James E. Bushman
President & CEO,
Cast-Fab Technologies, Inc.
Age: 55.
Education/Degree:
B.B.A. in accounting, Univ. of Cincinnati.
Immediate Family:
Wife-Barbara; Sons-Ross and Lee.
Professional Assns.:
AFS National Board of Directors.
Foundry Educational Foundation.
Ductile Iron Society and International Casting Research Institute.
Company Information
Founded: 1988.
Metals Cast: Gray and ductile iron.
Mold Capabilities: Green sand and nobake (horizontally parted); jolt squeezer.
Core Capabilities: Nobake, coldbox and shell.
Melting Capabilities: Coreless induction.
Value-Added Capabilities: Painting, machining and assembly.
Size: 400,000 sq ft (340,000 for foundry).
Markets: Plastic industry, machine tools, air conditioning, refrigeration, construction machinery, mining and compressors.
2000 Shipments: 20,000 tons.
2000 Net Sales: $43 million ( foundry and fabrication).
Employees: 360 (240 in foundry).
Entering new, unfamiliar ground can be perilous for any individual seeking to affect change. The shift can be even more daunting when said industry is suffering through hard times.
This very predicament confronted James Bushman, whose first real foundry experience came in his mid-40s with his 1988 purchase of a captive green sand and nobake foundry and sheet metal fabricator. Today, it is known as Cast-Fab Technologies, Inc.
Armed with planning, organizational and motivational skills, Bushman overcame the obstacles of learning an unfamiliar industry and, in doing so, was able to facilitate the company's transition from a captive shop into a player in the jobbing metalcasting field. |
Making the Change
After 17 years at Arthur Andersen & Co. and 6 years as president of Carlisle Crane & Excavation, Inc., a construction equipment rental and contracting business, he came across the opportunity to purchase Cincinnati Milacron's Metal Fabricating Div., Cincinnati. The division's business, which featured captive metalcasting, heavy fabrication and sheet metal guarding and cabinet manufacturing, had declined to the point where it was using only part of its available capacity.
In his evaluation of the offer, Bushman had to consider that the foundry industry was going through some tough times. From 1980-1988, it was reported that the number of U.S. foundries had declined from 4200 to 3200. Foreign competition, particularly from the Japanese, was becoming more intense as exchange rates provided a competitive advantage to imports. Also, new OSHA and EPA regulations compounded the economic difficulties of many foundries.
With the help of a partner, Bushman spent 6 months reviewing the opportunity. He hired a consulting firm with foundry experience to conduct a market analysis of the business and match up opportunities with the facility's process capabilities. His conclusion was that Milacron's operations had a future in its unique niche -- supporting the capital goods industry and users of large castings. Many peers credited his decision to buy the operation to having great vision, while others said it was foolish. He quickly proved the latter wrong.
Bushman's purchase came at a time when heavy-section ductile iron was emerging in the U.S. Milacron was redesigning its plastic injection molding machines away from steel to ductile iron.
"There weren't many foundries producing high-quality, heavy section ductile iron at the time," said Bushman. "As a consequence, the larger castings were coming out of Germany."
With heavy-section ductile iron an already-functioning segment for Milacron and a perfect fit for the operation's production capabilities, Cast-Fab management visited some of the German foundries and met with technical experts in Europe to gain a better understanding of the quality of heavy-section ductile iron and process control issues.
As a result of Bushman's purchase, Cast-Fab was able to secure a multi-year supply agreement with Milacron, which provided him a "little bit of a breather" to learn the business. In addition, on the day following Bushman's purchase, a Japanese firm that had acquired a U.S. machine tool maker placed an order with Cast-Fab. |
