As we come to the concluding part of the three-part blog, we will discuss more factors that directly contribute to the production lead times in the foundry industry. 

Shortage of Foundry workers

Shortage of skilled labour in the area of manufacturing has been a matter of discussion for decades, with apprenticeship programs gradually withering away, and a lot of young people preferring white-collar jobs resulting in a total dynamic shift over the last two decades. The ongoing COVID pandemic has been successful in aggravating the situation, as it is not an easy task to recover the foundry workers, either lost or furloughed during the recent shutdowns.  With foundries unable to find resources, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to function efficiently, run and manage their processes and operate equipment, further threatening production lead times.

Foundries spanning the industry have been trying out various strategies to rope in new workers, and maintain the existing workforce, including revised wages, flexible work schedules, referral bonuses and improved attendance, among others. We, at VR Foundries, firmly believe that it is our people that always motivate us and keeping the ball rolling. We do not hesitate to provide a potentially rewarding career and other benefits for dedicated individuals. 

Although every foundry would love to operate in a manufacturing realm marked by absolute certainty, an undeniable fact is that production lead times are usually a moving goal post. Now how that figures transpire has a lot to do with you (providing sufficient advance notice, offering a draft model easily translatable to the required casting pattern), to do with us (the capacity of our foundry), and relies on external forces such as labour and demand.

All said and done, we, at VR Foundries, understand for things to normalize, it will take time and when time exceeds expectations, you really deserve to understand everything about it. We truly value the importance of transparency with our clients because trust, quality, and communication form the pillar of any long-term foundry relationship.