Management Team | American Casting Company

John Reed President

As owner and president of American Casting Company since 1999, John Reed designs and builds the systems used to constantly improve the foundry. “Nothing satisfies me more,” says Reed, “than coming up with creative solutions to make business processes run more efficiently.” Under his reign, American Casting has set the industry’s new standard for lead and cycle time, slashing it from months to mere days.

John’s education includes a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison. John’s master’s thesis was the application of solidification modeling for investment castings.

Prior to joining American Casting, John was chief engineer and plant manager of PCC’s San Leandro casting operation, an Aerospace Investment Casting company with over 200 employees. He is also a former Army Officer and qualified as a U.S. Army Paratrooper.

An avid restorer of classic homes and cars, John and his wife Barbara are currently restoring an early 1900’s Victorian home in downtown Hollister, CA.

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jreed@americancastingco.com

Chris St. John Vice President of Operations

Chris St. John has been with American Casting Company since 2007, working his way through a range of increasing responsibilities, from product engineer to plant manager and now vice president of operations. As vice president, St. John is responsible for ensuring a seamless production and efficient process, as well as working to establish the next strategic objectives for American Casting.

St. John has a B.S. in Manufacturing Technology and Operations Management from California State in Chico and has received numerous scholarships and awards for his work with metal casting.

“I have been passionate about metal casting since first working on a foundry production line as a teenager,” said St. John who is involved with the Foundry Educational Foundation, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and American Foundry Society.

When not in the foundry, St. John enjoys experiencing the outdoors with his family and friends, doing everything from camping, fishing, hunting and mountain biking.

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cstjohn@americancastingco.com

Richard Galvan Quality Manager

Richard Galvan joined American Casting in 2019 and is responsible for providing leadership and strategy to ensure we can exceed our customers’ most stringent quality requirements. Richard brings with him a wealth of experience and passion for manufacturing. “Throughout my career, I’ve developed a dedication for manufacturing and leading towards improvement,” he said.

Richard has over 18 years of quality management experience on top of his almost three decades of knowledge working in manufacturing management. Prior to joining American Casting, Galvan spent 15 years as a quality manager for the second largest transit bus manufacturer in North America.

A Hollister community member for over 15 years, Richard loves his country, enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, and taking his motorcycles out whenever the sun is shining.

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rgalvan@americancastingco.com

Kari Hough Human Resources & Accounting Manager

Kari Hough joined the American Casting team in 2014. Starting in Accounting Kari quickly elevated our standards for AR/AP organization and cash flow performance. She has also be instrumental for securing key equipment financing and negotiating credit terms with top customers and suppliers. Recently she has increased her responsibilities to take on Human Resources Management including recruitment, onboarding, labor code compliance, and employee benefits management.

Kari has been involved in the Metal working industry for over 25 years including owning a successful custom sheet metal business with her husband Nick. Her career prior to American Casting also included various roles in Accounting, Collections, Banking Mortgages, Customer service, and Management.

“I’m always up for a challenge and love problem solving with a get it done attitude, “she said.

Kari loves traveling, meeting new people, and spending time with family and her pets.
She has been happily married to her husband Nick of 22+ years and has a teenage son Tristan starting his college education.

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khough@americancastingco.com

Oliver Hayes NPI Engineer / Program Manager

Oliver Hayes joined the American Casting team in early 2017, taking on the responsibility of New Product Introduction Engineer and Program Manager. He is responsible for all new product development activities and works closely with customer engineering teams providing DFM recommendations and problem-solving ideas. He has extensive experience with many manufacturing processes including Casting, Machining, Welding, Brazing and Ceramics to name a few, and greatly enjoys seeing new products come to life.

Hayes also has a strong background in CAD design and is responsible for the gate and runner designs on new castings. He utilizes American Casting Company’s in-house Pro-Cast simulation software to simulate gate and runner designs prior to cutting tooling. This enables detection of problems early in the development cycle which saves valuable time and money.

Oliver obtained a degree in Manufacturing Technology from Cal State Chico where he was first exposed to metal casting in a sand foundry. In addition to pouring metal in the engineering department, Hayes assisted students making metal casting in the art department. This solidified his appreciation for the beauty and functionality of the casting process.

Growing up in a farming community in Northern California gave him a problem solvers mind set and the drive to always get the job done. Outside of work Hayes enjoys spending time with his family, painting and restoring his quirky VWs.