The new casting line at Busche Aluminum Technologies in Fruitport, Michigan, was mainly designed and built by employees.
predicts a large portion will close or consolidate as current owners retire without succession plans in place. “Te industry is highly fragmented
and we foresee a lot of consolidation in the coming years. Tis isn’t just our insight—end users are telling us the exact same thing,” Busche said. “So there’s a huge opportunity to build a machining platform to supply high-end finished products to our customers.” In March, Shipston acquired 3PMI,
which is now called Busche Southfield, an automotive machining company located in Southfield, Michigan. OEMs are driving the direction and
growth of Busche. “Customers want someone to step up and handle parts from cradle to grave,” Corey Ryner, vice president engineering of Busche Development Automotive Group said. “We machine a full casting range, including iron and aluminum. We have our two aluminum foundries, but we machine and design both aluminum and iron.” BAT’s plant in Fruitport produces aluminum castings via the vacuum riserless casting/pressure riserless casting (VRC/PRC) process. In this
somewhat unique process, aluminum enters the bottom of a metal mold as a vacuum from the top draws air out. Tis results in a controlled filling that creates sound castings with high mechanical properties. “It’s an excellent process,” said Craig
Conaty, BAT president, but the team isn’t selling the process to customers. Instead it focuses on the end result. “We are looking for applications that need very high strength in a tight space,” Conaty said. “We focus on the application and providing a solution.
Busche Aluminum Technologies produces aluminum structural automotive components. December 2016 MODERN CASTING | 21
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