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Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics joins The C.A. Lawton Co. family
The C.A. Lawton Co. welcomes Minster, OH facility as a second iron foundry location
Birmingham, MI – Private equity firm, Oakland Standard Company, is proud to announce the expansion of their iron foundries. Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics, an iron foundry located in Minster, Ohio will operate under Oakland Standard’s specialty metals platform as a second location of The C.A. Lawton Co.
Nidec Minster Corporation’s Executive Officer (present foundry operator), David Winch says, “Since our founding in 1896, our ability to locally source high-quality parts has been extremely important to both our internal product as well as the external customers we serve. Over that same period, the metal forming industry and especially the foundry business has adapted to many changes. We believe that in today’s market, domestic production of these products and quality standards is best accomplished as a team – increasing available resources to serve customer needs as well as supply chain availability. We are very happy to have found this operational partner in The C.A. Lawton Company.”
Alex Lawton, CEO of the specialty metals platform (includes The C.A. Lawton Co., Temperform, LLC, and Damascus Steel Casting Company), will lead the integration of the businesses and management teams. He says, “The combination of The C.A. Lawton Co. and Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics creates a unique powerhouse in the gray iron space. Together we have literally hundreds of years of history coupled with modern approaches to meeting metal casting needs. Couple that with the rest of the partners on the steel side of our platform and we are indeed crafting the premier supplier-partner where reliability meets flexibility.”
“We are excited to welcome the Minster, Ohio foundry (formerly Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics) to The C.A. Lawton, Co. family,” said Barry Adamski, President of The C.A. Lawton Co. “Our combined foundry experience of more than 250 years allows us to be a unique supply source and resource to the iron casting industry. We believe that with our forward intention of planet, people, and then profit, we can help shape the foundry of the future to better serve our existing, as well as new, customers.”
The Minster, OH facility is a 117-year-old foundry with numerous capabilities in engineering and machining services. It offers gray and ductile castings up to 45,000 pounds, which will nearly double the manufacturing capacity of Lawton. These new abilities will complement the current structure of Lawton. Minster will become the second iron site of The C.A. Lawton Co. offering logistical benefits in a prime manufacturing center.
Founded in 1879 in De Pere, WI, Lawton is an industry-leading manufacturer of gray-and ductile-iron castings serving the HVAC, mining, water, and paper industries, among others. They received the 2020 Outstanding Organization Award from the American Foundry Society and are committed to on-time delivery and lean manufacturing. Lawton’s De Pere facility produces castings ranging in size from 400 to 20,000 pounds and provides an end-to-end casting solution, from design and engineering through finishing and machining.
Lawton’s continuous improvement commitment will benefit from the acquisition of this foundry as it will allow them to examine processes across all four foundries, share hundreds of years’ experiences, and implement best practices throughout.