Cushman Foundry, Blue Ash, Ohio, was acquired in January by AFS Corporate Member CaneKast. Cushman Foundry’s history stretches back over 30 years as an independent producer of high-quality aluminum castings for many industries, including the fire suppression, industrial fan, and control markets. Before that, Cushman Foundry was a captive facility for one of the current company’s largest customers. 

“This transaction enables us to take advantage of opportunities for growth and innovation across our facilities,” remarked Reg Zeller, CEO and owner of CaneKast. “The addition of Cushman provides us with a strategic location within our network and a knowledgeable workforce that can leverage cutting-edge equipment. We started acquiring foundries five years ago because we believe in local manufacturing. We want to continue to create jobs and opportunities for workers while giving customers a high-value, superior solution.”

CaneKast President Josh Schultz added, “We continue to innovate and expand our existing operations, so when we first started chatting with Rich (Beyersdorfer, prior owner of Cushman), we knew this would be a perfect fit for our organization,” said. “Now we can combine our expertise and capital with the talent at Cushman to greatly increase their quality and capacity.”

CaneKast stated its innovative processes and technology will allow Cushman’s clients to access a broader range of services, including brass/bronze/zinc castings, automated molding, heat treat, machining, permanent mold/gravity-fed die-cast, rapid prototyping and enhanced part development.