foundry that’s ever their fault, it’s hard not to take a little ownership if you’re supplying everything.” Gil negotiated a three-year deal with ASK
Chemicals, Hilden, Germany, that included necessary technical support and employee training. While cost proved important, ASK’s direct support in Mexico was another factor that led the deal. Alagarsamy continued to work with the metal-
lurgists, tooling managers and/or operations man- agers to prepare for metallurgical changes in the nobake process. “As a foundry moves from small green sand castings
to larger castings in nobake, there are differences in solidification time,” he said. “Tis affects nodule count and can [increase the possibility] for graphite floatation and exploded graphite. Both chemistry and inoculation need to be optimized.”
Competing for the Future An expected 3,000 metric tons of castings will be
produced in the new nobake facility in 2014, and Blackhawk anticipates the line to reach its full capacity of 12,500 metric tons within three years. Te orders are in place, though hurdles, namely product approvals, remain before production can increase. “If we received approvals today for all the patterns
we’re developing right now, we have enough jobs for two full shifts,” Gil said. “But it takes time. We already have orders for two shifts of production, but we need to go through that initial approval process.” For the time being, Blackhawk has moved one high
volume part from green sand to help the nobake line run on a more consistent basis. Te transfer has the additional benefit of opening capacity in the green sand operation, which continues to operate near 85% of capacity. Also, the current expansion has led to approxi- mately 20 new employees, with the possibility for 30 more as production increases. While looking to fill a niche in larger castings,
Blackhawk sits in a unique place as one of the only mid-sized metalcasting facilities in Mexico. While other facilities tend to be either much larger plants or smaller, family-owned shops, Blackhawk is without many com- petitors in Mexico. As a result, it tends to measure itself against similarly sized firms in the U.S. While labor costs are much lower in Mexico, other costs can reduce the benefit of being south of the border. Scrap, sand and utility costs can be more expensive in Mexico. Also, because it competes directly with U.S. facilities, Gil knew he couldn’t rely solely on delivering low-cost castings dependent on less expensive labor. “We decided to install a nobake line with automa-
tion and good equipment, because we want to be a big player that’s not relying on labor in Mexico,” Gil said. “That’s temporary. We want to be a very good foundry in terms of technology and technical support. In the end, it’s about quality.”
合同，其中包括必要的技术支持和员工培训。当然成 本因素被证明非常重要， ASK可以直接从墨西哥供货 是达成这一交易的另一原因。 Alagarsamy继续与熔炼工艺师，模具经理和运营 经理合作，为采用自硬砂工艺而变化的熔炼工艺做好 准备。
“从湿型砂工艺生产小型铸件改为自硬砂工艺生产 较大的铸件，铸件凝固的时间不一样，”他说。“这 会影响石墨球数量和增加石墨漂浮和石墨化膨胀的可 能性。化学成份和孕育需要进行优化。”
竞争未来
2014年新的自硬砂车间铸件的产量预期为3000 吨，Blackhawk公司预计将在三年内达到生产线满负 荷产能12,500吨。订单已经就绪，但难题是产品认 证，使产量无法增加。
“如果我们今天收到所有正在开发产品的认证，我 们有足够的业务安排两班制生产，”Gil说。“但这需 要时间，我们已经有满足两班制生产的订单，但我们 需要通过初始的认证程序。”
现在的情况是，Blackhawk公司已经把一款量大 的产品从湿型砂线转到自硬砂线生产，以帮助自硬砂 线有更连贯的节奏。这项转移额外的好处就是释放了 湿型砂线的产能，它继续以接近其产能85％的水平运 营。此外，目前的扩张新招了大约20名员工，随着产 量的增加，有可能再增加30名员工。
Blackhawk公司正努力在较大铸件市场占有一席之 地，作为墨西哥唯一的中型铸造企业，Blackhawk公 司的地位独特。而其他企业，往往是要么特别大要么 特别小的类似家庭作坊的企业，Blackhawk公司在墨 西哥没有太多竞争对手。因此，它趋向于把美国同等 规模的同行视为竞争对手。
尽管墨西哥劳动力成本要低得多，因处在南部边 境，其他成本的支出减少了收益。废钢，砂子和公用 事业的成本在墨西哥更昂贵。此外，因为直接与美国 的企业竞争，Gil知道自己不能仅仅依靠廉价的劳动力 提供低成本的铸件。
“我们决定安装自动化和高质量的自硬砂设备，因 为我们想成为一个不依靠墨西哥廉价劳动力的重要参 与者，”Gil说，“依靠廉价劳动力的优势只是暂时 的，我们要成为技术和工艺支持方面非常出色的铸造 厂。最终，严把质量关。”
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FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTING | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION June 2014
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