Industry News

Foundry Amps-Up Sterilizer Production For Ukraine Humanitarian Mission

Missiles aren’t the only thing flying through the air in Ukraine. So says the CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry (WAF), Sachin Shivaram, whose employees in the company’s Consumer Products division worked around the clock this summer to build thousands of medical sterilizers to be emergency air-freighted to Ukraine by UNICEF. UNICEF placed an order for over 3,000 of the sterilizer units, which are like pressure cookers and offer an economical solution for large-volume sterilization.

Effort Foundry Under New Ownership

The Brynavon Group has acquired AFS Corporate Member Effort Foundry, Inc. in Bath, Pennsylvania. Effort Foundry, Inc. has been in business since 1971 and produces castings for pumps, valves, power generation, and general industrial application in a wide variety of alloys including steel, stainless, ni-based, ductile iron, and gray iron.

AFS-member foundry awarded state funding for expansion, job creation

Dee Manufacturing, an affiliate of AFS Corporate Member Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, is one of five companies to receive funding from the Minnesota Job Creation Fund and the Minnesota Investment Fund, according to an announcement August 18 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Located in Crookston, Dee Manufacturing has been awarded $175,000, which will go toward facility expansion that’s expected to create 30 jobs in the next three years, with an average wage of $19.40 an hour.

SinterCast achieves production record

AFS Corporate Member SinterCast, a global supplier of process control technology for high volume production of compacted graphite iron (CGI), reported record series production in the second quarter of 2022, reaching 3.6 million Engine Equivalents and surpassing the previous quarterly record of 3.5 million Engine Equivalents set in the third quarter of 2019. 

AFS-member foundry awarded state funding for expansion, job creation

Dee Manufacturing, an affiliate of AFS Corporate Member Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, is one of five companies to receive funding from the Minnesota Job Creation Fund and the Minnesota Investment Fund, according to an announcement August 18 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Located in Crookston, Dee Manufacturing has been awarded $175,000, which will go toward facility expansion that’s expected to create 30 jobs in the next three years, with an average wage of $19.40 an hour.

Sealing Sulphur Hexafluoride leaks from small bore pipework

Britain’s National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and UK-based technology company, Rawwater, are collaborating to trial a novel means of sealing harmful environmental leaks of Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) by reducing emissions from small bore pipework. A powerful greenhouse gas, SF6 is a safety feature of gas insulated switchgear (GIS) equipment, a key component of electricity transmission systems.

Ownership change for Franklin Iron Works

Druid Capital Partners and Elyton Capital have bought AFS Corporate Member Franklin Iron Works, Inc. (FIW) and Alabama Castings, LLC—collectively known as “Franklin Iron.” 


According to reporting by bizjournals.com, new ownership plans to retain all 145 Franklin Iron employees. A Druid Capital spokesperson told the journal that FIW is hiring for select positions at its locations in Thorsby and Aliceville, Alabama.

McWane announces $45 million expansion

McWane Ductile Ohio—part of the McWane, Inc. family of companies––has announced a $45 million total investment in its Coshocton County plant. Its investment has more than doubled since the initial $21.5 million collaboration was finalized with JobsOhio, the Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE) and the Coshocton County Port Authority, including a 1.372%, six-year Job Creation Tax Credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority.