Articles: Industry News

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.

Lockheed Martin Australia is working with Australian supplier, AFS Corporate Member AW Bell, to progress production verification activities for the manufacture of canards for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLATS) munitions as part of a demonstration program in partnership with the Commonwealth’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise.

Impending, for now, tariffs on recyclable materials threaten significant disruption for recyclers and consumers of nonferrous metals, wrote Recycling Today Editorial Director on March 20. 

President Donald Trump implemented tariffs March 2 on Canada and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), saying the moves were designed to combat the threat to U.S. national security, including public health, posed by drug trafficking.

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 Daubert Cromwell recently expanded its Quick Ship online store to support the needs of metalworking, heavy equipment, aviation , and other industries requiring fast delivery of critical packaging for metals.  

The company says its corrosion prevention products form a protective barrier that maintains metals’ integrity throughout production, storage, and shipment. The online Quick Ship store has expanded to carry over 40 of Daubert Cromwell’s VCI paper wraps, poly bags, emitters, and rust preventive surface-applied liquids.  

Honda has provided a first look at its innovative approach to manufacture electric vehicles (EV) by late 2025 at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio, detailing the company’s flexible approach that positions Honda to build internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid-electric, and battery electric vehicles (EVs) on the same production lines. 

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.