2018 Hall of Honor Inductees
HALL OF HONOR
HENRY BIDWELL Bidwell started his career as a
metallurgical apprentice with the Bristol Airplane Company just after World War II. He was soon hired by Precision Foundries. “In those days, we didn’t have
A Note of Thanks from Mary Bidwell...
“On behalf of Henry, I would like
to thank the Board of Directors and the Investment Casting Institute for this generous recognition of his role in the evolution of the Institute over the years. He would most surely be delighted to witness the continued vigorous engagement of the membership and of the staff. From myself….thank you so very much.”
Best wishes, Mary Bidwell
ceramic shell molds, and we were producing very big (cement) molds,” Bidwell said. When they learned of Howmet’s new ceramic shell process, Bidwell helped change their process to stay relevant. Henry Bidwell’s indelible mark on
the investment casting industry dates back to 1948, spans three continents, and includes leadership in both the Investment Casting Institute and the British Investment Casting Trade Association. He became the executive director of the Investment Casting Institute in 1976 where he produced numerous publications – including the Investment Casting handbook – and grew the Institute substantially. Under his leadership, the Investment Casting Institute formed technical committees and established the Spring Management Meeting. Bidwell was reappointed as executive director in 1991, a position in which he remained until his retirement in 2001.
Henry worked alongside his wife,
Mary, for many years. Together they helped to create value in the Institute and were responsive to member needs.
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GEORGE MURI George Muri was raised and
educated in Switzerland where he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1968, he moved to Montreal and spent 4 years with Design Machine Build after impressing his boss with how he would design a variable speed transmission. In 1973, George got a job with
Cercast and started working with Frank Valenta. Frank wanted to automate the shell building process and he asked George to create a system. By late 1973, George had designed a small programmable robot, specifically designed for shell building. It had a simple control system to set times for the different moves the robot would make. The robot used a fluidized bed to add the sand. This was the start of the automation of the whole process. Over the years, George designed
injection presses, solution heat treat ovens, FPI lines, burn-out and pre-heat ovens, wash-out systems and more. In 1978, they decided to incorporate the equipment company into a new entity named Shell-O-Matic. The Shell-O-Matic Robot turned out
to be a blessing for many investment casting foundries. When Frank sold Cercast to Howmet in 1989, Shell- O-Matic remained independent and continues to serve the investment casting industry, with George fully in charge.
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