Single-Source Foundry Solution: Delivering Complex, Custom Alloy Castings Without Delays
Project Overview
An acid processing customer had an urgent need. The customer operates dozens of industrial vessels – each with grates layered throughout that sort, ventilate and process organic materials.
The existing grates had started to fail. Once the issue was recognized, it became clear that hundreds of replacements were needed – now.
But a quick turnaround would be challenging. The volume and variety of parts lengthened production. Pattern tools had to be created, too – and precision
Finding a Foundry
The customer turned to State Line Foundries, which includes Winnebago Foundry and State Line Foundries.
“We had used Winnebago and State Line in the past, and we were always pleased by their quality,” says Alex, a representative of the customer. “We were confident they could handle both the complexity, metallurgy and what we saw as the biggest challenge: the timeline.”
High Stakes — For Everyone
The owner of the industrial columns had a great deal on the line. “Missing this deadline probably would have cost our customer millions of dollars a day in lost production,” Alex explains.
That pressure trickled down to everyone involved. “There were disincentives that we very much wanted to avoid,” Alex states.
State Line also faced stress due to the sheer size of the project. It was the largest order in State Line’s history – by a good margin. State Line’s production could be crippled if an order of that immense size stalled.
State Line was also acutely aware that the others had put their trust in the foundry. “We needed this project to go smoothly, without any hiccups,” stresses Jesse Milks, president of State Line. “An interruption in any part of the process would have caused severe trouble downstream.”
The final deadline never moved, though some adjustments had to be made during the quoting and design phases.
Many components were replacements for worn-out parts based on outdated drawings. State Line had to reverse-engineer and create updated, improved designs before production on those parts could begin.
The foundry was determined to keep promises to other customers while taking on this unique project, which consumed a significant portion of production capacity.
The specialized alloy, used in high-temperature applications, was more challenging to work with than standard grades. It demanded precise process control and added complexity to production.
State Line’s Approach
A high level of coordination, commitment and creative thinking were required. How did State Line meet the deadlines – and deliver quality?
- Detailed Gantt charts were developed to map every phase: engineering, tooling, casting, finishing and shipping.
- Internal scheduling issues were identified early and corrected before they became delays.
- Production meetings of 10-15 minutes were held to align sales, production, management, plant leadership, pattern shop and foundry teams.
- Meetings also included planning to keep other projects on schedule.
- Casting production began immediately with the 11 existing patterns.
- New pattern tools were built and introduced into production as they were completed, rather than waiting for all 14 to be finished.
- Regular progress updates were provided to ensure transparency and build confidence.
- State Line hosted customer visits during the process to maximize communication and collaboration.
- State Line handled the entire project end-to-end across multiple stake holders: customer, engineers, pattern shops, raw material vendors, production, freight, etc.
- The foundry’s experience and technology ensured the challenging alloy was handled with ease.
- The customer benefited from a single point of contact, one purchase order and unified communication – rather than managing multiple vendors.
The Perspectives
From the customer’s perspective: “There were no issues – none,” states Alex. “We would recommend State Line and Winnebago to others. We already anticipate moving some work from existing foundries to State Line.”
From State Line’s perspective: “It all got done in 20 weeks,” Milks affirms. “We’re proud of that, and the fact we kept all other projects on schedule. There also are benefits beyond completing the project. We strengthened internal processes for managing large, complex orders.”