BEST CLEANING & FINISHING OPERATIONS - 2001

20020394
Journal: Modern Casting V 91 N 1 P 32-36, Jan 2001 (5 p)
Author: Modern Casting Staff Report

In most foundries, the cleaning room is the most labor-intensive and least desirable department in which to work, often with a chaotic work flow at best. This article describes the cleaning facilities at (1) Waupaca Foundry Plant 5, Tell City Indiana, (2) Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., Wabash, Indiana and (3) Conbraco Industries, Inc. Steel Products Div., Conway, South Carolina. Thus the full spectrum of foundries are represented ranging from Waupaca at 217,000 tons/yr to Conbraco at 6000 tons/yr. Waupaca's total foundry employment is 298 persons. Hayes, which produces aluminum intake manifolds, uses 12.5 labor man-hour per ton of finished goods, compared to an industry average of over 40 man-hours/ton. Conbraco installed a robotic grinding cell that had a six-month payback.