BUSCHE Builds Its Platform
Busche Performance Group, seeking to become a competitive Tier-1 automotive supplier, acquired an aluminum casting operation as its first order of business. SHANNON WETZEL, MANAGING EDITOR
B
usche Performance Group (Busche), part of Shipston Equity Holdings LLC, is crystal clear in its goal:
position itself to fill a void in the automotive Tier-1 supplier mar- ketplace with what Busche founder, CEO and president Nick A. Busche calls a “long-term, customer- and employee-centric approach to building a business.” Busche is doing so by looking to
acquire strong businesses in casting and machining, investing in existing plants, and packaging itself as a part- ner that can provide parts from design to casting to machining and assembly. In October 2015, part of this plan was fulfilled with the purchase of an aluminum VRC/PRC casting opera- tion in Fruitport, Michigan, and a squeeze cast facility in Franklin, Indi- ana, known collectively as Compass Automotive Group, now called Busche Aluminum Technologies (BAT). Since Shipston’s purchase, BAT
has hired more than 125 employees and invested more than $20 million
20 | MODERN CASTING December 2016
into the two plants, improving the plants’ operational capacities, includ- ing adding a third casting line in the Michigan facility. Te new line was built specifically to accommodate the launch of a new job for a major auto- motive customer. “Tere was a desire from our
customers to join forces of machining and foundry operations,” Shipston vice president Brett Tremain said. “Since we’ve done that, the feedback has been tremendous as we continue to increase our operational capacity and geo- graphic reach.” Busche Performance Group, a
privately-owned operating company, was the first acquisition of Shipston, which is backed by long-term, genera- tional shareholders. Busche attracted the attention of Shipston because of its reputation as a foundationally solid and disciplined machining operation. “We were looking for a business with first-rate management and oper- ations—a platform that had a great foundation for growth and that could bring stability and consolidation to a
fragmented industry,” Tremain said. Nick Busche has been steering his
company for decades on the principles of being the best in class in quality, delivery and safety. “We are a performance-based com-
pany with a rich history of delivering world class products to our customers with some of the lowest PPMs in the industry,” Busche said. “We have been consistently surpassing our goals by investing in our workforce and build- ing something dynamic here, which the industry is dying for.”
Total Package Busche plans to continue build-
ing a machining platform that serves international markets as a Tier-1 supplier, offering machined, assembled, and tested cast parts. Its two casting facilities in Michigan and Indiana were the first step. Busche is also looking to acquire machining facilities located in foundry-heavy regions to take advan- tage of the proximity to that key part of the supply chain. Tousands of machine shops remain in the U.S., but Busche
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