SIC 3543 Industrial Patterns

SIC 3543

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing industrial patterns.

NAICS CODE(S)

332997

Industrial Pattern Manufacturing

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 498 establishments operated in this category for part or all of 2004. Industry-wide employment totaled approximately 5,904 workers receiving a payroll of more than $262 million. The Annual Survey of Manufactures reported that overall shipments for the industry were valued at nearly $567 million. Additionally, for the combined other fabricated metal products manufacturing industry (also including enameled iron and metal sanitary ware manufacturing and all other miscellaneous fabricated metal product manufacturing), a combined total of 61,370 employees worked in production (from 82,212 employees overall) in 2004, putting in more than 125 million hours to earn wages of more than $2 billion. Companies in the industrial pattern manufacturing industry tended to be smaller in size, with nearly 97 percent of companies in the industry employing fewer than 100 workers.

Bodine Aluminum Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, led the industry with 2005 sales of $94 million and 250 employees. In second place was Ross Aluminum Foundry LLC of Sidney, Ohio, with more than $69 million in 2005 sales and 600 employees. Rounding out the top three was Eck Industries Inc. of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with more than $35 million in sales and 250 employees.

Industrial patternmaking companies make patterns for forming and molding metal. These patterns are used by other companies to produce metal ornaments, tools, automobile parts, cutlery, and other goods. Major consumers include: the architectural metalworking industry; producers of pipes, valves, and fittings; and miscellaneous repair shops. Meanwhile, other specialized industries purchased patterns to make engineering and scientific apparatus, prefabricated structural metal, car parts, railroad equipment, and other metal products.

Industrial patterns are often used in foundries to create molds and dies for iron, steel, and other metals. Foundries typically melt scrap in an electric furnace. The liquid is then poured into a mold, which is usually formed from sand, metal, or ceramic material. The metal cools and solidifies into any number of complicated shapes, such as an engine block, a turbine blade, or a surgical instrument.

Copper was the first material that metallurgists learned to melt and...