The Melt Shop is at the heart of a foundry. Mark Cuevas leads the team that melts in our 3 Mahima Induction Technology furnaces. Each furnace is dedicated to a particular alloy, and the Melt Shop team is versed in the Quality Assurance requirements of each. This includes performing all of the temperature testing using our optical and dipstick pyrometers, the solidus and liquidus testing on our Heraeus Electro-Nite CE Meter, as well as, our Spectrometer testing in our melt laboratory. Mark developed his expertise through his years of on-the-job development, first as a pourer, then as a melter, and now as the Melt Shop Supervisor. His natural leadership and his nerves of steel make him ideal for this role as the high pressure work environment requires a strong character to master these technical skills.

Sand quality is integral to a good green sand mold. METERCOR has a complete sand laboratory using equipment from Alkempt of Taiwan to conduct regular testing of the Green Sand Strength, Moisture, Compactability, Loss on Ignition and Permeability. Richard Santos is our sand man. He runs GS1, our green sand team, and he is responsible for the Quality Assurance of each mold we produce. Richard started his career at Metercor 10 years ago as a molder and is now Supervisor of the whole team. His strong personality and commitment to getting the job done has won the trust of management. Richard is a hands-on leader that reacts immediately to problems. The Mitsubishi automotive production line depends upon a very low reject rate, so quick adjustments to moisture or green sand strength are critical to address any defects before they become a problem in production.

Once a casting solidifies, all of the Quality Assurance work performed by Joseph, Mark and Richard are put to the test and Charles Rumbines becomes the man of the hour. Any defects or rejects identified once the mold is removed from the casting are compiled and analyzed by him as part of In Process Inspection. By inspecting the gating systems and segregating quality castings from rejects Charles represents an important goal post in the production process. It is critical that we identify defects as soon as possible so that production can be informed of any problems that arise unexpectedly. Together with defects specialist Apol DeGuia, a Corrective Action Report is prepared to address any changes that need to be made so that the defects don't multiply further. Charles started with us in 2006 and came to us with no previous foundry experience but is now an indispensable part of our quality management system.

METERCOR operates a full Heat Treatment facility for the annealing of our glass molds. The annealing process is critical to glass mold production as it ensures the proper function of the mold as it forms the bottles in a glass plant. A glass mold's ability to transfer heat effectively is a product of the Quality Assurance around the chemistry and annealing process. Ed Acero is in charge of this critical operation and he learned his skills over 20 years. Our annealing ovens are equipped with Brainchild sensors and our Quality Control documentation to the client is prepared with the report that these sensors produce, as illustrated by an annealing curve. Ed finished secondary education but has learned to perform all these tasks to excellence through years of training and hard work.

Once a casting leaves the foundry it enters the Bay 1 for any finishing it requires. This is the realm of Quality Control; the casting has been made and now we need to ensure all specifications are to standard. The casting undergoes a variety of operations in the Machine Shop, depending upon its final application. At METERCOR, our Machine Shop is designed for high volume automotive production and we utilitze a variety of dedicated in-line CNCs for this. Several of our machines, however, perform specialty operations such as our Koyo Double Disc Grinder, Mazak 6300, Mazak AJV and our Cincinnati Internal Grinder. Delio Lagumbay has mastered the programming, maintenance and operation of all these machines. Delio lives nearby and this serves him and the company well as we rely upon his expertise at all hours of the day and night. Delio has worked with us for over 20 years and learned his machine programming skills entirely in house.

Most of the castings we produce require 100% inspection due to their fail safe application as OEM safety equipment as the brakes on your L-300. We use our Mitutoyo CMM to verify the accuracy our jigs and fixtures that the operators use in securing 100% product dimensional accuracy. Joper Matanguihan is the Supervisor managing the quality chain that starts at In-Process-Inspection and finishes at the Endline Inspection right before the product goes to the Finished Goods Warehouse for Just-in-Time delivery to the customer. Joper started in the pattern shop and has progressed steadily assuming responsibility along the way. Now he is one of our most effective leaders and ensures the reliability of all of our products. After Joper's team confirms all of the technical specifications he issues the METERCOR Mill Certificate that accompanies each delivery to the customer and allows for product tracing reliability.