Overview
The market isn’t standing still. Neither can your commercial strategy.
Casting buyer behavior is changing faster than most commercial teams realize. Government policy is reshaping manufacturing investment, artificial intelligence is changing how buyers research suppliers, customer expectations continue to grow, and your competitors are responding to the ever-evolving market and consumer needs.
Commercial growth no longer depends solely on producing exceptional castings. It depends on understanding where the market is going, how customers make their decisions, and how sales and marketing work together to create competitive advantage.
The 2026 Foundry Marketing & Sales Conference was built to help foundry leaders stay ahead of the curve and be the leaders of market standards.
Why Attend?
Over one-and-a-half days, you’ll learn how to turn customer conversations, market trends, and commercial data into better strategic business decisions.
Whether your organization has a dedicated marketing department or a commercial team wearing multiple hats, you’ll leave with practical insights you can apply immediately to your daily workflow.
At the conclusion of this event, attendees will learn how to:
- Recognize market shifts before you’re forced to react.
- Understand what’s driving demand across agriculture, construction, heavy truck, and other key casting markets.
- Turn sales conversations into actionable market intelligence.
- Analyze customer buying behavior and sales cycles.
- Build practical go-to-market strategies that support business growth.
- Strengthen alignment between sales and marketing.
- Apply AI and simple commercial tools to improve visibility and decision-making.
- Develop a marketing plan grounded in real customer and market data.
This isn’t a conference about marketing tactics, it’s about making better commercial decisions.
Who Should Attend?
Designed for foundry professionals responsible for developing marketing strategy and commercial growth, including:
- Foundry Presidents & General Managers
- CEOs, CROs, CCOs, and Vice Presidents of Sales & Marketing
- Sales Managers
- Sales Engineers
- Business Development Leaders
- Marketing Managers & Coordinators
Whether you’re building a marketing function or leading an established marketing operation, this conference provides insights valuable at every level where attendees will leave with practical tools they can implement immediately into their work.
Conference Topic Highlights:
- Industry Trends & Signals Across Key Markets
- How Foundry Customers Buy Today
- Turning Sales Insight into Market Intelligence
- Capturing & Organizing Sales Data
- Interpreting Market Intelligence
- From Sales Data to Marketing Strategy
- Marketing Fundamentals for Foundries
- Building a Practical Marketing Plan
- Interactive Marketing Plan Workshop
Sessions combine industry expertise, practical tools, peer discussion, and hands-on working sessions designed specifically for foundry teams.
Why This Conference Matters
The most resilient foundries don’t simply react to market changes, they recognize them earlier, understand their customers better, make smarter decisions, and align sales and marketing strategies around the same growth objectives.
Join foundry professionals from across North America for two days of practical learning, peer networking, and commercial strategies applicable immediately at the conclusion of the event.
Register today and turn market intelligence into competitive advantage.
Location
Conference Agenda
Focus:
- Why foundries struggle with sales visibility and marketing planning
- The role of data in improving sales outcomes
- How this conference helps you build a practical marketing plan
Speaker TBA
Focus:
- Current market trends across automotive, agriculture, aerospace, construction, heavy truck
- Understanding sales cycles by industry
- What triggers customers to evaluate new foundry suppliers
Outcome:
- How to identify meaningful external data that impacts demand
Focus:
- Real buying behaviors and decision drivers
- Examples of buying triggers
- Common early-stage customer questions
- Examples of sales cycle behaviors
- How messaging gaps impact sales success
- Website and forward-facing platforms up to scale?
- Customer segmentation and how they purchase
Outcome:
- Understanding your customers through data
Focus:
- Using sales activity as a source of market data
- Capturing insights from key accounts and opportunities
- Identifying patterns in customer questions and needs
Outcome:
- How to systematically gather usable sales data
Focus:
- Simple tools (CRM, spreadsheets, AI-assisted summaries)
- How to track buying signals and customer interactions
- Organizing data for visibility and repeat use
- Understanding your lead generation pipeline
Outcome:
- Practical methods to capture and structure data
Focus:
- Identifying trends vs. noise
Connecting data to sales opportunities
Prioritizing markets, industries, and accounts
Outcome:
- Turning data into usable insights
Focus:
- Translating insights into messaging and positioning
- Aligning sales priorities with marketing focus
- Setting up Day 2 framework
Outcome:
- Clear transition from sales intelligence → marketing plan
Focus:
- What marketing actually means in a foundry environment
Core elements: positioning, messaging, visibility
What works vs. what doesn’t
Outcome:
- Clarity on simple, effective marketing
Focus:
- Aligning marketing activities to sales priorities
- Selecting the right channels (email, website, sales tools)
- Setting realistic goals for small or non-existent teams
Outcome:
- Step-by-step structure for a marketing plan
Activities:
- Identify target markets and triggers
- Define key messages and priorities
- Outline 3–5 actionable marketing activities
Outcome:
- Attendees leave with a draft marketing plan they can implement
Registration
AFS presents a variety of technical and management conferences (in both in-person and virtual formats). The refund policy for AFS conferences is as follows: 1) Substitutions are accepted at no charge at any time up until the start of the conference; 2) Full refunds are offered if AFS is notified in writing of cancellation at least 30 days in advance of the conference. No refunds or credits are available for less than 30 days written notice.