Articles: Industry News

AFS Corporate Member Waupaca Foundry has expanding production capabilities at Plant 1 located in Waupaca, Wisconsin, adding horizontal molding to existing vertical molding capabilities––installation on the new line began in February. To mark its new capabilities, the foundry held a “first pour” event on April 18.

General Motors named Ryobi Die Casting (USA), Inc. as a 2022 Supplier of the Year, which recognizes global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding the automaker’s requirements and enabling it to provide customers with innovative technologies and high quality products. GM celebrated this fourth-time winner and all its honorees at its 31st annual Supplier of the Year event in San Antonio, Texas.

Pending certain approvals, A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. will begin construction this year on a state-of-the-art brass foundry in the Southwest Wisconsin town of Dickeyville, which be the largest project in the company’s 167-year history.

“Our new foundry will be built on a 100-acre parcel in a new industrial park being co-developed by A.Y. McDonald and Jeff Kaiser,” said Rob McDonald, CEO. “This large parcel will serve the growth needs of the company for generations to come.”  CS

Modern Casting and Casting Source received two writing awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) at the Upper Midwest Region awards banquet in Chicago on April 13. Called the “AZBEES,” the awards recognize excellence in journalistic reporting for business-to-business and trade publications.

On March 30, Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining, fire protection and flow control solutions, acquired Horizon Metals Inc., located in Nephi, Utah. Victaulic stated the addition of the 1.4-million sq.-ft. foundry increases its capacity for large-diameter piping solutions and is aligned with the strategy to manufacture these products in the U.S.

Wisconsin-based Winsert, a global advanced manufacturer of critical metal parts for Fortune 500 OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, has acquired Alloy Cast Products, Inc. (ACP), an investment casting and machining manufacturer of exotic cobalt alloys headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey. 

Signicast, a Form Technologies company, will celebrate the opening of its latest investment casting facility in October. Milwaukee Finishing Complex (MFC) will round out the family of Signicast locations in the Milwaukee area, expanding secondary operations and other finishing services while acting as an extension of the Hartford and Brown Deer facilities.

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 BBJ that FIW is hiring for select positions at both of its locations in Thorsby and Aliceville, Alabama.

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.

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.