INDUSTRY NEWS
Grede Receives Customer Quality, Safety Awards The St. Cloud, Minn., facility of
Grede Holdings LLC, Southfield, Mich., has been recognized with a certificate of achievement for perfect quality in 2010 and 2011 from Chrysler Group LLC. In addi- tion, its Iron Mountain foundry in Kingsford, Mich., and its metalcast- ing facility in Bessemer, Ala., have achieved one million man-hours worked without a lost time accident. Chrysler’s quality award is given in
recognition of excellence in product quality performance over the past two years. Grede provides transmission
L A Aluminum Adds Custom Powder Coating Line
L A Aluminum Casting Co.,
Hayden, Idaho, recently completed the addition of 10,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space, opening room for an in-house custom powder coating line. L A Aluminum had previously
offered powder coated machined cast- ings, but the new space has allowed it to offer powder coating as a standalone process. Te new, non-automated operation includes three ovens and two spray booths. Castings to be powder coated go through a five-stage (or six, if needed) cleaning and sealing process: pre-heating in the first oven, spraying with a base coat, sanding if needed, baking in the second oven, spraying with a top coat and baking in the third oven. “Our process is a closed system,
so no contamination or dust will be on the parts,” said Michelle Richter, sales and marketing manager. “Te area is kept pristine to ensure a perfect surface finish.”
L A Aluminum has the capacity to
powder coat steel, iron or aluminum castings from tiny steel pieces to 8 x 8-ft. fencing. Te company powder coats its own castings for the dental industry, as well as a casting produced for wind generators manufactured by Southwest Windpower.
August 2011 MODERN CASTING | 13
carriers to Chrysler for the Jeep Lib- erty and the Dakota 2x4 pickup truck from its St. Cloud facility. “We are honored to have been
recognized by the Chrysler Group,” said John Haas, general manager of the St. Cloud plant. “This award validates the commitment our employees have to providing our customers with the highest quality products in the industry.” Grede’s Iron Mountain facility
achieved one million man-hours on May 10. Te facility has 433 employ- ees and has had two injuries over the past two years. It was Grede’s corpo- rate winner of the 2010 Eagle Award for the safest plant in the company. Te foundry in Bessemer has not
recorded a lost time accident since October 2007. “Tis safety milestone from these
two facilities represents the dedication and diligence that all Grede employees have toward maintaining a safe work environment and is a great credit to our team,” said Doug Grimm, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. The national average rate for days
away, restricted or transferred inci- dents at metalcasting facilities is 5.4 per 100 employees. All Grede loca- tions combined report 1.3 incidents per 100 employees, while the Iron Mountain and Bessemer foundries are currently at zero. Grede is a ferrous casting group with estimated annual revenues ap- proaching $1 billion. It has 4,900 em- ployees and operates 15 metalcasting facilities and three machining opera- tions that serve the transportation and industrial markets.
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