Business View Magazine | October 2019

72 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2019 AT A GLANCE WOLVERINE BRONZE CO. WHAT: A non-ferrous jobbing foundry WHERE: Roseville, MI WEBSITE: www.wolverinebronze.com WOLVERINE BRONZE CO. F amily-owned businesses have several competitive advantages, including more deeply committed team members, more unified leadership, and a clearer vision of long- term prospects. Ultimately, those are the resources from which Richard Smith draws as the owner of Wolverine Bronze Co., a non-ferrous jobbing foundry headquartered in Roseville, MI, located 16 miles outside of Detroit. “We’re a family-owned company, so we have a family-oriented mindset about being honest, being fair, and striving to be the best,” says Richard. “What sets us apart is our devotion to quality and delivery, and to the customer. We have a tenet to do whatever it takes to get the job done right, and get it done on time.” For nearly 60 years, the Smiths have been manufacturing aluminum, copper, and bronze castings, from ounces to 60,000 pounds, for the automotive, aircraft, and aerospace industries. “Wolverine Bronze was originally formed as a company in 1957 by the Noble family,” says Richard. “Bill Noble and his son were in the business of making centrifugal cast bronze bushings for radial engines. After the Korean War, they fell on some pretty hard times. There wasn’t going to be much use for radial engines anymore. My father, Pete Smith, was introduced to the Wolverine Bronze Co. by a fellow he worked for named Bill Gordon at Racine Foundry in Detroit. The idea was to inject some capital into Wolverine Bronze and start a new sand gravity cast foundry, to compete with a lot of the job shops around the Detroit area. They embarked on this venture together back in May 1960. Two months later, they’d bought the company from the Nobles SAND IN THEIR VEINS