Continuous Improvement
Iron 101 at Lawton
Did you ever wonder what really goes on inside a foundry? How is iron formed? How is a casting made? Well, Lawton Standard engineers are helping our customers learn what we do and how we do it with the Iron 101 class. The class can help streamline future casting projects your company has and potentially…
Read MoreSaving time and money with the KUKA RMC90 Robot
The Lawton Standard Co. added the KUKA (Keller und Knappich Augsburg) RMC90 robot to its expanding casting process equipment list back in 2022. This robot and the associated equipment are utilized to support pattern and mold making activities from Styrofoam pattern milling through the cutting of sand mold blocks. The robot is now housed at…
Read More“It’s in our blood.” Come join the team.
The C.A. Lawton Minster facility is producing gray and ductile iron castings from 20 pounds all the way up to 45,000 pounds. We caught up with Steve Johnson, who now has a few months under his belt as the plant manager at our Minster location. Plant manager Steve Johnson on his first few months “I’ve…
Read MoreStreamlining the solidification process to increase efficiency and quality
The C.A. Lawton Company and Lawton Standard are always trying to find new ways to make the casting process quicker, more efficient and reaching a higher quality. A big help in this process is some newer software by MagmaSoft, which helps our engineers in the solidification process of our castings. We sat down with casting…
Read MoreBig energy savings thanks to UW-Milwaukee’s Industrial Assessment Center
Thanks to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Industrial Assessment Center, the C.A. Lawton Company is saving money each year on its energy costs. Those savings are thousands of dollars each year and to this point, the changes have saved Lawton over $9,000. 2022 assessment of the C.A. Lawton Co. facility in De Pere Back in…
Read MoreEMS: C.A. Lawton’s Involvement in Environmental Management System
The C.A. Lawton Company is proud to be part of an Environmental Management System (EMS) recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The benefit of having an EMS is to provide systematic framework that guides compliance with regulatory requirements and methodical, objective and corrective action. The cool thing is that an EMS can help…
Read MoreISO 9001:2015 Certification: What is it and why is it important?
What is it? ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization and is a group of committees that set national standards for a wide range of industries. In this blog, we will be focusing on the 9001:2015 certification. This certification sets the requirements for quality management systems. Any organization regardless of size or types of…
Read MoreWhat is a good catch?
What is it? Foundry experts explain that a good catch program is a proactive way of increasing safety awareness at a plant. It allows everyone to be engaged and be more safety conscious at all times. The result of a good catch is to point out any safety concerns that can be addressed quickly and…
Read MoreA Conversation with Alex: Reflections on the state of the economy, the foundry industry, and the future of Lawton Standard
The last three years have been a wild roller coaster ride. From COVID-19 and supply chain issues to a roaring recovery and global uncertainty, it’s been one of the most challenging times in recent memory. But the challenges also contain seeds of opportunity. Despite the disruption, we’ve been making steady progress toward building a new…
Read MoreTransformation Calendar: Continuous Improvement
The C.A. Lawton Co. strives to improve continuously. Today we examined the Transformation Calendar with industrial engineer Tricia Berg. What is a Transformation Calendar? Lawton’s Transformation Calendar is a visual listing of all activities sponsored by the company to improve the company’s safety, performance, and productivity. It covers every company area from quotation through the…
Read MoreLearn all about a Kaizen
Kaizen is a Japanese expression meaning “change for better” or continuous improvement – whatever you are doing, you can do it better. At The C.A. Lawton Co, we strive for continuous improvement every single day. Breaking apart and putting together The first part of the word, kai, means “to break apart,” and zen means “to…
Read MoreInter-company kaizen success
The Lawton Standard Co. held an intercompany kaizen event during the week of April 12-16 at Penn-Mar Castings, LLC in Hanover, PA. This was a first for Penn-Mar since joining The Lawton Standard family of foundries in February 2021. Participants from all the Lawton family sites were involved in this exciting project. As the first…
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