Reliance Foundry: a History of Casting Success

Family commitment to quality in the ever-changing casting industry is the driving force behind the success of Reliance Foundry.

 

In 1924, Fred Done stepped into the foundry business. Almost 9 decades later, his family is still in the industry and Reliance Foundry has a long and impressive track record of survival and perseverance through tough economic times.

Reliance Foundry’s early beginning makes it one of the oldest casting suppliers in British Columbia. Reliance has seen many changes over the years; recessions, the Second World War and international trade shifts. Material access and new technology have, at different times, contributed to the evolution of Reliance Foundry and how it conducts business. One thing that has remained a constant is the commitment of the Done family to do whatever it takes to best serve the needs of their customers.

Green sand molds being filled with steel from a ladle hanging from an overhead crane

Through the Great Depression, Reliance fared better than most foundries. A contract to cast the iron links for the original Second Narrows Bridge in 1934 helped substantially. Throughout WWII, Reliance employees worked overtime, contributing castings for the Canadian-built Victory Ships.

Reliance began casting steel in the 30s and by the mid-1950s about 80% of their business came from serving cast metal needs of mining operations. Reliance was the first foundry to cast manganese steel in Vancouver in 1950. In 1966 a fire destroyed the original Reliance Foundry building, but true to their nature the Done family pulled together and built a new facility in Surrey, B.C..

Throughout the years and into the 1990s it has been companies in the marine, mining, truck manufacturing and forestry industry that remained Reliance Foundry’s main customers. Foundry operations continued uninterrupted until 2004 when the foundry was closed in preference to outsourced cast metal production.

Today, the majority of Reliance Foundry’s production has been moved to Asia, allowing the North American sales team, based in Surrey, B.C., to focus on working with OEM’s, engineers, architects, designers, traffic planners, city planners and property owners to present the highest quality products at competitive prices.

Site furnishing products (bollards and bike parking racks) were recently added to Reliance Foundry’s product offerings, and the demand for these cast and fabricated items remains high.

Ordering processes and communications have evolved tremendously in recent years, allowing Reliance to exploit technology to meet the needs of clients all across North America. Although Fred Done passed away in 1979, the company is still owned and run by the Done family. They continue to build on their years of success and knowledge in this industry and look forward to proving, for many years to come, that Reliance Foundry knows the foundry business.



Milestones:

1927 - Reliance Foundry is established in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

1950 - First foundry to cast Manganese Steel in Vancouver

1950 - Over 80% of foundry production devoted to Mining industry

1966 - Original 1927 Reliance Foundry site in Vancouver, B.C. burns down in a fire; foundry is relocatd to a new facility located in Surrey, B.C.

1997 - Initial outsourcing of casting production begins.

2003 - Final castings production takes place. Castings production in the Surrey foundry is permanently halted, and all production is moved to facilities in Asia.

2005 - Reliance Foundry moves to new warehouse and distribution facilities in Surrey, B.C.

 

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