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Grede Radford currently produces 100% automotive components, such as the control arm, tension arm, differential case and brake caliper housing shown here. The average part size produced by the facility is 20 lbs.


“Our operations teams know the


types of equipment and how fast they should be running,” Lovell said. “We do due diligence to fi gure out where the shortfalls are.” Grede isn’t done making acquisi-


tions, according to Lovell. While he declined to off er specifi cs on upcom- ing purchases, he said, “T ere is always something on the drawing board,” and the company will continue to try to identify opportunities for profi table growth that make sense for Grede and its customers. “[Our existing] plants are doing a


great job of continuous improvement, driving more capacity,” Lovell said. “T at gives us an opportunity to go out and bring in more business. With our size, [customers] have been recep- tive to saying, ‘T is job would be better moved to this facility to save you freight.’ We are doing a lot of balanc- ing around the company. T e custom- ers that are with us get it and want to see us be successful and do what we can to get it right.”


The Grede Way


It’s easy to adopt some skepticism when a Grede employee launches into a spiel about “T e Grede Way.” But it’s hard to argue with success. When the new Grede was formed


in 2010, it reported just less than $700 million in sales. In an interview with Grimm shortly thereafter, he imagined the company could eventually produce annual revenues of $850 million. He was wrong. By implementing lean manufacturing initiatives and working


22 | MODERN CASTING October 2012


closely with customers, it is now report- ing revenues in excess of $1 billion. From an operations standpoint,


T e Grede Way represents a standard process control system at each of the company’s 17 metalcasting facilities. All across the country at 9 a.m., managers from each of the facilities’ departments meet and discuss several key safety, quality, delivery and sales metrics. T en they break the numbers down by department. Grede Radford, for exam- ple, will look at the numbers for each of its six core machines individually. “Every day, we determine, by shift,


any issues we have,” said Michael Del- Signore, Radford’s general manager. “Every week, [we develop] a summary of what we see daily on the fl oor and then consolidate it for the month.” According to DelSignore, it’s


important every fl oor manager is involved in the process of determining whether the departments are hitting the numbers committed by the general manager’s fi nancial forecast. Any department that fails to hit its target metrics notes the issue on an account- ability board. A task to correct the failing is determined, and a deadline to complete the task is set. “Everyone sees it, from the core


room supervisor to everyone in every department,” said Robert Allerton, Grede’s director of product planning. “[In other systems], the top managers and supervisors see only elements of the operating system. T e plant man- ager might be the only person to see everything. Here, there is a buy-in and dialogue about how things are running and a system to get those issues solved.”


Grede executives insist safety is the most important metric measured in T e Grede Way, and it isn’t just because it’s the right thing to do. “Safety aff ects all of those other items in our operating system—qual- ity, cost, delivery,” DelSignore said. To that end, installing a com-


prehensive maintenance system is a critical component of salvaging a plant that has become undercapitalized. Grede uses total productive main- tenance boards to ensure operators initial each operation and are held accountable for performing mainte- nance at regular intervals. “T e idea is that someone like me who might not be at the plant every day can go in and immediately under- stand how it is running, its goals and its history,” Allerton said. T e Grede Way isn’t a goal to be


reached; it’s a process. According to Lovell, the company is always looking for ways to improve operations, and it draws on its diff erent facilities (even the new ones) to learn fresh ways to do things. “Two times a year, we have best-of- the-best tours, where the senior plant managers travel and see what others are doing,” Lovell said. “[We give] ‘Eagle Awards’ for safety, quality, delivery and profi tability. T ey are a big deal. T e competitive level becomes contagious, and the plants want to be the best.”


Giving Radford New Life DelSignore seems to love T e Grede


Way. During a mid-August briefi ng on the system, the 30-year metalcast- ing industry veteran showed not a hint of burn-out as he bounced around the room pointing at charts and describing


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