Besides volunteering for the
Eagle Alloy uses methane gas delivered via a seven-mile pipeline from a local landfill in its heat treat- ment furnaces to reduce natural gas consumption.
natural gas prices continued to rise in 2007, he wondered if the landfill’s excess methane could find a beneficial use in his metalcasting operations. In a partnership with the landfill, along with help from the county, Eagle Alloy split the cost of a seven-mile pipe and the associated equipment necessary to feed its heat treatment furnaces with methane gas. Natural gas prices have plummeted
in recent years, down to $3 per mil- lion btu from more than $8 in 2008. Still, Eagle Alloy continues to benefit from the project by paying approxi- mately half the New York Mercantile Exchange rate for natural gas, while the landfill receives payment for what otherwise would be waste.
A Part of the Community Since its founding in 1979, Eagle
Alloy approaches corporate respon- sibility in a comprehensive manner. In addition to improving employee health care and reducing consumption and cost associated with daily opera- tions, the company has a long history of involvement with the community. Both Workman and Fazakerley were born, raised and continue to live in the Muskegon area.
“Muskegon had a lot of philan-
thropists going back to the early 20th century,” Fazakerley said. “A lot of the big companies have since moved out, which created a bit of a vacuum for many years. Tat is a motivating factor for us. We are from Muskegon—and it’s been important for us to be a part of the community.”
YMCA, Red Cross, United Way and more than a few other community organizations, the co-owners value education outreach in an effort to improve neighbor relations, while also showing people exactly what a met- alcasting facility is and what it does. “We need to be communicating with the next generation of workers,” Cook said. “We’re talking to educators. We’re talking to kids of all ages about the industry. We want to change the perception of the overall industry.” To this end, Eagle Alloy, along with other members of the Western Michi- gan AFS chapter, organizes an annual student day. At the 2015 event, more than 100 children from 12 school dis- tricts were able to tour Eagle Alloy’s facilities and learn about its opera- tions in the morning before touring a second location in the afternoon. Eagle Alloy representatives also
routinely demonstrate metalcast- ing techniques in grade schools and engage high-schoolers at career day events. Currently developing an internship program with the local high school, the company continues to communicate with its neighbors. “We’re fighting the image that
there are no good manufacturing jobs,” Workman said. “Tat image is out there, but it’s not reality.”
The steel casting facility is looking to bolster its workforce of 450 individuals in the coming months. June 2015 MODERN CASTING | 19
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