As North America’s leading producer of ductile and gray iron castings for automotive, commercial vehicle and industrial markets, Waupaca Foundry operates at a scale where operational improvements have an outsized impact on performance. One recent example is the company’s overhaul of Plant 4’s raw material conveyance infrastructure, a major upgrade completed by the Waupaca team to improve reliability, efficiency and output quality.

$5M+ in projected annual EBITDA impact: In early 2026, Waupaca completed a ~$20M overhaul of Plant 4’s melt charge infrastructure, replacing equipment that had been in place for nearly 30 years. The two-year investment included new conveyance, scrap drying, dust collection and gating crusher equipment. A new conveyor system reduced the number of material transfer points from nine to three. The new system went live in January 2026 and represents a step-change improvement for the plant.

Eliminating a single point of failure: The old system was the primary vulnerability for Plant 4’s entire operation. Extended outages affected all downstream molding lines, with each outage resulting in approximately $180K per day in lost EBITDA. The new system is expected to reduce molding-related downtime caused by the melt system to near zero, down from a prior average of 1.5% of available hours, strengthening Waupaca’s ability to make reliable deliveries to customers while managing inventory more efficiently.

Measurable energy savings: The new system is projected to reduce gas consumption per heat by 36%, from 12.15 to 7.8 MMBTU, generating approximately $624K in annual savings. Installed motor horsepower drops from 466 to 155, reducing electrical costs by an additional ~$124K per year.

This project reflects the operational discipline of the Waupaca team and the impact targeted infrastructure upgrades can have in a scaled manufacturing environment. Monomoy is proud to partner with Waupaca and spotlight the work underway to strengthen performance, reliability and customer service.