Casting buyers are increasingly looking for foundries to supply a finished and assembled part. Are you ready to capitalize on the opportunity?
You produce castings, but customers don’t always want just a casting—they want a finished part. That likely means additional machining, painting, heat treating, testing, and yes, assembly. This article examines the growing demand for assembly, why foundries (and machine shops) should consider taking it on, and what is needed to get started.
AFS Corporate Member Farrar USA (Manhattan, Kansas) is a green sand foundry producing ductile iron parts for a variety of industries, including energy, heavy truck, agriculture, turf, and recreational vehicles. A vertically integrated foundry, Farrar has been offering assembly services for 35 years. First offered to a high-end turf care company for its gearbox, additional assembly options have been added over the years.
“As companies examine their processes internally, they are looking for more and more castings to arrive with the value-add already completed,” said President and CEO Scott Case. “We have seen a steady increase in requests for even partial assemblies that have included requests for seals, bushings, zerks, and others installed by Farrar.”
AFS Corporate Member Barron Industries, located in Oxford, Michigan, has also experienced growing demand for assembly services. A precision investment casting business since 1983, Barron began vertically integrating its operations in the mid-1990s, adding CAD engineering and design services, rapid prototyping technologies, machining, and assembly.
“We purchased a machining company and brought it into our own facility, and we have been growing that operation for the last 30 years,” said President and CEO Bruce Barron.
At the same time, Barron says clients increasingly want fewer suppliers.
“They want to source from a supplier that does more of the work, so it reduces their supply-chain workload.”
“I think there’s growing demand,” said Barron. However, he also says Barron markets itself as a solution provider of complete assemblies. “Customers are not used to seeing a metal casting company as the supplier of the end component, subsystem or assembly.”
AFS Corporate Member Manitowoc Pattern & Machining has been offering assembly services since it was purchased by Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry in 2017. “More and more of our customers are looking to have a part come into their plant and go directly to their production line,” said Vice President and General Manager David Bergene. “It’s an opportunity to grow and really demonstrate a value proposition that other machine shops either can’t or don’t want to provide.”
For Waukesha Foundry (Waukesha, Wisconsin), assembly is not something it does for other companies, but rather for its own products. The company specializes in producing high-alloy cast parts using the lost foam casting method.
However, the bulk of the assembly work it performs is for products used in heat exchangers for oil refineries under the WF-Repco brand.
“We haven’t seen growing demand for assembly in most of the markets we serve—oil and gas, food processing, and industrial—but one market that could really benefi t from this would be defense,” said Individual AFS member President Steve Cook. “If you look at most of those bids, they are looking to purchase a subassembly or finished part.”
AFS Corporate Member Off Site Manufacturing in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, recognized growing demand for one-stop services in 2019 and began partnering directly with foundries to provide machining, finishing, assembly, inspection, and shipping of finished components under the foundry’s brand.
“Work directly for foundries now represents 40% of sales,” said Gary McKinney, vice president of operations.
Case, Bergene, and Cook all believe a labor shortage is driving the trend toward outsourcing assembly.
“Companies have lost experienced employees through retirement, and the new wave of hires often lacks the experience to manage the supply chain,” said Bergene.
“We have seen clients struggle to find people who want to work,” said Case. “We’re constantly hiring, interviewing, and trying to onboard people, and so are our customers,” said Cook. “If we can perform some operations so they can use those employees in other areas that are more urgent and critical, they seem interested in doing that.”
Barron says clients save time and money by consolidating vendors for assembly and other finishing processes. “What we provide is an overall lower cost assembly with a more compressed lead time than can be achieved using multiple suppliers,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for us to cut lead times in half, which is very signifi cant. In addition, if something goes wrong, clients don’t have to deal with multiple parties blaming each other.”
Case believes providing assembly, along with other value-added services, gives clients greater flexibility and the ability to make “changes on the fly,” as well as faster response times.
At Manitowoc Pattern & Machining, Bergene says additional time savings can be achieved if the part does not require painting or other outsourced services.
“The more services you off er a client, the less they have to manage,” said Case. “When a customer only has to issue one purchase order to receive an assembly— whether partial or full—that is a measurable benefit.”
Foundries that offer assembly and other value-added services differentiate themselves from the competition. Barron outlines a key advantage to the strategy.
“You don’t have to fi nd a new customer or a new part. You just have to put more value into the part you are already producing,” he said.
“What really sets us apart today is our ability to provide that complete component,” Barron added. “And as a metalcasting company, another differentiator is that we produce parts in both ferrous and nonferrous alloys.”
“Farrar has seen success by controlling the entire process—from tooling design and fabrication all the way through pouring, machining, and assembly,” said Case. “This gives us tremendous flexibility and keeps us from being constrained by outside service providers.”
The benefits are similar for Manitowoc Pattern & Machining.
“It allows us to provide one more service that helps set us apart from competitors,” said Bergene. “Providing a one-stop shop strengthens our value proposition.”
Assembly operations need to be set up with the proper bill of materials, controls, processes, and documentation.
“To create fairly complex assemblies, you might have 30 components going into one unit,” said Barron. “There’s a lot involved. You need engineering, traceability, documentation, and record keeping for all those components.”
Every assembly requires different coatings and purchased components. Vendors supplying those components need to be identified and certified. For example, painting was outsourced by all of the companies interviewed for this article. Case says space for assembly operations, along with racking for component storage, is critical, as is ensuring supplied components meet customer requirements. “At Farrar, assembly and component storage take place within a designated area,” he said. “All of our assemblies occur at our machining centers as the machined castings come off the machining operation.”
Case also cautions about the possible negative impacts of component changes. “You have a responsibility to protect your client from component changes, regardless of pricing,” said Case. “A component part that is ‘the same’ is rarely the same unless the part numbers match exactly.” “One of the challenges of assembly is finding experienced labor with strong attention to detail,” said Manitowoc’s Bergene. “You also need an experienced scheduler who can manage a complex supply chain along with inventory management.”
“You need employees who are patient, detail-oriented, and task-oriented,” added Case. “If the orders are large, you need someone who is comfortable with repetitive tasks and can stay engaged. You cannot simply take any employee and place them into assembly.”
At Barron Industries, which produces low-volume parts for defense and aerospace, the company looks for assemblers with mechanical aptitude and the ability to read blueprints.
“Typically, one or two people build the entire unit,” said Barron.
“At Off Site, most of our people are flexible and trained in multiple areas, so they can run equipment and also perform assembly,” said McKinney.
If foundries already have machining capabilities, Case says the capital investment required to add assembly is relatively minimal. However, foundries should expect some investment in test stands, fixtures, and equipment depending on the level of assembly and verification required. For foundries without machining services that do not want to invest in machining equipment, partnering with a third party such as Off Site Manufacturing provides an alternative.
“A lot of foundries simply don’t have the space to add machining capability,” said McKinney.
As for what to look for in a partner, McKinney advises foundries to focus on quality management.
“You want to partner with somebody that’s IATF 16949-certified,” said McKinney, referring to the global quality standard for the automotive industry.
“When it comes to assembly, you want to partner with a machine shop that is willing and able to manage sub-suppliers for machining, painting, coatings, and any assembly subcomponents.”
Farrar Machining is ISO 9001-certified as well as PED (Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU)-certified. Barron Industries is AS9100- and ISO 9001-certified and also maintains Nadcap accreditations for computed radiography, liquid penetrant testing, and welding.
According to McKinney, traceability requirements vary depending on the OEM. “Some customers want traceability down to the day, some to the month, and others have no requirements at all,” he said.
“But if a customer wants day-level traceability, we can provide that for the machining process.”
Manitowoc Pattern has also built and designed assembly equipment that serializes each part so it can be scanned for more accurate recordkeeping and traceability.
Bergene believes foundries should first assess their capabilities, staffing, and facilities to determine whether they are suited for assembly operations. He then advises them to “start small.”
“I’d start with simple tasks such as installing plugs.”
Barron suggests starting with one customer that is willing to work with you.
“Once you have done the work, create marketing materials and get them in front of your customers.”
Farrar only quotes assembly work when it also provides the casting and machining services. “For our model, this is a critical firststep,” he said. “A strong line of communication with the client and a high level of trust are also key to success.”
Multiple foundries and machine shops have found success providing assembly services for OEM customers, along wit other value-added offerings such as machining, painting, coating, and testing. Whether through vertical integration or partnerships with machine shops and finishing providers, OEMs are increasingly seeking vendors willing and able to manage more of the supply chain.
By doing more for customers, your company becomes a more valuable supplier that is harder to replace. If your business has the expertise, facilities, and resources needed, consider moving into assembly. If not, consider how an assembly partnership could benefit your business.
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