The Beginning
Gamma Foundries was established in 1959 by the late Andrew Farago and his wife, Elizabeth. The first foundry was located in Richmond Hill approximately two miles from the present location; producing castings up to 650 Ibs. In 1971, the company moved to the plant one location at 75 Newkirk Road which was more than double the original facility at 7,500 square feet.
The Next Step The Beginning
In 1980, entrepreneur Paul Helliwell purchased 50% of the company, bringing a progressive outlook and the necessary capital to fuel a new era of growth. In 1982 the plant doubled in size with the B foundry expansion, plus the addition of plant two at 115 Newkirk Road in 1987. In this plant, a new laboratory was added to maintain the integrity of our alloys and to monitor our five separate sand systems. With two further expansions to this plant during the nineties, Gamma now boasted 115,000 square feet of foundry space. With the retirement of Elizabeth Farago in 1993, Mr. Helliwell acquired her shares and continued to head the operation with our President, Gordon South and Vice President, Erhard Kotowski as minority shareholders.
Expanding Capabilities
After a long search, Gamma purchased Progress Machining Co. in 1998. This added machining capabilities to our foundry and enabled us to further service our customers’ needs for finished components. Although Progress Machining was a small operation with five CNC machines, they brought key operational personnel experienced in machining castings to the company. Almost immediately, construction began and in August 1999, a modern 15,000 square foot machine shop behind plant two was completed.
Changing Ownership
In October 2000, Gamma Foundries was acquired by Victaulic Company, the world’s leading developer and producer of mechanical piping systems. Victaulic then operated three high volume ductile iron foundries (now five) and understood our industry intimately. In 2003 Victaulic purchased the building at 123 Newkirk to house their Canadian operations. This addition eventually allowed us to close our old foundry at 75 Newkirk and consolidate our foundry production at 115 Newkirk. In 2008 Victaulic change the name of the foundry operation to Victaulic Custom Castings. Their ownership strengthened our position, brought greater resources to develop personnel and processes and allowed us to continue the positive growth that every organization requires to remain vibrant and dynamic.
Changing Back
In July 2013 Victaulic, for strategic reasons, sold the Canadian foundry operation to private interests. At that point we changed our name back to Gamma Foundries. All the foundry technical personnel and our highly skilled workforce transfered to the new/old company.
Facts
- We are one of the largest non-ferrous foundries in Canada.
- Over 50% of our product is exported.
- We employ over 90 skilled personnel and cover over 80,000 square feet.
- Our modern foundry produces an extensive array of non-ferrous alloys — including all commercial brass, bronze and aluminum.
- Full machining to meet our customers’ needs is available.
- Gamma complies with ASTM, Federal, Military and other engineering specifications.
- Kanban and pull systems for large volumes ensure efficiency for customers’ JIT operations.
- Gamma is a growing company with a reputation for providing quality, price and on-time delivery.
- We are the Best in the Business!
