Valley Forge & Bolt Mfg. Co., Phoenix, Ariz., manufacturer of hot-forged industrial fasteners, is proud to welcome Rick Bailey, a member of the ASM International Heat Treating Society, to the company as chief metallurgist. Throughout his more than four-decade career, he has specialized in steel, the core component of Valley Forge products. Mr. Bailey will apply his scientific and technical knowledge as well as his leadership abilities to Valley Forge’s continued growth as the top supplier of fasteners and custom critical joint solutions.
He will be involved in numerous levels of the organization, with an eye on maintaining efficient, high-quality processes. His responsibilities include creating product formulations and purchasing steel; production planning; advising on forging and heat-treating; expanding employee understanding of product functions; and assisting with quality controls.
“My strength is in treating product creation holistically—taking raw materials and carrying them through forming, machining, and heat treating to get quality levels that customers need,” he says. “My role is to turn science into practice, applying the technical side of metallurgy to improve processes. And to embrace continuous improvement so we’re always learning and better serving our customers.”
Mr. Bailey has vast prior experience serving the mining, power generation, and oil and gas markets, giving him intimate knowledge of three of Valley Forge’s core markets. He is invigorated by the opportunity to work on products that include the company’s proprietary Load Indicating Technology. “Often with Load Indicating Technology, we’re making huge bolts for heavy applications, where it’s crucial to start with material that has the correct properties so the finished product calibrates properly,” he says. “I’m really happy to be part of an organization that’s making innovative, high-value products.”
