Jim Schifo

Jim Schifo is an expert in industrial operations, air pollution control, greenhouse gases and energy use by industrial processes. He is a graduate of General Motors Institute, with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Mr. Schifo is a registered Professional Engineer and has been an expert witness testifying on air, water, waste, noise and OSHA issues.

Prior to joining KERAMIDA in 2000, Mr. Schifo worked for General Motors Corporation in leadership positions in plant engineering, and management, including environmental and OSHA compliance, and research projects. He has participated in numerous foundry research projects and joint agency initiatives including the Casting Emission Reduction Program (CERP), where he served as Chairman of the Process Committee and the Emissions Modeling Committee. He was also a member of the MACT Task Force, EPA’s Sustainable Industry Programs, and the Pennsylvania State University’s Advanced Oxidation Project.

Mr. Schifo's work experience in foundries includes Process Engineering, Process Control and Optimization, Management, Air Toxics Regulations, Air Permitting, Emissions Inventories, NPDES and Landfill Permitting, and Industrial Compliance Audits, OSHA Compliance, ISO 14000 and OHSAS 18000. He has been an active member and Vice-Chair of the American Foundry Society’s (AFS) 10-E Air Quality Committee, Chair of the Division 10 Executive Committee, Chair of the AFS Emission Database Committee, past member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Cast Metals Association and the Steering Committee for the Iron and Steel MACT Task Force. Mr. Schifo is an instructor for the AFS Environmental 101 Training Courses, and he has received the American Foundry Society’s Environmental Health and Safety Service Award in 1999 as well as the AFS “Childress Loebler Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2011.

Mr. Schifo was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy to perform a comprehensive evaluation of best practices in the metal casting industry as they relate to energy use and CO2 emissions reductions. Completed in 2005, “Theoretical/Best Practice Energy Use in Metalcasting Operations” is on the Department of Energy website and serves as the foundation for issues related to CO2 emission reductions in the metal casting industry. Mr. Schifo has also evaluated the feasibility and carbon footprints of renewable energy options for biomass technologies.

Mr. Schifo’s air expertise includes air permits for heavy manufacturing, emission factors, condensable particles, and stack testing. He has successfully permitted several new, heavy manufacturing plants, receiving air permits from the regulatory agencies in record times. Mr. Schifo’s over 35 years of experience include performing extensive greenhouse gas inventories, energy audits, and carbon footprints of numerous facilities and municipalities, including city-wide inventories, municipal water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, and manufacturing plants. In addition to the numerous technical papers he has published on air quality and energy use, he also regularly lectures on energy reduction, global greenhouse gases, and air quality at conferences. He is a qualified ISO 14001 Lead Auditor and a member of the KERAMIDA Litigation Experts Group.