maker Peerless Industries, Aurora, Ill. The company wanted to launch an in- house diecasting department capable of producing 100% of the castings the company uses in the production of its mounting equipment. What gave the suggestion the sound


of a prank? Peerless was going to substitute self-produced castings for parts it had been purchasing from a low-cost country. Peerless began buying die cast-


ings from China in 2006. At the time, the company found it could buy the parts at a lower rate than it could from its domestic suppliers. But com- munication problems and delivery difficulties soon negated many of the benefits provided by the slightly lower piece price. The company decided it wanted more control over its own destiny. “We felt we could still do it in this


country and do it economically on a global scale,” said Brian Eble, Peerless’ vice president of global brand devel- opment. “A lot of people think you can’t do it inexpensively if you don’t


go to China, but we have gotten the right people and proven you can do it. We are as price competitive as we were in China.”


Quality and Its Perception When you walk into your local


Wal-Mart, you’ll find a rash of Peerless mounts. But not a single one of them will be on the retail shelves. Most of the products you will find for sale will be sourced from low cost countries, according to Eble. To find the Peerless products, you’ll


have to look to the televisions hanging throughout the store. “Wal-Mart sells Chinese product, but


the [display models are on] Peerless mounts,” said Peerless Executive Vice President John Potts. “We don’t want to say they’re selling bad product, but it’s a different price game.” According to Potts, Peerless mounts


are exactly where the company wants them to be in Wal-Mart (and perhaps in the only place they can be to be produced economically in the U.S.). The consumer seeking a retail mount is


looking for a different product than the professional hired to install the items in hospitals, stadiums, schools, etc. “If a 42-in. television falls in the [Chi-


cago Bulls home court] United Center, you have a problem,” Potts said. Peerless does make some mounts


for the retail market, but it is one of the smallest of the 28 unique segments the company serves with its 3,600 different products. Peerless instead focuses on serving the professional, who generally seeks increased value-added services, such as short lead times, technical sup- port, consulting and custom-solutions development. “We sold [and installed] 1.38


million mounts in 2009 in North America alone,” Eble said. “When the economy is better, we average around 1.7 million.” Peerless rolled out approximately


40 new products in 2010, including wall mounts, articulating mounts and standalone mounts, among other things. About 30-35% of the parts that go into those products are aluminum die castings: wall brackets, arms and


When Peerless moved into a new building in May of last year, it carved out about 5% of its square footage to build an in-house diecast- ing facility capable of producing all of the aluminum parts it uses in its assemblies.


January/February 2011 Metal Casting Design anD PurChasing 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60