Foundry Society Recognizes Grede

Grede Holdings LLC, Southfield, Mich., has won the “Best in Class” award from the American Foundry Society (AFS) for its new timing gear cover for the John Deere nine-liter reduced-emissions engine.

Grede, profiled in the April 2010 edition of Recycling Today magazine, melts more than 500,000 tons of ferrous scrap each year at its iron foundry facilities located throughout the United States.

“We are very pleased to have been recognized by the American Foundry Society for this one-of-a-kind timing gear cover,” says Doug Grimm, chairman, president and CEO of Grede Holdings. “This award results from close teamwork between ourselves and John Deere, which represents what can be achieved when partners collaborate. We all agreed that using the Grede lost foam casting process was the best solution for this application, and we are very pleased with the results.”

The John Deere timing gear cover was selected by AFS because it reduces cost by eliminating bolt-on components, reduces weight through the elimination of unnecessary mass and provides a significant reduction of draft compared to conventional casting processes, according to a Grede press release.

Grede Holdings LLC was formed in 2010 through the combination of assets of the former Grede Foundries Inc., Blackhawk Foundry (USA), and Citation Corp. The company operates 15 foundries and three machining operations in North America.