We want to clear up any uncertainty you may have heard: Effort Foundry is open, operating, and here for the long term. We are not closing. Our furnaces are running, and we remain fully committed to the customers we serve. We have purchased 7 acres and existing facilities nearby and will be expanding our pattern storage, machining, and NDT capabilities; that is growth.
Over the past several months, some of you have seen longer lead times from us than usual. The reason is straightforward. We have been working through a comprehensive electric boat audit, which led us to deliberately hold back shipments to prevent findings from propagating downstream, particularly for our Military and Nuclear customers. This was a detailed review of our processes, documentation, and quality controls, and that work took considerable time and resources, which slowed down our production and pushed out some delivery dates for customers affected by the audit.
This was a demanding process, but not a sign of financial trouble, and never a step toward closing. If anything, it reinforces the quality standards our customers count on.
We are now in the final stages of the audit and expect to be fully clear of it shortly. Electric Boat has repeatedly committed to reinstating Effort to their ASL upon closure of the CARs. Capacity is returning to normal, we are working down the order backlog, and lead times are recovering.
We also carried out an operational reduction in force in May. This came down to one thing: we resolved our quality issues after moving to ceramic sand. We had previously added staff to manage the rework of those issues created, and with quality improved, we found ourselves overstaffed in some manufacturing areas. At the same time, we reevaluated our sales approach, focusing on internal sales support and making some difficult decisions about our sales rep structure. These steps may look like signs of distress, but they are the opposite: the result of real improvements that leave the team leaner, more focused, and operating at full capacity.
We appreciate your patience and your business through this period, and we are committed to making up the lost time and delivering the quality and reliability you count on from us.
If you have questions about a specific order, quote, or delivery date, please contact your usual point of contact at Effort Foundry. We are glad to give you a clear answer.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
Sincerely,
Thomas J Goike
President
