Two days before Thanksgiving Day 2021, Mequon, Wisconsin-based Charter Manufacturing announced it had bought AFS Corporate Member Aarrowcast Inc., a gray and ductile iron foundry in Shawano, Wisconsin, and quickly began demonstrating the new relationship was going to be about joining a family that looks after its own. 

CEO John W. Mellowes’ fourth-generation, family-owned steel and iron production and manufacturing company had already built a family of businesses: Charter Steel, Charter Wire, and Charter Dura-Bar. When they purchased Aarrowcast (now AFS Corporate Member Charter-Aarrowcast) from a private equity firm, the foundry was struggling, but its strengths and bright potential were clearly apparent. 

The foundry primarily serves industry verticals of agriculture, construction, and defense. While the company boasted other molding capabilities, the turnaround would bring a transitioning emphasis on rebuilding and rebranding the foundry as a world-class, operationally excellent leader in the large castings market, leveraging its George Fisher (GF) line––the largest green sand molding flask in North America––to maximum competitive advantage. Charter Aarrowcast produces green sand castings up to 2,500 lbs. and specializes in highly-cored, complex castings. 

Following are excerpts from Casting Source’s interview with Shane Bonner, president of Charter’s casting operations.
Casting Source: Why did Charter decide to acquire Aarrowcast?

Bonner: When we acquired Aarrowcast, we knew we were bringing on board a team and a set of capabilities that were truly exceptional. Aarrowcast has been a critical player across multiple industries, and we recognized the opportunity to leverage its unique strengths to propel us forward in the large castings market.

We saw a tremendous opportunity. Our approach was clear: Invest in the team, the facilities, and the processes to unlock the full potential of this organization.

Casting Source: Though noble in its own right, righting a ship doesn’t hold up without a buoyant financial rationale. What’s the end game Charter-Aarrowcast is aiming for?

Bonner: As a growth organization, we tend to pursue situations where being unique will be valued by the industry, market, and customers. Our rationale has always been to grow great businesses and strengthen our culture. 

Charter’s business focus is on niche markets where we can bring differentiated value to our customers. Our mission––‘Our Will To Grow Drives Us To Do It Better’––is clearly playing out with our acquisition of Aarrowcast. 

We had our eyes on Aarrowcast for some time, and we acquired the company for several reasons including the unique capabilities in the GF line and the opportunity for us to accelerate growth in large castings. Equally important, we acquired Aarrowcast because we knew there was a committed and skilled team that echoed our mission with their “will to grow.” I can’t overstate how important cultural alignment is to us––it was immediately evident.

Casting Source: What was the first priority after completing the acquisition back in 2021? 

Bonner: During these difficult first years of our journey, we fully realized and embraced the fact that we were underperforming and disappointing our customers. Through some very challenging and intense times together we remained focused on being fully transparent and open with our customers. 

We worked to align our commitments with our performance and improve from there. Our intentions were to recognize a long game in which maintaining trust and credibility with our employees and customers were going to be paramount to our future success and aspirations. We kept all our stakeholders informed of our progress and challenges and readily welcomed help and support even when it was uncomfortable. We have come a long way, and we know we have to continue to build on that trust and performance––and we are.

Casting Source:  What’s been the secret to reconstructing trust with casting customers?

Bonner: We embarked on some customer conversations that were not easy, but we were transparent and truthful, and we only committed to what we could confidently fulfill. It didn’t happen overnight, but today customers are very excited. They’re looking for a growth partner. What we do here is something that’s niche, and it’s something that they need.

Charter believes if we set the customers up for success, we build that trust and credibility, and we know we’ll be supported and rewarded appropriately later. We strive to be more integrated and build deep and broad partnerships with our customers in terms of jointly creating solutions versus just shipping castings.

Casting Source: What capital improvements have been made in the foundry so far?

Bonner: We knew that to be world class we had to invest in creating world-class facilities. Our approach was, “let’s invest in this organization, the team, and the facilities, and let’s get it up to speed as quickly as possible.”

Investments focused heavily on revitalizing maintenance, repair and operations, as well as rebuilding and replacing equipment. They upgraded the shaker system and hot metal monorail and added a 100-ton holder for extra melt capacity. The company also made a significant investment in the mechanical capability, hydraulics, and technology of the GF line.

Casting Source: The foundry has doubled the output of the GF line since the acquisition, and is on track to double it again in the near future thanks to your “lean transformation” strategy and Kaizen/continuous improvement approach. What’s happening in the mindset of Charter-Aarrowcast’s people?

Bonner: We have improved compensation, benefits, onboarding processes, housekeeping in the work environment, and we focus on engaging the team in solving challenges and participating in trainings. The results have been really gratifying.

We measure our success in an annual engagement survey. Our engagement scores have skyrocketed to 82%, almost unheard of in the foundry industry. That’s a credit to Director of Operations John Martin and his leadership. Not only have we changed the mindset in the business, but we have changed our brand in the surrounding community as well. Today, we are an employer of choice. People want to come here now, which is really exciting.

Casting Source: What is a Kaizen culture helping the foundry accomplish?

Bonner: Our No. 1 priority is safety. We’ve empowered our employees to stop production if they see anything unsafe, and that culture shift has had a profound impact. There is nothing more important than every employee returning home after their shift in the same way they started––it’s a value and we absolutely lead with it every day. 

Our operating priorities are to safely deliver high-quality product on time and at optimal cost. Those are the decision-making criteria for our team. If we can’t do it safely, we stop. If we can do it safely but can’t do it correctly, or don’t know we’re doing it correctly, then we stop. If we get the front half of this equation right, the rest of it follows.