History of the Texas Chapter of the AFS

BRIEF HISTORY & FUTURE OF THE TEXAS CHAPTER

The Texas Chapter of the American Foundry Society was founded in 1943. The year, 2013, will record our seventieth year of service to the foundry industry.

Looking back on the names of the past chairmen, the companies and their representatives, we find a wide cross section of foundries, suppliers, and schools which forms the strong nucleus that makes our chapter strong. We have the sixth largest chapter in the United States and one of the proudest of our heritage.

Mr. F. M. Whittlinger served as the first and second chairman, the only chairman to serve two consecutive terms. Of the 60 past chairmen, many are living and still active in the Texas Chapter and the casting industry.

Texas State University continues to contribute to the knowledge base of our industry via programs and students. Our Presidential Scholarship achieved and surpassed its goal of $100,000.00 endowment. This will enable the Texas Chapter to perpetually award scholarships to manufacturing students interested in metal casting technology. Our chapter continues to help Texas State University purchase equipment and supplies for the foundry program. We are and have been for many years a strong supporter of the Foundry Education Foundation. We support and appreciate the many scholarships that FEF has given to students at Texas State University.

It is hard to believe that at one time our chapter had little or no funds to operate. Members during these hard times helped the chapter with their own personal contributions. Today the Texas Chapter AFS is financially sound and enjoys a well-run, organized chapter due to the dedication of our past and present chairmen and directors. We owe them many, many thanks. We hope that our members enjoy and benefit from our web site. We ask that you send us any ideas on how we can change the web site to help our membership. Please visit our web site often and check out our news pages.

Harley Scoggins