ELECTRONIC CASTING DESIGN TOOLS

Steel Founders Society of America is developing web-based casting design studies (www.sfsa.org/tutorials) for DoD, OEM’s and academia. One of the tutorials describes the application of advanced steel casting alloy technology for Navy submarines to increase fleet readiness and provide more responsive, reliable combat power to support expeditionary and contingency operations at a lower cost.

US Navy submarines use on-demand hydraulic pressure for system operations throughout the boat, supplied by hydraulic accumulators, which have to contain high pressure spikes for more than half a million cycles without leaks or failure through the life of the submarine.

Spuncast, Inc. of Watertown, WI centrifugally casts the cylinder barrels (16” diameter and 30” length) for the accumulators. By shifting from a dual layer alloy design to a duplex stainless steel alloy, the casting is produced in a single pour, delivering improved strength, toughness, corrosion-resistance, and wearlife while eliminating costly hard-chrome plating.

With the duplex stainless steel accumulator the Navy submarine force increases on-station time, reduces maintenance time and costs, eliminates the environmental hazards and costs of electro-chrome plating.

The SFSA web-based casting design study (www.sfsa.org/tutorials) tells the story to a wide audience (DoD, OEM’s and academia) of how the application of advanced steel casting alloy technology helps Navy submarines increase fleet readiness and provide more responsive, more reliable combat power to support expeditionary and contingency operations at a lower cost.

This project is part of The American Metalcasting Consortium, managed by the Advanced Technology Institute, and sponsored by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, and the Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA.

For more information or questions concerning AMC, contact Vickie Doby at ATI via email: doby@aticorp.org

What's New?

The Steel Founders Society of America held their 60th Annual Technical and Operating Conference on December 14-16, 2006 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. The T&O Committee presented a solid program of practical papers relating to most operating plant areas and issues. At Thursday's luncheon, Spuncast's summer intern, Tony Brietbach, was presented with a scholarship check for $5000. Tony was one of the two national recipients of the Schumo Scholarship. During the Summer 2006 Internship, he worked on a project in the Spuncast chemistry lab to improve the accuracy of our spectrometer. As part of Friday afternoon's presentation, Tony presented his paper to an enthusiastic group of attendees. (Click Here to Download PDF) Don Payne and the rest of Tony's co-workers at Spuncast would like to congratulate him on his outstanding work and achievements - Keep up the great work Tony!

Spuncast’s Adam Wellnitz (third from left) graduates as a 6-Sigma Black Belt from Caterpillar University.
In attendance were (from left to right) Alan Holtz, Vice President – Sales & Engineering, Rob Kluz, 6-Sigma Deployment Champion, Wellnitz, and Don Payne, President.

In a ceremony Friday, April 28, at Caterpillar University, Lisle, IL, Adam Wellnitz graduated as a 6-Sigma Black Belt. This was the culmination of four months of both intensive classroom work and project work at Spuncast, Inc. in Watertown. The work included rigorous study, research and examinations. The position of Black Belt is considered to be the driving force behind a company's 6-Sigma improvement efforts. Don Payne, President of Spuncast, a local centrifugal foundry, stated, "6-Sigma, more than an "improvement program", is a philosophy, a way of doing business. It is a company mindset that strives for improvement in all aspects of our business. 6-Sigma brings a specific methodology, that when followed, yields very high returns through cost savings." Payne continued by saying, "6-Sigma is a major part of our chart to the future." Wellnitz has been an engineer with Spuncast for over 2 years. "We want to congratulate Adam for this achievement. We are looking forward to the impact he'll make at Spuncast." said Payne.

Industrial spark

High natural gas costs force energy-saving measures

By RICK BARRETT
rbarrett@journalsentinel.com

Posted: April 6, 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Business Section

Manufacturers in the Great Lakes region have paid 27% more for natural gas compared with the average U.S. price, according to a study released Wednesday.

If the trend continues,Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio are vulnerable to serious economic losses, according to the Manufacturers Alliance study, which cites 2004 prices. The alliance is an Arlington, Va.-based trade group.

Companies here are under "intense pressure" from natural gas prices, said Don Norman, an economist and the study's author.

Factories and other industrial operations use about one-third of the natural gas consumed in the United States. Besides being used to heat buildings and run production lines, the fuel is used as a raw ingredient in products such as plastics, fabrics, fertilizers and chemicals.

Every $1 increase in natural gas prices adds $3.7 billion in costs for the chemical industry alone, according to the American Chemistry Council. Those costs are eventually reflected in thousands of products.

Metal-fabrication industries have felt the sting of high gas prices when using the fuel to run large furnaces that provide heat treatments of steel and stainless steel products such as fasteners, shafts and gears.

"We saw increases that occurred around the first of the year, and the prices have remained high," said Alan Holtz, vice president of sales and engineering at Spuncast Inc., a Watertown foundry.

"We are trying to cope with those prices," Holtz said. "It certainly has a bearing on our profitability and our ability to remain competitive."

In the Great Lakes region, natural gas prices paid by industrial users averaged $7.92 per million British thermal units in 2004, which was 27% higher than the national average.

Even more disturbing were soaring price increases from 2002 to 2004. The value of manufacturing output in the Great Lakes states rose by an average 9.5%, while the estimated outlays for natural gas rose 53%, the study noted.

Natural gas futures closed at $7.069 per million Btus Wednesday. Gas futures rose as high as $15.378 per million Btus in mid-December 2005, according to Bloomberg News.

No easy explanation

There's no easy explanation for why prices were 27% higher in the Great Lakes region in 2004, according to Norman.

"The more important point was the sheer extent of the price increases," he said.

Natural gas has been the fuel of choice for many industrial users because, until recently, it was relatively inexpensive. Now, some manufacturers are close to being pushed out of business by rising energy prices, said Walter Moore, president of Affiliated Power Purchasers International, a Salisbury, Md., consulting firm that assists manufacturers on energy issues.

"There's no magic solution" to this problem, he said. "Short of discoveries of brand new natural gas sources, you just need to be prudent in what you are doing."

Spuncast redesigned its foundry equipment to capture and reuse excess heat, rather than lose it to the air.

"We are doing everything we can to become as energy-efficient as possible. In the long run, we will be better off," Holtz said.

In Wausau, Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co. has saved several hundred thousand dollars a year in energy costs through changes such as installing motorized gates on machine air vents. Since incoming air must be heated or cooled, reducing the amount needed saves money.

The company has another few years' worth of energy-saving projects on the drawing board.

"I don't think you are ever completely done because the technologies are always changing," said Mike Bartlett, Kolbe & Kolbe electrical maintenance supervisor.

Unfortunately, some companies back away from energy-saving programs when natural gas prices decline, said John Nichol, industrial program manager for Focus on Energy, a public-private partnership in Wisconsin that does energy audits and helps companies reduce energy costs.

Push for liquefied natural gas

More imports of liquefied natural gas, at a reasonable cost, would help lower U.S. energy costs, according to Manufacturers Alliance.

Currently, there are four liquefied natural gas terminals in the United States, plus one offshore deepwater port. Three other terminals are under construction and are expected to be in operation in 2008.

Imported liquefied natural gas comes from Africa, the Middle East, Australia and other locations.

"By our estimate, the long-term effect of aggressively constructing liquefied natural gas terminals (in the United States) would be to reduce the price of natural gas by 21%," Norman said. "Liquefied natural gas provides the biggest payoff in the near term because you can actually make a measurable difference in U.S. energy supplies."

Since 1990, the increase in domestic demand for natural gas has outpaced the increase in supply by 400%, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Manufacturers, a Washington, D.C., trade group.

Even a bountiful supply of imported natural gas isn't the entire solution to energy woes.

"In the long term, we need a full-court-press," Norman said, including more domestic gas production and energy savings.

Safety is a BIG Deal at Spuncast
In June of 2007, Spuncast employees celebrated 900,000 manhours without a lost time injury. That amounts to over 1215 days of working safely. Congratulations to all of the employees. It is a total team effort. The next goal is 1,000,000 hours!

Spuncast was awarded the Watertown Chamber of Commerce Industry of the Year honors
On February 9, 2006, Spuncast was awarded the Watertown Chamber of Commerce Industry of the Year honors. The award was given for Spuncast's commitment to the community, specifically in terms of growth, investment and employment. Don Payne, Alan Holtz, Sid Hyde and Kyle Reading accepted the award for the company.

Spuncast, Inc. Is Now an ESOP Company
Watertown, WI, October 26, 2005 - At a series of employee meetings today, Don Payne, President of Spuncast, announced that Spuncast is now Employee-Owned. The 143 employees now own a 51% stake in the company through an administered ESOP. After introducing the two company founders, Misters Ron Rohrmayer and Larry Mistele, Mr. Payne explained that Rohrmayer and Mistele wanted to share the success of the company's future with the employees while still remaining involved with the company. The two will maintain minority holdings in Spuncast. Details of the financing have not been made public. Spuncast has been located in Watertown for over 28 years. During that time, it has gained a reputation as one of the premier steel centrifugal foundries in the country. The company produces hydraulic cylinder bodies used in the mining, construction, recycling and oil markets. It also manufactures roll bodies used in the production of plate glass and steel products around the world. Over the past several years Spuncast has seen its business grow significantly in these markets as well numerous others, such as waste water treatment and defense applications. Payne noted in his address that he expects double digit growth in each of the next five years. The entire Spuncast team is delighted to have the opportunity to have a substantial impact on their own future. The company plans to conduct business as usual with the current management team.

Spuncast Begins Expansion of Facility
Spuncast, Inc. has announced an expansion to its existing facility on Rhine Road in the Township of Emmet. Construction will commence in the next week on an extension to the primary machine shop. The addition will include over 12,000 ft2 of manufacturing space and approximately 4,000 ft2 of new employee facilities. Spuncast serves a wide variety of customers in diverse markets. Mining, construction, recycling, glass making and steel making all have made resurgences during the past 2-3 years. Adding renewed defense spending to the mix has also increased business. From 2003 to 2004, Spuncast posted an increase of 80%. From 2004 to this year, another upsurge of 26% was achieved. The company is forecasting continued double-digit growth for at least the next 5 years. Along with expanded facilities, Spuncast anticipates the addition of 15 jobs in the immediate future and more in each of the next five years minimum. This building project is actually Phase II of Spuncast's growth plans. During the summer of 2005 the company installed equipment that increased both its melting and machining capacities. The Phase I expansion has already added 15 jobs to the Watertown area's economy. The addition to the machine shop will be to the north and will include excavating into what is currently Rhine Road. Rhine Road will be closed permanently at Prospect Street. Next spring, construction will begin on a road connecting North 2nd Street to Highway M.

Spuncast Adds to Safety Mark
Recently, Spuncast surpassed 370,000 hours with no lost time due to injury. The current goal is 500,000 hours and we are confident that our careful, safety-oriented team will exceed this important benchmark. Additionally, over the past year, Spuncast has dramatically reduced the number of OSHA recordables and reportables.