This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
with our lead times. Tey have been cut in half in many cases.” When the Peters’ installed the


new molding line in April 2014, the goal was to see a return on the investment in 3-4 years. The com- pany now expects to hit its ROI by the end of 2016—a few months shy of 3 years. Talladega Pattern had to rework its


patterns to go from the jolt/squeeze machines to the automatic mold- ing line. Te metalcaster hired an additional employee to help with the transition. It started with the jobs that were run most frequently and had the most consistent volume. Once those were done, it has continued to convert its other patterns. At about two patterns converted a day, so far 200 patterns have been changed over to the automatic molding line. New jobs are almost always quoted for the auto- matic molding line, unless the quantity is a one-time order of less than 25. “It has turned out to be not that


expensive to get the patterns con- verted,” Matt Peters said.


Future Plans Talladega Pattern’s largest cus-


tomer has been a steady partner of Talladega Pattern’s for 40 years and one of the reasons the metalcaster had for investing in the automated molding machine. The line adds 60% more capacity to produce more parts for its customers, plus Tal- ladega Pattern can deliver the parts faster. While the new line is busy with its current customer base, Tal- ladega Pattern sees the advantage of a wider customer mix. The plan is to fill any additional capacity with more work from existing customers, as well as orders from new cus- tomers. To help, the team hired an outside sales representative. Talladega Pattern was confident


but cautious when it made its first big plunge into automation. Now, based on that success, the Peters have


more expansion plans in the works as customer demand grows. Te three to five-year plan includes an expansion of the cleaning area with new shot blasting equipment and a new furnace for copper-base melting. Te company is in the process of implementing enterprise resource planning software to organize the scheduling and opera- tion of the plant. Te business also has recently purchased adjacent tracks of land for the construction of additional plant space. Longer term, the Peters envi-


sion the addition of another, larger automated molding machine, and possibly automated pouring if the ROI makes sense. “If you have the volume, [auto- matic molding] is worth it,” Joey Peters said. “It was scary for us initially. Matt and Jason know it has to be paid back. We look back and laugh, why didn’t we do this earlier? But truthfully, we weren’t able to. Now was the right time.”


26 | MODERN CASTING October 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68