Articles: Industry News

The Ohio State University Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME) received $1 million from the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) to develop a metalcasting workforce and upskilling program. 

The funds will allow for a Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship and Learning (METAL) Hub, which will provide hands-on training for students and professionals in CDME’s metal foundry. The program includes outreach events for K-12 students and supports online curriculum for metal manufacturing.

GE Aerospace is investing $2 million to increase manufacturing capacity of commercial and military aircraft engines at Montana Precision Products, an aerospace manufacturing company based in Butte. Montana Precision serves as a joint venture between GE Aerospace and SeaCast.

The recent investment will go toward modernization of the facility’s layout to improve workflow and productivity to support the production of engine components used in narrowbody and widebody aircraft engines, along with military marine engines.

AFS Corporate Member Badger Alloys in Milwaukee recently collaborated with Special Spaces Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization that creates dream bedroom makeovers for children with cancer who are in active treatment.
With the foundry’s help, five-year-old Rose, who has a rare medical disorder that primary affects children’s immune systems, received her dream bedroom makeover. 

Founded in Knoxville, Tennessee, Special Spaces has been operating for 20 years and has grown to a national organization and has created over 1700 dream bedrooms.  

Magellan Aerospace Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aequs Private Limited to explore the development of a business plan for setting up a 50/50 jointly-owned aerospace sand casting facility situated at the Belagavi Aerospace Cluster, in Karnataka, India.

The proposed facility aims to meet the sand casting demands in the growing aerospace industry. This increased sand-casting capacity would support both commercial and defense sectors.

The Additive Manufacturing Division held a quarterly business meeting on February 20 in Saint Francisville, Louisiana, hosted by AFS Corporate Member Howell Foundry, LLC, which provided a facility tour. Division Secretary-Elect Dr. Jason Walker, OSU CDME, presented Zed Howell with two commemorative castings recognizing the company’s support and hospitality. The aluminum and aluminum bronze alloy castings are products of 3D printed sand molds supplied by Corporate Member Matthews International and were cast at The Ohio State University. 

AFS Corporate Member Humtown is continuing its educational youth outreach program in 2025. “Through the Lens of My Friends” is a student peer-to-peer project in which Humtown trains students at nearby middle and high schools, who then give in-depth facility tours to their classmates.

Humtown parlays the tours into a video series showing the knowledge transfer to kids by kids, exposing 
students to the world of 3D printing as well as the numerous career opportunities in modern manufacturing. 

AFS Corporate Member Torrance Castings hosted the AFS Engineering Division on February 18 to tour a new molding line and mold/casting cooling for which the company received the Engineering and Smart Manufacturing Division’s Plant Engineering Award. The award recognizes companies for plant engineering achievements and innovative solutions for modern issues faced in the foundry industry. Torrance Castings used automated casting cooling racks to eliminate the process bottleneck associated with variable cooling times.  

AFS Corporate Member Waupaca Foundry has named Michael Hawthorne as its new chief executive officer. He succeeds Mike Nikolai, who served the company for three decades. 

“We’re excited to welcome Mike Hawthorne to the Waupaca Foundry family,” said Chairman Daniel Collin. “He brings over 30 years of industry experience and understands the roles that engineering, design, system integration, and operational excellence play in achieving breakthrough results.”

AFS Corporate Member Wabi Iron & Steel, New Liskeard, Ontario, will receive $3.3 million from FedNor’s Regional Economic Growth Through Innovation Fund.

Russ Rosmait, FEF Key Professor at Pittsburg State University for 37 years, retired at the end of 2024. 

In 1983, Rosmait took a position with AFS as assistant director of education for the Cast Metals Institute. In this role, he helped employees hone their skills and introduce them to new processes, which resonated with his teaching aspirations and solidified his resolve to make a difference in the foundry industry. He worked at AFS until 1986 and then transitioned to a foundry process engineer position at Marathon Electric, a gray iron foundry in Wausau, Wisconsin.