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Alcast Co. Expands with Fairfield Foundry Purchase

Sept. 4, 2017
FALCO rebranded as Alcast Co. Midwest Works LLC; capital investments, training to follow

Fairfield Aluminum Casting Co. in Fairfield, IA, was sold to Alcast Co., Peoria, IL, in a “going transaction sale.” The FALCO assets include a 200,000-sq. ft. foundry and a separate operation in Clarence, MO, that includes assembly, trimming, and heat-treating capabilities. The value of the sale, which was administered by Equity Partners HG, an investment banking concern, was not announced.

FALCO’s owners retained Equity Partners in February of this year to seek refinancing or a buyer for sand and permanent-mold aluminum foundry. Fred Cross, managing director at Equity Partners, called the sale, “an outstanding result.

“FALCO brings countless synergies to Alcast Company and the sale brought a far greater recovery to creditors than liquidation would have. Keeping the jobs in Fairfield, IA and building on these synergies will make this acquisition a great success for Alcast long into the future.”

The buyer, Alcast Co., is permanent-mold aluminum foundry that produces castings up to 220 lbs. in quantities of 10 to 400; and 1-lb. castings in volumes exceeding 500,000 pieces per year. Alcast also offers CNC machining, balancing, broaching, shaping, etc.

Alcast also operates the Aluminum Castings Co. sand foundry of Galesburg, IL.

The FALCO operations have been rebranded as Alcast Co. Midwest Works LLC. (Alcast-MW). All 47 full time employees of the business have been retained.

“Our intentions with Alcast-MW are to mend customer relationships, invest in updating the machinery and equipment, and invest in our people through training and foundry education. We plan to grow the business to better serve existing customers and new customers,” stated Alcast Co. president Steve Wessels.

He continued: “We believe current FALCO customers will benefit greatly from Alcast’s influence on FALCO’s current processes and offering the alternative of producing castings on the Alcast proprietary, electro-magnetic casting process.

“We believe current Alcast customers will benefit greatly by FALCO’s capabilities with the Hunter 32 automatic sand casting line and the Hall H6 tilt-pour machinery.

“The combination of these two companies will give us capabilities to produce nearly all sand casting and permanent-mold casting requirements of our combined current customer base and potential customers,” Wessels concluded.

About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics, including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others.