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From 130 Days to 14: Ford Reconfigures Sharrow’s Harper Woods Manufacturing
Overcoming the Manufacturing Bottleneck
Bringing a radical marine design to market often exposes critical weaknesses in the manufacturing supply chain. Since introducing its proprietary propeller in 2020, Sharrow Engineering has experienced massive demand from recreational boaters, commercial operators, and government agencies. The patented design offers up to 30% greater fuel efficiency and an 80% reduction in noise. However, Founder and CEO Greg Sharrow noted that securing high-quality castings fast enough to meet this demand became the company’s primary challenge. Traditional investment casting methods were taking up to 130 days to produce a single unit, creating a severe backlog ahead of peak boating seasons.
The Michigan Central Ecosystem
To resolve this structural delay, Sharrow relocated operations to Detroit to tap into the region’s established industrial infrastructure. The solution emerged through Michigan Central, a 30-acre technology hub designed to connect startups with established industry leaders. This innovation ecosystem facilitated a direct collaboration between Sharrow Engineering and Ford Motor Company’s Advanced Industrial Technology & Platforms (ATP) team. According to Carolina Pluszczynski, Acting CEO of Michigan Central, this partnership demonstrates the hub’s ability to help companies leverage prototyping labs and advanced manufacturing talent to achieve real-world scale.
Transitioning to 3D Sand-Casting
Over a nine-month period, the joint teams worked to adapt Sharrow’s precision-engineered propeller designs from slow investment casting to a much faster 3D-printed sand-casting process. Ford has spent over two decades refining 3D sand-casting capabilities, and they utilized this expertise to help Sharrow develop a new mold manufacturing process. By coordinating with experienced regional foundries, the teams brought the new casting approach online while maintaining the strict tolerances required for the complex propeller geometry.
Expanding the Industrial Footprint
The results of this collaboration have fundamentally altered Sharrow’s output capacity. The shift to 3D sand-casting reduced production timelines from over four months to approximately two weeks. This massive acceleration supports the company’s recent expansion into a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Harper Woods, Michigan, which marks their fourth expansion in five years. By tapping into the local foundry network and Ford’s industrial scale, Sharrow Marine is now positioned to meet global demand efficiently.
Cross-Industry Applications
The streamlined production process also opens the door for Sharrow to expand its technology beyond the marine sector. The core engineering principles behind the Sharrow Propeller hold significant potential for applications in drones, advanced air mobility, industrial fans, and renewable energy systems. With rapid prototyping capabilities established at Michigan Central and Newlab Detroit, the company now possesses a clear, accelerated pathway to move new propulsion concepts from the drawing board to industrial production.
