. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eDitOrial


Master of All or None? L


ike all suppliers, metalcasters are being asked by their customers to serve as the one-stop shop for engineered metal components. Please cast the component, heat treat it, paint it, machine it and then ship it to my assembly line, says the OEM


buyer. In some cases, OEMs only will source to suppliers that provide this type of service. In our feature, “The Casting User Comment Box” on p.


32, a representative from Robert Bosch Corp. upheld the belief in one-stop shops by stating, “One of our best sup- pliers is a long-term thinker. They have full assembly, automation and lean design on their lines. They do their own diecasting and injection molding. The thing I find amazing is they have their own tool design group and apprenticeship program.” In hopes of becoming “so-


The key, they said, is that we want to buy from suppliers that are good at everything they do from beginning to end.


lutions providers,” many met- alcasters have established a one-stop shop facility. For many, it has meant higher sales, reduced lead times for customers, higher profitability and the ability to position oneself as a sole source for the customer. Truth be told, I have been 100% behind this approach as a way for metalcasters to further differentiate themselves from the competition. But a recent visit to a buyer of castings has made me think twice about this trend. The buyer of castings sources components across


the globe in all different metals and all different casting processes. It buys both from one-stop- shop metalcasters and from casting-only facilities. The key, the buyer said, is that it wants to buy from suppliers that are good at everything they do from beginning to end. “Just because they do a lot, doesn’t mean they are good at all of it,” the buyer said. In the search for capable facilities, the buyer has decided that extra logistics and possibly longer lead times are small sacrifices for components that are manufactured perfectly through every step of the process every time. This is an obvious statement,


but one probably not consid- ered enough when evaluating sources. Metalcasting is a tough manufacturing process with a lot


March/april 2011


of variables. But the facilities able to master this process produce amazingly complex components with incred- ible capabilities. For metalcasters looking to be one-stop shops, they are adding other manufacturing processes with additional variables to control and expected to mas- ter these additional processes to the same level as they do metalcasting. Didn’t many of the OEMs shed casting, forging, machining and heat treat to focus on assembly because they decided it wasn’t feasible to be a master at all levels of manufacturing? Now, I am not saying metalcasters can’t succeed as one-stop shops. Far from it. In fact, we show regular successes in the pages of this magazine. But for you as a buyer, the key when look- ing at a source is to evalu- ate what your supplier has mastered (whether it is one process or 20) and utilize them for that expertise. The moral of this editorial


is that we must keep an open mind when looking for a casting source. Sure, having a goal in mind of finding that one-stop-shop that solves all your problems in one neat, simple purchase order is great, but it can’t be at the expense of less-than-expected manufacturing quality. Great casting sourcing options exist at both ends of the spectrum, and the key for you is to find the one(s) that match your needs.


Alfred Spada, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief


If you have any comments about this editorial or any other item that appears in Metal Casting Design & Purchasing, email me at aspada@afsinc.org.


Metal casting Design & purchasing


7


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