The most important factor in the shift to cast aluminum from forged steel wheels was aesthetics, according to several industry insiders.


down, people said ‘hey I like these.’ You can find some styled steel wheels, but they don’t look like aluminum.” Does this mean that aluminum (and aluminum castings) will reign over the wheel market indefinitely? Lilley isn’t sure. “Forging is on its way [out] from a cost standpoint, although there has been forging capacity built in Asia,” he said. “I’m not going to say it can’t come back.” Casting capacity in Asia and other


low-cost countries also still presents a significant threat to the future of the North American wheel market. “We find plenty of things to do


every day to continue to make our product,” Borick said. “And we are going to be conservative in how we spend our capital [and approach the] need to build additional capacity. But if we can’t get a return, we need to look at other opportunities.”


ONLINE RESOURCE Visit www.moderncasting.com for an audiocast with Enkei personnel.


34 | MODERN CASTING November 2011


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