As premium car buyer priorities move from speed, style, and luxury to greater interest in the origin, sustainability, and emissions profile of car materials, a new mantra has emerged: “Green is the new black.” This fundamental shift in the automotive market has led to the creation of a new, innovative partnership between Rio Tinto and the BMW Group, which share a common goal of developing more responsible, sustainable, traceable, and secure supply chains.
Articles: Industry News
General Die Casters Inc. (Twinsburg, Ohio) is joining forces with Dart Casting Inc. (Alsip, Illinois) under common ownership. Both organizations will continue under their current names and operate 41 casting machines—ranging between 400 and 1,200 tons—and 28 CNC machining centers, creating one of the leading middle-market diecasting companies in the Midwest. The merger creates the ability to leverage each company’s capabilities and customer base to continue a trajectory of growth.
AFS Corporate Member Boose Aluminum Foundry (Reamstown, Pennsylvania) has received a land development plan waiver to rebuild its facilities after a devastating fire on April 19, 2022. Local township supervisors have approved the company’s proposed new 1,490-sq.-ft. structure to replace 11,740 sq. ft. of a destroyed building.
The remaining 10,250 sq. ft will be converted to gravel and an existing 250-sq.-ft. concrete pad will be removed and reverted to grass. The finished project reduces the amount of impervious surfaces—which impact stormwater runoff—by
6,177 sq. ft.
AFS Corporate Member Fisher Barton (Waukesha, Wisconsin) held a groundbreaking ceremony March 21 for its new industrial building and site development for its Accurate Specialties’ Turning Center of Excellence.
Magellan Aerospace Corporation has signed a long-term agreement (LTA) extension with Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies business, to manufacture complex magnesium and aluminum castings for various military and commercial aerospace platforms. The castings will be produced by Magellan’s facilities in Renfrew, Ontario, and Glendale, Arizona.
In addition to F-15, F-16, and F-18 castings for Collins legacy programs, the agreement also encompasses the supply of castings to support F-35 Lightning II, KC-46, A320neo, 787 and 777X programs.
Amsterdam-based Stellantis plans to invest a total of $155 million in three Kokomo, Indiana, plants to produce new electric drive modules (EDM) that will help power future electric vehicles assembled in North America and support the goal of 50% battery electric sales in the U.S. by 2030.
THERMOTEC, Inc., a REFCOTEC & Koremart joint-venture, has acquired PC Campana’s sand mini-riser division in Lorain, Ohio.
PC Campana has served the metals manufacturing industry with consumable products since 1969. Its mini-riser division was launched in 1984, producing exothermic sand mini risers that could withstand the forces of high-pressure sand molding.
Mobility Engineering reported microelectronics and engine castings are among the individual aircraft components that continue to challenge Raytheon Technologies’ aerospace and defense manufacturing supply chain. Company CEO Greg Hayes and COO Christopher Calio talked about the challenges during an earnings call in January, and both have referenced the situation since the first quarter of 2022.
The Nadcap program—which oversees critical process accreditations of suppliers in the aerospace industry—has published two new audit criteria, covering investment casting and sand casting.
With leadership from the Nadcap Metallic Materials Manufacturing (MMM) Task Group, the audit criteria were developed with experts from original equipment manufacturers and casting suppliers involved in the Nadcap program. Audits using the new criteria can now be scheduled.
AFS Corporate Member Oil City Iron Works, Inc. was awarded Small Employer of the Year by Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas (WSNCT). The company is in its 137th year of business.