Albion’s Caster Concepts secures contract to produce casters and wheels for Ford

By Caitlin Schneider
Jackson Citizen Patriot
Thursday July 23, 2009, 2:22 PM

Some Ford employees will soon experience a little more peace and quiet on the job thanks to products made in Albion.

Caster Concepts was selected by Ford to produce casters and wheels for delivery carts at an assembly plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

The contract is worth just under $250,000.

The CasterShoX line boasts a quieter performance and easy handling. The newly equipped carts are expected to reduce cart noise in the plant by 15 decibels, which is “very significant,” said Dr. Elmer Lee, the project manager for CasterShoX.

“OSHA (U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration) says 3 decibels is significant, and we’re doing five times that,” he said.

Lee said the CasterShoX casters improve ergonomic pull tests on the carts by 20 percent, reducing strain for the workers moving them.

He said manufacturers often attempt to achieve shock absorption with a softer wheel, but those are harder to pull. CasterShoX products, Lee said, are unique because the offer shock absorption while retaining qualities that make for easy mobility. They will be on carts used in every station in the plant.

Ford Cuautitlan Assembly Plant, located near Mexico City, will produce the Ford Fiesta. The new model will appear in the U.S. in 2010.

Caster Concepts has worked with the automaker before, and has also produced for Honda, Toyota and The Boeing Co.