Articles: Industry News

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.”

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. 

Wabash Castings Inc., Wabash, Indiana, has installed a new, $1.5 million JOEST Complete Shaker System that will improve operations and reduce landfill waste. The new shaker system allows the aluminum casting manufacturer to reclaim and reuse approximately 500 tons of sand per month, removing it from the landfill stream.

AFS Corporate Member Aalberts surface technologies, a global provider of specialized thermal processing, surface treatment, and material coating solutions, has made investments in its Canton, Ohio facility to add austempering capabilities that will provide a logistically favorable option to customers located in the Midwest, Eastern, and Northeastern U.S. markets. To balance the capacity available in the market with demand, the company will be closing its plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

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.

Metals recycler MetalX LLC has selected a 190-acre site in Defiance, Ohio, for its previously announced aluminum recycling campus. Initial development plans include an aluminum rolling slab manufacturing plant, a scrap shredding and advanced sortation facility, and a dedicated logistics hub.

A year ago in February, HWI and Calderys united under single ownership and became the Calderys Group. The new Group immediately began a program to share technologies, transferring a selection of Calderys solutions in the Americas to HWI.