Conveyor Concepts, a new addition to Caster Concepts lineup

ALBION, Mich. (May 1, 2012) - Caster Concepts, Inc., manufacturer of heavy duty industrial casters and wheels, is pleased announce today the addition of Conveyor Concepts to its family of businesses. Conveyor Concepts manufactures specialized components for the conveyor industry, including: conveyor rollers, drive assemblies, polyurethane wheels and many other related products.

Built on Caster Concepts' custom manufacturing experience, Conveyor Concepts provides conveyor manufacturers and OEM designers quality subassemblies with short lead times.

"I am very excited about this new product group," said President and CEO Dr. William Dobbins. "If you understand the core competencies of this unique business you will understand our move. We have 25 years of expertise in polyurethane, precision machining, fabrication and engineering - all working together to produce a product or solve a problem."

However, the conveyor industry is not new for Caster Concepts, as it has provided products for bulk conveyors, automotive manufacturers and highly specialized custom conveyors for years. The company also has experience re-engineering failing components in heavy industry to prevent premature failure and extend cycle life. “In our experience, the demands on these conveyor systems are predictable, and using finite element analysis and advanced engineering there are opportunities for all involved,” stated Dr. Elmer Lee Director of Conceptual Innovations, the engineering arm for Conveyor Concepts.

Conveyor Concepts, meeting today’s needs in tomorrow's time frame…

Caster Concepts, beyond standard solutions

Caster Concepts designs and builds industrial casters and wheels for virtually any application. ISO 9001-2008 certified, we manufacture heavy duty products to withstand impact, corrosion, temperature extremes and industrial chemical environments. Our multi-functional casters and wheels provide solutions in industrial, automotive, food service, aerospace, material handling and many other demanding markets.

For further information on the entire family of Caster Concepts companies – Reaction Industries,  The Machine Center, Fabricating Concepts, Triple E Manufacturing, Conceptual Innovations, Conveyor Concepts and CasterShoX, call 517-629-8838 or visit www.casterconcepts.com.

Caster Concepts to Join Jackson Area Manufacturers Association Display

ALBION, Mich. (Feb. 15, 2012)- Caster Concepts Inc., an industrial caster and wheel manufacturer, will be one of several area manufacturers to have products displayed at the Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Jackson Area Manufacturers Association (JAMA). The products will be on available to view from Feb. 14 to April 14.

Caster Concepts Adds Three to Engineering Team

Chomic, Harden and La Rue join CCI engineering staff.

ALBION, Mich. (Feb. 13, 2012)- Caster Concepts Inc., an industrial caster and wheel manufacturer, is pleased to announce the new additions of Brian Chomic, Alex Harden and Jason La Rue to its engineering staff. Chomic and La Rue each come to CCI with a combined 22 years of engineering experience, while Harden, who has been with the company in a part-time role for the past eight years, is a recent graduate from Northern Michigan University.

Baker Named Director of Marketing at Caster Concepts

ALBION, Mich. (Dec. 5, 2011) - Caster Concepts, Inc. (CCI), an industrial caster and wheel manufacturer, has announced the addition of Vince Baker as its new Director of Marketing. Baker joins CCI after spending the last three years at Michigan State University as the media contact for the nationally ranked women's volleyball, softball, gymnastics, cross country and track & field programs.

Caster Concepts Implements Finite Analysis Software into the Design of Special Casters 

(Albion, Michigan) – Caster Concepts, Inc., CCI a domestic manufacturer of custom, special and standard industrial casters, has once again gone “beyond standard” to deliver value to their customers.  Caster Concepts has SolidWorks as its 3-D design platform and has recently added to their capabilities with Finite Element Analysis Software.  FEA can virtually create and design casters, and simulate real world situations that the caster may be exposed to.  This combination of software will allow CCI to cater to the special needs of their customers, address challenging situations, while reducing lead time.

 (Albion, Michigan) – April, 15 2011 – Thanks to the support and generosity of Caster Concepts, Inc you can visit Kids ‘N’ Stuff Children’s Museum on Thursday, April 28th from 1 pm – 7 pm and enjoy free admission for everyone in your family. This is a great opportunity for everyone to visit the museum whether this is your first time or you come on a regular basis. Since beginning the free day programs Kids ‘N’ Stuff has welcomed over 2600 guests during those days. We could not have done this without the support of area businesses like Caster Concepts, Inc.

Orchestrating the move into Brockman Hall

Complex lab equipment moved intact to minimize downtime

BY JADE BOYD, Rice News staff

(Albion, Michigan) Dr. William Dobbins, President/CEO of Caster Concepts, Inc., has been appointed to the board of directors of The Enterprise Group of Jackson, Inc (www.enterprisegroup.org). The board is made up of leaders from the public and private sector in Jackson County, Michigan, and the surrounding communities.

(Albion, Michigan) During the annual Caster Concepts Christmas Party on December 11, 2010 President Bill Dobbins recognized four employees for their oustanding service and dedication to Caster Concepts and its family of businesses.  Each year at this annual gathering Caster Concepts recognizes employees who have been with the business for 10 years. 

(Albion, Michigan) Caster Concepts, Inc., an industrial caster and wheel manufacturer, has been chosen as Small Business Government Contractor of the Year by the Jackson County Enterprise Group’s, Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). The award was presented during a special ceremony to the Caster Concepts team on August 27, 2010 by U.S. Representative Mark Schauer.

 (Albion, Michigan) – March 11, 2010 – Caster Concepts, an ISO 9001-2000 certified designer and manufacturer of a comprehensive line of industrial casters, was awarded the contract to build a high performance test dynamometer for the Puget Sound Naval Facility in Bremerton, Washington. The contract calls for Caster Concepts to engineer and manufacture a test dynamometer use to optimize and fine tune the control systems that power a 325 horsepower electric motor.

December 4, 2009 – Albion, Michigan – Caster Concepts, an ISO 9001-2008 certified designer and manufacturer of a comprehensive line of heavy duty industrial casters and wheels, has added Tim Weber as its newest Area Representative. Weber brings more than twenty years of experience and technical expertise to the job and has worked in a consultative sales environment with large and small OEMs, corporations, distributors and industrial users.

(Albion, MI) October 23, 2009 --- A technical paper written by members of Anderson Development Company and Reaction Industries LLC, a division of Caster Concepts,  Inc., won the Best Paper Award in the Fundamentals of Elastomers session at the recent Polyurethanes Conference held in Washington D.C. The conference is sponsored by the Center for the Polyurethane Industry (CPI) and is the largest annual polyurethane conference in North America. The paper entitled “Determining the Stoichiometry of MDI-Based Elastomers using Compression Set and Its Relation to Dynamic Performance” details a method to ensure that MDI polyurethanes are processed to achieve optimal performance.

 (Albion, Michigan) – October 3, 2009 - Reaction Industries LLC of Albion, MI, a leading manufacturer of hot cast polymers and a division of Caster Concepts, Inc. is proud to announce their completion of the Polyurethane Manufacturers Association's Regulatory Compliance Self-Certification program. The Polyurethane Manufacturers Association (PMA) is an organization dedicated to promoting the use of cast elastomer polyurethane by being the industry's information resource for the latest technology, practices, and knowledge. The self-certification program has four levels: Commitment, Compliance, Leadership, and Mentoring.

 (Albion, Michigan) – September 24, 2009 - KIA Motors new facility in West Point, GA is a state of the art automobile manufacturing facility. As one of the most automated facilities in the world, KIA has invested heavily in cutting edge manufacturing equipment that will maximize efficiencies when the plant begins producing the 2011 Kia Sorrento later this year. When you walk through the facility you will see miles of conveyors, and hundreds of robots, and you will have to look closer to the floor to notice one of the most valuable investments KIA made targeted at employee safety.

(Albion, MI) July 22, 2009 --- The Ford Motor Company has chosen Caster Concepts' CasterShoX product line as the specified caster for line delivery carts in the revised Ford Cuautitlán Assembly Plant, located near Mexico City, Mexico, where the automaker will assemble the Ford Fiesta. The CasterShoX product line is a proprietary product designed and manufactured by Caster Concepts.

 (Albion, Michigan) – June 26, 2009 - Ford Motor Company announced on June 22, 2009 that it has chosen the CasterShoX product line as the specified caster for line delivery carts in the revised Ford Cuautitlan Assembly Plant, located near Mexico City in Mexico. The Ford Fiesta is slated to be built in this facility. This is seen as further evidence of Ford’s commitment to worker safety and improving the work environment.

(Albion, Michigan) – February 13, 2009 - At the Annual Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce Awards Ceremony, Caster Concepts Inc. was selected as the Albion Manufacturer of the Year. This an award that is given to a member manufacturing company that best supports the community through job creation, and community involvement.

(Albion, Michigan) – January 28, 2009 - Fabricating Concepts, LLC, a division of Caster Concepts, Inc located in Albion, Michigan announces a manufacturing partnership with Striker Tool for the production of the Striker TS -air operated, post driver.

 (Albion, Michigan) – May 19, 2008 - At an employee meeting in early 2008, Bill Dobbins, the president of Caster Concepts Inc, set forward key objectives for the upcoming year. Key points included continuous improvement goals for the company. Continuous improvement is nothing new in today's modern manufacturing world but while Bill had emphasized the continuous improvement of specific products and processes he also added the continuous improvement of all employees' health. Specifically targeted at that time was nicotine abuse and obesity.

 (Albion, Michigan) – April 17, 2008 - Caster Concepts Inc. has joined with Kettering University to offer engineering internship positions at their Albion, MI location.

 (Albion, Michigan) – March 26, 2008. Mr. Doug Backinger, Product Development Engineer at Caster Concepts, Inc, has been accepted to the University of Michigan College of Engineering to pursue a degree of Master of Engineering in Manufacturing. Doug has also been accepted as an endowed fellow in the world renowned Tauber Institute for Global Operations.

 JAMA Salutes CCI’s Local Growth Strategies That Ensure Global Positioning within Industry

(Albion, Michigan) – January 23, 2008. The Jackson Area Manufacturers Association (JAMA) in Jackson, Michigan recently announced that Caster Concepts, Inc. (CCI), Albion, has been voted their Manufacturer of the Year Award. The award is given in recognition of both success within the industry and contributions to the success of the broader Jackson County Community.

 (Albion, Michigan) – January 2008 - Local manufacturing business, Caster Concepts, Inc. memorializes founder Richard H. Dobbins through the establishment of the Manufacturing Education Fund at the Albion Community Foundation. Richard "Dick" Dobbins was Vice President of Manufacturing at Albion Malleable. He later became President of Albion Industries and worked there until he retired in 1987.

Steps to Certification Further Enhances the Safety of Employees and the Environment.

(Albion, Michigan) – September 20, 2007 - The Polyurethane Manufacturers Association's (PMA) recently announced that Reaction Industries has completed Level III/Leadership of the organization's self certification program. The PMA's self certification program was developed to help members demonstrate their compliance with environmental, health and safety requirements.

Peer Review Award from Conference Members Attending 2007 PMA Meeting and Conference

(Albion, Michigan) – April 25, 2007 - Caster Concepts, Inc. President William Dobbins, M.D., today announced that the technical paper 'Development of a Predictive Failure Model for Polyurethane Treaded Wheels based on Loads and Speeds' was voted the Best Technical Paper Presentation by Polyurethane Manufacturers Association (PMA) conference attendees at the recent April 2007 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The award was announced at the April 17, 2007 Conference closing ceremonies.

Albion, MI – January 26, 2007 - In January 2007, Caster Concepts announced the release of a radically new line of shock absorbing casters. After 2 years of research and development and more than a quarter of a million dollars invested, Caster Concepts launches its line of CasterShoX casters. Base on patented ultra-compact shock absorption technologies, the CasterShoX shock absorption core is entirely contained within the caster wheel, itself. As a result, implementing CasterShoX products is as simple as changing out wheels.

 (Albion, Michigan – January 17, 2007) - Caster Concepts, Inc. located in Albion, MI, announces the purchase of specific assets of Triple E Mfg, Parma Broach and associated product lines. The acquisition was completed on December 28, 2006 and will bring on capabilities including blanchard grinding, centerless grinding, ID/OD grinding, screw machining, high speed broaching and broach machine building.