that’s done is enable us to make pat- terns relatively inexpensive and have a lower amortization and therefore get a lower unit price for our customer and enable us to win contracts.” Tat’s also allowed Danko Arling-
ton to manage the shortage of workers by getting leaner and meaner. Just last year, the company
installed an 11-axis multitasking CNC mill. They did it, as Danko said, “because we have a severe shortage of machinists.” “Te 11-axis machine basically has
two chucks and two cutters and you put a casting in one chuck. You can turn it and index it and mill it and the other chuck will come and grab it and do the other side,” Danko said. “It’s state of the art. We call it a ‘machine shop in a box.’ It’s higher accuracy and less people. It can work 24-7 and is very reliable.” New technology, however, is far
from the only way Danko Arlington is moving forward. It’s also pushing into the future by trying to help those typically turned away.
Taking a Chance Around 2000, Danko Arlington
began hiring ex-offenders and has also taken on persons in recovery. Tey do it because of a retiring workforce, the difficulty in recruiting in their tough neighborhood, and a desire to help people find their foot- ing in life. “Your background really doesn’t matter as long as you come to work– you’ve fulfilled your punishment and
Anthony Miller Reads film which will eventually be replaced by CT scanning.
we’re trying to help our neighbors,” Danko said. “What we’re doing is we’re giving many in our Baltimore community a second chance.” Danko said he thinks there are tax benefits to hiring ex-offenders but the company doesn’t go after them, because giving jobs is a ‘win-win’—a good thing for the applicant and a good thing for Danko Arlington. But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy process, or one that always produces long-term and reliable workers. “Everybody always asks, ‘What’s
your success rate?’”, Danko said. “Really by the numbers it’s not something to boast, but the ones that
“What we’ve wanted to do here in the last seven years is reduce our conventual
patternmaking and that’s why we’ve gone to 3-D printing. Tat’s why we’re using FDM. We print in polycarbonate and we make accurate patterns directly from CAD.” —John Danko
do work out are very loyal, grateful, have a brand-new outlook on life. Tey have a metal casting career for a lifetime if they choose.” As Dan Lightner, foundry super- intendent, points out, persons in recovery come with a lot of chal- lenges. Employers need to continue to be patient with re-entry hires and encourage continued support. Said Lightner: “Te most impor-
tant requirement is to remember and repeat on-the-job training.” “A lot of persons in recovery and
re-entry are eager to get ahead. One of the biggest challenges we have is that we are starting new foundry employees from scratch—from not having indus- try experience or even work experience at all,” Lightner said. “Many new hires come in and they’re superstars, learn- ing and picking everything up quickly. But with a paycheck comes new dis- tractions which affect attendance and work performance.” Danko Arlington works with area
charities, community centers and halfway houses to find workers, a group that makes up about a third of the company’s workforce. At first, Danko would walk around the neighborhood, hand out applications and basically hire off the street, but that didn’t work out. For any other company looking to
June 2017 MODERN CASTING | 21
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