Industry News

Unimetal USA Buys Larpen

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.

McWane Helps Fund Community Education Center

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.   

HA International Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Illinois Plant

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.”

Grede Provides $10,000, Many Volunteer Hours for ‘Go Baby Go’

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.

Humtown Wins NAM award for Business Culture Transformation

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.

General Motors Names ‘Supplier of the Year’

AFS Corporate Member General Motors recognized RYOBI DIE CASTING (USA), Inc. as a Supplier of the Year for 2023. GM recently celebrated honorees at the 32nd annual Supplier of the Year event in Miami, Florida. 

In total, 86 suppliers were recognized with a Supplier of the Year award, and an additional eight Overdrive Awards were handed to suppliers who far exceeded expectations.  This is the fifth consecutive year RYOBI has received the award. 

Waupaca Foundry Recognized by DOE

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.