INDUSTRY FACES
Purity Castings Owner Keeps Casting in the Family Fresh out of college in 2001
with a background in fisheries and wildlife, Crystal Lambert, manager of Purity Castings Al- loys Ltd., Surrey, B.C., Canada, was not sure where her career would take her. “After college, I worked for
a foundry as a metal alloyer and seemed to fit into the metalcast- ing business effortlessly,” Lambert said. “Alloying metal is fascinat- ing to me, and I’ve always been a science-based person.” But after a few months,
Lambert’s education took her to a position outside the metalcast- ing arena. It was not until her grandparents started preparing for retirement that Lambert re- turned to the field that felt most natural to her. “My grandfather worked for
When the year was up,
Lambert and her partner decid- ed to purchase Purity Castings and keep it running. Tough neither was formally educated in metalcasting, they had a unique opportunity to learn from a veteran metalcaster. “There is no better teacher
than a fellow who has been in the industry for more than 50 years,” Lambert said. “We were very lucky to have my grandfa- ther as a mentor. It was better than four years at college.” As an owner and operator of
Crystal Lambert, owner/operater of Purity Castings, feels at home in the metalcasting industry.
years at Canada Metal, where he met my grandmother. In 1987, he started his own small, nonferrous foundry, Purity Casting Alloys,” she said. For years, Purity Castings consisted of Lambert’s grand- father and one other employee manufacturing zinc and alu- minum die casting alloys, tin-based babbitts and low-melting fusible alloys. In the early 1990s, Purity Castings added sacrificial anodes to the product line, and the business started to grow little by little. Now, the small, permanent mold metalcasting facility continues the practices started by Lambert’s grandfather, adding scuba diving weights to its product line. “In 2004, my grandparents asked my business partner and me to help them out for a year when they decided to retire and close the foundry,” Lambert said.
PERSONALS Paul Menzel recently joined
Cast Products Inc., Norridge, Ill., as operations manager.
Kerry Shiba was promoted to
executive vice president of Superior Industries International Inc., Van Nuys, Calif.
B & L Information Systems,
Bridgeman, Mich., was awarded the Gold Stake award from Cornerstone Alliance, the southwest Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
OBITUARIES Charles Drury, Dana Point, Calif.,
died Dec. 25, 2011, at the age of 90. Drury was the first president of the American Foundry Society student chapter at the Univ. of Illinois, from which he graduated with honors and a degree in mechanical engineer- ing in 1949. Drury started his career as a trainee in the Central Foundry Division of General Motors, becom- ing manufacturing superintendent in 1951 and works manager in 1963. He joined Hayes-Albion Corp., Bridgeton, Mo., as director, president and chief
operating officer in 1969 and was made chief executive officer in 1972. Drury was a longtime AFS member, served in the Director Class of 1959, was a Cast Metals Institute Trustee from 1963-67 and 1979-82, and was AFS president from 1980-81. He presented the Hoyt Memorial Lecture in 1980 and was ac- tive in the Foundry Educational Foun- dation, serving on the board of directors from 1973-79 and as president in 1977. In 1987, Drury received the AFS Simp- son Gold Medal for a lifetime career as a distinguished leader.
May 2012 MODERN CASTING | 15
Purity Castings, Lambert found herself taking up a new challenge, as well: proving that a young woman can operate a metalcast- ing facility successfully. “As a youngish woman—I was 25 when I started and am 33 now—I find it challenging,
but haven’t met many who are exceptionally opposed to my role as a foundry owner. Many are surprised,” Lambert said. “Anyone in a role that deviates from the norm should be ready and willing to meet some adverse reactions.” Lambert works around being “outside the norm” by
operating as the chair of the British Colombia American Foundry Society Chapter. “It has been a great way to get to know the local metalcast- ing industry and let them get to know me as well,” she said. For now, Lambert is looking forward to a bright future
with Purity Castings, adding to its rich history. “Each year, we gain a bit of ground,” Lambert said.
“We survived the crash a couple of years ago and things are going very well for us now.”
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