volume, with typical castings ranging from a few pounds to 700 lbs. (317.5 kg). Te remaining 20% is in green sand, with maximum weight of 20 lbs. (9.1 kg), due to flask size. Both lines can run simultaneously, depending on a day’s required projects. “Every morning, we meet and dis- cuss what needs to be done that day,” Bader said. “We may plan on doing a specific part, but we’ll get a phone call and have to change on the fly. We have to be able to do this. You have to take care of a customer that’s in dire need and still satisfy other customers.” Anchor Castings puts its cur-
rent streak of on-time deliveries at 10,000 castings. Emphasizing customer communication and pro- cess improvements, the metalcaster is able to meet time-sensitive demands. Though business has been good in recent years, Wolfgram knows the nature of a small job shop includes some unpredictability. “We aren’t near full capacity, but
some of that is by design,” he said. “We are always looking for new orders, but we know how quickly things can change. You can have a good month of sales in a single day, but that can change and it does.” In addition to serving customers in end-use industries, Anchor Castings works alongside area metalcasting operations on a number of different projects. Te facility partners with 12-15 different plants, with Anchor Castings handling many jobs that just aren’t practical for the larger opera- tions. In 2015, for example, the facil- ity produced more than 400 impellers, ranging in size from a few ounces to a few hundred pounds. “Tese are complicated items that
a lot of foundries just don’t want to do in small numbers,” Kiekhaefer said. “But we are very good at it so that’s a niche market that works well for us.” Anchor Castings also operates as
a type of R&D consultant for other metalcasting operations. One such project involved an oversized alumi- num oil pan nearly 5 ft. (1.52 m) in length. With a final weight of just 62 lbs. (28.1 kg), the casting required 2,400 lbs. (1,089 kg) of sand. Te metalcaster was scrapping nearly
Once housing more than 8,000 patterns, Anchor Castings currently stores approximately 3,500 on-site.
Anchor Castings’ small workforce is trained across departments to boost flexibility. March 2016 MODERN CASTING | 41
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