June 21, 2007 — Intermet Corp. has formed a new business unit, Intermet Die Cast, and named Eric Showalter as the group president. According to Intermet president and CEO Jeff Mihalic, "Eric has earned the support and confidence of the senior leadership team based upon his performance over the past several years."
Showalter has been the head of Intermet's Missouri Operations, and is credited with overseeing a restructuring of those three plants, as well as implementation of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives. Mihalic describes him as "pro-actively engaged with his key customers, and … technically competent in die cast operations. For these reasons we believe Eric is clearly the best choice to lead the new combined organization," the CEO stated.
The new Die Cast unit combines the former Die Casting and Missouri Groups, and includes six plants at Jackson, TN, New Hope, MN, Pulaski, TN, two plants at Monroe City, MO, and another at Palmyra, MO. Intermet, based in Fort Worth, TX, has two other operating units — Ferrous and Pressure-Counter-Pressure Casting (PCPC).
Showalter's manufacturing experience spans 14 years. He joined Intermet as director of engineering in February 2000, when Intermet acquired Ganton Technologies/Diemakers. He had prior positions at J.L. French and Rockwell International, as well as international experience in Japan and China. Showalter has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Bradley University and a M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.