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

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.

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. 

The Lawton Standard Co. has recently added Northern Iron & Machine (NIM) located in St. Paul, Minn., to the Lawton Standard family as part of its expansion strategy. NIM produces and machines high-quality gray, ductile, and austempered iron castings up to 250 lbs. This adds to The Lawton Standard Co.’s offerings by both size and method. This will benefit both Lawton and NIM customers with expanded sourcing options.

On July 29, TRM Equity II, a Michigan-based private equity fund, acquired all of the equity of AFS Corporate Member WDC Acquisition LLC, known as Wellman Dynamics (Wellman), which is located in Creston, Iowa, and employs about 350 people. The 100-year-old aerospace supplier manufactures large scale, complex magnesium and aluminum castings for the defense and commercial aerospace markets. 

AFS Corporate Member Buck Co. Inc., in conjunction with its parent company, The Dixon Group, has acquired Richmond Foundry, LLC, a 50-year-old AFS Corporate Member in Dayton, New Jersey, that produces high-quality brass and bronze sand castings. Richmond’s 40,000-sq.-ft. facility adds capacity and capabilities that will benefit both companies’ customers.  

This spring, Bob Swenson, former owner of AmeriTi Manufacturing, launched a new company in Detroit, TriTech Titanium Parts, which, he said, produces net shape titanium parts using the most appropriate technology for the part and the customer––and is backed with a fully domestic supply chain. 

TriTech’s array of three production technologies includes 3D binder jet printing, metal injection molding, and investment casting. The 3D printing is its latest addition, featuring a binder jet process for producing complex titanium parts. 

Potentia Manufacturing Group has purchased New England Foundry, LLC, formerly the Anbar division of Edson International. Located in Taunton, Massachusetts, New England Foundry—which specializes in sand casting of aluminum, brass, and bronze chiefly for the marine market, as well as aerospace and industrial markets—continues to manufacture its products in its updated Taunton facility.