Waupaca Foundry | PartingLINE

For over 38 years, Lee Halford has been a cornerstone at Waupaca Foundry, building a career grounded in hard work, precision, and an unwavering sense of responsibility. But it was his time in the U.S. Army that shaped the work ethic and values the crane operator carried into the Foundry.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 13, 2024

38 Years of Dedication: A Veteran's Legacy at Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 12, 2024

A Veterans Day Tribute to a Training Coordinator at Waupaca Foundry

Randy Williams’ dedication to our nation and Waupaca Foundry serves as an inspiration. His service in the U.S. Army and his role as a plant training coordinator at Plant 5 in Tell City, Indiana, are testaments to the value of leadership, discipline, and service.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 11, 2024

A Journey from Waupaca Foundry to the Marine Corps and Back, Twice

Daniel “Dan” Botting, a Process Engineer at Plant 3 in Waupaca, Wis., took a journey from Waupaca Foundry to the Marine Corps with not one but two separate deployments overseas and back. He exemplifies resilience, leadership, and gratitude.

Kirt Bauer’s expertise in communications, honed during his time as a Marine Corps radio operator three decades ago, continues to serve him well in his role at Waupaca Foundry. From 1987 to 1991, Bauer was with the 8th Communications Battalion based out of Camp Lejeune, responsible for ensuring secure and efficient communications in high-pressure environments.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 7, 2024

From Marine Corps Radio Operator to Iron Casting Leader: Veteran’s Communication Skills Shape Waupaca Foundry

A lot can change in 50 years. And Hes Menadue has seen it all. From sand depositing improvements to molding processes, Hes has been part of Waupaca Foundry’s growth into the iron casting juggernaut it is today. His 50-year career with Waupaca Foundry is as storied as the Foundry itself.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Apr 4, 2024

A Legacy Cast in Iron: 50 Years at Waupaca

Kim Viduski | Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

- Mar 14, 2024

Waupaca Foundry enters a new era

In December, Waupaca Foundry owner Proterial, Ltd. announced the foundry would be sold to Monomoy Capital Partners at the beginning of 2024. (Proterial is the former Hitachi Metals, rebranded when

Nikki Kallio | Insight on Business

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Dec 20, 2023

UW-Stout: Stout Proud day: Chancellor congratulates 526 happy UW-Stout graduates during fall commencement

Menomonie, Wis. — Smiles and warmth filled Johnson Fieldhouse at University of Wisconsin-Stout on an early winter day as 526 graduates received degrees in two commencement ceremonies on Dec. 16. Chancellor Katherine Frank addressed graduates and their guests while two members of the class of 2023 and an alum also spoke. Frank congratulated graduates on their achievement and a job well done. “This is a world that needs you, your knowledge, your talent and your vision,” she said. Ceremonies were held at 10 a.m. for the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management and the College of Arts and Human Sciences; and at 2 p.m. for Graduate Studies. In each of her speeches, Frank cited examples of inspiring graduates. In the undergraduate ceremony,

Jerry Poling | wisbusiness.com/

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Jul 13, 2023

“Cast your own future” with the Waupaca Foundry

A business staple that started making products sold locally has now grown to several facilities in two different states and has customers worldwide. The Waupaca Foundry has become an industry leader and has its roots on the banks of the Waupaca River in downtown Waupaca. Some of the early products made by the foundry were Waupaca field plows, the jaws of the Waupaca stone crusher, and window sashays.

Nick Witwer | WFRV

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Jun 5, 2023

From gridiron to molten iron

Miskinis began his 40-year career in the foundry industry when he joined the 1977 Badger football team with a full scholarship.

Waupaca County News

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Apr 28, 2023

Women in Credit - Mary Hotvedt

Mary Hotvedt, Credit Manager at Waupaca Foundry, has maintained a career in the credit and collections field for over twenty years. Mary has spent most of her career at Waupaca Foundry; recently, Dan Pike, Director of Motor Credit at ABC-Amega, sat down with Mary to discuss her career.

ABC/Amega

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Apr 28, 2023

National Welding Month | Matthew Mlodik

Matthew Mlodik, a maintenance assistant at Waupaca Foundry Plant 2/3 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, began pursuing his career in welding long before he could even legally have a job.

Karter Kaminske | Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Apr 10, 2023

People who make a difference – Hayley Cullen

Project engineer, mentor, volunteer – Waupaca Robotics, Waupaca Foundry

Heather Graves | The Business News

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 27, 2023

Promoting from within – a weapon for success

Looking back over the last 30 years, Todd Pagel, vice president of operations at Waupaca Foundry, said he expected his life to take a much different path than it did.

Heather Graves | The Business News

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 27, 2023

National Engineers Week: Steve Nygaard

Steve Nygaard, a tooling manager at Waupaca Foundry Plant 2/3 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, chose a career path in manufacturing for a hands-on engineering experience.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 23, 2023

foundryman-sees-tell-city-Indiana plant-grow-from-the-ground-up

National Engineers Week: Jeffery Eubank

Jeffery Eubank, a project engineer at Waupaca Foundry in Tell City, Indiana, and a native to the state, has witnessed the advancements of the plant since it was built in 1997.

Mason Wellman, a mechanical engineer at Waupaca Foundry Plant 4, always had a knack for art and taking things apart and putting them back together. It wasn’t until his high school art teacher recommended looking into engineering school over art school that Wellman’s future really clicked.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 21, 2023

National Engineers Week: Mason Wellman

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 16, 2023

Jeff Barden, tooling engineer and layout supervisor

National Engineers Week: Jeffry Barden

Jeffry Barden, a Waupaca Foundry layout supervisor and tooling engineer at Plant 2/3 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, developed the skill set to become an engineer while on the job.

Grinding castings is a strenuous and demanding job – and assigning workers to that necessary task is a real challenge for metalcasting operations. But it’s essential work, and as foundries produce higher volumes of castings the strain and need grow proportionally. Waupaca Foundry is pioneering use of “adaptive technology” to support workers assigned to manually grind iron castings.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 8, 2023

Strengthening Workers for the Daily Grind

Foundry Management & Technology

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 1, 2023

Waupaca Foundry named Todd Pagel as vice president of operations.

Pagel is a 30-year veteran of Waupaca Foundry who has served in positions including molding supervisor, plant manager and, most recently, director of operations. He started in 1993 as an operator in the molding department at Plant 2/3 in Waupaca. In 2021, while working as plant manager at Plant 2/3, he was also responsible for melt and molding operations at Plant 6, which is located in Etowah, Tennessee.

Insight

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Dec 9, 2022

Pictured left to right: Matt Jacobs, Alan Crawford, Steve Sirkorski

To Munich and Beyond with Level III MAGMA Certification

Waupaca Foundry Tooling Engineer Alan Crawford earned his Level III MAGMASOFT® certification in 2022—one of only approximately 50 in the United States. His recent presentation at the MAGMA North American User Group meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on September 7-9, 2022, made a significant impact. In fact, the certification panel asked Crawford to share his capstone project again at the MAGMA International User Group event in Munich, Germany, on October 19-21, 2022.

Janelle Bailey | Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Dec 9, 2022

New Soft Exoskeleton Glove in Foundry Lends a Hand to Worker Wellbeing

Foundries have long been defined by their hard work environments and manual labor. However, in the last 25 years, Waupaca Foundry has both witnessed and led industry change. Since 2016 alone, Waupaca Foundry has invested over $360 million in capital to build, continuously improve, and maintain state-of-the-art operations. Technology and automation have made foundry and machining jobs safer, more ergonomic and skilled. Areas in the foundry where manual operations still outpace robotics do remain, though, such as in the mill room. There is an opportunity to bridge the automation gap and improve work environments that support team wellness and longevity. Enter the world’s first soft exoskeleton glove: The Ironhand®.

Congratulations to Waupaca Foundry’s Ariel Bartel, who recently earned her Level III MAGMASOFT certification through MAGMA Academy. MAGMA is a world-wide leading developer and supplier of finite element analysis software, including MAGMASOFT. Through certification, users become adept at maximizing the tool’s more advanced features in aim to improve metal casting quality, optimize processes, and reduce production costs.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Dec 2, 2022

Matt Jacobs, Ariel Bartel, Steve Sirkorski

Reducing Foundry Scrap Leads to Level III Certification

Janelle Bailey | Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 15, 2022

Heavy-handed | Plant News | insightonbusiness.com

Bioservo’s battery-powered “Ironhand” glove is a soft exoskeleton that increases the wearer’s hand strength by about 20%, helping factory and warehouse workers with efficiency and with mitigating chronic pain and injury associated with repetitive work. The company has partnered with such heavy-hitters as NASA and General Motors, but now it’s putting the glove to the ultimate test at Waupaca Foundry.

Insight Publications

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 10, 2022

Marines Staff Sergeant Deployed to 14 Countries Before Joining Waupaca Foundry

At the age of 18, Hank Lynch followed his instinct to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Over the next seven years, Lynch went on a personal mission to travel as often and to as many places as the Marines would send him. Now a storekeeper at Waupaca Foundry’s gray iron Plant 2/3 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, Lynch reflects on how his journey in the Marines led him to be who and where he is today.

On any workday, you can find Jaime Chandler, a millroom inspector grinder at Waupaca Foundry’s ductile iron location in Marinette, Wisconsin, on the job early — by nearly 30 minutes — ready to work. Chandler, a former Marine, attributes that, as well as many of his other work habits, to his time in the service.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 8, 2022

Grit and Determination of Former Marine Shines at Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 4, 2022

Internal Call Leads to Service in the United States Army

In 2007, at the age of 22, Lazaro Diaz II was working in the automotive industry as a finance manager for his family’s car dealerships. Content and feeling accomplished, Diaz couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted to do more; He wanted to serve in the military.

If you were to ask Robert Larsen, a pattern vault attendant at Waupaca Foundry’s Plant 1 gray iron location, to recite his time in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, he would be able to provide the month, day and year of his enlistment, basic training and any extensive operations without even stopping to think — a testament to his ability to think three or four steps ahead during his job today at Waupaca Foundry.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Nov 3, 2022

Military Veteran Brings Sense of Ownership to Waupaca Foundry

Armando Ramirez Rodriguez of Owensboro, who also received an associate of applied science degree in computerized manufacturing and machining, plans to work at the Waupaca Foundry in Tell City, where he had an internship, and continue his education at Western Kentucky University.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Oct 11, 2022

Coming home to Waupaca

Since she turned 18, Gabriela Ocampo has relocated from Miami to Texas, then to Chicago, before finding a place she calls home. Now 24 years old, she is living in Waupaca and working directly for Waupaca Foundry.

Robert Cloud | waupacanow.com

#culture #jobs #waupaca #wf

Waupaca Foundry

Global MFG - Jul 15, 2022

Proving Our Metal

Wisconsin today maintains the fifth-most foundries of any U.S state. Which is home to both the largest iron foundry company in the world - Waupaca Foundry and the most recognizable Neenah Foundry

Insight Publications

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - May 12, 2022

OCTC graduating 615 students

Keith Lawrence | Messenger-Inquirer

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Apr 29, 2022

Dennis Peterson Retires With 50 Years at Waupaca Foundry

Dennis Peterson reached that rare distinction when he retired in March 2022 with 50 years at Waupaca Foundry. And with decades of experience, few retire from the iron casting supplier having worked in a variety of areas of the foundry as Peterson.

It’s 1976. Jimmy Carter is elected President of the United States. Apple computers forms. Alex Haley writes Roots. It’s a time of societal shifts. At Waupaca, women have begun working in the foundry—a pivotal move, challenging the notion that skilled trades in the foundry is a men’s club.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Mar 8, 2022

Women in Metalcasting: Career Impact That Matters

Kristin Stankewicz | Waupaca Foundry

#culture #innovation

Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 28, 2022

Waupaca Foundry Helps Celebrate 75 Years Of The Foundry Education Foundation

In 2022, the Foundry Education Foundation less formally known as FEF celebrates its 75th year. The program started in 1947, two years after WWII ended, due to the high demand for skilled workers in the metalcasting industry.

#culture #engineering #intern #jobs #scholarships #skillsgap #workforcedevelopment

Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 24, 2022

Dave Bean Tell City Plant 5 project engineer

Project Engineer Dave Bean Leads Waupaca Foundry Through a Successful Cupola Replacement

Tell City, also known as Plant 5, is home to over 20 engineers, 9 of which are project engineers. Among this group is Project Engineer, Dave Bean. Dave and Plant 5 have something unique in common, they both got a start around 26 years ago.

#culture #engineering #innovation #tellcity

Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Feb 4, 2022

Waupaca Foundry’s Brian Swan Named “Hometown Hero” by State of Wisconsin Assembly

The Assistant Chief/Volunteer Firefighter Helped Pass a Law Which Creates an Emergency Zone Around the Scene of Roadway Incidents to Keep Emergency Responders and Roadside Workers Safe

Kim Viduski | Waupaca Foundry

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Jan 31, 2022

Students Offered Internships by Waupaca Foundry During COVID-19

Undergraduates Struggling to Fulfill College Requirements Provided Opportunity in the Manufacturing Industry

On December 10th, 1971 Tracey Ambacher joined Waupaca Foundry. He started at Plant 1 in his senior year of high school. At the time, there was no application process. Tracey’s neighbor was none other than, Plant Manager Gary Thoe (who was later promoted to CEO). Gary recruited Tracey to join the team at the same time that Ambacher’s number was almost called to service in the Vietnam War draft.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Dec 10, 2021

50 Years at Waupaca Foundry Brings a Lifetime of Changes

Jake Roloff, a molding operator at Waupaca Foundry’s Plant 2/3 location in Waupaca, Wisconsin, knew at the age of 12 that he wanted to join the military. Roloff had just started the eighth grade when the events of September 11, 2001, occurred, and the event stayed with him throughout his adolescence.

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Waupaca Foundry

Culture - Oct 7, 2021

A Call to Duty at Age 12 Leads to Joining the Military at Age 18