J. Walter Miller's bronze age: J. Walter Miller Co. is positioning itself for future competition with the added capacity from its new horizontally parted sand molding line.

Brass padlocks line the walls of the offices of J. Walter Miller Co. Although it's been decades now since the firm produced padlocks in its green sand shop, they remain on display as a symbol of the metalcasting facility's legacy. For nearly 120 years, the company has staked its livelihood on casting metal in its hometown, Lancaster, Pa., and for those 12 decades, the J. Walter Miller Co. has survived on a basic idea that has been passed down for generations in this family-owned business: stay ahead of the curve, live within your means and invest back into the company while staying out of debt.

"You can't overextend yourself. It's about controlled growth," said Milt Morgan, the fourth generation of his family to be at the helm of J. Walter Miller Co. "We continuously put money back into the business so we can weather some of the lean years."

J. Walter Miller Co. was founded in 1887 by J. Walter Miller, Morgan's great-grandfather. It began as an electroplate shop the first one in Lancaster--with just six employees, but it soon shifted focus to copper-base metalcasting. In 1905, the company moved to its current location in the heart of Lancaster, and since then it has grown up with the town. "People will ask us why we built this place right in downtown, but originally, it was built on the outskirts of town," Morgan said. "The town grew up around the facility."

Meanwhile, J. Walter Miller Co. added section upon section of new production and warehouse space. Despite the additions, the place is still fairly inconspicuous nestled among row houses, pubs and a brewing company.

Lancaster's downtown may have a quaint feel to it, but J. Walter Miller Co. has survived by mixing tradition with innovation. A tour of the production floor unveils an ancient squeeze molder set on wheels (no longer in use) along with a new Disa Match 130 horizontally parted green sand molding line the first of its kind to be used in a bronze casting facility.

Nestled in a Niche

J. Walter Miller Co. produces brass and bronze castings for gas and steam applications, flow control, pump and valve components and plumbing, but its cornerstone market has been fire prevention and control. Most of the company's longest customer relationships stem from the fire protection/sprinkler industry, and these long-standing relationships have helped J. Waiter Miller Co. stay afloat over fat and lean years. This includes an 80-year-old relationship with a family-owned sprinkler manufacturer.

"We don't have a lot of customers, but we have long-term customers," Morgan said. "We try to establish a good relationship with the customers we have. We just value relationships like that."

As recent as 15 years ago, J. Walter Miller Co.'s customer base was nearly 95% fire protection and prevention. The market has been a good one for J. Walter Miller Co., but when some sprinkler parts moved from sand to diecasting, the company decided it needed to diversify by handling larger castings. The biggest casting J. Walter Miller Co. makes is close to 40 lbs., but because machining and grinding are not automated, that size is rare. The average casting range is ounces to 10 lbs., with many castings between 10 and 25 lbs.

Now the company is hoping to see more business in new markets, such as marine applications, and has been ramping up capacity to take on new business.

Strong current customer relations and steady business has allowed J. Walter Miller Co. to be picky about its customers. The opportunity for long-term business should be present, along with a willingness from the customer to make the effort to see eye to eye on price and quality.

"If there isn't a two-way communication between customer and supplier, then there's probably something wrong," said Larry Ranieri, sales manager. "If everything is price-oriented, we don't want to deal with that customer because there's no protection there. They can just jump ship whenever."

According to Ranieri, good communication with their customers means having them understand what the cost of casting really entails. But first, the supplier has to have a good grasp of those costs as well.

"The metals industry tends not to really know their costs," Ranieri said. "You have to know your scrap rates accurately. You have to know the cost of labor involved. It takes some restraint on our part to make sure we get the customers that fit what we do and not just accept every order that comes our way."

Long-term customer relationships also helped J. Walter Miller Co. add its new automatic molding line. The new line meant new tooling for many established jobs, and the casting facility wanted its customers to help meet that tooling cost.

"The green sand molding line will be low-cost in the long run, but we have to pay for that initial tooling," Ranieri said. "We were able to show them that in the long run, J. Walter Miller will be a more valuable casting supplier."

Tripling Capacity

To establish good customer relationships, a company must first prove itself as a reliable source. J. Walter Miller Co. retains its customers through thoughtful, steady upgrades and additions that add value to the facility but, through proper planning, don't put a financial strain on the business.

"We've tried to stay recent from a technical standpoint," Morgan said. "For instance, we installed electric furnaces before newer OSHA codes would have inevitably forced us to in a few years--when we might not have been in a position to make that type of investment."

In 2005, J. Walter Miller Co. was starting to feel the pinch of too much work. The metalcasting industry was rebounding from a slew of slow years, and the jobs were pouring in. The casting facility's three shifts were working nonstop to complete orders, and the shop was at capacity.

The firm opted to install the new 20 x 24 green sand molding line in December 2005. The addition tripled capacity, eased work stress and opened opportunities for new customers.

"Getting the new molding equipment was done at the right time," said Ranieri. "We were working nonstop at capacity, and business was not letting up when we thought it would. Before we got it, we couldn't take any new business."

The new molding line was set up near the firm's existing 14 x 19 molder and by February was making 160 molds per hour compared to the existing lines' 70 molds per hour. In addition, because the molds are more consistent and the parting lines are less apparent, J. Walter Miller Co. is seeing savings in finishing costs.

Other recent improvements include an updated sand controller installed in July. Sand mixes had been measured using a series of timings. This worked well for the facility, but as it was moving to a closed-loop system with its two automatic molding lines, it needed to do controls by batch. The company, which produces shell cores, also is adding a new core machine in the spring to handle larger coreboxes.

"With proper planning, you don't have to make all your upgrades all at once," Morgan said.

Turning Lean

J. Walter Miller Co. also is investing in going lean. The firm achieved ISO certification in March 2005, and its casting facility manager will be lean-certified soon. Matt Morgan, who is the fifth generation to work for J. Walter Miller Co., is working toward his lean certification as well.

The casting facility aims to provide shorter lead times to its customers by producing on demand. Inventory is kept to a minimum to avoid the expense of labor and maintenance. Work cells have been created in the finishing room.

"We are looking at value-added things for the future, such as machining, polishing or cleaning," Morgan said. "We're developing work cells. We're trying to get things more visual, such as scheduling, work orders, etc. But it's an attitude shift with the employees first."

For lean manufacturing to work well, the company's executives wanted to involve the workers on the production floor to improve the flow of production. "A lot of the good ideas will come from the people who are doing the job," Ranieri said. However, for many employees, becoming part of the decision-making process was intimidating.

"They had to get used to the idea that they can give us input on how to run more efficiently," Morgan said. "They just haven't been asked to do that before."

Value-Added Training

One way to give more confidence to its employees was to invest in more training opportunities. The State of Pennsylvania awarded J. Walter Miller Co. with a $260,000 grant for training its employees.

"There is a shift right now to give hourly workers more skills and casting education," Morgan said. "At first some of the workers are intimidated by taking these courses, but the hope is that when the idea of this training becomes less new, they will be more comfortable with doing it. The main idea is that we don't want to run the business on the backs of our employees."

Building good relationships with its customers and its employees has been one of J. Walter Miller Co.'s credos for success, along with maintaining a levelheaded look at the status of the industry over the years.

"We try to temper our emotions from the highs and the lows, so when things were rough those years in 2000-2002, we were able to still have the wherewithal to see that things were turning the other way," Morgan said. "During tough years, you either do nothing and ride it out, eventually failing in the process; you sell your business and get out of there; or you take on the competition and see what you can do. In slow times, you reflect on where you are and where you're going."

J. Walter Miller Co. Lancaster, Pennsylvania 

Year Founded: 1887.

Metals Cast: Copper-base alloys--C83600, C84400, C87300, C87500, C87610, C92200 and C89833.

Casting Process: Green sand.

Melt Capabilities: Electric induction furnaces; capacity exceeds one million lbs. per month.

Casting Range: Less than one ounce to 40 lbs.

Key Markets: Gas and steam applications, fire prevention and control, flow control, plumbing and potable water castings, electrical components, pump and valve components, pneumatic and hydraulic applications.

Employees: 75.

Shannon Kruse, Associate Editor