Mumford Metal Casting acquired; Midwest die casting assets detailed

Company structure

Mumford Metal Casting’s remaining operations at the time of sale consisted of three portfolio companies assembled through acquisitions between 2015 and 2018. Those businesses include Advance Die Cast in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michigan Die Castings in Dowagiac, Michigan, and Great Lakes Die Casting in Muskegon, Michigan.

The portfolio produces high-pressure aluminum castings and performs downstream machining and assembly. Advanced Die Cast and Great Lakes Die Casting primarily use A380 aluminum alloy, according to Mumford’s website, while the Michigan Die Casting facility uses A380 in addition to other alloys, including A356, A367 and zinc-aluminum alloy ZA27.

The structure reflects a consolidation of regional die casting assets rather than a single-site operation. Each facility retains its own equipment profile and operating history.

Advance Die Cast

The Advance Die Cast facility in Milwaukee represents the oldest site, founded in 1920 as the Milwaukee Die and Tool Company. The most recently available permitting documentation on the facility is a 1998 air permit application describing four natural gas-fired aluminum melting furnaces and 13 die casting machines in the aluminum operations. The combined nameplate melt rate totals just under 40,000 metric tons per year.

The same filing noted additional zinc operations.

That permit provides a baseline view of the facility layout and capacity. However, it predates Mumford’s acquisition of the business and later integration into its broader platform. Current equipment levels and throughput may differ from the 1998 configuration.

Michigan Die Casting

More recent filings provide a clearer view of current operations in Michigan.

At its Dowagiac facility, Michigan Die Casting operates multiple melting and holding units supporting 14 die casting cells, based on records as of early 2019.

Regulatory filings identify two gas-fired aluminum melting furnaces at the site.

One carries a maximum melt rate equivalent to just under 12,000 metric tons per year if operated continuously. Inspection records indicate this was the only furnace running A380 at the time.

The second furnace is listed with a higher maximum melt rate, equivalent to just under 20,000 metric tons per year on a continuous basis. However, permit limits cap that unit at about 14.5 metric tons per 8-hour shift and about 8,000 metric tons per year.

State records also indicate the facility operates additional melting equipment beyond those units. Inspection records from early 2019 identified a smaller furnace with a melt rate of a little less than 4,000 metric tons per year, along with nine electric furnaces, along with two crucibles and seven holding furnaces supporting casting operations.

State inspection records also indicated that one installed furnace had not operated in more than a year as of January 2019, while another unit had been removed from the site.

Great Lakes Die Casting

At Great Lakes Die Casting in Muskegon, a December 2017 state inspection described a smaller active footprint than earlier permits suggest.

The report identified a 64,000-pound reverberatory furnace supplying aluminum to six holding furnaces tied to six die casting lines. It also noted several previously permitted furnaces had been removed or were no longer in operation.

The facility operates two shifts, five days per week, at the time of inspection. Additional finishing operations, including polishing and shot blasting, were present and controlled by baghouse systems.

Regional competition

The company’s Midwest footprint places it among a group of established die casting operations in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Cascade Die Casting operates facilities in Sparta and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pace Industries has maintained a presence in Muskegon, Michigan, and Grafton, Wisconsin, although it has announced plans to close its Muskegon operations at the end of April.

Linamar operates multiple facilities in the region, including a structures plant in Howell, Michigan, and Light Metal operations in Alma and Benton Harbor, Michigan, as well as Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, following its acquisition of some Aludyne’s US casting plants.

Nemak also maintains a die casting presence in the region, with a facility in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.