Preparing the Next Generation of Industry Professionals Has Its Rewards

 At Chiz Bros., we believe that educating the next generation of industry professionals is critical to the future of our company and the industries we serve.

As proud, longtime members of the Forging Industry Association (FIA), we recently co-sponsored with Charter Steel a team of students from Alfred (NY) University’s Young Anvil Club. The team competed recently in the Forging Industry Education & Research Foundation (FIERF – FIA’s educational arm) Hammer Forging Competition at Ohio State University in Columbus. Students Noah McCauley, Theo Gross, Sammy Wertheim, Samuel Gross, and Dominick Leonardi placed 4^th out of 12 teams.

The contest challenged university students to creatively design and forge a functioning blacksmithing hammer of their choice. Teams had the opportunity to choose the type of blacksmithing hammer they wanted to forge. Hammers could not exceed 3.5 pounds and needed to be made of 1045 carbon steel. Hammers were put through a series of tests appropriate to the application. For details, read the Technical Report.

“The competition presented a myriad of challenges at every turn,” says Noah, a junior who is studying metallurgical engineering. “From the beginning of the forging process until the end, our team faced numerous obstacles because this was our first experience in a competition.”

Those barriers included unfamiliarity with the tools necessary to create a hammer, crafting the tools, and the complexities of forge welding the stock to produce a substantial-sized hammer.

“Attending the 2025 FIERF Hammer Forging Competition was nothing short of transformative for us individually, and for Alfred ANVIL as a newly established forging club,” adds Theo. “This was our club’s first time forging hammers, our first time attempting forge welding, and our first time documenting and reporting an entire technical process from start to finish. Each of these tasks pushed us out of our comfort zones and opened the door to entirely new technical, creative, and collaborative experiences.”

In the Technical Report and hammer performance category, judges praised the Alfred team’s hammer shape, balance, and versatility, although the team was penalized slightly for over-annealing during heat treatment.

“Placing near the top in our very first competition was an enormous point of pride for our team,” says Theo. “It is a testament to the countless hours of preparation and problem-solving that led up to the event. The hammer we forged represents more than just a competition entry; it’s the beginning of a tradition, and we’re excited for what comes next.”

More Honors

To top things off, the Young Anvil Club was one of eight teams nationwide to receive a 2025 FIERF Forging Club Grant. The $5,000 award will allow the Club to expand its forging capabilities, invest in safety and production equipment, and recruit and train more students to prepare for next year’s competition.

“We are proud to sponsor the Alfred University Young Anvil Club and believe strongly in the Club’s mission and potential,” says Mark Rhoa, Jr., Vice President of Sales at Chiz Bros.

Chiz Bros. connected with the Club through Project Manager Karen Daniel, who graduated from Alfred University with a degree in Chemical Engineering. 

To tell us about your experiences helping to educate the next generation of industry professionals, or to get involved with next year’s FIERF Hammer Forging Competition...