[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 6918]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING NEW ENGLAND CASTINGS, LLC

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, the manufacturing sector of our 
Nation's economy is facing incredible hardships that are only amplified 
by the global economic downturn. In fact, Maine's manufacturing 
industry has shed an alarming 23,600 jobs in the past 10 years, which 
represents nearly 30 percent of the State's manufacturing employment. 
Despite these challenges, some manufacturers, like New England 
Castings, the company I rise today to recognize, have been able to 
adapt, expand, and succeed.
  Founded in 1985, New England Castings is an investment casting 
foundry located in the western Maine town of Hiram. Considered the most 
ancient form of metal casting, investment casting allows the firm to 
specialize in producing specific castings that many conventional shops 
often find too difficult or intricate to fill. New England Castings 
prides itself on the timely creation of prototypes for customers to 
review, allowing it to produce customers' orders in a shorter 
timeframe. The firm was certified as a historically underutilized 
business zone, or HUBZone, business in 2002, allowing it access to a 
wide variety of Federal contracting opportunities. The HUBZone program, 
managed by the Small Business Administration, assists small firms in 
rural and disadvantaged areas in attracting contracts to benefit their 
businesses and grow their companies.
  Castings, which are the solidified materials made after pouring a 
liquid into a mold, have a number of practical uses, and New England 
Castings' work is easily suited to supply a number of diverse 
industries. From medical and dental instruments to gas turbine 
components, New England Castings' products run the gamut from small to 
large, slim to heavy. For instance, New England Castings can provide 
sturdy turbine powered tank combustor cover assemblies for Abrams M1 
tanks, or more delicate window latches or sconces for architects 
seeking to beautify their buildings. The company's more innovative 
pieces can be seen at Carnegie Hall in New York City and the 
Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
  Although times are difficult for most small businesses, manufacturers 
have been hit particularly hard by a confluence of challenges, 
including foreign competition, finding skilled workers, and rising 
energy costs. But to remain competitive, New England Castings had to 
transform the way it operated, and followed through by improving its 
practices and becoming a leaner company with increased productivity.
  Seeking to secure a major contract to supply components to a railroad 
hardware manufacturer, New England Castings' president and owner, 
Walter Butler, decided that his company needed to become more efficient 
to earn the contract. After working with the Maine manufacturing 
extension partnership, MEP, a public-private partnership that assists 
small and medium manufacturers, New England Castings was able to double 
its sales, maximize the productivity of its workspace, and add 13 new 
employees.
  As cochair of the Senate Task Force on Manufacturing, it is 
heartening to see small manufacturers like New England Castings utilize 
the tremendous resources that the MEP has to offer, and I am certain 
that the company will continue to benefit for years to come from the 
training and advice it has received. I congratulate Walter Butler and 
everyone at New England Castings for their dedication to creating 
quality products, and extend my best wishes for a productive and 
successful year.

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