“ China is inexpensive, but the logistics add cost.


Then there are the quality issues. When an issue


arises here, you oversee the entire process. —John Potts


”


be any dearth of casting knowledge at OEMs. With so many metalcasters out of work, the right help is easy to fi nd. “Call my brother,” Dolack joked. And while bringing the whole pro-


cess in-house might not be practical for every end-user of castings, Dolack said the collaboration between Peerless and its diecasting personnel has been a success in its own right. “I give the casting-friendly aspect


to a part,” Dolack said. “I am able to say, ‘okay, maybe if we can make this hole a little bit bigger or put a little bit of taper here, it would make it easier to cast or cut some machining out.’ I try to help them make a more func- tional part that is diecasting friendly and requires less handling and fewer operations to make.” According to Potts, the diecast parts


the company makes have already im- proved over the versions produced by low-cost suppliers. “When we came out with the next generation, we made the castings thinner because we had more expertise about the weight loads,” he said. “We could go make the part and test it in-house. We can go out and design something and model it in our modeling shop.” And the company’s knowledge of metalcasting and designing for cast- ability continues to grow. “In the beginning, I didn’t have a


lot to do with the designs of the parts and how they fi t in,” Dolack said. “But


ONLINE RESOURCE


Visit www.metalcastingdesign. com for a Peerless audiocast.


JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 METAL CASTING DESIGN AND PURCHASING 25


now there is a lot of interaction.” Today, less than one year into the


project, Peerless has been successful enough to add even more diecasting capacity—and regain even more con- trol over its processes. While it had been purchasing a few small zinc die castings from an outside supplier, it


has brought that in-house, as well. The company may never compete in


the retail market with its 100% in-house production process, but its executives are fi ne with that fact, even proud of it. “Peerless grew up ‘Made in America,’” Eble said. “We are a manu- facturing company.”


METAL


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