Green Sand Systems & Sand Control Field Service Technician
5f9ae04b-f7e4-4aa9-b367-3a0549f2504d
- Location
- Grand Ledge, MI
- Employment type
- full_time
- Source
- adp
Who We Are
Roberts Sinto Corporation, in Grand Ledge MI is part of the Sinto America Group of companies, the North American subsidiary of Sintokogio, Ltd., a worldwide family of companies with a global reputation for excellence in the manufacturing industry.
Sinto America offers innovative, top-class solutions to meet the needs of our customers and industries, with operating companies dedicated to providing superior customer service through practical, cost effective and technologically advanced equipment and service solutions across North America.
Sinto America is comprised of seven primary segments, including Foundry Mold and Core Making, Sand Processing, Bulk Material Handling, Automation, 3D Ceramic Printing, Surface Treatment, and Surface Technologies.
Roberts Sinto Corporation is a leading company in the design and manufacture for foundry, surface treatment and material handling markets. Founded over 50 years ago, Roberts Sinto began as an engineering and manufacturing firm with an emphasis on equipment for the foundry industry. As the industries have evolved, Roberts Sinto has developed and refined its capabilities to offer a broad range of services and equipment for all industrial applications.
Roberts Sinto is currently seeking a Green Sand Systems & Sand Control Field Service Technician/Specialist to join our Team in Grand Ledge, MI
What You Will Do
As a Green Sand Systems & Sand Control Field Service Technician, you are the technical authority, process consultant, and face of Roberts Sinto on customer foundry sites. You will lead the installation, commissioning, calibration, troubleshooting, repair, and full mechanical/controls rebuilds of both Roberts Sinto green sand equipment and third-party/legacy sand control and mulling systems—specifically GreenSand Controls LLC, Simpson Hartley (Hartley Controls), and other competitive green sand platforms.
Your scope covers the entire green sand preparation and return loop—from shakeout, sand coolers, rotary screens, and storage silos to batch and continuous mullers/mixers, bond and water metering systems, and inline automated sand controllers. Beyond wrench-turning and electrical diagnostics, this role serves as a hands-on sand system consultant: correlating lab data with inline controller readings, optimizing mulling efficiency, reducing casting scrap caused by sand defects, and executing major mechanical/control retrofits across high-pressure foundry environments
General
- Multi-OEM Sand Controller Service, Calibration & Retrofits: Install, calibrate, troubleshoot, and upgrade inline green sand controllers—including Sinto Sand Control systems, GreenSand Controls LLC systems, and Simpson Hartley controllers. Calibrate moisture, temperature, compactability, green strength, and batch weight sensors, and correlate inline readings with foundry sand lab test results.
- Sand System Consulting & Process Optimization: Conduct comprehensive end-to-end green sand system audits. Analyze return sand temperatures, cooling efficiency, fines/dust collection balance, bond/clay activation, water addition timing, and mulling cycle times to stabilize compactability at the molding machine and reduce sand-related casting defects.
- Muller & Sand Plant Rebuilds and Modernizations: Lead and execute on-site mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical overhauls, control upgrades, and rebuilds on batch and continuous mullers/mixers (Simpson Multi-Mull, Mix-Muller, Speedmullor, Sinto, Eirich, etc.), sand coolers, rotary screens, aerators, and bond/water dosing systems.
- Installation, Commissioning & Run-Off: Lead the on-site mechanical and electrical setup, PLC/HMI integration, water/bond loop calibration, and production run-off of new or retrofitted sand controllers and sand preparation equipment, verifying that systems meet target cycle times, compactability tolerances, and safety standards prior to handover.
- Multi-Brand Troubleshooting & Emergency Repair: Diagnose and resolve complex mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and process-control issues across sand sampling mechanisms, microwave/capacitance moisture probes, load cells, water flowmeters, modulated control valves, pneumatic bond transporters, and muller drives/plows/wheels.
- Customer Training: Deliver hands-on training to foundry sand lab technicians, muller operators, and maintenance crews covering sand controller calibration, lab-to-controller offset adjustments, preventive maintenance on sampling/mulling hardware, and daily sand system best practices.
- Reporting & Documentation: Accurately document service visits, before-and-after sand system audit data, calibration curves, recommended spare/wear parts or rebuild scopes, and expense reports. Familiarity with digital field service tools and ERP systems (such as Infor SyteLine) is a plus.
- Remote Technical & Process Support: Assist customers and internal After-Sales, Spare Parts, and Engineering teams with remote diagnostics, controller log analysis, cross-referencing competitive OEM components, and part identification when not traveling.
What We Want From You
Education & Experience:
- High School diploma or GED required; Associate degree or technical certification in Mechatronics, Electrical/Controls Technology, Industrial Maintenance, Foundry Technology, or a related field preferred.
- Green Sand Controller & Sand System Experience: 4+ years of hands-on experience servicing, calibrating, and troubleshooting green sand preparation plants and automated sand controllers in iron, steel, or non-ferrous foundries. Direct field or plant experience working on GreenSand Controls LLC, Simpson Hartley, and Sinto sand control systems—along with batch/continuous mullers and sand coolers—is strongly preferred.
- PLC, Instrumentation & Controls Experience: 4+ years of experience troubleshooting industrial electrical controls, 480V 3-phase power, VFDs, analog 4-20mA instrumentation (moisture/temperature probes, load cells, pressure transducers, proportional water valves), pneumatic logic, and PLCs/HMIs (Allen-Bradley/Rockwell or Siemens preferred).
- Proven track record of successful, independent work travel.
Skills:
- Deep root-cause diagnostic capability bridging foundry sand process science (compatibility, moisture, MB clay, AFS grain fineness, active clay, LOI, and return sand temperature kinetics) with machine and control hardware (muller tooling wear, water valve hysteresis, probe fouling, and sampling cylinder failures).
- Strong mechanical rebuilding and millwright skills for sand plant equipment, including muller gearbox/bearing replacement, plow and wheel liner adjustments, carbide wear plate installation, and pneumatic transporter valve overhauls.
- Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, pneumatic/water P&IDs, PLC ladder logic/function blocks, and mechanical assembly blueprints across various manufacturers and legacy systems.
- Consultative communication skills with the ability to present sand system audit findings, process adjustments, and rebuild vs. repair recommendations clearly to foundry managers, metallurgists, quality managers, and maintenance teams.
- High degree of self-motivation, safety awareness (including LOTO, muller confined-space entry, and rigging protocols), and ability to work autonomously or lead small rebuild crews on customer sites.
Physical Demands & Work Environment
- Physical: Frequently required to stand, walk, climb steep sand-plant stairs/ladders/platforms, bend, kneel, and use hands to handle tools, calibration weights, and heavy machine components. Regularly required to lift and move up to 50 pounds unassisted. Specific vision abilities include close vision, depth perception, and focus adjustment.
- Environment: Regularly exposed to heavy green sand foundry conditions, including moving mechanical parts, bentonite clay, seacoal, silica sand, high-temperature return sand environments, airborne dust/particles, confined or elevated muller deck workspaces, extremes of heat and cold, high noise levels, and risk of electrical shock.
- Travel: Ability to travel extensively (up to 75%) domestically and occasionally internationally, including multi-day or multi-week stays for sand system audits, controller retrofits, and muller rebuild projects, as well as short-notice dispatches for emergency breakdowns. Must possess a valid driver’s license, a clean driving record, and a valid passport (or ability to obtain one).
The Benefits of Joining Our Team
Because we seek to hire the best people, we work hard to provide benefits that make their lives better, so we offer a comprehensive benefit program, which features:
- Health coverage for Medical, Dental and Vision plans
- 401(k) plan in with a generous company match and profit sharing
- Financial protection through short term and long term disability, life insurance up to $50k of an employee’s base salary, and accidental death & dismemberment insurance plans, at 100% company cost
- Tax advantages through flexible spending accounts that allow you to pay for specific health-care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars
- Generous paid time off program in which the benefits increase along with your tenure with the company, as well as paid sick time
- 100% company paid Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which covers family and marriage counseling, addiction counseling, will prep and financial support.
- Tuition reimbursement.
When you join our team, you do more than simply switch companies to progress your career. You become part of our family, a group of talented individuals who drive business success.
Learn More About Us
https://sintoamerica.com/companies/roberts-sinto-corporation/