There are many considerations that go into choosing a caster manufacturer, and the main factor (no surprise) is cost. Before you review the list below, here’s a quick summary of the factors that directly affect how much you’ll pay for the cost of a caster.

Swivel Sections

Swivel Section

Swivel Section

Every caster manufacturer has a standard line of swivel sections and swivel bearing designs that allow swivel casters to rotate. So if you have to customize that, it can be a very expensive modification. If you can stay within the parameters of a standard swivel section design, that can help control the cost of your caster.

Wheel Design

Companies also tend to have standard castings made for common wheel sizes. Keeping your design within the standard casting (usually grey iron) is another way to control costs. If a billet or chunk of steel is required, or a chunk of steel, it will dramatically increase the cost.

Urethane Choices

poly wheel

Polyurethane wheel

Standard urethane basics include 85 or 95 durometer urethanes which are used in general applications and tend to be pretty cost effective. Higher load-carrying urethanes tend to be more expensive. When you are carrying heavy loads at high speeds, that’s where you get into specialty materials which then cost four, five, or six times as much as a standard urethane.

Wheel Bearings

There are commonly used bearings in the Caster industry and bearing manufacturers in general. If you stay with one of those, and if the caster manufacturer has them in stock, the chances are that you’ll have a pretty standard price for that bearing. Once you start getting into customized or nonstop bearings, you can change the cost and lead time by a significant amount.

A lot goes into selecting a caster, and we encourage you to check out How to Select the Right Industrial Caster.

List of Top Caster Manufacturers

Hamilton Caster

Hamilton Caster has been around for over 100 years and manufactures a complete line of industrial casters and wheels with load capacities from 120 – 40,000 lbs. Specialty casters are also available, including stainless steel, spring-loaded, and pneumatic.

Many standard products can ship the same day or the next day. The Lippert Family has owned Hamilton Caster for four generations. The company also manufactures a complete line of industrial platform trucks, dollies, and trailers.

RWM Caster

RWM Caster is proud to be known as the original inventor of Kingpinless™ Casters. Their heavy duty Kingpinless™ Casters are a recognized solution for demanding industrial caster and wheel applications. Their site states: “RWM Caster’s new product innovations offer major improvements in performance and will maximize value for your company, such as improved urethane wheel compounds that withstand the new ergonomic, quality and value issues found in the aerospace, automotive, tire manufacturing, and heavy-duty industrial material handling markets.”

Colson/Albion

Colson Group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and marketers of caster and wheel products. Colson Group brands have been technological leaders in caster innovation for over 350 combined years. This drive has led to some of the most trusted, highest quality, and advanced mobility solutions available in the world today.

Colson’s heavy duty brand is Albion Casters. Since its founding in 1947, Albion has become a recognized name for delivering custom-engineered, reliable solutions for challenging material handling problems. In fact, the roots of Caster Concepts sprung from Albion Casters in the 1970s and 1980s.

Caster Concepts

Caster Concepts is the foremost manufacturer of a diverse range of heavy duty casters and industrial caster wheels designed to move 500 lbs. to more than 100,000 lbs. and everything in between.

From motorized casters that move several tons, custom casters that offer better ergonomics and maneuverability, and standard casters that last longer, you can expect a product that offers better ROI –tailored to your specific application and delivered with the best lead times in the industry.

Visit Caster Concepts on YouTube.

We hope you found this information helpful. If you would like to learn more about the videos Caster Concepts has done to answer some of the most common caster-related questions our customers ask, visit our Caster Concepts YouTube page.

You can also talk to our caster experts if you still have any questions.

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