Casting innovation from a casting buyer

Modern Casting, Dec, 2008 by Alfred T. Spada

We need to look outside our industry for inspiration. Lessons from the Apples and Starbucks of the world can help metalcasters both soar and avoid failure. This idea is not unique, which is why management books on these and other successful companies fly off the bookstore shelves.

In the case of our cover story about Edelbrock Corp. on p. 20, metalcasters only have to take one step outside their comfort zone to a casting buyer to see how innovative companies perform. I had the opportunity to spend a day with the owner of Edelbrock Corp., Vic Edelbrock Jr., who continuously guides his firm into uncharted waters. It is a necessary evil in the auto-aftermarket business, as Edelbrock Corp. has to take the standard car designs of other firms and re-engineer them to increase power, performance and visual appeal.

Edelbrock's drive developed when he became owner and president of his firm at the age of 26 after his father (the founder and owner) died. Responsible for other people's lives and his father's legacy, Edelbrock was presented with new challenges everyday. He had no choice but to turn them into learning experiences.

Today, this innovation manifests itself in the industry-leading designs his firm unleashes, making Edelbrock Corp. a leader in the automotive aftermarket. This innovation also is unleashed in the company's metalcasting facility, which Edelbrock Corp. brought in-house in 1989 while the trend of OEMs outsourcing as much manufacturing as possible to reduce costs was in full swing. The firm pushed this further by adding a new permanent mold casting facility last year. If Edelbrock had listened to what others were saying and followed what was routine for OEMs, his company wouldn't have taken a step that has proven critical to ensuring its necessary casting capacity (the firm still buys castings, as well).

And Edelbrock Corp. doesn't just maintain its casting capabilities. In its green sand facility, the firm utilizes robots for pouring and casting cleaning. It has developed an innovative way to fill its pouring ladles and pour the molds to lessen aluminum oxide formation and improve casting properties. Shakeout is performed by an in-house engineered system with a minimal footprint, saving floor space. And now, with the new permanent mold casting facility, the firm has engineered robotic cells in which every step, from mold-build to casting extraction, is performed by a robot.

These process innovations are encouraged and required by the marketplace. Sure, the process advancements add cost to the components. But the overall product Edelbrock Corp. delivers is better, at an improved total cost. The innovative process develops from innovative thinking--the ability to see the whole picture and how these decisions enhance the company today and tomorrow.

Management books preach change, adaptation and innovation as keys to successful leadership for a reason--they are. The sooner every metalcaster realizes this and takes a cue from one of our customers, the better.

Alfred T. Spada, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

If you have any comments about this editorial or any other item that appears in MODERN CASTING, email me at aspada@afsinc.org.