Industry News

Linamar is constructing a 91.5-sq.ft. Giga casting facility in Welland, Ontario, Canada, that’s expected to be completed January 2024 and operational in 2025, according to a report by Dave Johnson in the Welland Tribune.  

Serving the automotive, agricultural, and industrial sectors, the company will purchase high-press diecasting equipment for the new facility—each weighing in excess of 6,000 tons, a category with just 25–30 machines in use worldwide. 

AFS Corporate Member The Ford Meter Box Co. Inc. (Wabash, Indiana) will expand and modernize its foundry operations and increase downstream production capacity.

The 125-year-old firm manufactures waterworks components for private and public infrastructure markets. Its production departments encompass foundry, machining, assembly, warehousing, and supporting skilled trades operations.

Ford Meter Box plans to construct a 300,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art nonferrous foundry on a 90-acre site in Wabash’s northeast industrial park, pending local approvals.

AFS Corporate Member The Lawton Standard Co. has added AMSCO Wear Products, Inc., located in Wilmington, Delaware, to its family. AMSCO has been providing cost-effective, wear-resistant steel since 1915. AMSCO’s products include wear parts for steel recycling, mining, and waste-to-energy industries.

Messe Düsseldorf, host of trade fairs in the metalcasting industry, says it will expand its portfolio with the addition of GIFA Mexico. The event will take place October 16–18, 2024, in Mexico City.

Nemak Wisconsin has received municipal approval to begin construction of a 49,500-sq.-ft. expansion of its manufacturing facility in Sheboygan. 

The addition will be located on the north side of the existing facility, with 35,300 sq. ft. dedicated to a diecasting production area with storage. The space will accommodate two 4,500-ton diecasting machines and auxiliary equipment.
Construction started last month and is expected to be completed by September 2024. 

AGCO Corp. recognized two foundries among its eight Supplier of the Year awards: Ferroloy Inc. and American Castings.

“AGCO is pleased to recognize our suppliers, who have helped us proactively meet farmers’ needs across North America,” said Tim Millwood, AGCO senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. “Our suppliers are essential to AGCO’s ability to deliver farmer-focused solutions to sustainably feed our world.”

MxD has launched the Curriculum and Pathways Integrating Technology and Learning (CAPITAL) skills development program. The CAPITAL program, supported by $6.2 million in federal funding, is designed to address the anticipated shortage of two million manufacturing workers and provide resources directly aimed at meeting current and emerging workforce needs.

Tooling Tech Group (TTG), a provider of highly-engineered tools and automated assembly equipment to a wide range of industries, has announced Tooling Tech Custom CNC, quick-turnaround machining services for precision parts in sizes up to 150” x 100”, delivering tolerances within 0.005 +/- 0.001.

LIFT, the Detroit-based Department of Defense manufacturing innovation institute, has signed a new cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program to continue to operate the public-private partnership and national manufacturing innovation institute (MII) for the next five years.

AFS Corporate Member Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co., a manufacturer of cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings, announced the purchase of 80 acres of land in Maize, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita, to build a new $80 million manufacturing facility.

The expansion, which received local, county and state government support, is expected to create 50 new, full-time positions in Maize. Construction on the Maize facility, the company’s seventh plastics plant in the U.S., is expected to begin in January 2024 with completion anticipated in early 2025.