S
t Marys, Ohio, is home to a company celebrating its 30th year successfully run-
ning an employee-owned metalcasting operation in a facility that has poured iron since 1917. When the original St Marys
Foundry Co. closed its doors in December 1983, a group of 29 employees and a few outside investors bought it and reopened in 1984. During their first year back in busi- ness, a nearby company in the natural gas industry closed its metalcast- ing operations. St Marys bid to cast natural gas compression parts for the company, did its job well on a chal- lenging water-jacketed component and earned more of that business. Now, the majority of its products are used for natural gas compression in the U.S. and global markets.
Te startup management team
studied metalcasting operations across the globe, gathering ideas for best practices and market strategy. Tey navigated rough economic times and built a solid reputation as a provider of high quality, intricately cored parts used in demanding applications. Today, 135 employees cast parts
for the pump and valve industry, food processing and military applications. From flasks through pit molding, the facility’s largest jobs include things like a diffuser for the world’s largest pump- ing station. For the past 10 years, the St Marys
facility has undergone major renovations. A nobake operation, it pours gray and ductile iron in about equal quantities, as well as specialty alloys. Te company runs two 20-ton coreless induction fur- naces and produces iron castings ranging from 500 to 60,000 lbs.
The Benefits of Team Leadership St Marys Foundry aims to serve
as a leading casting provider, within the scope its management team has determined. “Tere’s a certain amount of busy
you don’t want,” said Angela Dine, president and CEO, whose family has held a majority interest since the company’s revival in 1984. Dine took the helm 10 years ago, following her father’s retirement. “With our current strategy, we can make money when business is slow or when it’s busy. But most of our success can be attributed to the generations who created our name and our reputation in the industry.” When the company changed its
product mix to focus on difficult cast- ings that must meet rigorous standards, scrap was a major concern. “Changing the mix of work,
concentrating on what we make best,
St Marys Foundry’s skilled employees specialize in creating challenging iron castings. September 2014 MODERN CASTING | 23
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