BRP Sells
Before lost foam caster BRP Spruce Pine could sell castings, it had to sell itself. SHEA GIBBS, MANAGING EDITOR
BRP SPRUCE PINE, SPRUCE PINE, N.C.
Casting Process: Lost foam. Alloys: Aluminum.
Value-Added Services: Design, heat treat, impregnation, chromate conversion, epoxy paint and CNC machining.
Employees: 200. Size: 100,200 sq. ft.
Lost Foam Inside & Out
you’re a thrill seeker, you’ve probably been on a BRP product. T e company’s Sea-Doo and Ski- Doo lines are well known throughout the world. BRP also produces Lynx snowmobiles, Evinrude outboard marine engines, and a family of ATVs, SSVs and whimsical vehicles known as Can-Am. T e company has 6,000 workers in eight manufacturing facili- ties in fi ve countries, as well as regional offi ces scattered around the world. Its products are distributed in more than 100 countries by more than 3,500 dealers and distributors. But what you probably didn’t know is that among those manufacturing
assets is a more than 100,000-sq.-ft. metalcasting facility. T e Spruce Pine lost foam plant
pours components for BRP’s Evinrude E-TEC outboard engines, as well as assorted other BRP products and external customers in the marine, auto- motive, trucking, rail, construction and alternative energy industries. T e facil- ity is one of the only plants worldwide to manufacture lost foam products with cast-in inserts and V-block engines using the lost foam process. So how did the plant become part
of a company that for the most part focuses on core competencies and con- tracts out component assembly? Built
in 1983 by Outboard Marine (the parent company of Evinrude), Spruce Pine was sold along with its parent company to Bombardier Motor Corp. in early 2001. Bombardier Motor Corp.’s recreational products division was then purchased by its current ownership in 2003. At any given time, BRP Spruce
Pine produces 50 diff erent castings from 2-77 lbs. (1-35 kg). T e level of complexity can range from requiring one foam section to 11 foam sec- tions to build the geometry. T e plant operates 16 molding machines and 15 foam assembly machines. “More than 160 diff erent foam
February 2012 MODERN CASTING | 25
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