Waupaca Foundry system upgrade earns AFS award

Waupaca, Foundry Inc., a Wisconsin-based producer of recycled iron castings, has earned a 2025 Safety & Insight Award from the American Foundry Society (AFS) for its material handling system upgrade at its Waupaca-based Plant 1.

The project, led by Project Manager Michael Barden and Environmental Engineer Shianna Wheeler, replaced an outdated vibratory conveyor system with a new belt conveyor, delivering “extraordinary improvements” in worker safety and environmental conditions.

According to Waupaca Foundry, the original 90-foot flat-stroke vibratory conveyor had long presented challenges for the foundry’s workforce. The equipment contributed to excessive noise levels exceeding 100 decibels (dB) and elevated airborne silica dust, creating a regulated silica area where workers required dual hearing protection. Despite implementing dust collection systems, noise barriers and sound-dampening devices, the company says environmental hazards persisted.

Following a two-week installation period in December 2024, the company says results exceeded expectations. Post-installation industrial hygiene testing revealed a 98 percent reduction in silica exposure, reclassifying the area to no longer require respirators or regulated silica protocols. Simultaneously, the company says noise levels dropped from 105 dB to 92 dB, eliminating the need for workers to wear double hearing protection.

“We struggled for a while keeping the noise levels and silica down,” Barden says. “We tried dust collection, noise barriers and sound-dampening devices. Nothing worked the way we needed it to. This upgrade finally brought it all together.”

The company says the project directly improves conditions for the one or two workers stationed along the belt to direct castings into tumble blast cleaning machines—roles that previously required enhanced personal protective equipment due to environmental hazards.

“Waupaca Foundry believes this project can serve as a benchmark for other foundries exploring alternatives to traditional vibratory casting transport systems,” the company says. “The initiative demonstrates that strategic equipment upgrades can achieve substantial improvements in worker safety, environmental quality and operational efficiency simultaneously.”