Olson Aluminum Castings

What Olson Aluminum Castings does

Olson Aluminum Castings is a family-controlled, custom sand-cast aluminum foundry headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, in continuous operation since 1945. The company produces aluminum castings using multiple molding processes, including a green sand system, air set molding, and a separate nobake casting line, with supporting capability in surface finishing, precision machining, prototype work, and pressure-tight or leak-free castings. Its customer base consists of industrial OEMs and component manufacturers served across more than 18 end-markets, including hydraulics, valves, power tools, instrumentation, electric motors, power transmission, pneumatics, communications, industrial controls, off-road trucks, machine tools, medical, fluid controls, gear boxes, construction, railroad, recreation, and lab equipment.

The business operates a direct, B2B sales model with no indication of distribution or channel partners. Operations are scaled to roughly 100 tons of sand throughput per day and the company is ISO 9001:2015 certified, with a publicly stated 98.5% on-time delivery rate. Production was expanded with a 16,000 square foot facility addition in 2012 that increased capacity by approximately 30% and introduced the nobake line. The firm is privately held and led by President Tad Olson, with functional leadership covering manufacturing (Jason Goodson), engineering (Zac Utsinger), sales (Todd Gaines), HR (Shane Pulgarin), and order management (Tabitha Quirk). No external funding, M&A activity, or AI/automation investments are disclosed in available materials.

Name

Olson Aluminum Castings

Legal name

Olson Aluminum Castings

Website

https://olsonalum.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Olson Aluminum Castings is a family-owned, custom sand-cast aluminum foundry in Rockford, IL, serving industrial OEMs across hydraulics, power transmission, medical, and other sectors with prototype and production castings, finishing, and in-house machining.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Aluminum Castings

NAICS

Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting) (331524)

SIC

Nonferrous Foundries (Castings) (3360)

akta.pro primary industry

Aluminum Casting & Ingot/Billet/Slab Production (IMAKACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Aluminum Value-Added Components (Automotive, Aerospace, Packaging, Building Systems) (IMAKACAM)

Keywords

• Custom aluminum castings
• Sand cast foundry
• Industrial castings
• Prototype castings
• Pressure tight castings

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Aluminum Sand Castings: Custom sand cast aluminum parts produced to customer specifications. Revenue is project-based, derived from individual casting orders ranging from prototype runs to large-scale production. Pricing based on complexity, volume, and specifications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Olson Aluminum Castings is a custom sand cast aluminum foundry that designs and produces industrial-grade, pressure-tight and leak-free aluminum castings with superior machining properties and surface finishes. Offerings are built around green sand (Petro Bond), air set, and Nobake molding processes, in-house T6 heat treatment, and prototype through production runs for industrial manufacturers.

Product overview

Olson Aluminum Castings operates as a custom sand cast foundry offering a unified portfolio of aluminum casting products and services. The core offerings include Air Set Molding, Green Sand System, and Nobake Casting Line for different molding approaches, combined with Pressure Tight & Leak Free Castings, Prototype Castings, Superior Surface Finishes, and Superior Machining capabilities. The company provides in-house heat treatment (T6) and serves diverse industries including hydraulics, valves, power tools, medical, and fluid controls. Founded in 1945 and ISO 9001:2015 certified, the company differentiates through quality controls, short production lead times, and an estimated 98.5% on-time delivery rate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Air Set Molding Chemically bonded sand molding process that produces larger, more complex castings with deeper draws and improved dimensional accuracy compared to green sand molding. Supports both short-run and high-volume production from a few parts to tens of thousands. Targeted at industrial OEMs requiring intricate aluminum casting designs.
• Pressure Tight & Leak Free Castings Industrial-grade aluminum castings engineered with proprietary alloy cleansing and degassing techniques to eliminate porosity, shrinkage, and voids, maintaining structural integrity under demanding fluid or gas pressure without leaking. Designed for hydraulic, pneumatic, and fluid control applications.
• Prototype Castings Prototype casting programs that enable testing of fit, form, and function before full production. Reduces development risks and costs while accelerating time-to-market through partnerships with world-class pattern shops. Used by industrial OEMs and product development teams for new product introduction.
• Superior Surface Finishes Aluminum castings produced using oil-bonded Petro Bond sand for consistent mold compactability and smoother surfaces. Ideal for laboratory equipment, aesthetic parts, enclosures, housings, hand tools, and applications requiring powder coating, anodizing, or plating.
• Superior Machining Precision aluminum casting combined with in-house T6 heat treatment to produce castings with consistent Brinell Hardness (BHN) values, refined grain structure, and defect-free results for superior machinability, extended tool life, and reduced machining costs. Targeted at industrial OEMs that machine cast components downstream.
• Green Sand System Casting Petro-bond green sand molding process featuring continuous sand recycling. Uses approximately 100 tons of sand daily with only 200 lbs of new silica sand required, supporting both routine and complex aluminum castings for industrial customers.
• Nobake Casting Line Nobake casting line using the ALpHASET water-based binder system, which dramatically reduces VOC and HAP emissions compared to petrochemical solvents. Provides an additional molding option alongside green sand and air set molding for industrial customers requiring diverse casting solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.5% on-time delivery rate
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Quaker City Castings: Custom nonferrous sand casting foundry producing aluminum, bronze, and brass castings to customer specifications. Direct peer on sand-cast aluminum industrial work with comparable mid-market customer base.
• Aluminum Castings Company (Alcast): Custom aluminum sand casting producer offering permanent mold, green sand, and air set capabilities for industrial customers. Directly comparable on process breadth and customer overlap.
• Eagle Alloy (EBSCO): Custom aluminum and steel sand casting foundry with machining and heat treatment serving industrial OEM customers. Comparable on integrated foundry-to-finished-component value proposition.
• Le Sueur Incorporated: Custom aluminum sand casting foundry offering green sand and air set molding with in-house heat treatment and machining for industrial customers. Closely mirrors Olson's process mix and value-added service model.
• Gartland Foundry: Custom aluminum sand casting foundry serving industrial customers with green sand and air set molding, similar in size and capability profile to Olson. Competes head-to-head for the same hydraulics, pneumatics, and fluid-control OEM RFQs.
• Benton Foundry: Custom aluminum and bronze sand casting foundry with in-house machining and patternmaking serving industrial markets. Comparable on integrated service model and end-market exposure.
• Cast Rite Corporation: Aluminum and zinc sand casting foundry serving industrial OEM customers with custom-engineered cast components. Comparable on process and target customer profile, with similar small-to-mid foundry scale.

Broad incumbents

• Impro Industries: Global precision components and casting supplier offering aluminum and investment castings across automotive, industrial, and aerospace markets. Broader portfolio and global scale than Olson, but directly competes on custom industrial casting RFQs.
• Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry: One of the largest independent aluminum foundries in the US, producing custom sand, permanent mold, and die-cast aluminum components for industrial customers. Directly comparable to Olson on process (sand casting) and end markets (industrial OEMs), but at significantly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Niagara Investment Castings: Specialty investment and sand casting producer serving industrial and aerospace customers with smaller-batch, high-precision work. Partial overlap with Olson's prototype and short-run capability, though focused on investment casting as the primary process.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/olsonaluminumcastings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/olson-aluminum-castings
• Instagraminstagram.com/olsonaluminumcastings

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Olson Aluminum Castings