In April, I was invited to attend the Metef Exposition in Brescia, Italy, for a week and provide an interview on how the die casting industry is doing in North America. It was quite interesting to see how different the European aluminum industry operates a show versus expositions held in the U.S.

What a way to go! CastExpo‘10 was held in Orlando, FL, at the Orange County Convention Center from March 20 to March 23. The exposition is the largest single trade show in North America for metalcasters and was co-sponsored by NADCA and AFS for the third time as a collaborative effort.

Small businesses, like many of us in the die casting industry, are undoubtedly the great engine of prosperity in the United States. We have brought the economy out of the last seven recessions and are responsible for nearly 80% of new jobs created during an upturn.

However, a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (WSJ 1-12-10) found that “continued weak sales and threatening domestic policies from Washington have left small business owners with little to be optimistic about in the coming year.”