On Monday, February 26^th, Dave Beach, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University along with Anna Olson and Russell Field (graduate students) visited AB&I to learn more about the foundry.  They run a small sand casting foundry Stanford Product Realization Lab and want to get to know ABI with an eye towards bringing small groups of students in conjunction with two courses that will be taught this spring and fall to AB&I.

 They were surprised to discover that Professor Beach’s daughter had toured AB&I about 30 years ago while she was studying at Stanford.  Professor Beach had the following comments about the tour:

“On behalf of Anna, Russell, and myself, thank you very much for the wonderful tour of AB&I you led Monday morning.  As a professor at Stanford University I am frequently amazed at how much our students learn when visiting manufacturing sites in the Bay Area.  It makes our efforts in 110-minute lectures and 4-hour laboratories pale.  Your tour was very generous and worth a tremendous amount in tuition value to our students.

AB&I’s energy and innovation regarding environmental quality are awesome, your attention to sand and metal quality, your ability to automate high volume processes, and your enthusiasm to share these initiatives with us are wonderful.

Relative to the automation of AB&I’s highest volume products, I will always remember you saying, if you have to pick it up you just lost money.  The idea of gates that snap off without the need for secondary processing is new to me and impressive.  I will carry a mental picture of the mountains of scrap iron which are your sole metal input.  Visually striking and environmentally wonderful! 

I believe that manufacturing is essential to strong communities.  AB&I is heroic in that regard!”