around through email. Certainly it’s a challenge but we’re doing it.” Technology is helping. “Te thing we’ve started to utilize
all the way down to the shop floor are tablets. Tablets have become very big,” Raudenbush said. “Tey run into a casting issue at PRL and the shop foreman snaps a picture, boom, we can have that picture in seconds. It’s instantaneous feedback from the shop level as opposed to taking weeks or a month. It’s the same day that we can be reactive quickly and then actually start to get proactive on that same part.” Tat quick response helps in all sectors of the company, each of them facing their own challenges. Hess, for example, deals with government contracts with 18-month lead-ins. He has to hold dates for those products, while working on other commit- ments. Dan Bailor, the plant manager at LTC in Lebanon, has to keep his
plant nimble enough to machine castings that weigh anywhere from 2-2,000 lbs. quickly. “As far as handling, those are two
largely different sizes and they have to be handled differently,” Bailor said. “Te expertise that we have here, we have the ability to go from the cast- ings that weigh ounces to the castings that weigh a ton.” Over at PRL Industries, Level
III, RT manager Randall A. Jacobs’ department is responsible for the X-ray inspection of components, ones that were and were not produced by a sister facility. In addition to the industry standard film system, PRL utilizes computed radiography (CR), in which a phosphorus imaging plate is used to capture the image undergo- ing radiography. “It is a tremendous asset for us to use
computed radiography when we can,” Jacobs said. “Not only does it save us on consumables, because imaging plates
are reusable, but it also helps reduce turnaround time, and relay important information directly to the foundry.” Herschkowitz’s description of the
culture isn’t a surprise. It matches what Raudenbush and his colleagues said. “I would describe our corporate
culture as highly specialized. Because we have the different locations, Regal Cast can focus on pouring the highest-quality casting they can. PRL Industries can focus on non- destructive testing and upgrading the components properly to the numer- ous different specifications, and the machine shops can focus on machin- ing to the exact dimensions,” she said. “Having said that, the key to the suc- cess is that they’re not silos. There’s interaction between them. “They can specialize on what
they do best but we also have a team atmosphere where they can all discuss what needs to be discussed to make it work.”
The corporate offices of PRL Inc. are just steps from the historic Cornwall Iron Furnace. April 2017 MODERN CASTING | 21
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