AFS Corporate Member Howell Foundry carved out a distinct niche in the metalcasting industry by specializing in fast-turn, high-complexity steel castings for customers who can’t afford to wait. Whether it’s a decades-old pump impeller or a custom architectural accent, Howell’s team of technically advanced craftsmen delivers precision and speed they say few others can match. 
One of the company’s most significant recent investments was the installation of a thermal sand reclamation system, part of a broader expansion plan aimed at reducing reliance on external suppliers and enhancing process predictability—with the added benefit of improving the impact on the environment. 

The investment reflects Howell’s forward-looking approach to technology, one of the things that attracted JB Shoaf, who now serves as the company’s president. In this interview, Shoaf shares insights on the company’s growth, its evolving capabilities, and the strategic thinking behind its latest investments.

Casting Source: Tell me about how you got into this industry and ended up at Howell. 

JB Shoaf: In 1995 up in Washington state, I was working as a grinder at a foundry while going to college. I worked my way up through the ranks and eventually became a plant manager of what had, by that time, become a corporation of foundries. The corporation was based in Australia but had facilities in the U.S., Canada, China, Malaysia, and Mexico. 

When the mining industry crashed in 2014, they shut down several sites and tried to consolidate. At that time, I wasn’t interested in going to any of the facilities they offered, so I opted to go to south Louisiana and talk with a guy who was getting into 3D printing of molds and using solid modeling. We worked out a deal, and I transferred to Howell Foundry.

CS: Last year, Howell made a significant investment in a thermal sand reclamation system. What prompted that decision?

Shoaf: Everyone is trying to eliminate as many externally reliant processes and products in their system as possible. For us, the biggest one is the sand itself. When you’re solely reliant on one or two vendors for a major portion of your process and raw material supply, it’s risky. You’re at the mercy of their prices and lead times. You can’t be as competitive as you would be if you at least knew your fate. 

We determined that, because sand was so volatile in terms of lead time and price, it was incumbent upon us to invest in a way to recycle it—not only for commercial reasons but also for environmental impact. We were buying 20,000 lbs. of sand every three weeks and throwing away 20,000 lbs. every three weeks. Obviously, that’s not great for the environment. If there’s a way to reuse some or most of that sand, it’s better for the environment, lowers costs, and makes your process more predictable.

CS: How has the first year gone with the system?

Shoaf: It’s gone very well. Obviously, there was a learning curve, most of it self-inflicted. This is a very large, expensive, and complicated piece of equipment. We had to learn the need and feed of it, what to watch for, and what triggers downstream difficulties. Those little tricks come with every piece of equipment. It’s on pace to do what we thought it would do—maybe even a little better.

CS: Can you elaborate on some of the learning curve challenges?

Shoaf: A lot of it was troubleshooting. When alarms go off, the system might say it’s over-temp or there’s a fault, but it won’t always give you an exact location. Often times you have to pinpoint where that occurred. So we had to learn the order in which to go after those codes—where to go first, second, third. Learning the most likely culprits down to the least likely was one challenge. 
The second was monitoring the sand. When the system was set up, we told them how we wanted it to filter and what we wanted it to yield for the printer—grain fineness, LOIs, ADV values, permeability. You test and verify that it’s meeting those requirements, but you have to continue monitoring to ensure those parameters stay in line. We started having issues with the printer and were chasing our tails, thinking it was the printer, when in fact our sand was drifting and needed correction.

The system has helped reduce our sand loss from 95% down to 5%.

CS: Do you have any other major investments coming up?

Shoaf: Yes. The sand reclamation system was Phase 1 of a three-phase expansion plan. Phase 2 will be the addition of a new admin building and a manufacturing facility that will house at least one, possibly two more printers. Those printers need roughly a 20-ft. by 50 ft. room. If you can envision a desktop printer, multiply that by 300—that’s what you have.

CS: Tell me a little bit more about Howell Foundry and the types of work it takes on.

Shoaf: Howell Foundry is a fast-response center for low-volume steel castings. We serve casting purchasers who don’t have another option within their time frame. We’re very specialized, with very skilled craftsmen. The people here are highly technically advanced from metallurgical, engineering, and operational standpoints. We take a lot of pride in doing things others can’t.

For example, we’ve had companies come to us that had something like a water pump supplying cooling systems to a plant go down. When the pump goes down, those people are sent home. Working through OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] we’ve been tasked with remaking a component of a pump and getting it back in service quickly. 

One customer couldn’t get a replacement impeller inside of four weeks. They brought it to us on a Friday; we got them a new impeller on Monday.

CS: Are there dominant customer segments for Howell’s services?

Shoaf: Pump rebuilding and repair. Some of these pumps are old and outdated—cooling pumps, chemical plants, energy, oil and gas. We’ve got a pump out there now that’s been in service since the ’50s. If the choice is to buy a whole new pump for a huge amount of money and wait a year and a half or repair a few pieces and get it back in service in a couple of weeks to a month, that’s an easy choice for most of our customers.

But we’re not limited to pumps. We’re getting into valves and ornamental items. We just did a project for the state of Louisiana’s Supreme Court building. They had old cast iron accent pieces on their Department of Education building that had broken. We scanned them with a 3D scanner, replicated what they had, and cast new ones. So we’re also getting into some artwork.

CS: What kind of technology enables that level of precision?

Shoaf: Our process is very accurate. We use a 3D laser scanner that can scan almost any object. We have a spectrometer that analyzes the material and determines the chemical composition of the alloy. That lets us replicate the exact same alloy or modify it to make it more robust or longer lasting. Customers can also modify their design to make walls thicker or improve performance. They have that freedom to optimize quickly.

We have our niche, and we’re focused on modernization, like AI, and how it’s going to affect our segment—fast-turn, high-quality castings. We stay close to that. 

CS: What’s your outlook for the year ahead?

Shoaf: I think our outlook’s pretty positive. During COVID, there were a lot of projects—what we call turnarounds—that were placed on hold or delayed. There was hesitation on a lot of projects over the last three years that are now starting to gain momentum. We’re optimistic that those projects are going to be breaking free in the next year.