WAF November Newsletter

ALUMINATIONS

WISCONSIN ALUMINUM FOUNDRY EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER- NOVEMBER 2022

Update from our CEO

Each week we begin our Monday afternoon Leadership Team meeting with an WAF discounts
example of someone who is living out our values. Over the past three years since
we started doing this, we have collected over 150 examples. You may not know it, The A Spa-15% off
but the team has probably talked about you and something great that you did. with code WAF15
Without fail each week, I am heartened and inspired by the stories.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just ahead of us, this is the season of gratitude. Every
morning when I walk into the office, I am grateful for all that you do for this company and
for all our families. Every member of our team plays a unique role in our success. And, boy,
have we had a lot of success. Last year was a record year for us in terms of production and
sales, and I thought it would be hard to beat. This year we are on pace to almost double
what we did last year, which is simply astounding.

We continue to be in a golden moment in our business. Everything is firing on all
cylinders. We have major investments in the works, including the building expansion in
Manitowoc. Our other subsidiaries – Wabash Castings, MP&M, and Dee Manufacturing –
continue to outperform our highest expectations. Even if things slow down next year, we
can be very proud of what we have achieved together this year.

As Bob mentions in his note, we are grateful for Kevin Dimmick’s decades of service to Balance on Buffalo-
WAF. It is certainly a bittersweet moment for us. We are thrilled for him, but we will miss $35.00 massages
him and his expertise dearly. His leadership of our Quality department helped cement our
reputation for producing the best quality aluminum castings. Kevin was a key part of the when you
generation of people at WAF that transformed and modernized our company over the past use code WAF2022
40 years.
Verizon- get up
Even more than the gratitude I feel for what you do at work, I am grateful for how our to 18% off your bill
organization keeps coming closer and closer together. Last week, we had a beautiful WAF
Family Day at Polly’s Pumpkin Patch in Chilton. It was such a pleasure to watch our kids
play together, to enjoy a Sunday afternoon in the warm sunshine, and most of all, to spend
quality time with people from across the company.
Thank you for all you do and for who you are!

Looking to give over the holidays?

Consider giving to Toys for Tots Drive



Drop off box is outside of HR office
Toys must be new in package
Collection da
tes-
11/1/2022- 12/6/2022




wafco.com | Your Trusted Casting Partner Since 1909

F A message from our President, Bob Braun
O
U I am changing my normal article because Sachin picks on me for always
N starting off with some comments on the weather but also thought that
D sharing the story of how this week played out with a specific part and a
R specific customer would be a nice change of pace. Would like to hear
Y feedback from you on whether you want more of my articles written like this or if

I should go back to sharing highlights of specific projects or issues. I am not including
N names or part numbers as it is not relevant to the point that this story is going to try to
E make. So here is the story:
W
S Monday a.m., we received notification from one of our top five customers that they
were going to be a line down if they did not have more product. This casting has daily
demand of 150 parts. We have multiple secondary operations required to provide a
finished part to the customer. Contact was made with our machine shop inquiring as to
the status of completed parts. The shop had not machined any parts for over a week due
to a maintenance issue with their ultrasonic washer that was necessary to meet the
cleanliness requirement of the finished part. They had about 75 machined and their
washer was fixed at about noon on Monday. Processing time to wash part is about 8
minutes. They were unable to machine new parts until all the existing parts were
washed. A conference call with our customer and supplier occurred, the customer
agreed to wash the product at their facility which allowed our machine shop to begin
machining new parts.

Tuesday was more intense. An early morning call involving the high-level
management at both our customer and supplier resulted in very little progress on
finding a solution to restoring inventory at the customer. The machine shop's daily
output due to multiple issues was around 105 parts per day. This was not going to
support the 150 daily consumption. A follow-up call was scheduled for late Tuesday
afternoon with the request that WAF along with our machine shop come up with a plan
to resolve this issue.

Numerous meetings occurred at WAF, some including our supplier during the day
on Tuesday to generate proposals that could resolve this issue. The late afternoon call
shared these options. WAF was holding over 300 parts that were suspect and deemed
unusable by our machine shop as part of their inspection process. Finding a way to
rework these parts was the #1 option to provide our customer with product. The machine
shop was investigating adding Saturday to their schedule along with making sure that
this machining cell was a top priority and ran all three shifts every day. Regarding the
rework of finished parts, WAF had been working directly with the quality team at the
customer with little resolve. During this meeting, it was mandated by WAF that the
correct individuals MUST be at WAF no later than Thursday so that we could be trained
on how to repair the inventory. Our customer agreed and the quality team was
scheduled to arrive at WAF by 6:00 am Thursday. The 2nd action item was to schedule a
meeting at the machine shop including both WAF and our customer to review their
process and look at ways to increase output. This was scheduled for Thursday as well.

wafco.com | Your Trusted Casting Partner Since 1909

A message from our President, Bob Braun

F Thursday summary: WAF had (4) TM trained on the rework process by the customer.
O Rework went very well and the WAF associates learned the technique quickly. The quality
U team from our customer also helped to validate good or bad parts which allowed more
N finished parts to be deemed acceptable. The meeting at the machine shop also addressed
D several issues that were resulting in machined parts passing inspection and ending up as
R returns to WAF rather than usable parts. The primary finding was a new issue with bent
Y castings that had not been detected. A change to the process was made that had the

machine operator inspect raw castings for this bend and not machine those parts. WAF can
N re-heat treat, straighten the part, and send it back to the machine shop to be a sellable part
E vs a scrap machined part. This immediately increased the daily output by 25 pcs.
W
S The day ended with a follow-up conference call with all parties to share the day’s findings.
The success of the rework along with the increased output of the machine shop was great
news and accolades were shared by all. There was a special shipment arranged for Friday
with the hope to have at least 400 parts ready. The shipment ended up having 532 parts.

In summarizing this week’s events, it is not difficult to be a good supplier and have a good
relationship with a customer when things are going well. WAF has many customers that
are almost always happy with our performance and the relationship is strong and requires
very little maintenance. The challenge that we face daily, especially with the delivery issues
of the past year is to manage the customer relationship so that we do not lose business or
even worse than that, an entire customer. The story that I have shared is a typical response
from WAF that happens often that shows we care and will do everything possible to fix an
issue. This reaction doesn’t come from one person. It is a team effort including the entire
organization. I believe it was started by our founding father Abe Schwartz when he started
the foundry back in 1909. I could not be prouder of this attribute engrained in Wisconsin
Aluminum Foundry's culture! It sets us apart from many of our competitors and customers
know and appreciate this.

I want to end this article with a very special salute to Kevin Dimmick who is retiring
after 28 years of service to WAF. I have had the pleasure of working many years with Kevin
and have been part of customer visits with him when quality issues arose. Kevin is always
professional, has great mechanical ability, and understands castings along with foundry
processes. He brings solutions to issues and is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get his
hand dirty to fix a problem. He has been a great mentor to his quality team and to many of
us that work at WAF. Please take a few minutes and give Kevin a warm goodbye. He is
leaving a HUGE pair of shoes to fill. Kevin, I wish you many years of retired life and hope that
you have a chance to travel and enjoy time with your wife Kim along with your family and
friends. Stop back occasionally to say hi and harass us- you are a great man and friend. We
will miss you!

Bob Braun

Just some fall fun from Polly's Pumpkin Patch

wafco.com | Your Trusted Casting Partner Since 1909

Open

Enrollment

November 13 – December 3, 2022

Review benefit choices.


Share options with family.

Mark your calendar.

Mandatory Enrollment Meetings:

November 8 & 9

What Benefits Resources

to
Expect  Medical Insurance Current benefit elections,
 Dental Insurance found on Paycom
You will be asked to log  Vision Insurance 2023 Benefit Guide
in to the Paycom app.  Life/AD&D Summaries of
 Insurance Plan Documents
Find the 2023 benefits  Disability
enrollment notification.  Insurance Human Resources
 Critical Illness Mike Marlyere
Update personal [email protected]
And More!
information and make
elections.

Finalize, sign, and
submit.

Please note: Your benefits will not carry over. You must enroll in benefits to have
insurance next year.

Your Open Enrollment Timeline

11/13
12/3 1/1

Open Enrollment Begins Open Enrollment Ends




Benefits Effective

Thanksgiving

Safety

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so
you can keep an eye on the food.
EMPLOYEE NAME DATE Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it
JOHN HER 2-NOV frequently.
Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and
JEFFREY PORODISH 3-NOV kids should stay 3 feet away.
Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids.
HENRY HARTLAUB 4-NOV The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could
cause serious burns.
TERRY CORZINE 4-NOV Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys,
pocketbooks or bags.
SUE GERING 5-NOV Keep knives out of the reach of children.
Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker,
CHAD MACDONALD 7-NOV plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within
easy reach of a child.
ROBERT JEFFERY 7-NOV Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children
— up high in a locked cabinet.
SAY THAO 8-NOV Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by
DOUGLAS KUBEC 8-NOV pushing the test button.

LILI GOEHRING 8-NOV Month

DENNIS HERRERA 9-NOV

TORREZ

JAMES DAVIS 10-NOV

THOMAS BEHNKE 10-NOV

JOSE PEREZ-LARA 12-NOV

KELLI PETERMAN 16-NOV

DOUGLAS POSEN 18-NOV

KORY RICHARDSON 22-NOV

DAVID SCHULTZ 22-NOV

SAGE KLEIN 25-NOV DART Rate

LILLIAM TORRENTE 26-NOV

MARK PETERMAN 27-NOV

SHAWN MEETZ 29-NOV

wafco.com | Your Trusted Casting Partner Since 1909

Time to move on

After over 28 years of service with WAF, I am finally retiring. During my tenure at WAF, I
have worked in many different areas of the plant starting out in finishing, moving up to
working in the machine shop eventually ending up working in the quality department under
Don Nowitzki. Working in all those different departments allowed me to learn many aspects of
the foundry operation gaining knowledge that helped me greatly in performing my job as a
quality engineer.

My position as Quality Engineer allowed me the opportunity to visit many different
customer and supplier’s facilities. Through these visits, I met and worked with many great
people whom I will remember forever. I will miss those road trips and experiences but hope to
gain more memories as my wife Kim and I travel the country.

Not every experience was always good or fun. I have many memories of customer visits
with unhappy people, but it was all part of the job. I was told once by Pat Finnel (Operations
Manager in the 1990's) that I always had to have the best interest of the foundry in mind. I will
remember those words forever. There are many more stories with Pat that are better shared
with a drink in hand. I also did a lot of traveling with Art Herman (VP of Engineering and Sales
1975-2005). I learned a lot from Art and think of him often.

It is truly amazing to reminisce on what the foundry was when I started working here in
1976 as a high school junior. The comparison of the plant in 1976 to what it has become today is
almost incomprehensible. I cannot imagine what the foundry will look like in another 25 years.
I have worked with many great people here at
WAF over the years and will remember many of you forever.

WAF has been a great place to work and has allowed me to
raise my family and now retire, that is what all of us strive to do.
I feel very blessed to have been a part of the Wisconsin
Aluminum Foundry for the many years that I worked here.

Kevin Dimmick- Quality Director

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Manitowoc Across from the fair grounds
If you have to pay out-of-pocket, why pay more?

No hidden fees. The price includes
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Talk to your doctor
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painless and you don’t need to be a

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wafco.com | Your Trusted Casting Partner Since 1909

Anniversaries

Employee name Hire Date Years of Service
JEFFREY BRAUNEL


3-Nov 43 years

KIM BRENNAN 23-Nov 35 years

JAMES ROBINSON 3-Nov 25 years

CYLE WANEK 15-Nov 23 years

JAMES THEROUX 22-Nov 23 years Veteran’s Day is quickly
approaching and WAF
LILI GOEHRING 5-Nov 15 years would like to thank our

JOSHUA LAROCQUE 1-Nov 12 years Veterans!
If you are a Veteran or
RYNE LEDVINA 28-Nov 11 years currently serving celebrate

BRYAN SEIDL 3-Nov 8 years Veteran’s
NICHOLAS 17-Nov 8 years Day off – PAID!
BEDNAREK 5-Nov 7 years
ASHLEY BAUER 14-Nov 6 years Friday, November 11, 2022
19-Nov 4 years
NATHAN STANGEL Provide HR with a copy of your DD214 for eligibility

JORDAN WINKEL Thank you all
for your service!
TARL POTTS 4-Nov 2 years

CASEY WUENSCH 4-Nov 2 years

JANET BRONSON 29-Nov 1 year

BRENT BUDNIK 3-Nov 1 year

ALAN DAVIS 29-Nov 1 year

JOSH GADZINSKI- 1-Nov 1 year
SMITH 8-Nov 1 year
SANDY MOUA 1-Nov 1 year
22-Nov 1 year
LUIS PEREZ LARA



MATT ROMDENNE

wafco.com | Your Trusted Casting Partner Since 1909

Production Efficiency

Department Department Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Q2-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sept-22 Q3-22
# Name 148.91% 135.65% 151.48% 129.89% 135.12% 127.01% 129.25%
113.60% 111.71% 113.88% 113.96% 120.12% 115.50% 116.43%
60 Core 164.04% 100.64% 99.11% 100.02% 97.04% 96.37% 103.29% 98.31%
88.01% 79.69% 86.31% 80.81% 83.28% 103.04% 88.91%
61 Foundry 115.47% 75.22% 68.40% 78.60% 73.64% 79.25% 70.80% 74.84%
81.44% 82.91% 79.49% 109.06% 85.73% 78.51% 91.64%
62 Permanent 100.12% 71.46% 68.18% 78.85% 80.89% 94.85% 71.79% 82.68%
Mold
109.47% 112.60% 110.87% 113.69% 106.28% 112.35% 111.04%
63 Plant 2 100.41%
77.20% 92.26% 83.84% 87.71% 92.73% 85.13% 89.20%
64 Finishing 87.68% 99.34% 94.90% 102.11% 92.28% 95.16% 96.68% 94.57%

65 Cooker 76.24%

66 Impregnati 91.72%
ng

67 Heat 111.09%
Treating

68 Robotic 80.97%
Finish


Total 109.11%

Gain Share

Q2-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sept-22 Q3-22
$147,386 $44,591 $126,885
Gain share $$ 126.918 $48,729 $33,564 43,146 133.988
pooled
41,892 48,950
Gain share hours

Est/Avg $1.16 $1.16 $0.69 $1.03 $0.95
gainsharing rate

per hour