You are holding our annual focus on aerospace materials and processes. The aerospace industry, particularly defense, will likely find itself in the middle of upcoming budget battles. The future of the aerospace industry is tenuous.

    According to the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), if Congress doesn’t act to reduce the deficit, $110 billion in across-the-board cuts will take effect on Jan. 2 (sequestration). The Department of Defense is responsible for $54 billion of this total. Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President Marion Blakely has asked why the Pentagon – responsible for just 20% of the federal budget – is shouldering 50% of the spending cuts. She believes the BCA will spark an “unemployment Armageddon” in almost every sector of the economy, with jobs being eliminated at a rate of 175,000 a month through 2013 and domestic product being reduced by $215 billion. In case Ms. Blakely is reading this editorial, the reason 50% is being paid by the 20% is that domestic entitlement programs like Social Security are exempted from the cuts.

    Boeing is one of the companies that has been sounding the warning for over a year that the uncertainty about the Pentagon budget, tax rates and the debt ceiling was squelching their ability to invest, hire new workers or commit to new acquisitions. The BCA cuts will likely prompt the following civilian-agency cuts: closure of 246 control towers nationwide, furlough of more than 1,000 air-traffic controllers and 9,000 TSA workers, and furlough or layoff of 1,600 Customs and Border Protection inspection officers. Hopefully, something can be done to prevent these devastating cuts to defense/aerospace. The results of our recent election (not known as I write this) will likely portend the outcome.

New Website for Industrial Heating

Within the last month, our new website has taken off. It promises to be a plus for readers and advertisers alike. Many of our magazine and web-only features are now easily available on several tabs at the top of (www.industrialheating.com). See a miniaturized version to your right.

    A few examples of what’s different are the categorization and grouping of content by topic. Historically, content was posted online in monthly blocks and archived as such. Now, if you are interested in seeing recent “combustion” content, for instance, you can use the “Topics” tab and click on “Combustion & Burners.” You can also find the topic you want on the left side of the page. Clicking on it will provide you with the latest articles in the chosen topic. Similarly, if you knew there was a recent column by The Heat Treat Doctor that you needed to see but couldn’t remember the exact title or month, just use the “Column” tab and click on “The Heat Treat Doctor.”

    The new website has another new feature – registration – that allows us to make the viewers’ experience more meaningful. Knowing who is viewing and what they view allows us to customize content that will be more relevant. This helps the viewer save time and learn more that will be pertinent to their specific situation. It takes a minute or less to register, which gives you access to all of the website’s content – gated or ungated. Visit the newly redesigned www.industrialheating.com today. We think you’ll like the change. IH