Articles: Industry News

AFS Corporate Member The Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center has set a new benchmark in its foundry operations: On June 6, the team successfully poured the largest part produced in at least two decades, if not ever—underscoring the facility’s advanced capabilities.

“This is a proud moment for all of us at RIA-JMTC,” said Jamie Morris, division chief of hot metals. “Producing such a massive part required precise coordination, advanced technology, and a relentless commitment to quality. This achievement is a testament to our team’s skill and dedication.”

Victaulic’s Lawrenceville foundry, an AFS Corporate Member, is constructing a 150,000-sq.-ft. addition to accommodate new molding lines, melt furnaces, core machines, and automated finishing and paint equipment to help produce larger scale products. The expansion will also include a 60,000-sq.-ft. machine shop with state-of-the-art CNC equipment.

Victaulic’s $100 million expansion project will create at least 214 new, full-time jobs and retain an additional 1,611 jobs across the state.

AFS Corporate Member Grede, a partner in the mobility industry, donated $10,000 and over 350 volunteer hours last fall to Go Baby Go, an international collective of people on a mission to provide mobility to children in need.

Believing that mobility is a human right and that with kids, play is paramount, Grede held an all-day event at its Southfield, Michigan, headquarters where employees partnered with Go Baby Go to build and modify 10 power ride-on cars for toddlers with mobility impairments in the metro Detroit area.

AFS Corporate Member McWane and Junior Achievement of Alabama announced the capital campaign for the McWane Economic Education Center in downtown Birmingham. Will and Kaitlin McWane, along with the McWane family, have donated $4 million to the project.

The Junior Achievement McWane Economic Education Center will provide experiential learning of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to more than 20,000 students each year. The 30,000-sq.-ft. regional facility, located in downtown Birmingham, will serve school systems within a one-hour drive.   

AFS Corporate Member HA International celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Resin Coated Sand (RCS) plant in Oregon, Illinois, with a festive event for employees, retirees, and customers on May 10. 

“With a world-class culture, you get a world-class facility,” said Sly McGlown, Oregon Plant Manager. “I am very blessed to have the team that we have.”

AFS Corporate Member Unimetal USA, a global provider of carbon products, says it will acquire AFS Corporate Member Larpen Metallurgical Service, a North American supplier of carbon products.

With a 62-year history, Larpen has a strategic network and is positioned near river and ocean ports.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) named AFS Corporate Member Humtown as the winner of the 2024 Manufacturing Leadership Award in the category for Transformational Business Cultures for its proprietary “Industrial Athlete Operating System.”
The June 5 award ceremony in Marco Island, Florida, celebrated Humtown alongside other industry leaders such as Intel, IBM, Cisco Systems, Whirlpool, and General Motors across 11 categories.

EPC Firm GK SYSTEMS, a brand of AFS Corporate Member General Kinematics, unveiled its new website, gksystems.com. 

GK Systems specializes in developing turnkey systems for foundries, recycling facilities, and aggregate processing plants. The GK Systems brand was officially launched in 2020 as General Kinematics systems division was growing rapidly.

AFS Corporate Member Waupaca Foundry Inc. was one of 14 companies nationwide recognized for its outstanding, industry-leading accomplishments in decarbonization, energy and water efficiency, or waste at an individual facility. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Building Initiative’s Better Plant recipients were announced at the annual Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit on April 3. This is Waupaca Foundry’s third time to receive the honor.

AFS Corporate Member Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry (WAF) has acquired ATEK Metal Technologies of New Hampton, Iowa. The acquisition expands WAF’s current operations while deepening its reach into key markets including motorsports, transportation, agriculture and the medical industry.