Improved die casting supply chain

Improved die casting supply chain

When a part used in thousands of Honda SUVs became difficult to deliver, Piolax USA reviewed its entire supply chain to identify the root cause.

All signs indicated that the die-cast part itself was the issue, one Piolax might have had to accept—until other suppliers recommended Dynacast to the manufacturer.

Piolax USA manufactures a range of metal and plastic automotive parts spanning the entire vehicle, from clamps and harnesses to powertrain and fuel components.

"We're 100% automotive," says Josh Miller, Purchasing Manager at Piolax USA.

That is no overstatement. Its Japanese-owned parent company, Piolax Incorporated, is a major player in the industry. Now in its 85th year of business, it is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and serves an impressively demanding customer base.

"Nissan is our majority customer, and we're tier one to Ford, Honda, Toyota, and GM," Miller says. These relationships also extend to many suppliers serving those brands.

With a global industry relying on it for parts, Piolax—which stands for 'pioneers of elasticity'—requires a supply chain as adaptable as its name.

Supply chain audit

A decade ago, the Canton, Georgia-based manufacturer began a project with Honda. "The application was a tie-down assembly," Miller says. "It allows people to securely tie down luggage or anything else in the SUV cargo area."

For years, the project progressed routinely, and Piolax received product only after it had been cast, sanded, buffed and plated. However, over time, the part was added to different platforms, models and other configurations, resulting in higher volumes—and challenges with on-time delivery.

To identify the root cause, Piolax visited every supplier involved in producing the part.

"We found that most of our suppliers—the plating, buffing and sanding suppliers—were world-class," says Miller. "The actual manufacturing, the casting of the hook, was the weak point."

Stretched for time and quality

Initially, Piolax used a die casting supplier in neighbouring Alabama to produce the part. However, as the project grew, the supplier became a bottleneck—particularly in meeting the quality and cosmetic requirements of the part.

"With chrome-plated die-cast parts, everything has to come together precisely," says Brad Doornbos of Dynacast. "Tooling, die temperature, fill rate—every condition has to be exactly right."

When it is not? "If that part comes out of the die with any imperfection," Doornbos says, "the chrome plating will accentuate and magnify even the smallest surface defect."

This resulted in added delays, costs and waste, either through further sanding and buffing later in the process or by scrapping the cast parts outright before they were even shipped. Either way, Piolax had identified its problem.

Confidence and capability

For the newest version of the part, Miller and his colleagues sought advice from their other suppliers. They asked: "Who would you recommend that can, without a doubt, produce a very high-quality part that will be visible to the end customer?"

"The first company they suggested was Dynacast," Miller says.

He added Dynacast's Peterborough, Ontario plant to his audit. That visit, he says, confirmed his suppliers' confidence that Dynacast could deliver parts to Piolax standards.

"You could tell they were experienced in similar projects. The appearance issue we had with the previous part did not intimidate them; it was well within their capability," says Miller.

His meeting with Dynacast's engineering experts reinforced this impression. Following that visit, Piolax awarded the new project to Dynacast—but that was not all.

"From the professionalism, organisation and precision they displayed, it was clear they knew exactly what they were doing," Miller says. In addition to the new project, he cancelled his previous project with the other die casting supplier—and engaged Dynacast to take it over.

"On-time delivery, quality, communication and price had been difficult with our old supplier," says Miller. "The thing is, those are the four key areas that have to be strong for us—and for our customers. And those were the things I knew Dynacast would deliver."

"I knew Dynacast would be a solid supplier to Piolax. Not only now, but somebody we could partner with, move forward with, and grow with in the future." - Josh Miller, Piolax