It’s always good to know your priorities. For many of the major decisions of my life, I’ve organized my thoughts on paper and then stuck to that road map. 

Did I follow that system for buying my last home? Of course not. 

Actually, we began pretty strong. The top priority for us was getting out of Dodge, or in this case, Illinois. Beyond that, we had a solid, practical list of key priorities. 

And at first, we stuck to it firmly––in fact, the first dozen tours made us think nothing on the market would meet the required standard. But then, we saw it. Dreamy aerial pictures of a house on a big pond, May blossoms in full color; indoors, signs of professional decorating with enviable furnishings. Beguiling as photos can be, we nevertheless noted many things in the description that aligned with our checklist. But on the day we walked in with our realtor, logic began to crumble. Three steps through the front door and our eyes were fixed on the backyard view of a fairytale willow tree, branches swaying in front of a romantic tiny lake. Honestly, the rest of the house could have looked like the Munsters’––emotion got the better of us. We were hooked. 

Fortunately, emotion doesn’t enter into the casting priorities you create and follow rigidly. Specifications are non-negotiable. And sometimes non-technical priorities rise to the surface, too. Take for example some of the criteria involved in Mercury Marine’s selection of Watry Industries, recounted in our cover story this issue. At the time the manufacturer was in the foundry selection process, Mercury’s buyer, Nick Adelman, and the engineering team felt that geographic proximity would be of paramount importance––and it turns out their 45-minute distance from the foundry greatly facilitated the deep collaboration their casting would require. It also fostered considerable professional respect between the two teams.

In the end, the casting customer got everything they specified and quite a bit more in terms of novel, out-of-the-box solutions even where the proverbial “box” was already firmly set with immoveable design parameters. So, if there was a willow tree in the picture that gave the story a happy ending, it was the technical expertise the foundry brought to the project. Adelman concluded our phone interview with this unprompted and telling remark: “I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that [General Manager] Ryan Silva’s engineering focus truly helped push this job forward. His engineering background makes him able to get into the weeds but also see the big picture and solve problems.” 

May all your foundry encounters be equally rewarding! Thanks for reading.