AFS Corporate Member St. Paul Foundry (St. Paul, Minnesota) announced the successful completion of its annual AS9100(D) and ISO 9001:2015 surveillance audit.
“Our auditor said that our progress over the past year was some of the best he has seen in his career. He said the growth and maturity of our systems was exceptional. There were zero findings from the audit,” said David Hartigan, Quality Engineering Manager.
Kent Foundry (Greenville, Michigan) is set to begin work on a $3.5 million expansion project that would bring 30 new employees to the metalcaster.
Kent is a manufacturer of gray and ductile iron castings, and its parent company Canerector Inc. (Toronto) announced the plans in July of last year.
According to local reports, Brinco (Wilmington, Delaware) is planning to open a steel casting plant in Bristol, Indiana.
The Elkhart Truth reported Brinco will invest almost $35 million and is planning to hire 250 workers. The plant would produce rail parts.
In 2019, Brinco purchased the facility for $10 million. The company intends to invest $4.5 million to improve the space, and also spend $15 million on equipment at the 430,000 sq. ft. facility.
AFS Corporate Member Hunter Foundry Machinery Corporation (Schaumburg, Illinois) presented a donation of $5,000 to the manufacturing technology program at Harper College (Palatine, Illinois).
The program’s main objective is to decrease the shortage of skilled labor.
In 2019, Hunter personnel taught a basic metalcasting foundry class to high school students in LaBelle, Florida, and assisted AFS on Manufacturing Day. At both events students were able to make their own castings, creating a hands-on experience.
AFS Corporate Member Saguenay Foundry (Chicoutimi, Quebec) was presented with a regional distinction Quebec Performance Award.
The Québec Performance Awards are the highest distinction awarded annually by the Québec government to private companies and public organizations that stand out for the quality of their management and overall performance.
Saguenay Foundry is an iron casting facility that produces large heavy duty parts weighing from 200-16,000 lbs. The company has also made moves for its future.
Grede (Southfield, Michigan), a developer, manufacturer assembler and supplier of ductile, gray, and specialty iron castings and machined components for automotive, commercial vehicle and industrial markets, announced its first day of operations as an independent company.
The Springfield (Ohio) Art Museum has scheduled a three-month exhibit of David Knapp’s paintings.
The exhibit will begin around mid-July and run until September and is expected to show at least 20 pieces of Knapp’s work, which depict foundries.
Knapp enjoyed a long and successful career in the metalcasting business and is also an accomplished artist.
Following successful material development and product development with the SinterCast Mini-System 3000 since 2010, First Automobile Works (FAW) has ordered a fully automated System 4000 Plus to support the series production of a new heavy-duty Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) cylinder block.
AFS Corporate Member Wellman Dynamics announced that the US Army Contracting Command has selected Wellman as the recipient of a Defense Production Act Title III award of $15.7 million. As a condition of the award, Wellman is required to fund a matching investment of $7.9 million. The total investment of $23.6 million will be used for plant modernization in response to the growing demand for Wellman’s products.
AFS Corporate Member Mueller Water Products announced it is adding a Kimball, Tennessee, facility that is expected to bring 325 jobs.
Mueller is investing $41 million in the project, which will use a 233,000 sq. ft. building that was vacated when another company closed this spring.
“The new location in Marion County supports the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities around our Chattanooga operations,” Mueller Water Products president and CEO Scott Hall said in a news release.
The facility is expected to open in 2020.