Victaulic, a producer of ductile iron castings for its own brand of mechanical pipe and flow-control products, has purchased Waupaca Foundry’s Lawrenceville, PA, foundry for an unreported price. The 22,000-sq.ft. plant will increase Victaulic’s U.S. casting capacity by 70%, it added, anticipating future demand for its finished products.
Wisconsin-based Waupaca Foundry acquired the plant in 2016 as part of a consolidation program by its parent company, Hitachi Metals Ltd. The plant had produced automotive suspension parts, including steering knuckles, control arms, and brackets.
In June 2020 Waupaca Foundry announced plans to close the Lawrenceville operation, citing "capacity that exceeds demand in the (automotive) supply chain." That move reportedly eliminated positions for about 200 salaried and hourly workers.
Victaulic noted the foundry’s two molding lines will allow it to produce larger castings than it presently does at its ductile-iron foundry in Easton, PA, where the group is headquartered.
“The addition of Waupaca’s Lawrenceville foundry will provide the scale and capacity necessary to continue our growth plans and most importantly service our valued North American customers,” stated Victaulic chairman John F. Malloy. “Additionally, Victaulic is doing its part to add vital manufacturing jobs within Pennsylvania. A major aspect of our business strategy has always been to manufacture products in close proximity to our customers.”
Victaulic signaled it would add new employees for the Lawrenceville foundry soon, but it did not indicate a schedule for that plan or the number of workers to be hired. Local sources indicated the number of workers to be hired is 90.
Victaulic has 13 manufacturing plants worldwide. In 2018 it launched an expansion to the Easton complex, to add automated inspection and assembly for mechanical piping joining systems for HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, water and wastewater, and various industrial applications ranging from oil-and-gas to power plants, etc.