50th Anniversary Article

July 2007
50 Years of Excellence &
Innovation from Rimrock
th
50
Anniversary
50 Years
of Excellence and Innovation from Rimrock
Rachel K. Iannarino
We all know that there have been many changes to
automation technology throughout the years. However,
Rimrock Corporation has persevered and remains a
reliable, constant staple in this ever-changing industrial
environment. Rimrock, headquartered in Columbus, OH,
is celebrating its 50th anniversary and boasts a rich and
innovative history that has helped to shape the way automation is used in die casting plants today.
The vision for superior customer service and a rugged
product line began in 1956 as a family-owned company
known then as Columbus Automatic Lubrication Company (CALCO). Founded by Franz Stone, CALCO supplied
spray equipment to foundries, glass and rubber molders and
extruders. In 1962, CALCO changed its name to Rimrock
as a tribute to Franz’s grandfather who was nicknamed
“Rimrock” due to his love of geology and the Grand Canyon. The name is also a play on words honoring the founding family’s last name of Stone or “Rock.”
technology that has one of the world’s largest installed base
of industrial robots.
“At that time, Rimrock management saw an opportunity to provide a product line extension to their portfolio.
Over time, Rimrock has gained the expertise to supply
robotic systems for material handling, die spray, ladling and
finishing. Rimrock robot sales have likewise grown steadily
over the years of cooperation with ABB in the die cast and
foundry segment,” said Doug Niebruegge, segment manager of plastics and foundry, Robotics Division of ABB Inc.
Presently, Rimrock is a strategic partner with ABB, which
is the highest level of the ABB partner program and is based
on unit sales and industry focus by the partner. According
to Niebruegge, a strategic relationship means more than just
selling a significant amount of robots every year. It involves
a collaboration to position both companies for long-term
success, which is achieved by researching and developing new
products, market penetration and global expansion.
Another major development throughout Rimrock’s rich
history was reached in 2003 when Rimrock purchased ABB’s
New Berlin, WI, division and Wolf Robotics. Rimrock’s New
Berlin office provides expertise in material removal, machine
tending and material handling. Wolf Robotics, formerly ABB’s
welding division, has installed more than 6,000 welding and
cutting robots in North America over the past three decades.
Original Employees of CALCO
By 1969, Rimrock had begun to immerge itself within
the die cast business and has maintained a strong reputation
within the industry ever since. That same year, Dave Ryan
joined the growing company and was promoted to president
in 1984 prior to purchasing the evolving organization in 1991.
Under Ryan’s leadership and foresight, Rimrock continued to
grow and explore the innovative world of automation.
“When I joined the company, we only made industrial
spraying equipment and started to look at growing the automation business after 1971. At that time, we focused on
the die casting industry and learned all that we could about
the process. We worked hard on servicing the customer and
standing behind our products, and we built a reputation of
honesty, integrity and commitment,” said Ryan.
Rimrock began developing its own line of automated products in 1974 when it introduced its first ladler and extractor.
The company presently continues to research and develop new
products to meet with today’s industrial demands. The Rimrock line of products today ranges from multiple ladlers and
extractors to several reciprocators and various spray equipment.
In the early 1990s, Rimrock became a pioneer in robotic
collaboration with ABB, a leader in power and automation
54/DIE CASTING ENGINEER 1July 2007
The Rimrock Corporation Staff
In July of 2004, Rimrock again forged a new partnership
with Austrian-based Fill, one of the worldwide leaders in machinery and plant production solutions for the foundry industry.
Fill’s popular Swingmaster sm3 is among the expanded product
line that is proven for superior decoring performance and flexibility, while reducing investment and maintenance costs.
Rimrock values partnerships and research and development opportunities to remain on the cutting edge of
technology, but how does this translate into real world
results? As global competition continues to increase, North
American die casters are being asked to provide higher
quality castings at lower prices. In order to remain stable in
this aggressive economy, the need for automating production processes is proving critical to industry competitiveness
according to many of today’s successful plants.
“We understand our customer’s needs and requirements
better than our competition. Rimrock has the best and most
experienced application expertise in the business to provide
www.diecasting.org/dce
the most innovative automation solutions to our customers,”
said Mike Gaby, general manager of Rimrock Corporation.
“There is nothing more frustrating than a supplier not understanding their customer’s process. It is imperative as we move
into new markets that we understand our customer’s ‘pain.’
To have this understanding, we acquired supremely talented
individuals with specific industry knowledge and experience.”
“Rimrock has designed flexible automation cells that can
handle multiple products. The timing of this new technology
could not be better as we are quoting many of the new products at lower volumes,” said Tom Johnson, president of Ryobi
Die Casting. “We are mainly in the automotive market, and
with all of the transplants and Detroit Three fighting for the
same consumer, the volumes are no longer huge as in the past.”
Ryobi, located in Shelbyville, IN, is one of the largest
independent die casters in the world with 2006 sales totaling $205 million. With 43 die casting machines ranging
from 500 tons up to 3,500 tons and 650 employees, the die
caster supplies various parts, including cylinder blocks and
transmission cases to the automobile industry.
Johnson maintains the cost-saving aspect of the automation technology he has purchased from Rimrock. Currently,
Ryobi has four Flex Cells running nine different products.
Using their old debur method with dedicated cells, the die
caster would have purchased at least six debur cells and
used manual deburring for the lower volume products.
“We saved two extra debur cells at $1.5 million each,
plus we saved at least six operators or $240,000. This means
that on an annual basis we are saving at least $540,000 per
year in labor and depreciation costs,” Johnson explained.
www.diecasting.org/dce
Cost savings and innovative products are significant
achievements, but a company cannot remain successful for
half of a century without an intimate knowledge of its customer base and superior customer service. One constant that
has remained throughout Rimrock’s rich history is a commitment to the customer and providing exemplary service.
“I was always very proud to be known as the owner of Rimrock because of the excellent reputation that the company had in
the industry, but mostly because of the very fine people at Rimrock and their efforts to always do the right thing,” said Ryan.
“From my point of view, Rimrock should be very proud
of their history and development,” said Niebrueggue. “I
knew the founder of [Rimrock] and the values he established as a basis for business over his tenure: the customer
and the employees. I find it refreshing that these attitudes
have stayed with the company through the years. ABB is
proud to have an alliance with Rimrock Corporation.”
“Our employees are hardworking, dedicated, loyal, and
smart. We have so many people who celebrate 20- and
30-year anniversaries monthly,” said Gaby. “We have seen
many competitors come and go over the last 50 years,
while Rimrock remained strong within the automation
industry. I think this speaks volumes about the quality
people both past and present who have made our company
a long-term successful operation.”
Congratulations on 50 years of success and many more to
come, Rimrock! You’ve earned it!
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Rachel K. Iannarino is a freelance writer who resides in Blacklick, OH.
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