machining plant located in Columbus, Georgia.
 
Mentz will be responsible for the operation of the machining plant. Mentz comes to Intermet with over 20 years of management experience, most recently as director of operations for Statesboro, Georgia-based Fisher-Rosemount Petroleum, a division of Emerson Electric and a leading manufacturer of precision flow measurement meters and valves for the petroleum industry. Prior to that Mentz was vice president of operations at Milford Fastening Systems, located in Milford, Connecticut.
 
Mentz holds a BS degree in administrative science from Central Connecticut State University and an MBA from the University of Connecticut.

Michael S. Becker  
Intermet Corporation announces the appointment of Michael S. Becker to director of foundry purchasing, effective October 19, 1998. He will be based at the Troy, Michigan corporate office.
 
Becker comes to Intermet from Arthur Anderson & Co., LLP, Auburn Hills, MI, where he was a senior auditor. Prior to that, Becker held the position of materials manager with Webesto Sunroofs, Inc.,Rochester Hills, MI.
 
In his new role, Becker will have direct responsibility for purchasing and materials for Intermet’s North American foundry group.
 
Becker holds a BS degree in aviation technology from Western Michigan University and an MBA in operations from Michigan State University.

Alicia Leal  
Alicia Leal has joined Superior Graphite as its new Director of Human Resources.
 
In her new role, Leal will oversee all of the company’s human resources functions, from employee relations and hiring to the administration of company benefits.
 
Leal, who started in August, holds a master’s degree in industrial relations. Before joining Superior, she was the Director of Human Resources at RG Ray Corporation, a global manufacturer.

James F. Mason 
John Doddridge, chairman and CEO of Intermet Corp., announced today that James F. Mason has been promoted to group vice president of Intermet. In this newly created position, Mason will be located at the corporate office in Troy, MI and will assume responsibility for a number of Intermet’s operating units.
 
Mason most recently served as president of Wagner Castings Co., which came to Intermet in January 1997 as a result of the Sudbury acquisition. He has been with Wagner in Decatur, IL since 1984 serving in several positions before becoming president in 1988. Prior to joining Wagner, Mason was president of Mason Steel Fabricating, and earlier in his career, was employed by General Motors’ Central Foundry Division.

Mel Ostrander  
Applied Process Inc. is pleased to announce that Mel Ostrander has been named president and plant manager of their new, affiliated facility, AP Southridge, Inc. in Elizabethtown, KY.
 
Mr. Ostrander has 17 years of experience with Applied Process, the last 12 of which have been as plant manager of the company’s main production facility.

George B. Freer  
Intermet Corporation announced today that George B. Freer has been named general manager of Frisby P.M.C. Inc., an Intermet precision machining company located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
 
Freer brings a wealth of operations experience to Intermet, having most recently served as president and general manager of Sasib Packaging North American, an Illinois-based company. Prior to this, he was executive vice president of Thiele Engineering Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
 
Freer received a degree in physics from Syracuse University. He also served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear weapons commissioned officer.

Chad Gallentine  
Superior Graphite Co. has hired Chad Gallentine as U.S. Sales Manager for its Industrial Products Division, company officials announced today.
 
In his new position, Gallentine, 29, oversees national sales of Superior’s industrial products, which include natural and synthetic graphite, as well as other components used for heavy machinery and in the automotive and battery industries.
 
Gallentine, a Chicago area native, was a regional sales manager with Superior from 1995 to 1997 before working one year at a metal-producing company.

Gary Morrison 
American Colloid Co., a specialty minerals operation of AMCOL International Corp., has promoted Gary Morrison to the newly created position of executive vice president.
 
Morrison, 42, joined American Colloid in 1981 as a sales representative for the company’s petroleum products group. He was promoted to manager of the metalcasting products group in 1988, and to vice president in 1994, during which time he helped lead American Colloid’s market share growth and profit improvement. Prior to joining American Colloid, he held various field engineering and laboratory technician positions for Baroid Corp., Odessa, Texas.
 
Morrison has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas, as well as several hours of graduate credit.

Alan J. Miller  
Intermet Corporation has named Alan J. Miller to the position of corporate general counsel for Intermet. In this position, Miller will be responsible for Intermet’s legal activities, including the coordination of all external legal counsel.
 
Miller joins Intermet from Toledo, Ohio-based Libbey-Owens-Ford Company, where he was vice president, general counsel and secretary. At L-O-F, Miller was also responsible for establishing the in-house legal function for the company. Prior to this, he served as staff attorney with Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc. and had been in private practice with a leading Ohio-based law firm.

Obituary

Neil H. Mingledorff, 76, retired chairman of the board for Ductile Iron Co. of America, passed away on September 26, 1998. Mingledorff attended Auburn University and was an officer and a pilot with the Army Air Corps with service in World War II. He was past president of United Foundry & Metal Co., the Ductile Iron Company of America and Isle of Hope Marine and R.G. Industries.
 
Mingledorff served as AFS director class of 1970. He was past president of the Ductile Iron Society and was a director of the Foundry Educational Foundation. He also served on the executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America and organized the Savannah Sport Fishing Club and served as its first president.
 
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Savannah, 1352 Eisenhower Drive, Savannah, GA 31406 or St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1 W. Macon St., Savannah, GA 31401

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