Two senior managers have purchased Shellcast Inc., a precision investment casting company in Montague, MI. Shellcast president Bob Johnson and vice president/CFO Laura Castonia acquired the business and all its assets from Ellie Krause, and will continue to operate the foundry under its current name.

Shellcast specializes in small- to medium-sized castings in stainless steels, high- and low-carbon steels, iron, and Inconel, for aerospace and defense manufacturing. It also offers multiple prototyping capabilities, tooling design and manufacturing, CNC machining, and NDT capabilities to its customers.

Shellcast was established in 1961 by Gerry Krause, who set in motion a succession plan prior to his retirement. “His thoughts were to assemble a team of professionals that had the technical knowledge and business experience necessary to carry the company forward in his absence,” according to a company statement. “Since 2006, the management team demonstrated that the company could continue on while he was away and he began the process of systematically handing over control.”

Johnson and Castonia have been running the company since late 2009, and they began the acquisition process through a holding company, JC Acquisition, after Krause’s death in November 2010.

Johnson brings over 30 years of metalcasting experience, notably investment casting with Golden State Castings, PAC Foundries, Howmet Corporation, and Teledyne Cast Products; but also including engineering, machining, quality assurance, project management, and sales-and-marketing skills. He was the vice president – Sales and co-owner of an aluminum diecasting operation for several years. 

Johnson is a co-holder of two U.S. patents for permanent mold casting of titanium and nickel-based super alloys, and Shellcast’s announcement emphasized he is committed to process improvement: he “has been the driving force behind the company’s recent certification to the ISO-9001:2008 AS-9100 quality standard,” it stated.

Castonia has more than 25 years of corporate management experience, particularly in the tooling market, but with expertise in accounting, human resources, purchasing, and 401k administration. She joined Shellcast nine years ago, and for the past six years she has been vice president - Operations and a director of the corporation.

The partners expressed determination to continuing the legacy of Shellcast and a commitment to “systematically growing the company,” according to the release.
 

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