12 MiMfg Magazine September 2021
INDUSTRY
Member Spotlight
Brett Cutshall
President Omega Castings Inc .
Member since December 2020 • Employs 15 Michigan workers • Learn more at omegacastings . com
“ Most importantly , Omega is a family business ,” says Brett Cutshall , President of Omega Castings Inc . “ And not just because we ’ re family-owned . It ’ s because everyone here feels like family to me .” And that , he says , has led to a very loyal group of employees for whom he is very grateful .
Omega is a stainless-steel foundry in Battle Creek that supports the heat treat industry . The company was founded in 1975 by Brett ’ s father , Robert , who had a vision to produce alloy castings and assemblies with superior metallurgical and dimensional integrity and promptly deliver those castings and assemblies . Sadly , Omega lost their founder last year due to COVID-19 .
The foundry focuses on cast-link belts , drive drums , rollers and the occasional custom casting . They still occupy their original location , a 1930s-era decommissioned military swimming pool building , with tiled walls that are well-suited for the hot works of a foundry .
“ Our foundry is essentially operating in the Industry 2.0 environment ,” says Cutshall . “ But our office has been moving into Industry 4.0 for a while now . We have 3D printers and our new Enterprise Resource Planning system will talk to the machinery on the floor . You could say we ’ re skipping Industry 3.0 , going directly from 2.0 to 4.0 ,” he adds .
After the 2008 recession , Omega sprang back into improvements by adding CAD work stations and CAD operators . In 2017 , they added casting simulation software to their technical lineup and , in 2019 , they added further simulation ability with ANSYS finite element analysis .
“ The simulation software has really moved the needle with some of our customers ,” Cutshall says .
Cutshall dreams of adding a “ robomolder ,” which can go straight from a 3D solid model to a sand mold without using an intermediary pattern . He and his team are always looking at the latest technology to evaluate which investments make the most sense , and when they would be most practical .
One investment they knew they needed to make for their future was an internship program . Cutshall
Omega intern Chelsea Sheetings utilizes a 3D print to show how a sprocket she designed fits a specialty chain . sees it as a necessary step in Omega ’ s evolution to Industry 4.0 , as well as a natural fit with their “ family business ” philosophy .
In the summer of 2018 , Cutshall ’ s daughter was in high school , planning to become a surgeon . But she agreed to stand in as Omega ’ s test intern , even though it was outside her career goals . Pleased with how the test internship went , they brought on their first intern , Evan Stafford . After completing his internship , Stafford enrolled at Michigan Technological University . Cutshall hopes he will return to Omega when he graduates .
Omega ’ s next intern was Chelsea Sheets . During her internship , she was allowed to develop an entire chain project from design to finish , using Omega ’ s CAD and simulation software . She ’ s considering attending Western Michigan University so she can continue working at Omega .
Cutshall was especially impressed by an innovation Sheets came up with for Omega ’ s Project Phoenix which he describes as , “ a program where we see a market out there and we are trying to design something to get into it . We will see if we can build a better mousetrap .”
The Omega team is really looking forward to continuing their internship program , and Cutshall credits Steve King , Omega ’ s designer and a former CAD instructor , with much of the success of the program .
While Omega specializes in a business that ’ s been around for more than a century , it ’ s clear they are moving into the future of Industry 4.0 not only with their technology and processes but with their talent as well . 6