Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Treiber.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Eric Treiber. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Chicago White Metal (CWM) was founded in 1937 by Walter Treiber Sr. (my grandfather) and his partner Sam Gullo. In the early years, CWM produced only zinc die castings. In the 1940’s, aluminum die casting was added to our offerings. In 1959, my father, Walter Treiber Jr. (Chairman of the Board) joined the company and this year he celebrates his 59th year with CWM.
In the early 1970’s, shortly after the Treiber family bought out Sam Gullo, and while plans were in progress to move from Chicago to Bensenville, Walter Treiber began investigating another offering to bring to our customers. Soon after the move to Bensenville was completed, we added hot chamber magnesium casting, and today we are the only die casting company in North America that casts Aluminum, Magnesium and Zinc all under one roof.
In the 1980’s, we once again expanded our services, this time adding a new Research & Development building as well as entering into contract assembly. The assembly aspect of our business grew quickly, which required that we construct a 25,000 sq. ft. addition to our facility in 1992 which now houses CNC Machining, Contract Assembly and Conventional Machining operations.
In the early 2000’s we once again enhanced our service offerings when we entered into Miniature Zinc die casting. And most recently we have partnered with offshore sources to bring lower cost prototype and production options to our clientele.
Has it been a smooth road?
Our journey over the last 81 years has seen highs and lows as would be expected. We survived a fire that destroyed a prior facility we were operating out of in Chicago and more recently, we weathered a very challenging business climate from 2001 – 2007, when many manufacturing companies closed their doors as sourcing from low-cost offshore manufacturers grew rapidly and with little-advanced warning.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Chicago White Metal Casting – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
CWM is a custom die casting company, producing Aluminum, Magnesium and Zinc die castings for a wide array of industries including Medical, Automotive, Global Positioning, Consumer Recreational, Robotics, Off-Road Transportation, Dental and Digital Projection, just to name a few.
We specialize in highly cosmetic, tightly toleranced applications which require value added operations such as CNC machining, painting, plating, assembly, etc.
In addition to our unique market focus which sets us apart from our competitors, we also believe our amazing team members as well as strong culture, which is anchored in core values such as respect for others, positive attitude, transparency, fulfilling our commitments, and not catering to rank, also separates us from all other companies.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The Chicago area is a great location for our company. We are very close to O’Hare airport which is quite convenient for client visits as well as our own travel to see customers and suppliers in other areas of the country and the world.
With so much manufacturing located in Chicagoland, we have been able to establish a strong network of suppliers for most all of our needs. The Chicago area also has a wealth of creative and extremely hard-working people who make everything we do possible.
And while Chicago is known as the “Second City”, it is definitely number one when it comes to food, cultural activities, professional sports and a lakefront that offers myriad activities for all to enjoy.
Perhaps the only challenges Chicago brings us are the cold winters and road construction season, which seems to be year round these days. But these are minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things and are far outweighed by all that the city has to offer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cwmdiecast.com
- Facebook: @chicagowhitemetal
- Twitter: @chiwhitemetal
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