Thomas K. McCluhan, retired Director of Development for Elkem Metals Company who was responsible for the development of innovative specialty alloys for gray and ductile iron, died on August 23, 2016. He was 82 and was living in Ohio Township, Pennsylvania.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in metallurgical engineering. Mr. McCluhan joined Union Carbide’s foundry research-and-development team at Niagara Falls, N.Y. in 1956. When Elkem bought the business in 1981, Mr. McCluhan continued to manage the research and development of Elkem’s inoculants and nodulizers in Niagara Falls and later at Elkem’s Development Center in Sewickley, Pa. He retired from Elkem in 1994.
“Under Tom McCluhan’s leadership, Elkem developed a series of performance-based inoculants and nodulizers for gray and ductile iron,” said Doug White, Elkem’s current Technical Director in North America. “He also helped the foundry industry understand the effects of these products on gray- and ductile-iron microstructures. He was very active in the American Foundry Society and co-authored several technical papers on foundry practices. As such, he was highly regarded in the foundry industry which will deeply feel his loss.”
Elkem is grateful for Mr. McCluhan’s accomplishments and extends condolences to his family and friends.