Most of Garry’s 30 years of casting experience came while working at Castalloy located in Waukesha, WI.  He joined Castalloy in 1983 as a draftsman, where he reverse engineered castings while reporting directly to the company president.

In 1985, he became Operations Manager of Badger Blasting Products – a subsidiary of Castalloy.  As the Operations Manager, he was responsible for the day to day activities of Badger Blasting.   From 1987 – 1995, he held various positions at Castalloy and its subsidiaries.  Positions which included Manager of Quality and Engineering, Safety Manager and General Manager of another Castalloy subsidiary, Tradesmen Tools.

In his final position at Castalloy, Garry was the Director of Quality and Engineering.

In 2006 Garry left Castalloy to start his own company, North Star Products.  Garry started North Star from nothing and grew it to be a highly reputable and recognized aftermarket parts supplier for the shot blast/surface preparation industry.   While working at North Star, Garry worked with and purchased castings and fabrications from various foundries/manufacturers all over North America.

 

Alliant Castings continues to grow with their recent acquisition of shot blast aftermarket specialists, North Star Products.

(WINONA, MN) — February 3, 2015 — Alliant Castings has acquired North Star Products of Milwaukee, WI. The move allows Alliant to leverage North Star’s expertise in high-quality aftermarket shot blast components for the surface preparation market. North Star also brings extensive shot blast engineering and technical expertise to Alliant Castings — a leader in the manufacturing of abrasion resistant castings.

“We’re excited to have North Star Products join the Alliant Castings family,” commented Tom Renk, President of Alliant Castings. “This acquisition gives us a strong foundation to offer the best after-market parts for the surface preparation industry.”

According to Renk, North Star’s founder, Garry Schmidt, will serve as Alliant’s Vice President of Quality & Engineering. Schmidt brings over three decades of abrasion resistant casting engineering and quality experience to the position. “Garry is uniquely qualified to understand Alliant’s customer base and their quality and engineering needs. We’re excited to have him aboard,” said Renk.

About Alliant Castings
Alliant Castings manufactures abrasion and impact resistant castings. Our custom-produced castings are manufactured for extreme environments. Applying the latest technologies, we create proprietary materials to meet our customers most demanding specifications.

With over 125 years’ experience in wear cast parts, we take pride in delivering intelligent solutions at a competitive price, with shorter lead times and exceptional customer service.

For more information on Alliant Castings call 1.800.657.4832.

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When the going gets rough, you need tough parts. Castings that are stronger, tougher and last longer. You need CADI.  CADI is a material that uses a matrix of ausferrite, carbides and nodular graphite to add strength and wear resistance to ductile iron parts. The result is an alternative to conventional steel and iron parts.

The Stronger Solution

CADI has many advantages:

• A superior engineered iron with longer life
• Tougher and less expensive than high chrome white iron
• Can replace manganese steel at an equal or lower cost
• More wear-resistant than Grade 5 Austempered Ductile Iron

Tough to Beat in A Variety of Applications

Applications requiring longer-lasting parts can benefit from CADI.  Product possibilities included a variety of applications:

• Agricultural equipment
• Off-highway vehicles
• Construction and mining
• General industrial/material handing/ground engaging

To learn more about CADI and Alliant Castings, please call Dave Ladow at 1-352-237-1801