Leadership change ahead at Forge

Rural Portland resident Pat Bennett, who has served has president of ATI Portland Forge since 2001, will retire on April 1.
Bennett, who began his 37-year career with ATI in 1979 as am expediter and customer service representative, held several positions before leaving the company in 1986. He returned as vice president of sales in 1989, a position he held until he was named president of the company in 2001.
Steve Barcus, vice president and general manager of ATI Portland Forge, will assume leadership of the company, reporting to Bennett until his retirement date.
Barcus, who joined ATI Portland Forge in 1988, has held leadership positions in quality and engineering. In 2007 he was named vice president of manufacturing with responsibility for facilities in Portland and Lebanon, Ky. He was named vice president/general manager in June 2012.
Reporting to Barcus will be the ATI Portland Forge management team:
•Ralph Ussack, controller
•Steve Laux, vice president human resources
•Mark Paxson, director of sales and marketing
•Randy Wehrly, procurement manager
•Greg Drane, operations manager (Lebanon)
•Mark McKee, operations superintendent (Portland)
•Brian Hayes, metalurgist and special projects manager
•Michael Irwin, quality manager
In other ATI company news, John D. Sims has been named Executive Vice President, Primary Titanium Operations, and Engineered Alloys and Products by Allegheny Technologies.
In this new position, Sims is responsible for ATI Portland Forge, among other ATI divisions.
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated is one of the largest and most diversified specialty metals producers in the world with revenues of approximately $5.0 billion in 2012. ATI has approximately 11,200 full-time employees world-wide.

Ficosa transfers jobs
A spokesperson for the Berne-based Ficosa factory recently told the Berne Tri-Weekly News that a company announcement signals the likely transition of all 140 jobs in the plant.
“Ficosa has not issued a formal ‘WARN’ notification of lay-off, but the company said that it wanted the … employees to have as much information and notice as possible to relative changes, said Lisa Norris, U.S. Director of Human Resources and spokesperson for Ficaso.
Ficosa has already mailed out letters to all the facility’s employees informing them of the company plans.
Norris said Ficosa is speaking with another company that may be interested in acquiring the paint processes in the plant, which could help retain some of the jobs at the facility.

New name and owners
On Dec. 1, Flamespray Machine Service became Flamepray Machine and Fabrication LLC under the new ownership of Dave and Abby Clamme.
Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shop is located at 237 E. Votaw St., Portland.
For more information, call (260) 726-6236 or e-mail [email protected].

Comcast buying
Comcast recently announced that it’s buying General Electric’s 49 percent stake in the NBCUniversal joint venture for $16.7 billion several years early, as the company takes advantage of low borrowing costs.
The company is buying other assets from GE, such as NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York and CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey, for about $1.4 billion.
The company’s shares jumped $2.93 to $41.90 in after-hours trading. GE shares rose 76 cents to $23.34.

Chamber awards
The Fort Recovery Chamber of Commerce recently named the recipients of its Awards Banquet.
Don Lennartz was awarded Citizen of the Year; “Sisters of the Disorder” was the Hall of Fame inductee; Brandon & Amanda Wyerick were awarded Most Improved Dwelling; Dan & Theresa Lennartz were presented the Best Landscaping award; and high school senior Connor Rammel was recipient of the annual Chamber Scholarship. The Mayor’s Community Service Award was presented to the Sons of the American Legion Post #345.

Healthy Living Expo
The Mercer Healthy Living Expo will be held March 9 from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at The Galleria, 909 E. Wayne St., Celina.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature over 50 exhibits and include many free health screening. There will also be select screenings and assessments available at a cost.
For more information, call (419) 678-5613.

Gets an A
Tyson Foods, Inc., parent company of Tyson Mexican Original, Portland, has received an “A” from the Global Reporting Initiative for its latest corporate social responsibility report, company officials announced.
The new sustainability report is the fourth Tyson Foods has produced since 2005, but the first to receive the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Application Level “A.”  This represents a high degree of disclosure and transparency in sustainability reporting.  GRI is a world-recognized organization that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability.
Tyson Foods, founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is one of the world’s largest processors and marketers of chicken, beef and pork, the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500.
 
Volume requirements
POET CEO Jeff Lautt issued the following statement in response to the EPA setting the proposed annual volume requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard is the most successful program in history for replacing fossil fuel use with domestic, renewable energy. We’ve seen oil imports drop, new jobs and economic activity in rural America and new record incomes for farmers. The overall volume numbers from the EPA reflect a logical next step in continuing that success,” he said.
“Biofuels from corn have set the stage for cellulosic biofuels, which make up most of the additional gallons laid out in the RFS. Just as that technology saw rapid deployment in the 2000s, so too will ethanol from sources such as crop residue, waste streams and energy crops.”


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