Waupaca Foundry Strengthens Plant Reliability Through Major Infrastructure Upgrade
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.
