AFS Corporate Member Hunter Foundry Machinery announced it is celebrating its 60th anniversary. In 1963, Al Hunter had an idea for a new type of automated green sand molding machine and founded the company the following year.
Articles: Industry News
05.03.24: Hunter Foundry Machinery Celebrates 60
Georgia Southern University received the Foundry Educational Foundation overture grant to build 20 Foundry In A Box kits for high schools in the Statesboro region. The first kit was delivered to engineering teacher John Hendrix at Portal Middle High School.
“The students really enjoyed it. I had several say they thought they wouldn’t like it but at the end they were telling me how fun it was,” said Hendrix.
The American Foundry Society has received a $4 million federal appropriation to conduct essential aluminum-casting performance research. The funding is part of the package approved by Congress in March and signed into law by the president.
The Aluminum Casting Performance Initiative will launch with three key research projects: (1) New aluminum alloy developments/approvals for Department of Defense applications, (2) Development of enhanced artificial intelligence tools, and (3) Development of simulation capability tool for quality enhancement.
AFS Corporate Member Expert Cores of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has completed a multiyear upgrade to its operating system. This includes sand recipe management, sand mixer upgrades to both of their mixers and a new monitoring system for their sand silo.
At the end of 2023, the company completed replacement of its barcode system used for recipe identification on the mixer with an advanced data management system. Engineering services, PLC, software development, and hardware solutions were provided by MT Systems, Inc.
The Firth Youth Center in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, held a community ribbon-cutting ceremony at the end of February, officially opening the doors to its renovated “McWane Ductile Wrestling Room,” according to an article at www.tapinto.com.
“We saw an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of these young athletes,” said Kelly Bray, inside sales manager for McWane Ductile and newly appointed board member of the Youth Center. “It’s about more than just a wrestling room; it’s about investing in the potential of every student.”
04.12.24: Lawton Standard Acquires RMG
AFS Corporate Member The Lawton Standard Co. recently combined with Renaissance Manufacturing Group (RMG) and its 160 team members as part of Lawton Standard’s expansion strategy.
RMG has three locations: a ductile iron foundry in Anniston, Alabama; a machine shop in Grafton, Wisconsin; and a sales office in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
Ferroglobe PLC, a global producer of silicon metal and ferroalloys, and Coreshell, a U.S.-based battery technology company, have signed a memorandum of understanding for the purpose of producing the first battery-ready metallurgical silicon for the development of low-cost, high-range EV batteries in compliance with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
04.12.24: GE Aerospace to Invest Over $650 Million
GE Aerospace announced plans to invest $650 million in its manufacturing facilities and supply chain this year to increase production and strengthen quality to better support its commercial and defense customers.
AFS Corporate Member Metal Technologies Inc. (MTI) of Auburn, Indiana, has acquired Key 3 Casting LLC, which owns and operates two aluminum die and squeeze casting facilities as well as a ductile iron foundry.
The facilities involved in the sale include Jackson Die Casting LLC in Jackson, Tennessee; Minneapolis Die Casting LLC in Minneapolis; and Northern Foundry in Hibbing, Minnesota. The combined operations have approximately $74 million in annual sales and 300 employees.
Skuld LLC has purchased the site belonging to the former Champion Foundry in Piqua, Ohio. Champion Foundry a gray and iron foundry closed in March 2017.