Industry News

Kentucky Industrial Holdings, Inc. has purchased the Rane Precision Die Casting facility in Russellville, Kentucky, saving 200 jobs. The new owners are rebranding the company as Russellville Engineered Castings Inc.

The former Rockwell plant specializes in aluminum castings for automotive and other industries. Founded in 1956 as a captive die caster for Rockwell Corp., the company was formerly known as Precision Die Casting and was sold in 1989. That began a string of ownership and name changes with Rane Group of India purchasing the company in 2016.   
 

Cinnaire, a nonprofit community development financial organization, has secured an $11 million New Markets Tax Credit Investment for AFS Corporate Member Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry (WAF), based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. With it, the foundry will be able to expand with more manufacturing and office square footage. With the expansion comes 80 new jobs. 

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) kicked off its celebration of Manufacturing Day with a groundbreaking ceremony for the Missouri Protoplex on October 5. When it opens in fall 2025, the Protoplex will anchor S&T’s planned manufacturing and innovation campus. 

AFS Corporate Member Bingham & Taylor celebrated a two-year expansion and upgrades at its Culpeper, Virginia, foundry with a ribbon-cutting event on October 6. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin along with local and regional elected officials were in attendance to show their support for the company’s newly unveiled electric melt system. 

 BCI Solutions, an AFS Corporate Member in Bremen, Indiana, has made a major investment in its production capabilities with the procurement of a new DISA Molding Machine and a Mold Handling System from Summit Foundry Systems. The company said this strategic move reinforces its commitment to delivering high-quality products and enhancing its manufacturing efficiency.

AFS Corporate Member Pier Foundry & Pattern Shop (St. Paul, Minnesota) added a new Hunter HLM Series automated molding machine and a new 14-cu-ft tumble blast BCT (Blast Cleaning Technologies) system in October. Together, the new installations represent a $2 million investment for the gray- and ductile-iron, green sand foundry located on the banks of the Mississippi River. 

Department of Defense and Talon Nickel are partnering to accelerate and expand the company’s efforts to discover and secure additional domestic supply of nickel for the growing U.S. battery manufacturing base and defense-related supply chains. 

As part of the agreement, the Department of Defense will contribute $20.6 million, and Talon will contribute $21,7 million in matching funding on a cost-share basis for 39 months.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) program has given a silver award to AFS Corporate member McWane Ductile Ohio. McWane encourages innovation by hosting a contest comprised of teams from its family of companies for the best pollution prevention ideas. The results of this contest have generated significant savings company wide. In addition, they have implemented energy efficiency upgrades at their facility, including purchasing regenerative burners, installing LED lighting, and using variable efficiency drives.

Desktop Metal, Inc. has released a video showcasing how the BMW Group uses ExOne binder jet 3D printers for the serial production of casted powertrain components: www.TeamDM.com/BMW.

ExOne and the BMW Group have been working together for more than 20 years on project development. 

Daedalus Investments LLC, parent company of AFS Corporate Member Tech Cast Limited, has purchased Oklahoma-based ClassIQ Manufacturing, which provides additive manufacturing (AM) services in several markets including the investment casting industry. As a result, a new entity has been formed, Areion3D, headed by Tech Cast CEO Steven Olson, Jason Dickman, CTO, and the founder and CTO of ClassIQ, Joan Speed, production manager.