Selling foundry and machine shop products — castings, forgings, tooling, abrasives, cutting fluids — to industrial manufacturers. Niche B2B with deep technical knowledge required (material specs, tolerances, finishes), and customers who'll specify exactly what they need before they call.
Your days involve selling foundry and machine shop products — castings, forgings, tooling, abrasives, cutting fluids, and metalworking supplies — to industrial manufacturers. Most weeks include customer visits, quoting projects, coordinating with the production floor, and the technical conversations that come with selling products defined by material specs, tolerances, and finishes.
The workflow blends technical sales with relationship management — your customers are plant engineers, procurement managers, and shop owners who know exactly what they need before they call. Your value is in reliability, pricing accuracy, and solving the problems that come up when a casting doesn't meet spec or a tooling order needs to be expedited.
The key challenge is selling in a niche industrial market where customers are technically sophisticated and price-sensitive. Switching costs exist but aren't prohibitive, so you need to deliver on quality and delivery consistently. The strongest reps in this space become trusted partners who understand their customers' operations well enough to anticipate needs.
An honest look at who tends to thrive in this role — and who might find it challenging.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Selling foundry and machine shop products — castings, forgings, tooling, abrasives, cutting fluids — to industrial manufacturers. Niche B2B with deep technical knowledge required (material specs, tolerances, finishes), and customers who'll specify exactly what they need before they call.
Median pay for a Foundry and Machine Shop Products Sales Representative is about $100K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $49K to $195K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Persuasion, Speaking, Active Listening, Negotiation, and Social Perceptiveness.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 1.9% through 2034, with roughly 293,930 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Junior Foundry And Machine Shop Products Sales Representative, Engineering Supplies Sales Representative, and Sales Engineer.
Truest gives you tools to understand your strengths, explore roles that fit, and plan your next move.
Explore Truest career tools