Since 1952, the Cleveland Ford Casting plant has been building cast iron parts for Ford cars and trucks. But cast iron isn't exactly the hottest trend in the automotive industry anymore - it's heavy, but brittle, and has been largely replaced by aluminum. And that makes contracts for new work at older plants hard to find. Tim Levandusky is the president of Brook Park's United Auto Workers local1250.
Tim Levandusky: In our casting plant for 17 years, we bid on work and did not get it. Why? We weren't competitive with other countries and companies. So we knew we had to change that trend. Its either shut down or change and become competitive and build the business again.
Levandusky hopes the plant's salvation lies in a metal called Compacted Graphite Cast Iron, or CGI. CGI is 75% stronger than cast iron and cheaper than aluminum - its also the material of choice for diesel engine blocks. Doru Stefanescu is an expert on CGI at Ohio State University. He says new cleaner diesel fuel now on the market will pave the way for more diesel cars.
Doru Stefanescu: We're going to see a higher trend of cars with diesel engines and the only material today that can satisfy those requirements for motor blocks is compacted graphite iron.
So last year, Cleveland casting plant workers started learning about new technology made by Swedish firm Sintercast to help them learn how to produce the high tech metal. The union also renegotiated work rules, giving up the demand that workers who retire had to be replaced. All changes Levandusky says are vital to the plants' survival.
Tim Levandusky: Our agreements put us in that competitive place so by 2009 we can bid on blocks and we know that the future of the casting plant is diesel - diesel technology, the biofuels, so we feel that in order for us to get that work we had to put ourselves in that kind of competition.
Levandusky says Ford's buyout and early retirement plan speeds up union efforts to improve efficiency. But there's no guarantee a streamlined and tech savvy work force will win the casting plant any work - especially when Ford is in the midst of a massive effort to cut costs. But Levandusky remains optimistic.
Tim Levandusky: We believe that diesel is coming to the United States especially with the the cost of fuel and we want to put ourselves in a position that once that technology hits we're ready to get jobs out of it.
Ford management declined to talk about any future plans and has no promises for future work. Right now, Ford only produces CGI blocks in Brazil, and those are for diesel engine cars headed to Europe. I'm Mhari Saito, 90.3.