General Products Needs Castings
The machine shop forecasts a positive growth pattern for the foreseeable future. The only thing left is to fi nd the metalcasters it needs to grow with it. SHEA GIBBS, MANAGING EDITOR
management fears losing casting work to low-cost countries, worries about the consolidation of the metalcasting industry and believes surcharges are a necessary evil perpetuated by the country’s largest OEMs. If it weren’t for the fact that it
G
didn’t pour a single casting, General Products would sound a lot like many metalcasting facilities. As it is, the company is a machine shop that requires metalcasting facili- ties to deliver the products its custom- ers need: 100% of the machined parts that leave General Products’ facilities in Russelville, Ky., San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and Angola, Ind., are castings. “We rely on metalcasters,” said
Steve Maroney, vice president of sales. “T ey can help us or hurt us.” And with 400% growth forecast
over the next four years and a recent expansion into Mexico, General Prod- ucts is expecting metalcasting compa-
eneral Products Corp., Livonia, Mich., loves castings. Its
nies to help them a lot more than they hurt them in the near future. “One of the big hurdles as a sales
group is getting casting companies interested,” said Joseph Newby, advanced process engineering manager. “T e lack of capacity from metalcasters has grown exponentially in the last two years. T ere’s been so much activity.”
Mexico and Beyond
On Aug. 16, General Products announced it was launching a new machining facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. According to Newby, the move
made sense because one of its largest established customers had an existing framework in Mexico, and several of its existing metalcasting suppliers have infrastructure in place in the country. General Products couldn’t handle the customer’s Mexico-based orders at its existing facilities, so the capacity was already sold when the machinist moved across the border. “Strategically, we don’t carry
capacity,” Maroney said. “We don’t add capacity without an equivalent commitment from the customer.” T e company is now working with
ONLINE RESOURCE
For more information on the machining end-use market, visit
www.moderncasting.com.
34 | MODERN CASTING February 2012
two of its preferred metalcasting facili- ties with a presence in Mexico to fulfi ll its casting needs. “We are a perfect match [with two facilities] to take advantage of the
growing need down there,” Newby said. “T ere is a gap in the market, and no one has the appetite to put machin- ing assets on the fl oor.” By this time next year, General
Products expects to be growing its Mexico operations. T e company selected the building with an eye for expansion, and Maroney said almost all of its customers have plans to have some work in Mexico. Even if the economy hits a double dip, Maroney said most of the programs it has now are low risk. He expects the company will add 22 machine centers to its three facilities next year, the same number it installed in 2011. T at means General Products’ ties to metalcasting facilities will only grow, as well. “We see the technology in the
industry evolving from basic machined components,” Newby said. “A lot of these programs involve engineering up front. It is imperative that we have relationships with foundries that can co-develop these things.” According to Maroney, General
Products has diversifi ed its portfolio in recent years to guard against mar- ket fl uctuations, as well. At the time of its inception in 1922, the company was 100% automotive. T is remained true for more than 80 years. T en, a relationship with a major transmis- sion producer moved the company into the commercial vehicle market.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68