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Eagle Alloy: Sustained Growth in the Metalcasting Industry

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Across the United States, there are 1,900 metalcasting plants that melt and pour metal into molds, creating complex components that are known as metal castings. Some 90 percent of manufactured products encompass metal castings. That amazing statistic provides an idea of how ubiquitous cast parts are, and how important this industry is to America’s manufacturing base. About 200,000 people are directly employed in the metalcasting industry.

Eagle Alloy, based in Muskegon, Michigan, was named the 2015 Metalcaster of the Year by Modern Casting magazine. The magazine cited the company’s practice of finding new solutions to common problems.

On the environmental front, Eagle implemented a new thermal reclamation system that recycles about 80 percent of the spent sand that remains after the metalcasting process. As a result, the company won’t have to buy new sand for several years, and more than one millions tons of byproduct that would have ended up in permanent landfills has been reclaimed.

The commitment to sustainability extends also to the health of their employees. Eagle noticed that employees were not taking advantage of the preventative diagnostic tests available to them. Part of the reason was that it meant taking time off from work to visit a doctor’s office or clinic. So Eagle teamed up with several other employers to establish an onsite medical clinic, which offers testing as well as treatments. This step is helping to keep its workforce healthier on a proactive basis.

There is a great deal of international competition in the metalcasting business, but innovative and sustainability-minded firms like Eagle Alloy will be positioned to meet customer demand.