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Marking global resources: sourcing castings to India and China has helped Clay and Bailey Manufacturing Co. build a firmer foundation for its metalcasting facility in Kansas City, Mo.

Article Excerpt
Four years ago, Clay and Bailey Manufacturing Co., Kansas City, Mo., was concerned that it hadn't received business from a particular customer in a couple of years. So sales manager Brad Holmes went to visit the plant.

The customer was located four miles outside of a small, isolated Missouri town near the Ozark Mountains, down a number of gravel and dirt roads.

Through their discussion with the owners of the small operation, they learned the company was no longer doing business with Clay and Bailey because it was bringing its castings in from China.

"If that company is doing it," Holmes said. "Then it's easy."

Clay and Bailey Manufacturing Co., an 80-employee green sand casting facility located a stone's throw from Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums in Kansas City, has been buying castings from foreign sources for 12 years to compliment its casting production. The company uses a strategy of sourcing simple castings to India and China in order to stay competitive enough to continue making more complex, higher specification parts.

"We're not waiting for the customer to come in and tell us our price is too high," Holmes said. "We offer our customers both bananas from the banana cart and let them choose. We don't try to persuade them to go with the foreign casting, but this allows us to offer both."

Choosing a Source

Working with foreign metalcasters to source castings that meet U.S. specs and standards can be complicated, but as Holmes pointed out, conducting business globally may not be as hard as it looks.

Clay and Bailey first began purchasing municipal castings, such as manhole rings and lids and meter hole rings and lids, from an Indian metalcaster 12 years ago. The company knew who the foreign importers were for its product line, and one of the major suppliers from India approached the firm about establishing a relationship. Clay and Bailey was familiar with the reputation of the company and quality of its castings, so they agreed to sign a contract. More than a decade later, Holmes is happy with the relationship and communication built between Clay and Bailey and its overseas casting sources.

"With email and websites, it's like they're across the street," he said. "When you send them an email, sometimes you'll even get a reply the same day. With test reports and digital cameras, the web has really revolutionized how to work with foreign companies."

Holmes said it is easier to deal with countries that were part of the English empire, such as India, because of the common language and their understanding of the American culture and Western business practices. Other countries, he...

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