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They say 10 years is a long time in manufacturing , well 13 years is even longer !

When John Swift and I first became involved in Alucast in 2003 , MG Rover was still churning out cars , the low cost hotspots of Eastern Europe and the Far East

Tony Sartorius , Chairman , Alucast Ltd . were a distant dream and ‘ Brexit ’ was nowhere near the English dictionary .

How things have changed between then and now . The automotive sector is in ascendancy after some difficult years ; we now compete globally with competitors in Shanghai and Chennai and the early ramifications of us leaving the EU are only just being discussed in the streets , pubs and factories of the UK .

There ’ s no point debating the merits or the perils of the ‘ leave ’ vote , other than to implore the Government to do all it can to give industry stability and as few barriers as possible to trade . We do not want much , just a level playing field on which to do battle .

Robust development strategy That has been our mantra during 13 years at the reins of Alucast . When we first took over the business , it was a traditional foundry , producing commercial castings on a batch production basis . Turnover was roughly £ 5 million , give or take a few orders and we were rightly drawn to the firm due to its capability to produce components from the three main casting processes … sand , gravity and pressure diecasting .

This was a promising start but deep down , we knew we had to add to the offer . Margins were increasingly being eroded and competing on price would not take us too far .

Our thinking led to us drawing on the technical expertise of the staff and creating a robust strategy of product development and significant investment in our 40,000ft 2 facility in the heart of the Black Country .

The original plant did not facilitate the development of complex structural parts that were being demanded by the carmakers , as they searched for lightweight solutions for chassis and body parts . Investment and a clear plan of action was required and it was quickly apparent that laboratory facilities , including real-time x-ray and spectrograph machines , would help in this process for non-destructive testing and also improve daily production quality / PPM scores .

This was followed by a £ 250,000 spend on furnace technology , which led to more accurate pouring temperatures and savings in energy costs .

The engineering expertise was strengthened by taking on more fully qualified casting engineers , who were able to work with designers at our customers to produce components with the enhanced structural qualities they required .

Morale boosting orders When you take the decision to refine an approach , it is always pleasing to see early successes and we were given a boost when this philosophy was rewarded with the acquisition of the Bugatti Veyron brake caliper contract . This set the tone and was quickly followed by a prestigious order for the London 2012 torch and a clutch of contracts with one of the world ’ s most sought after cars .

The trend towards customer supply chain development and the notion of ‘ single source supply ’ was another area of opportunity and we quickly recognised we could provide fully finished castings for delivery trackside for assembly .

Going forward So where do we find ourselves today ? Turnover , which has fluctuated since 2003 , is now at a healthy £ 7 million ( 40 % increase from us taking over ) and is predicted to rise to £ 10 million by 2018 . We have healthy order books in the hydraulic and vacuum sectors , while automotive continues to be a significant growth opportunity for the business , helped primarily by our accreditation to TS16949 .

Investment has continued at a pace and we have recently spent £ 150,000 on MAGMASOFT casting simulation software , which has reduced time to market and speeded up prototyping . This is just one example .

We are also keen on giving every employee the chance to progress in the business and we often promote from within , so much so that Martin Haynes has just been appointed to the board as Quality and Technical Director . He brings youthful ideas and passion to the business and is part of our succession planning for safeguarding the future of Alucast .

John Swift and I have worked together in business for over 30 years and by creating a cabal of young casting engineers , believe we have created a dynamic company that can service the future needs of the UK aluminium diecasting market . www . alucast . co . uk

Author : Tony Sartorius , Chairman , Alucast Ltd , Wedmesbury , West Midlands , UK .

Alucast believes in manufacturing collaboration and is a founding member of the Midlands Assembly Network , a collective of eight sub-contract manufacturers and a specialist design agency .

Originally set up to win work , the group now boasts a combined turnover of £ 80 million and can lay claim to an 800-strong workforce across 15 UK and global plants . It buys into a forward-thinking strategy of working together , where best practice and resources are shared to deliver security of supply to customers .

www . man-group . co . uk

Cast Metal & Diecasting Times July / August 2016