METEF 2010

The long and winding road....

Foundry Trade Journal editor Lynn Postle recounts the impact the no-fly ban had on members of the foundry industry during the last days of the Metef/Foundeq exhibition in Montichiari, Italy, as they rallied together to get home to various corners of the world.

The photo shows ICME's Pam Murrell on the FESA stand alongside FESA President Brian Martin FICME and Secretary Eur Ing Andrew Turner FICME.

As the great plume of volcanic ash spread high across the sky, invisible to the human eye below, the unrest and concern spread amongst exhibitors and visitors at the exhibition – the Foundry Equipment and Supplies Association booth becoming a hub for those wanting to get back to the UK.

One by one they huddled together plotting, negotiating and calling all their logistics skills into action to plan escape routes (anyone spending four days on an exhibition booth will understand the longing to get back to the real world!) Whether customer or competitor, it made no difference, resources were combined and commaraderie was strong as groups from various countries joined forces. The UK contingent had a particularly difficult task – the island location severing it from mainland Europe. The wheels, quite literally, were in motion with groups hiring vehicles with drivers, for the trek to Gare du Nord in Paris for a coveted Eurostar ticket or to get to a port in France or Spain for a ferry to the UK. Help was scrambled back home as staff rallied to book train and ferry tickets from offices in the UK.

Americans became resigned to the fact that they would use the delays to visit customers and colleagues in Europe in the hope that restrictions would soon be lifted for the transatlantic flights in the coming days. But as the ‘no flying’ ban remained in place travel chaos intensified with the ripple effect running through the halls. For those travelling to Asia, a dash to secure a flight East as quickly as possible was the clear answer, before the ash engulfed more airspace. The Italians were sympathetic with agents in liaison with car hire companies and hotels.

For myself, covering the show for Foundry Trade Journal, the objective was clear in the first half of the week – a fact-finding mission to discover how the sand and diecasting industries in Italy were fairing in the current business climate (still tough times for many, while others are seeing confidence rise apparently). We of course, distributed copies of Foundry Trade Journal to visitors to the show and spoke with founders, suppliers and academics from around the world. Then the mood changed as the skies of Europe became quiet and the aviation industry was paralised for several days. Thoughts then turned to the most immediate task – getting home! Joining forces with colleagues from Aluminium Today, we set about planning our escape route.

With help from hotel staff the car hire company agreed to let the car go out of Italy and be left in Paris (quite a rarity as others found), the challenge began. An intrepid journey then ensued through Italy, past the Alps, in the shadow of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, through the Mont Blanc Tunnel into France and up to Paris. Four people (note: no scarecrow or tin man) and their luggage in a Fiat Panda on an 11-hour drive to the Gare du Nord to discover no chance of a Eurostar ticket for six days, despite the best efforts of the office in the UK trying to book advance places. Other groups had fed information back to us that they had managed to secure places as foot passengers on ferries from Calais so the race was on to get there. No train until 6.30am the next morning and the hire car already returned. So up early and on a train to Lille then Calais, another train and finally a taxi to the port, followed by a little queue (in the grand scheme of things) and a ferry journey back on the Pride of Dover.

Everyone has a story to tell – the mother and daughter who told us in Paris they had slept for two nights on the Milan station platform; the four American exchange students who had to get back to Edinburgh for finals; the team of divers who had their precious diving knives confiscated at Calais (which would normally have been in checked luggage).

In the end we were pretty lucky, many heads helping in the decision-making process and armed with computers, mobile phones, Wifi signals and sat navs the scenic adventure did little to prevent us filing stories and continuing with our work schedules. But one thing did spring to mind – we wouldn’t have been able to do anything or get anywhere without the castings industry.

So less people are visiting exhibitions, foundries have been more cautious about investment, raw material prices are increasing, and legislation is severing our profits, but the transport and communications worlds can’t function without cast components. There may be volcanic ash in the air but is that a silver lining poking through?