Recently, Eagle Alloy squared off against the demanding technical requirements and thorough audits of the American Bureau of Shipping’s “Type Approval” certification. Through this process, we demonstrated our commitment to producing marine-grade castings that meet the highest standards for safety and reliability in the maritime industry, as well as our willingness to go deeper in our readiness to provide uncompromising castings to the marine industry.
The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society that has been setting the standards that keep maritime trade safer for over 150 years. In one of its most important lobbying statements, the ABS describes its mission as that of “work[ing] alongside its partners tackling the most pressing technical, operational and regulatory challenges so the marine and offshore industries can operate safely, securely and responsibly.”
Widely seen as the benchmark in safety, environmental protection and regulatory compliance, the American Bureau of Shipping classification system sets the bar for quality across a large portion of the world’s products used for maritime trade. ABS certifications cover everything from design and construction to the countless components that make up a ship’s infrastructure. The various certifications ABS offers provide formal, reliable recognition that the parts and components of the ship are manufactured and maintained according to rigorous technical standards that align with today’s best practices.
Given the scale and complexity of ships, it’s no surprise that many of these components originate in foundries. That’s why ABS certification is so important for suppliers like Eagle Alloy, because marine-grade castings are essential to the structural integrity, performance and long-term reliability of maritime vessels. Certifying these parts through ABS ensures that critical components are built to endure the harsh conditions of marine environments—giving shipbuilders and operators confidence in their safety and performance at sea.
Although the ABS offers a vast array of certifications for just about every imaginable facet that supports maritime activity, they have a distinct certification for suppliers known as ‘Type Approval’.
We won the job, but in order to deliver the parts as needed to the customer, we needed to pursue an American Bureau of Shipping Type Approval certification. Type Approval certificates are a formal recognition that a certain component or product—such as our corner castings—meets the ABS’s technical requirements and is suitable for use in maritime applications.
The list of requirements mandated by the ABS was not short, and it’s not uncommon for foundries to avoid the ABS certification process: “Many foundries would not have gone through with it. They would've shied away from this project once they saw the requirements of ABS,” notes Jeff Cook, Eagle Alloy’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. But Eagle Alloy is not your average foundry. Having already passed through the gamut of other certifications, we embraced the ABS audit and set out to meet the strict American Bureau of Shipping material regulations.
It immediately became clear that an ABS certification would hold immense value in today’s rapidly shifting manufacturing landscape. ABS certification offers an advantage to foundries looking to stay competitive by aligning with market trends—especially amid the surge in maritime trade and the reshoring of industrial production to the U.S.: as global supply chains shift and domestic demand for high-quality, reliable components grows, ABS certified signals that a foundry meets American Bureau of Shipping standards required of mission-critical maritime castings. Our certification would not only open doors to new business but would also reinforce confidence with prospective customers in our ability to deliver parts that meet the highest standards.
Although operational audits are not new to us (we are an ISO-certified shell mold foundry, along with a slew of other certifications, from PED to TSCA ), this was our first experience undergoing the ABS’s auditing process. By pursuing the Type Approval certificate, we would also be obtaining certification known as the Certificate of Foundry Facility and Process Approval—a key designation that demonstrates a company’s ability to produce materials in compliance with ABS rules and international maritime regulations. This certification sits above the Type Approval certificate: while Type Approval certifies a foundry for a particular part, the Certificate of Foundry Facility and Process Approval is a broader validator of foundry-wide processes and opens the door to easier approval of future part types.
Several factors positioned Eagle Alloy for a successful Certificate of Foundry Facility and Process Approval audit with the ABS:
Eagle Alloy already maintained rigorous production safeguards and quality controls that we’ve always built to exceed typical industry requirements. Furthermore, our breadth of materials cast and extensive catalog of part numbers further demonstrated the scale and consistency of our manufacturing capabilities. “Most of what the ABS required was already available turnkey. We just had to do some customization—because we deal with a couple thousand part numbers, and a couple hundred customers, we can do a lot of the à la carte stuff to cater. We just had to check some different boxes for this product line than some of our other ones,” points out Nic Tarzwell, Eagle Alloy’s Chief Technology Officer.
While Eagle Alloy was familiar with many aspects of quality audits, the ABS certification process introduced new dimensions—particularly its heightened focus on design validation, material conformity and mechanical property performance through tensile and Charpy impact testing. Where the ABS audit goes the extra nautical mile is the involvement of witness testing for the material conformity and mechanical property testing, overseen not just by a third party (which is fairly common for us), but directly observed by ABS agents. Moreover, ABS auditors conducted in-depth inspections on-site, reviewing final products alongside customer design drawings and documentation.
This comprehensive and hands-on approach lends the ABS certification a particular gravity, ensuring multiple steps to validate quality throughout the casting process.
Through the ABS certification process, we confirmed that Eagle Alloy’s existing systems, safeguards and commitment to quality were already well-aligned with the Bureau’s demanding audit requirements. Our robust documentation practices, comprehensive material testing and wide range of casting capabilities meant we entered the audit from a position of strength. Our long-standing dedication to producing highly reliable shell mold castings had prepared us to meet some of the industry’s most rigorous standards.
We appreciated the thoroughness and technical precision of the ABS audit. It was clear from the outset that ABS holds its certified suppliers to the highest standards, and we welcomed the opportunity to demonstrate that we belong to that elite group. The process challenged us to provide open validation for both the integrity of our castings and the discipline of our quality management practices.
Looking ahead, Eagle Alloy is enthusiastic about deepening our relationships in the maritime industry. As an ABS-certified foundry, we are well-positioned to expand into additional castings for shipbuilding and offshore applications. Tarzwell notes that many maritime castings are “well suited to the shell process from a tolerance standpoint. Not just any sand foundry is going to have success with tolerances they're going to require. As far as the tracking or traceability of individual heats, that's another thing that fits very well for us." In short, if it’s a casting you need and it weighs less than 450lbs, Eagle Alloy is open and willing to step up and provide.
Proud to now call ourselves a foundry for marine applications, manufacturing certified marine castings, Eagle Alloy meets the stringent demands of the American Bureau of Shipping. We look forward to serving the maritime industry with reliable, high-performance shell mold castings, marking not only a milestone in our ongoing commitment to quality, but also a launching point into an exciting new sector.