Investment Casting is one of the greenest manufacturing methods; in fact, it is primarily a recycling process that uses no hazardous materials and produces no hazardous waste.
At Barron Industries, we transform metal scrap into new components. For example, Barron uses carbon and stainless steel scrap that is trimmed away in the automotive manufacturing process and recycles it into critical defense components. In addition, Barron melts metal using an induction furnace which is a clean, energy-efficient, and well-controllable melting process compared to most other means of metal melting. Induction furnaces use electricity and produce significantly less dust and other pollutants than traditional melting methods. Barron maintains strict air quality standards designated by government regulations and permits.
Barron also uses recycled wax to produce patterns, and when the wax is melted out of the ceramic molds, it is collected for reuse. Although the ceramic shell material cannot be recycled within the investment casting process, it is classified as an inert substance and controlled landfill disposal is not necessary. Waste from our ceramic slurry can also be recycled for many uses including fill for construction projects or filler for concrete.
In addition, Barron takes advantage of the latest technology to perform solidification modeling which predicts the outcome of a casting’s internal quality before production begins, allowing us to optimize yield and eliminate trial and error methods of process development.
At Barron Industries, we believe in putting people first. We acknowledge that our team members are our strength and we strive to help them become their best selves both at work and at home. We’re committed to providing exciting career development opportunities and standing by team members and their families in times of need. We’re a family-owned company, so when you work at Barron, you’re becoming a part of a giant extended family. We’re a team of family members and we work tirelessly to always help each other out. It’s also important to us that our employees know we believe fully in putting their own families first. We have seen firsthand how our “people first” culture has made Barron a stronger organization and we continue to work to maintain that culture every day.
Barron has been blessed to have employees who’ve been part of our family since our beginning in 1983. In addition, nearly 30 percent of our workforce has been at Barron for ten years or more. Many have started in entry-level positions in the wax room or foundry and worked their way up into higher-paid skilled trades careers such as process engineers, quality technicians and machinists. Barron invests in our people by offering many development, training and certification opportunities to interested employees.
Barron Industries is equally committed to contributing to the communities in which our employees live through donations to local agencies, sponsorship of area events and support of local activities. We are part of the community – and the community is part of us!
In 2019, Barron Industries received the Oakland County Michigan Works first-ever Business of the Year Award. ( link to post ) Barron was chosen from among the 3,000 companies OCMW engaged with to assist with their workforce needs. Barron partners with the Michigan Works Going Pro Program which helps ensure Michigan’s employers have the talent they need to compete and grow, while also ensuring individuals have the skills they need for in-demand careers.
Barron Industries partners with students, families, and educators to inspire and motivate our youth to pursue manufacturing skilled trades. We hire and train students enrolled in CNC machining and other skilled trades programs in local high schools and colleges. Barron’s technicians train and mentor the students who gain additional skills which qualify them for entry-level jobs as machine operators. We also hire engineering interns either on a temporary or permanent basis. For example, a Mechanical Engineering student at Oakland University started in the CNC Department and later moved to the Quality and Engineering department where he worked on finding ways of reducing waste and costs in the investment casting process.
Barron also supports STEM initiatives with the aim of providing career opportunities to young people and sustaining our manufacturing industry into the future. In addition, our CEO Bruce Barron and Greg Barron, VP, Engineering and Quality regularly visit our schools to speak to students and advise faculty and administration. Bruce Barron has served on the Oakland Schools Technical Center Advisory Committee.
Our CEO and President Bruce Barron mentors area small businesses that want to expand their exports. He is a frequent presenter at U.S. Commercial Service events aimed at supporting companies in their efforts to attract foreign buyers for their products through in-person trade missions and digital marketing.
At Barron, we honor our veterans by providing well-paying jobs and excellent benefits to those who have served. We helped them during their deployment by providing critical components for military equipment and we want to continue to provide them with our support when they come home. It’s important to us that our veterans receive the same opportunities as our other potential employees. We want to make it easier for the veterans in our local communities to find careers they can thrive in.
Speak to one of our experts today to learn more about our custom casting solutions.
