New product development, exports, reshoring and conversions are the primary ways to fuel the growth of metalcasting markets. AFS works aggressively to help member foundries succeed in each of these areas.
Reshoring involves bringing work from Asia, Europe and other offshore places back here. AFS is a strong advocate of reshoring, and devoted the keynote address of the 2017 Metalcasting Congress to this topic, with Reshoring Initiative Founder Harry Moser delivering the address. Moser also delivered a reshoring workshop at CastExpo 2022 in Columbus, Ohio.
There are many resources available to foundries, and their customers, who wish to evaluate the economic benefits of reshoring. One of them is the Total Cost of Ownership Estimator.
Total Cost of Ownership Estimator
According to The Reshoring Initiative, most companies make sourcing decisions based solely on price, oftentimes resulting in a 20-30% miscalculation of actual offshoring costs! The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator is a free online tool that helps companies account for all relevant factors — overhead, balance sheet, risks, corporate strategy and other external and internal business considerations — to determine the true total cost of ownership. Using this information, companies can better evaluate sourcing, identify alternatives and even make a case when selling against offshore competitors.
Video: Using Total Cost of Ownership to Buy and Sell Castings Smarter
Most companies make sourcing decisions based solely on price, often resulting in a 20% to 30% miscalculation of actual offshoring costs. In this video, Harry Moser shows how buyers can use “total cost of ownership” to account for all relevant factors, including overhead, balance sheet, risks, corporate strategy, and other external and internal business considerations that affect true cost.
Recorded at CastExpo 2022 on Sunday, April 24th, 2022.
Main Reshoring Library
Another valuable resource is the Main Reshoring Library, which includes more than 4,300 articles on reshoring. It can be found here. Government articles, popular media articles, case studies, survey results and more can be found here. An advanced search helps you find materials quickly.
Modern Casting Reshoring Feature
In August 2017, Modern Casting highlighted the successful reshoring efforts of Osco Industries, an AFS Corporate Member that has experienced success in reshoring.
Why Reshore?
Here are the top business reasons companies reshore:
- Lead time improvement
- Higher product quality and consistency
- Rising offshore wages
- Skilled workforce
- Freight costs
- Lower inventory levels, better turns
- Better responsiveness to changing customer demands
- Minimal intellectual property and regulatory compliance risks
- Improved innovation and product differentiation
- Local tax incentives
For Reshoring Guidance and Assistance
Above and beyond the many resources on the Reshoring Initiative website, their staff can be reached at: 847-726-2975 or info@reshorenow.org.