ICME Staff and National Officers 2008-2009
This year’s ICME National President is Dr Bill Griffiths FICME who was elected at ICME's AGM in May 2009.
To read the presidential address please go to Presidential address.
Bill is currently Senior Lecturer at The University of Birmingham in the UK. Dr Bill Griffiths began his working life in a grey cast iron foundry, obtaining an HND in Cast Metals Technology and much practical experience. This was followed by a return to studies, eventually resulting in a PhD in Industrial Metallurgy (his thesis was entitled "The quenching characteristics of sodium polyacrylate solutions"). He was then employed at Foseco International Limited on the development of grain refiners and modifiers for Al alloys before becoming a Senior Research Associate at Nottingham University studying electromagnetic stirring of Al alloys. He then became the Federal-Mogul Senior Research Fellow at UMIST where he spent nearly five years studying interfacial heat transfer during casting solidification. He has presented numerous papers at international conferences and is frequently published in our own Foundry Trade Journal. Bill is also a longstanding member of the ICME Technical Board and was Vice-Chair of the Technical Committee for the recent World Foundry Congress held in the UK in 2006.
Senior Vice President: Patrick Helly Prof MICME
Practical foundryman Patrick Helly has been elected as senior vice president for 2008-2009.
He manages New Pro Foundries with his wife Michelle and has a long established history at regional ICME level and serving on General Council.
Patrick graduated from Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) in Mechanical Engineering in 1972 and joined GEC Large Machines,Rugby as a graduate trainee.
He became production engineer the following year, later senior engineer with responsibility for factory reorganisation and establishing design guidelines for the production of large stator frames and laminated cores.
In 1978 he became a Member of The Institute of Production Engineers, a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and a Chartered Engineer.
The in 1980 he joined New Pro Foundries, a family business owned by his wife’s father. Patrick told Foundry Trade Journal: ‘One of the first things my father-in-law did was to introduce me to the Slough Section of the then IBF, and my education as a foundryman began.’
Patrick is confident that membership of ICME has aided his development as a professional foundryman.
‘The Institute and the Members have been a great fund of knowledge and advice. As a Mechanical Engineer I only knew the outline of what a foundry did, the course work being very sketchy. About the same as modern courses judging by the conversations and contacts I have had with students.’
‘The Institute is in many ways what holds our industry together. Through the Institute Members can have an input into how the industry develops and how it is seen by the world at large. Members can enhance their knowledge through the Institute, through section and branch meetings and contacts with other members.’
After joining the Institute in 1982 Patrick began an active participation in the Slough Section and the London Branch.
In 1997 he became Slough section president and in 1998 London branch president. He has also served as section and branch secretary and branch treasurer.
Speaking about his new role as national JVP he said: ‘I am deeply honoured to have been elected junior vice president, I hope that I can make a positive contribution to the future of the Institute. I look forward to working with Willie Howson and Bill Griffiths for the benefit of the Institute and its Members.’
Junior Vice President: Mr Steve Bell Prof MICME
Steve is Managing Director of Davy Roll Co Ltd. Steve joined the institute in 1987. He has long been a supporter of ICME, and is currently President of the North East Branch and is a Past President of the Newcastle upon Tyne Branch. He is the is the Managing Director of Davy Roll Company Limited which manufactures cast rolls for Hot and Cold Strip Mills, Medium and Heavy Section Mills and Plate Mills, in a variety of iron and steel qualities. Rolls up to 55 tonnes finished weight are produced by static and spin-cast techniques. The melting section of the foundry comprises will be increased from the current 86 tonne capacity to 105 tonnes capacity within the replacement of 3 mains frequency furnaces by 3 new medium frequency furnaces, during the summer of 2009. This will enable the Company to produce even larger rolls. The requirement for more sophisticated roll materials has lead to the necessity for much closer control systems and the company has introduced computer monitoring and control on all melting, casting and heat treatment functions. The company which employs 260 people, many of whom who have been at the company for many years and have built up a wealth of knowledge in roll manufacturing, has a very proactive view to staff development and operates a modern apprenticeship scheme enabling a perfect blend of youth and experience for the future. Continuous training at all levels means that the staff are encouraged to be flexible and able to adapt to the ever-changing requirements of the roll industry. In April 2007 the company was presented with the Queens Award for Enterprise in the International Trade Category as 80% of its products are exported.
ICME Staff
ICME has a small number of full-time paid staff, employed to provide the administration for the Institute from its Head Office in West Bromwich:
Operations Director – Dr Pam Murrell. Pam originally trained as a metallurgist and then spent a number of years at Cranfield University (then Cranfield Institute of Technology) and then at BCIRA (now Castings Technology International) before joining the Institute staff initially as Technical Officer.
Assistant Manager – Dianne Willis. Dianne provides the administration for the main office in West Bromwich and liaises with the regional branches.
Membership Administrator – Manjit Gakhal. Manjit maintains the database of members, deals with membership enquiries and provides the secretariat and administration for the ICME Membership Committee.
Publications Administrator – Yvonne Marriott. Yvonne deals with all enquiries regarding the Institute's range of technical publications, including subscriptions, advertising and editorial. Details of many of these publications may be found in the publications section of this web site.
