It doesn’t get much older than the foundry industry in the United States. The industry has been foundational to the economic and physical growth of this country since its inception. Fun fact: Seven metal casters signed the Declaration of Independence, according to the American Foundry Society (AFS). While foundries are synonymous with traditional manufacturing, they are also surprisingly modern — and they aren’t going anywhere. With defense manufacturers demanding complex castings at an unprecedented rate, business has never been better for qualified foundries. Developing Defense Demands AFS reports that an astonishing 90% of all manufactured goods contain some metal castings, and in the United States, people are rarely more than 10 feet from a metal casting. A nearly $50 billion industry, casting is everywhere, but increasingly it is also crucial to our national security. For security reasons, defense castings must be manufactured domestically, so demand continues to grow. Beyond security concerns, demand is expanding because the defense industrial complex is growing. Demand for castings is directly related to the real-time needs of the U.S. military. Fighting forces need to both replenish and modernize crucial weapons systems to ensure national security. Finally, in addition to mitigating security concerns, using domestic castings avoids the supply chain and domestic capability challenges that COVID brought to light. During the last meeting of AMT – The Association of Manufacturing Technology’s Technology Issues Committee, Denison Industries hosted members at their facility in Denison, Texas. Attendees received a behind-the-scenes tour and a rare peak into operations at a foundry. A Customer Switch Chris Norch, president and CEO at Denison Industries, explained how their customer base quickly evolved due to COVID-era market shifts. Traditionally, Denison specialized in casting commercial items and specialty automative parts. When COVID decimated supply chains, their customer base quickly shifted to become primarily major defense manufacturers. Today, Denison delivers critical cast parts with complex geometries for a wide array of defense applications — from missiles to helicopters to tanks. With demand soaring, the company is planning to build a new 300,000 square foot climate- and humidity-controlled manufacturing facility. The modern facility will more than double the current production. Investing in Improvements To continue to meet demand and capitalize on opportunities, Denison is also investing in automation, process improvements, and human resources. By implementing straightforward process improvements and integrating advanced automation, the company is planning to meet long-term projections for sustained growth for the next decade. They are also hiring qualified, young workers and providing the training necessary to help them outperform the competition. “The people that are producing these castings are an average age of barely 30, and they are outperforming legacy companies that have been doing this for decades,” explains Norch. “I am proud that we’ve hired great people and given them a place where they can excel and drive the next generation of manufacturing.” The casting industry may be traditional, but it is not old fashioned or outdated — and it is thriving. Information presented during AMT’s Technology Issues Committee Meeting.
With defense manufacturers demanding complex castings at an unprecedented rate, business has never been better for qualified foundries.
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