Given the uncertainty many OEMs face today, you need a nimble partner with flexibility across their supply chain with access to multiple points of origin. A forward-thinking supplier will have already established a multi-sourced manufacturing network, allowing them to match you with the best capabilities and partners for your project.
Along with supply chain flexibility, consolidation of services is another essential quality to look for in a manufacturing partner. From engineering to production, machining, coating, and packaging, find a supplier who can coordinate and streamline all these logistics and do them more efficiently at scale.
A consolidated suite of services should also include inventory management. An ideal partner should be so entrenched in your day-to-day operations that they can provide insights into your consumption patterns, helping you keep the right products in the right places at the right time.
If the supplier is physically located near your operations, even better. Your manufacturing partner should have the facilities to warehouse your components, allowing you to gain efficiencies through just-in-time manufacturing and delivery. This approach saves you money, since you only have to pay for the components when you actually need them. You get the flexibility of having inventory on hand, but you can use your square footage to expand your operations and grow your customer base.
Some manufacturers will tell you they are experts in the products they supply, but the scope of products they offer is limited. You need a partner with the expertise and ability to go broader and a proven track record of producing various metal components using any type of metal and manufacturing process.
In the long term, your manufacturing partner should become an important part of your metal component product development team, so you can look to them for guidance on the best material and most efficient, cost-effective process for producing your products.
Another reason it’s important to find a manufacturing partner who is physically located near your operations is that proximity allows them to control production at the source. Many companies will send people to do quality audits once a year. Still, you need a partner with experts in development, engineering, production, and customer service who are fully embedded with your team and have in-depth knowledge of your components and manufacturing processes.
Other on-site services to look for include project management, a full range of testing options to ensure the highest level of quality, and experts who can help you identify, inspect, audit, and select other qualified manufacturers to work with.
Perhaps one of the most important questions you can ask when searching for a manufacturing partner is, “Are they easy to work with?”. A good partner should have a digital platform that addresses everything from product development through order management and allows you to look up the status of new projects and invoices, launch RFQs, and more. Also, be sure they have the software to detail out all cost elements of a product, providing you with total transparency and confidence.
Interested in learning more about how EQI is uniquely positioned to help you enhance your efficiency? Let’s talk.
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Established in 1984, Ferralloy, Inc. is based in Cleveland, Ohio. When the company was founded, it focused on heat-resistant alloy castings and fabrications used primarily in the thermal processing industry. Ferralloy Inc. has experienced substantial growth in the years since, expanding its offering to include closed-die and rolled-ring forgings, investment castings, machined bar stock components, exotic superalloys, and refractory alloys in all standard shapes and sizes.
Ferralloy, Inc., serves multiple end markets, including metal processing (heat treatment, fabrication shops, machine shops), automotive, aerospace, mining, and heavy equipment. Through commitment to process improvement, quality, and customer satisfaction, along with ISO 9001 certification, Ferralloy, Inc., has established a world-class customer base, including Caterpillar, Ford, Owens Corning, Mack, Whirlpool, and more. The company has also cultivated valuable supply relationships in China, India, and the US, enhancing the EQI global network assurance, testing, and logistics and inventory management services.
We are confident that the acquisition of Ferralloy Inc., which will operate as a division of EQI, will enhance the company’s ability to deliver the highest level of quality and service to its customers. Their expertise and capabilities in thermal processing and their focus on quality will drive innovation at EQI and better equip us to deliver exceptional value to our customers.
For more information about Ferralloy, Inc. please visit ferralloy.com. For additional details on how EQI’s new capabilities can assist you, please contact us below or give us a call at 616.850.2630.
Investment Casting
Uses a wax pattern coated with a refractory material. Then, the wax is melted out and the mold is filled with molten metal.
Techniques:
Sand Casting
Uses sand as the main mold material.
Die casting / Permanent Mold / Semi-Permanent Mold
Uses metal molds and high pressure to force the molten metal into a mold.
When selecting metal for a casting project, EQI will work with you to consider characteristics such as strength, hardness, machinability, corrosion resistance, and cost. With these factors in mind, EQI offers a broad range of iron, steel, and aluminum castings across nearly every casting manufacturing process.
Grey Iron
Known for its color, which comes from the graphite flake structure that develops during the solidification process. Grey iron is a popular choice because it’s cost effective.
Ductile Iron (Nodular Iron)
A cast iron with spherical graphite structures in the metal that increase ductility and broaden the range of suitable applications. Stronger than grey iron, ductile iron can be alloyed to boost specific properties such as thermal resistance, strength, and elongation. Due to its high carbon content, ductile iron is a good candidate for various heat treatments to modify the microstructure and material properties further.
Carbon and Alloy Steel
Steels can be tailored for many applications by selecting the appropriate carbon and alloy content. Heat treatment can provide a wide range of strength, ductility, and hardenability. Carbon steel is versatile and economical, making it ideal for general machine and structural applications. It can also be easily welded up to specific levels of carbon equivalence.
Stainless Steel
A ferrous alloy that is highly resistant to oxidation and corrosion due to added chromium that forms a protective oxide layer. There are over sixty different grades of stainless steel, and unique compositions are regularly added to the spectrum.
Nickel-Based Alloys
These alloys are often deployed in extreme working environments. The nickel matrix and alloying additions perform exceptionally in high-temperature and corrosive applications, often in the thermal processing, chemical, and petroleum industries.
Aluminum Alloys
Aluminum alloys have a desirable strength-to-weight ratio, making them ideal for applications where weight is an issue.
EQI is ready to help you determine which metal alloy best suits your needs. Get started with help from our metal casting experts.
Recently, the Craigavon facility earned new certifications for coating architectural aluminum, ensuring adherence to the highest quality standards for our customers. The Craigavon team has been designated approved applicators with Akzo Nobel, Sherwin-Williams, and Axalta powders for coating all architectural aluminum products up to 8 meters long.
Here are a few more reasons why customers can rely on Craigavon to deliver exceptional coating services for architectural aluminum.
Offer standard and marine grade guarantees for at least 25 years and up to 40 years on specific coatings through our five-stage dip pretreatment process. This is especially valuable to our customers located near the ocean and challenged by high levels of moisture and salt sea air.
Utilize onsite lab equipment for daily testing to ensure products meet rigorous global architectural standards.
Verify quality through in-depth techniques, including salt spray corrosion tests, impact and abrasion resistance tests, and adhesion checks.
Have a high capacity to process aluminum louvers, cills, flashings, and facades in our advanced semi-automatic powder line.
Able to fulfill specific requirements for packaging, storage, and delivery to you and your customers.
Craigavon is just one example of a facility that’s adding value through employees who’ve become masters of their craft. Says Daniel Courtney, General Manager at Craigavon, “There’s nothing in the market we can’t paint, and if we haven’t done it before, we will always give it a go.”
The Craigavon team has also created a family-like atmosphere, working to develop personalized relationships with each other and customers. The casual, laid-back culture has fostered an environment where everyone–from the person working on the shop floor to upper management–feels as though they have an equal stake in contributing to the company’s success.
If you’re looking for an approved applicator for powder coating and wet paint—who will treat you like family—fill out this form or call us at +44 28 3835 1320, or (616) 850-2630.
We’ve all heard the news about the tariffs, and many of you have come to us with concerns. How will these tariffs affect us? Where is the right place to do business?
Our answer to these questions is simple. Tariffs are just another type of supply chain disruption, and we at EQI are the most effective company in the world at mitigating risk for your metal components.
From the pandemic to environmental crises, government sanctions, and beyond, we have swiftly navigated every type of challenge you can imagine–including tariffs implemented by previous administrations.
We thoughtfully evaluate each customer’s challenges and create custom solutions, matching them with the best capabilities and partners for each project. To achieve this, we leverage our global manufacturing network, which empowers us to produce a diverse array of line-ready metal components that fulfill unique product needs.
Let’s take a look at a few more reasons why EQI is uniquely capable of mitigating risk:
When you partner with EQI, you gain access to a comprehensive range of capabilities. We will expertly handle your shipping and logistics and offer value-added services such as coatings, warehouse and inventory management, machining, and assembly.
This extensive range of services simplifies supply chains and provides certainty, transparency, and resiliency in the face of any type of risk.
Interested in learning more about our risk mitigation capabilities? Contact us today.
At the close of every year, the EQI team takes time to celebrate the goals we’ve reached. We’ve had a lot to be thankful for in 2024. So let’s take a by-the-numbers look at everything we’ve accomplished with help from our customers, employees, and industry partners.
Of additional outdoor warehouse storage space in the US
Of indoor warehouse and manufacturing space between the US and UK
New location in Kentucky with increased storage and manufacturing
Acquired Pro-Tech, adding thermal processing components to our capabilities
Added wet paint capability in Kentucky
Added powdercoat line for extruded aluminum
Added a sourcing location in Brazil
Increased headcount to 357 employees
Containers shipped
Customers served
Tradeshow booth at GIFA in Indonesia
Interested in streamlining your supply chain and enhancing your manufacturing process? Contact us today.
Building a Relationship Based on Trust
In all our client relationships, we work to establish trust from the outset by demonstrating that EQI products and services are indispensable. This is exactly what we did for our major OEM customer, helping them grow their catalog from 200 to 550 parts since 2017. Over the past few years, we’ve supported them with day-to-day initiatives and large-scale projects. We’re continuously looking for ways to lower costs, increase efficiencies, and reduce overhead.
EQI is proud of the collaborative relationship we’ve built with this customer. We feel empowered to ask questions about where they are headed and what we can do to ensure they get there—all in an effort to help them continuously improve. As a result, the OEM frequently presents us with significant RFQ opportunities.
Pinpointing an Opportunity to Outsource
This OEM’s latest RFQ was for gearbox assemblies. We responded with a proposal to take over their gearbox assembly process and build a new assembly line from the ground up at one of our facilities. At the time, we were already providing 80-90% of the components to make their gearboxes, and the customer was assembling the parts in their US facility.
As a first step, our engineers met on-site with their team to discuss technical requirements. This helped us gain an explicit understanding of what was needed for a commercial proposal, so we could go back to our supply base and source the additional components necessary, to provide a cost-effective solution.
Next, we quickly delivered our proposal to the OEM, outlining a cost savings of roughly 40 percent. The customer enthusiastically gave us a purchase order to create our assembly line, source and ship ancillary parts from the US, and build the gearbox assemblies.
The final steps included technical internal review, delivering PPAP documentation, and sample parts to the customer for approval. The customer not only approved the gearboxes but stated that the quality was superior to the original process. Today, we are producing, storing, and shipping the gearboxes for this customer, significantly reducing their overall landed cost. Because we can ship them line-ready components on demand, the customer now has increased floor space to produce more profitable parts.
Simplifying Supply Chains to Boost Profitability
This is just one example of how we work with our customers to identify and simplify aspects of their supply chain that we can help make more efficient and profitable. For some customers, this might be assembly or freight. For others, it might be warehousing or painting. Our goal is to uncover the customer’s pain points and present solutions that ease their burden and provide financial benefit.
Interested in learning more about our tailored solutions? Contact us today.
EQI is a service-centric organization that continually seeks to add value to its customers. As part of this effort, we’ve developed a facility strategy that allows us to support OEMs in global industrial markets.
The first part of this strategy is our established network of global headquarters located in critical regions. Our US, Canada, China, India, and Vietnam headquarters offer comprehensive services, including product design and development, engineering services, logistics management, quality, program management, and demand planning to name just a few.
These headquarter locations also allow EQI to be seamlessly embedded into our global network of highly qualified suppliers, and provide on-site program management, quality oversight, scheduling, and WIP tracking. If challenges arise, EQI is onsite and ready to troubleshoot in real-time.
With this enhanced global footprint and unique service platform, we’re able to provide supplier services that improve efficiencies and reduce cost.
Cost containment, process efficiency and risk mitigation are priorities for our customers. Recognizing this, EQI is committed to providing value-add services that free up space and improve efficiency in our customers’ facilities.
EQI establishes one-stop-shop facilities near high-priority customers to help streamline their operations. At each of these locations, we develop processes and services that solve specific problems for our customers. Services we’ve developed include warehousing, inventory management, assembly, coatings, and repair.
We help our customers consolidate supply chains, streamline communication by minimizing contact with multiple suppliers, open critical square footage in their facilities, manage inventory across multiple categories, and deliver just-in-time, line-ready metal components.
At EQI, we promise to provide our customers and suppliers with the highest level of partnership and service. To deliver on this commitment, we are continuously looking to grow our global footprint strategically. Look for this list of locations, facilities, and capabilities to grow in the future!
Space Utilization
Optimizing space usage is critical in any warehouse setting. A Warehouse Management System (WMS) can help you identify the most frequently picked items and arrange storage locations to minimize the distance traveled for picking. New racking and storage technology, such as high-density automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), can also help you utilize your space more efficiently.
Inventory
Not surprisingly, the most significant challenges in a warehouse involve inventory. Knowing, storing, and using what you have at the right moment can be complex. At EQI, some of the processes we use to ensure inventory accuracy include:
Product Picking
Inefficient product picking is a significant waste of time and money. To combat this, EQI documents and reviews current processes to highlight sources of inefficiencies and improve warehouse operations. Then, we relocate products to allow for more efficient picking and packing. We’ve also added automation and barcode technology that quickly identifies where a product is stored, reducing the time it takes to locate and move items.
Communication
One of the biggest challenges in a logistics chain is improving communications. If everyone involved in supply chain decision-making is aligned, planning and executing shipments can be seamless. You can also empower warehouse staff—many of whom are constantly on the move—to better communicate by integrating smartphones, two-way radios, wearable GPS devices, and Manufacturing Execution Software into your operations.
Although EQI utilizes communication tools and technologies, we believe face-to-face communication is still the best practice. Our teams hold daily warehouse meetings to discuss priorities, share concerns, and solve logistics issues.
Customer Experience
Superior customer service is a top priority for EQI. That’s why we have an extensive global network of warehouses to serve more clients in more places. We’ve strategically positioned these locations to provide same-day, customized services that help customers keep their costs low. To streamline efficiencies, we also offer value-added services, such as painting (wet and powder), machining, kitting, assembly, inspections, and rework/repair. We aim to provide a comprehensive warehousing service that takes the complexity out of managing multiple vendors for our customers.
Interested in learning more about the strategies we’ve used to overcome warehousing challenges? Contact us today.
Determining if Casting is a Good Fit for Your Design
We’ve compiled a list of seven considerations to help you decide if casting is right for your next project. It’s important to explore all these factors before switching from fabrication.
Achieving Optimal Performance Through Casting
Our best practice is to align engineering with a casting expert during the design phase for any new component. This ensures that the material and process selection meets the design requirements. We also focus on what best suits your fit, form, and function needs to achieve quality standards at a competitive cost.
Another way we achieve optimal performance is by coordinating the casting process with the desired mechanical properties of the material. Understanding the end use for the casting helps us determine subsequent processing steps, like heat treatment or shot blasting, which can impact the mechanical properties. Our capable design team will help you choose the right material for the application and identify any secondary processes or testing to ensure the material properties meet your needs.
Working with EQI on Casting Conversion
EQI offers a streamlined process to help you successfully transition to cast products. We also have fabrication to casting conversion solutions for various components to reduce weights, optimize design, and decrease costs for OEM customers. When you work with us, you can expect the following process:
Interested in making the switch and learning more about our range of fabrication and casting solutions? Contact us today.