Merry Christmas from the Anderson Shumaker family! Today’s holiday is celebrated by 92% of American families. However, America isn’t the only country to celebrate Christmas. Christmas is a very important time for celebration – religious or just plain festive – for many cultures all over the world. To help get you into the holiday spirit,…
Happy holidays from your friends at Anderson Shumaker! Yesterday was our annual company holiday luncheon. Consequently, our workforce took a break from forging and we turned the shop floor into a winter wonderland. One of the best parts of Anderson Shumaker is our amazing company culture. For instance, our annual holiday party gathers all employees…
Our many certifications are very important at Anderson Shumaker. We’re proud to be PED (June 2019), AS9001D (March 2019), and ISO 9001:2015 (September 2018) certified. We’ve earned each key certification due to our diligent management and our dedicated workforce. However, while we’ve blogged about our PED and AS9001D certifications, we haven’t highlighted our very important…
Forging titanium is an important part of Anderson Shumaker’s operations. Our skilled team knows their metals inside and out. But, not everyone is familiar with the many materials we forge. Each metal has its own unique properties and attributes. Therefore, not all metals are appropriate for all products. A few weeks back we discussed aluminum.…
Happy Thanksgiving from your friends Anderson Shumaker! We’re thankful to have a few days off to celebrate with family and friends this holiday week. This year, we have a lot to be thankful for (not just a second – or third – helping of pumpkin pie). New Management We’re thankful to have been under new…
Customer satisfaction surveys are a big part of how we do business at Anderson Shumaker. We know our customers have options when it comes to forged products suppliers. Therefore, we regularly gather feedback about our services and products. This feedback gives us insight into what our customers need. Most importantly, it drives future decisions. At…
At Anderson Shumaker, we don’t just forge metals; we forge an excellent company culture. Culture is a critical and unique part to every business. Most importantly, it’s the core values that make employees want to join a team, and one of the biggest reasons why they stay – or leave – an organization. Therefore, crafting…
Forging aluminum grades is an important part of Anderson Shumaker’s production. Our skilled team knows their metals inside and out. But, not everyone is familiar with the many materials we forge. Each metal has its own unique properties and attributes. Therefore, not all metals are appropriate for all products. A few weeks back we discussed…
When you think “forging,” you probably don’t think “information technology.” While it seems like the two don’t go together, the truth is that information technology (IT) is a major part of modern forging. Without innovative IT, we’d be stuck in the dark ages. That wouldn’t be good for our customers or our employees. At Anderson…
Anderson Shumaker’s forge shop achieved its Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) certification! In addition to our recent AS9100D certification (aerospace), this new achievement helps us make big strides as a dependable forging supplier. Above all, it opens markets and helps us gain new customers. What is a Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) Certification? In short, a PED…
This summer Chicago gained an unusual celebrity: Chance the Snapper. Chance is a 40 lb, 5+ foot alligator named after the city’s very own Chance the Rapper. For one whole July week, the rogue gator lived his best life swimming around the Humboldt Park Lagoon. We loved following our resident reptile’s Chicago adventures. We even…
Our team achieved record breaking sales in July 2019. We’re only 1 week into autumn, but we’re already beating those numbers. Each month keeps getting better! What’s our secret? First, Anderson Shumaker has a stellar sales team. From our top sales management to our customer service experts, each sales team member is industry knowledgeable and…
Anderson Shumaker is now AS9100D (aerospace) certified. This certification is based on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)‘s aerospace industry standards. This is an important achievement for an open die forging company if the company seeks to become an aerospace industry supplier. For example, all major aerospace regulators endorse and require the AS9100D certification: DoD…
Anderson Shumaker really had a blast this summer. While Chicago’s weather was thankfully mild, we kept things hot on the shop-floor. From hosting tasty company barbeques, celebrating our 1-year new management anniversary, and earning coveted company certifications, we really had a fantastic summer! This June we proudly celebrated our 1-year anniversary under new management. Over…
Happy Independence Day from Anderson Shumaker! It’s a fantastic weekend for a barbecue, fireworks, or a fun getaway. Most importantly, today Americans come together to celebrate our nation’s history and heritage. To help you celebrate, here are a few fun Independence Day facts: Did You Know…? While July 4th was not a federal holiday until…
Forging University: Lesson #5 – Open-Die Forging vs. Centrifugal Casting Welcome back to Forging University! The fifth and last topic in our 5-part discussion compares two popular types of forging: open-die and centrifugal casting. Before reading on, take a quick look back to: Lesson #1, Lesson #2, Lesson #3, and Lesson #4 to review what…
Forging carbon steel is an important part of Anderson Shumaker’s production. Our skilled team knows their metals inside and out. But, not everyone is familiar with the many materials we forge. Each metal has its own unique properties and attributes. Therefore, not all metals are appropriate for all products. A few weeks back we discussed alloys. Today…
Did you know that Anderson Shumaker offers in-house testing on our forgings? While our forgings and ring rolling represent the best in high quality products, they wouldn’t be the best if it wasn’t for our in-house testing services. Usually, testing is the final step in manufacturing. Consequently, it’s a critical for cost-savings. Most importantly, by…
Forging University: Open-Die Forging vs. Closed-Die Forging Welcome back to Forging University! This is the fourth topic in our 5-part discussion. Today, we’ll compare two popular types of forging: open die vs. closed die. To get started, take a quick look back to Lesson #1, Lesson #2, and Lesson #3 to review forging basics. You can…
Anderson Shumaker offers complete finishing services on our forged products. Because we’re one-stop shop, our in-house extras save our customers both time and money. Above all, we offer seamless traceability. This means that with one phone call, our customers can trace the exact status of an order from start to end. From a CAD drawing…
Spring has finally sprung in Chicago! We’re “rolling” in the season with an increased production of our forged round bars. Did you know that round bars are an Anderson Shumaker specialty? We really strive to raise the “bar” with both our materials inventory and production. Our custom round bars are suited for multiple applications and…
Forging alloy steel is an important part of Anderson Shumaker’s production. Our skilled team knows their metals inside and out. But, not everyone is familiar with the many materials we forge. Each metal has its own unique properties and attributes. Therefore, not all metals are appropriate for all products. Last week we discussed tool steel. Today we’ll…
Forging University: Lesson #3 – Open-Die Forging vs. Torch Cutting Welcome back to Forging University! This is the third topic in our 5-part discussion. Today we compare forging vs. torch cutting. Before continuing, take a look at Lesson #1 and Lesson #2 to review forging basics. You can also check out Anderson Shumaker’s forging page for…
Happy Valentine’s Day from your friends in Anderson Shumaker’s heat treatment department. We don’t know what your special plans are, but on the shop floor, we like to keep things burning hot all year round… at least when it comes to heat treatment! Did you know that heat treating plays a significant role in the forging process?…
Today we’ll take a deep into the metal tool steel. This material is more common than most people realize. Metals are the beating heart of our industry. The skilled team at Anderson Shumaker knows their metals inside and out. But, not everyone is familiar with the many metals we forge. Each metal has its own…
Today we’ll take an in-depth look at one of our favorites and most popular metals: stainless steel. At Anderson Shumaker, we know our metals. From alloys to carbon and tool steels, we forge them all. However, most people aren’t familiar with the different metals we use. Each material has its own properties, attributes, and special…
Forging University: Lesson #2 – Open Die Forging vs. Casting Welcome back to Forging University! The second topic in our 5-part discussion compares forging and casting. Before reading, take a quick look back to Lesson #1 and review forging basics. Additionally, you can check out the Anderson Shumaker forging page. What is Casting? Casting is the process…
Forging University: Open Die Forging vs. Fabrication Welcome to Forging University! The first topic in this 5-part discussion compares forging and fabrication. Therefore, let’s start with some basics: What is Forging? Forging is the shaping of metal by heating it in a fire or furnace and then beating or hammering it into a final shape.…
Welcome to Forging University! Welcome to Forging University, a new Anderson Shumaker blog mini-series. In 5 sessions, we’ll take a deep dive into the forging process. For example, we’ll see how it compares to other popular metalworking techniques. Today marks the first full week of 2019. Our doors are open, our furnaces are fired-up, and…
While most people ring in the New Year with fireworks and champagne, we prefer to ringing it in with a different type of “fireworks.” Our team is back in the shop, already forging and filling 2019 orders. Did you know that rolled rings are an Anderson Shumaker specialty? We forge rings 3” OD up to…