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

Time Sensitive Material
Globe Metallurgical, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of foundry alloys and the country's largest producer of silicon metal, today announced it is accepting applications for the 1999 Globe Challenge High School Scholarship Program.   The deadline for applications is April 16, 1999.

Now entering its seventh year, the Globe Challenge Scholarship Program recognizes outstanding high school students who have overcome unique challenges or helped others to do so.  High school seniors in the four communities in which Globe has production facilities are eligible:  Beverly/Waterford, OH; Niagara Falls, NY; Selma AL; and Springfield, OR.  Forty-six scholarships have been awarded to date.

"The scholarship theme is in line with Globe's corporate motto, 'The Challenge Never Ends,'" said Arden Sims, president and CEO.   "It reminds us that we must constantly strive to reach new heights in quality improvement.  Through the Scholarship program, we challenge students to reach new heights in their academic and personal endeavors."

Winners are judged by an independent panel based on their submission of a 500-word essay in which they describe a challenge they have overcome, or helped someone else overcome.  In addition to their essays, applicants are evaluated on their academic performance, participation in extracurricular activities and letters of reference.

"Last year, our essays described how students overcame a variety of challenges--from helping parents get a home of their own to re-uniting broken families," said Sims.  "It is gratifying to see the ingenuity and maturity of these students.  We are proud to help support them as they pursue their high education."

The award consists of a one-time $1,250 tuition payment to the student's college, trade or technical school of choice.  Winners will also have their names engraved on a plaque placed at Globe's plant and the participating school.

The deadline for scholarship entries is Friday, April 16, 1999.  For complete details and scholarship application, eligible students in participating school districts should contact their high school guidance counselors.

In addition to its Challenge Scholarship Program, Globe offers scholarships specifically for the children of Globe employees.  Applications for these scholarships are available directly through the Company.

Globe Metallurgical, Inc., is a privately-held Company, with headquarters in Cleveland, OH.  The Company maintains four domestic production facilities, and one in Norway.  Globe also owns a subsidiary in West Sussex, England, and is a major shareholder in Fesil, a leading Norwegian alloy producer.  Recognized internationally for its high-quality products, Globe has received numerous awards, including the 1988 Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and the 1989 Shiego Shingo Award for Manufacturing Excellence.

AMCOL International Corp. (NYSE:ACO) announced that the Latin America Sales Group of its Chemdal subsidiary and the Metalcasting Products Group of its American Colloid Co. subsidiary are "Operations of the Year

Ashland Chemical Company, a division of Ashland, Inc. (NYSE:ASH), recently broke ground on its first manufacturing plant in China.   The plant will formally operate as Ashland (Changzhou) Chemical Co., Ltd. and will be located in the Changzhou New District near Shanghai, China.

The office, blending, and manufacturing plant will service Ashland Chemical's Foundry Products Division.  The facility will initially have approximately 20 employees and is expected to be operational by the Spring of next year.

Superior Graphite's newest Chicago plant--built to accommodate the company's growing presence in the battery industry--has begun large-scale production, officials announced today. The plant, located on the city's Southwest side, houses a cutting-edge laboratory for testing and developing value-added graphite materials for the battery industry. Using special sizing and processing technology, workers will focus on alkaline and lithium ion applications.

Intermet Corporation
Intermet Corporation today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Quadion Corporation for the purchase of its Tool Products Division. Tool Products is a North American manufacturer of precision engineered, close-tolerance, aluminum die castings. The company also manufactures for other broad applications in the motor vehicle, electronics, communications, power tool and recreation industries. Intermet Chairman and CEO, John Doddridge, said "It is Intermet's fundamental strategy to offer metal castings in multiple materials, so logically we have been looking for opportunities to grow our aluminum casting business to compliment our iron casting business."

The Foundry Division of the John Deere Waterloo Works, Waterloo, Iowa, the leading manufacturer of farming machinery, has placed an order with Inductotherm for what will be the largest, solid state, medium frequency induction melting installation in the world. John Deere's new induction melt shop will include three 16,000 kw Inductotherm VIP Power-Trak units powering three 20 metric ton steel shell coreless furnaces. The furnaces, which will include back-tilting for easy slag removal, integral fume collection covers and lining removal mechanisms, will set new standards for high operational efficiency. The new induction furnaces also will provide a cleaner and quieter working environment because they will generate minimal effluences and will produce substantially less noise than the six existing arc furnaces which they will replace. Inductotherm also is supplying integrated and automated alloy makeup and charge delivery equipment for this installation. An Inductotherm Meltminder 200 computer system will provide overall melt shop control via a central, elevated control room with line-of- sight monitoring of each furnace. The full project will be completed in June 2000.

People

Richard W. Carriker
AMCOL International Corp. (NYSE:ACO) recently announced the promotion of Richard W. Carriker to the position of managing director for Volclay Ltd., its U.K. minerals operation.

Jack Smith
Citation Corporation has appointed Jack Smith to the newly created position of vice president operations within the company's automotive group.

Smith will oversee the operations of three Citation divisions, Alabama Ductile, Camden Casting Center, and Citation-Marion.

David Laughton
David Laughton, a 13-year Superior Graphite Co. veteran, has been named product manager for the company's beta silicon group, officials recently announced. He comes to the position from Western United States Sales. As product manager, his chief duties are to oversee production and marketing of beta silicon carbide, manufactured in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Byron O. Pond, Jr.
Byron O. Pond, Jr., Chairman of Indiana based Arvin Industries, Inc., was elected to the Board of Directors of Intermet. Pond also serves on the Board of Directors of Cooper Tire and Rubber Company and is the current chairman of the Motor Equipment Manufacturer Association.

Laurence Vine-Chatterton
Intermet Corporation Chairman and CEO John Doddridge recently announced the appointment of Laurence Vine–Chatterton as President of Intermet Europe.

Board of Directors
At a recent Hickman, Williams & Company Stockholders' Meeting the following were elected to the Board of Directors:
 
Robert Damschroeder, Chm/CEO
Arthur Haack, President/COO
Paul Kjelstrom, Exec. VP, Oper.
Robert Greason, VP; Chm./Pres. of Hickman, Williams Canada, Inc. and Chm./Pres. of Hickman, Williams de Mexico, S. A. de C. V.
Richard Lambrecht, Senior VP
Robert Simons, VP
William Snyder, VP
James Wood, VP

George Kitkowski
Citation Corporation has appointed George Kitkowski director of continuous improvement.

Kitkowski was previously with Southern Aluminum, a Citation division.  He will now share his manufacturing experience with all of the divisions within the automotive group.

Citation Corporation is a manufacturer of castings, as well as forged and machined components for the capital and durable goods industries.  At its 22 divisions in 10 states, its approximately 7,000 employees produce steel, aluminum, and iron castings, steel forgings, steel and aluminum investment castings, and machined and assembled components for automobiles, light, medium and heavy trucks, off-highway construction equipment, agricultural equipment, aircraft and aerospace, pumps, compressors, and industrial valves, machine tools, and other durable goods.  The company's stock is traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol 'Cast'.   Citation Corporation can be found on the World  Wide Web at www.gotocast.com.

Bytha Mills
Intermet Corporation (Nasdaq: INMT) announced today that Bytha Mills has been named Director of Corporate Affairs.   In a newly created position, Mills will assume responsibility for senior management compensation administration and the employee benefits department.

Mills most recently was Manager of Investor Relations with responsibilities for Corporate Office investor relations, human resources and public relations - duties she will retain in her new position.

She joined the company in 1997 from Dana Corporation, where she served in numerous positions in various locations, including human resources manager and accounting supervisor.

Mills holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Arkansas State University and a Master of Science degree in human resources from Indiana Wesleyan University.

With headquarters in Troy, Michigan, Intermet Corporation and its subsidiaries design and manufacture precision iron and aluminum cast components for automotive and industrial equipment manufacturers worldwide.  Intermet also produces precision-machined components and manufactures cranes and specialty service vehicles.  The company has more than 6,900 employees at 19 operating locations in North America and Europe.  Intermet's internet address is www.intermet.com.

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