Seeing a Foundry for the First Time and What I Learned
After only two days in my new role as Workforce Development Specialist with NFFS, I had the opportunity to visit four Wisconsin foundries as part of the CastYourFuture.org photo shoot. The group included two NFFS members, Eck Industries and Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co., alongside two non-members, Kohler and Mercury Marine. Cast Your Future will be an incredible tool for reaching the younger workforce, helping guide their interest in the foundry industry by providing resources and clear pathways to enter the field. On this trip, we captured video and photographs of foundries in action to offer a realistic perspective of what it's like to work in one, along with interviews with current young employees sharing what they love about the industry and how they got their start.
To be completely transparent, I had never been inside a foundry before this project. My preconceived notion was of dark, cramped spaces with a handful of workers clad in heavy protective gear, their faces lit only by the burning glow of molten metal. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement; a state of complete awe would be more accurate. The foundries were bright, bustling hubs of energy. Decked out in PPE, we were guided across the floors, where I was mesmerized by the different processes: pourings, grinding, quality control. My senses were in overdrive. Even with foam earplugs, the din of machinery pressed against my ears and I struggled to hear what anyone was saying. My lip-reading skills grew noticeably sharper as the day went on. The air carried a new scent: sharp, tangy, with a hint of dust that settled into my nose.
The sites were unlike anything I had ever seen. The iron at Kohler looked like magma from a volcano movie; the aluminum at Mercury Marine had an otherworldly shimmer; the completed parts at Eck Industries stacked up high, glinting across the floor; and Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry’s seemed unending, with a new area around every corner.
Out of my depth, I took comfort in how at home everyone else seemed. Workers catching our eye as we walked past would smile and wave, and whenever we stopped to observe, they happily paused to chat, enthusiastically explaining what they were doing. As a newcomer with very basic questions (a lot of "what's that?"), I found everyone patient and generous with their explanations, always offering context about why each step matters. It was during the interviews with the younger workers, though, that the purpose of Cast Your Future really clicked for me. Listening to them talk about how they found their way into the industry, what surprised them, what kept them there, I kept thinking about everyone who will never get the chance to stand where I was standing. Their stories deserved a wider audience, and that is exactly what the website is being built to provide. 
That pride showed up in the work itself too. The true artistry in every movement was impossible to miss; even working quickly, the workers remained calculated and precise in every action. Each person was an expert in their craft, and it showed. Speaking with team members, from management to the individual workers featured in our interviews, I found a consistent theme: pride in their contribution, knowing that each small step plays an essential role in the larger process.
It was a wonderful crash course in the industry and a chance to grasp both the impact of foundry work on our everyday lives and the importance of bringing younger workers into the field. A foundry career puts entry-level workers and beyond at the forefront of an industry where their contributions genuinely shape tomorrow, through lasting skills, modern technology, and a craft-driven community built on sustainability. While we can't give every interested candidate a foundry tour, CastYourFuture.org will give them a virtual experience to explore the field and feed that spark of interest, and hopefully let it catch fire.
We welcome for all NFFS members to help us promote careers in metal casting by showing their foundries in action. If we don't use this on the website, we will use it in social media. Click here to add your photos and videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1aGCEKrQYA9YjCgo_kQgV2dMij8Kjkld-