Quality, Precision & Service Attract OEM Customers

Cost-effectiveness is always a priority in today's economy. But for many OEMs, consistent quality and attention to detail are equally critical. And that's why more and more manufacturers are turning to the die-casting experts at Chicago White Metal (CWM).

Known even by our competitors as the company that can handle complex custom projects, while providing exceptional service, CWM has recently won business from manufacturers who value precision and reliability. One producer of electrical grid controls selected CWM after an exhaustive nationwide search, involving the evaluation of more than 20 die casters. Another OEM, which makes components for medical diagnostic equipment, felt that only CWM would be able to handle its machining, finishing and masking challenges, while meeting its stringent quality requirements.

The stability of our business is also a plus for many OEMs. A manufacturer of controls for lift equipment is in the process of transitioning its work to our plant, because they can count on us to deliver over the long term -- even as their volume grows.

"When all was said and done," a representative of the company told us, "it really was a no brainer to make the move to [CWM]."

Quick Access: Our Site is Now Fully Searchable

Already a standout in the industry, CWM's comprehensive website now offers expanded search capabilities. The new features include "hit highlighting," which flags searched phrases, so users can quickly scan their results for applicable content. There are also new search filters, such as "find ALL words," "find ANY words" and "find EXACT phrase." This new functionality was added to the site to ensure that visitors can find the industry insights they need, faster than ever before.

New Employees Bring New Capabilities

To continue delivering the highest level of design, production and quality assurance services, CWM has brought several new employees on board:

Tom Oshgan - Senior Staff Engineer

With a mechanical engineering degree and over 35 years of industry experience, Tom brings senior-level project planning skills to our team. He supervises our Project Engineering Team and develops new tooling sources, while sharpening our focus on design excellence.

Max Gondek - Sustaining Engineer

An expert in mechanical engineering and design, Max specializes in helping customers migrate to die casting from other production processes. His skills allow us to rapidly make improvements that enhance castability, part quality and more. He is also involved in our in-house magma flow analyses.

Guadalupe Perez - Quality Planning Manager

Guadalupe uses his 25 years of quality management experience to help us ensure production precision and accuracy. He has a background in the complex world of automotive manufacturing and holds two bachelor's degrees -- one in business and another in liberal arts.

Mike Vrtis - CNC Senior Engineer

With over 20 years of precision manufacturing experience, Mike is instrumental in ensuring projects move quickly and efficiently through the machining process. He specializes in fixture design and machine programming and helps enable the delivery of accurate, optimally finished parts.

Magma Flow: The Analysis Advantage

What's the simplest way to improve die-cast quality, reduce lead time and lower costs? Get the component right the first time.

Using Magmasoft®, the industry's most advanced die-casting simulation software, CWM can deliver just this kind of first-shot success. We perform Magmasoft analyses before finalizing tooling designs and beginning component production. This sophisticated software lets our engineers analyze a host of process-related conditions, so that any tooling or product design issues can be addressed up front.

Our Magmasoft system interfaces with OEM CAD files, extensive databases and a 3-D modeling tool. And that helps ensure our customers will get the best possible parts at the best possible cost.

Horizontal Machining Capabilities Expanded

As part of our commitment to being a single source for die-casting and machining needs, our CNC department has added a Kitamura MyCenter HX400iSII to our Horizontal Machining Center group. This state-of-the-art piece of equipment will allow us to provide even more advanced finishing services -- all under one roof.

CWM customers can look for the Kitamura system to enable more cost-effective service and faster project turnaround, significantly shortening time to market. The addition of this new horizontal machining equipment is just another example of how we continue to anticipate and meet customer needs.

Built-In Quality: Our APQP Process

CWM's top priority has always been producing components that satisfy our customers' exacting requirements. And today, we're doing even more to meet customer expectations through our unique Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process.

Adapted from the demanding world of automotive manufacturing, APQP is a 10-step methodology that identifies and answers all production questions, so we can deliver optimal parts. The process covers everything from securing all necessary source material to pre-sampling and first article inspection to reviewing "lessons learned" during the project.

Led by the Project Engineer, APQP facilitates collaboration between our customers and a cross-functional team of CWM sales, engineering, quality, manufacturing, purchasing and subcontractor representatives. The result is a leaner, more cost-effective production process and consistently satisfied customers.