North American market are aluminum die or permanent mold castings, ac- cording to several industry forecasters. While the North American wheel
market suff ered along with the rest of the automotive industry during the economic downturn and build sched- ule interruptions by Japan’s massive earthquake in 2011, some of the production has come back. Now, the manufacturers of the products that survived the lean times, like North American market leader Superior In- dustries, Van Nuys, Calif., and Enkei America Inc., Columbus, Ind., are reaping the rewards. “T e volumes have retuned, and they
are coming on fast,” said Jobe Crick, vice president of North American sales for Enkei, the largest supplier of cast aluminum automotive wheels globally. “We are seeing a return to about 120% of pre-tsunami take rates…[and] we were full prior to the tsunami.” In addition to the natural consoli-
dation of the industry, the survival of cast wheel suppliers has been fueled largely by their ability to stay ahead of consumers’ needs via technology. “With respect to wheels, the advan-
tages of forging have to do with the mechanical properties and microstruc- ture you can achieve,” said Ted Schorn, Enkei America’s vice president, stra- tegic planning and development. “But
Modern wheels are machined to tight tolerances after casting to produce the appearance demanded by consumers.
the limitation of forging is the shape.”
Looking Around the Market According to Crick, wheel orders
are, if anything, rolling along too quickly these days. “Can we keep up? No,” he said.
“But are we going to make it? Yes.” During the early 2011 stall in
orders from Enkei America’s Japanese customer base, the company shut down equipment and built inventory while waiting for work to return. T e return came quickly, and it has been made all the more rapid by the fact that the global automotive supply base consolidated at a record pace in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. “We are balls to the wall, running
at 90% capacity,” said Superior Indus- tries President Steven Borick. Like Superior, Enkei America also has been stretched thin. “We do have the capacity to meet [demands], but it is a challenge,” Crick said. “We are restarting equipment as fast as we can. We added two addi- tional molding lines in August, and four [in September]. We are running seven days a week.” While Enkei America’s parent
company is the largest supplier of cast aluminum automotive wheels globally, it is a relatively small player in the North American market. Superior Industries has expanded its cast aluminum segment in recent years and is still growing, with some industry analysts pegging their revenue increases at about 50% from
Nov/Dec 2011 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 33
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