Final touches are being put on a McMinn County foundry that in time may employ as many as 600 who will convert scrap metal into new, rough cast automotive parts.
"We're still getting the bugs out," said Chip Chandler, personnel manager at Waupaca Foundry, which is expected to be operational near the end of this month, about a year behind schedule in large part because of the slumping economy." Thirty-five percent of our business is heavy trucks and automotive-related," Chandler said. "Those segments of the economy have been down. We're optimistic that after the first of the year we'll see some improvement."
Chandler said the foundry off U.S. Highway 411 between Etowah and Englewood now has 155 employees. Waupaca has invested $95 million on a 93-acre site. The 249,000-square-foot plant mostly will produce gray iron castings, such as brake drums and rotors for cars and a wide range of trucks. However, the foundry also can produce a multitude of other items ranging from fire hydrants to tractor weights.
When the foundry becomes fully operational, it will have the capability of melting scrap metal at the rate of 80 tons an hour -- enough to equal the weight of 26 Ford F150 pickup trucks, one of the vehicles that has components cast at Waupaca. Other customers include Bosch in Johnson City, Chrysler Corp., Continental Teves and the neighboring Consolidated Metco Inc. plant.
The cast moldings are shipped to other companies, such as Consolidated Metco. At those companies, the automotive components are more precisely machined before going to an automotive manufacturer.
The foundry houses four molding lines, two of which will feature Waupaca's "Super Ox," which are molding machines believed to be the largest in the industry. The foundry has an annual capacity of 125,000 tons shipped a year.
Initially, Waupaca officials planned to employ 250 to 300. Chandler said that is still the target, but that number of workers won't be needed until the economy improves.
"Right now we are working a full day shift in production," he said. "We have three shifts in maintenance and in the melt departments."
Chandler said he does not expect the work force to increase for three to six months if business improves. The company has three plants at Waupaca, Wis.; another at Marinette, Wis; and one at Tell City, Ind. Total employment is 3,158, he said.
Since a slow economy has caused officials to alter growth plans for the foundry, Chandler said an expansion that would double the plant size has been left on the drawing board.
"Originally it was expected that the expansion would occur two or three years after the first phase was completed," Chandler said. "Now, it's not certain when that will happen, but it is still the company's intention to expand."
The expansion was expected to cost $105 million. Knoxville News Sentinel