INDUSTRY FACES
Bob Mueller Bridges Gap Between Metalcasters, Designers After 23 years, Bob Mueller Jr. crossed over to the
dark side. Facing a decision to either switch positions or re-
locate out of state, Mueller decided to leave the met- alcasting facility where he was employed and join the purchasing department of a major OEM. Mueller is now the casting procurement specialist
for P&H Mining Equipment, Milwaukee, where he does all the multimillion dollar casting purchasing for the company. P&H produces equipment for the above ground mining industry, including shovels, dragline and drilling equipment. The company purchases large steel castings, manganese steel crawler shoes, iron counterweights and small nonferrous components for use in its equipment. Before Mueller joined the company, cost was the
driving factor for selecting cast parts. “This [strategy] placed parts with suppliers who had little to no chance for success,” Mueller said. “Because of that, we had internal scrap rates of over 14% and on- time delivery of less than 25%.” Speaking the language of both metalcasters and de-
signers, Mueller said he was able to help P&H discover castings can be highly engineered components that add value to a piece of machinery, while being cost effective. “With my past casting and foundry experience, I was able to turn things around by first selecting the proper casting suppliers and then placing work with them that best fit their niche,” Mueller said. “We now enjoy less than 0.5% scrap, and on-time delivery is well within expectations.” Before P&H, Mueller worked for two years at Wehr
Steel Corp., West Allis, Wis., and then 21 years at Grede Milwaukee Steel, Milwaukee. Because he has worked on both sides of the casting supply chain, Muel- ler said he understands how communication can
PERSONALS
Concast Metal Products Co., Birmingham, Ohio, named Martin Little executive vice president of sales and marketing. Previously, Little was division vice president of Kulkoni Precision Metals, Houston, Texas. Modern Equipment
Company Inc., Port Washington, Wis., named Joe Girard director of operations. The Aluminum Association,
Arlington, Va., named Heidi Biggs Brock president, succeeding Steve Larkin, who announced he will retire at the end of this year.
26 | MODERN CASTING November 2011 OBITUARIES George W. Cannon Jr. died
Aug. 29 at the age of 96 in his home in Norton Shores, Mich. Cannon founded Cannon-Muskegon Corp., Muskegon, Mich., a specialty alloy company. Prior to founding his own company, Cannon worked at Camp- bell, Wyant & Cannon, Muskegon, Mich., his father’s metalcasting facility, and was president of Nugent Sand Co., Muskegon, Mich. Cannon was a World War II veteran, where he served as a lieutenant for the Navy. He received degrees in engineering and mathematics from the Univ. of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., and a
master’s of business administration from Harvard Univ., Cambridge, Mass.
On Aug. 24, Bill Jensen died at the
age of 82. Jensen founded Aarrowcast Inc., Shawano, Wis., at the age of 49. Aawrrowcast operates the largest automated green sand molding line in North America, according to Aarrow- cast’s website. Jensen retired in the late 1990s, and the business was pur- chased by J.H. Whitney & Co., New Canaan, Conn. Jensen was a Korean War veteran. He received his degree in engineering from Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah.
Bob Mueller, casting procurement specialist for P&H Mining Equipment, Milwaukee, stands by a mining equipment substructure that includes several metal castings. Mueller has worked to improve the image of metalcasters at his company.
significantly impact a company and a casting’s success. “I think it is wise for those who purchase castings to
employ a buyer who not only understands the product but the casting process, as well,” Mueller said. “For casting suppliers, don’t take work you have no experience with, or [jobs] that do not fit your manufacturing niche.”
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