Industry News

AFS Corporate Member Spuncast Inc. (Watertown, Wisconsin) donated $5,000 to Watertown High School to support its manufacturing courses.

“We are enthusiastic to continue supporting the future of our community, especially since the Watertown community has supported our business throughout the past 42 years,” Don Payne, Spuncast CEO, said according to the Watertown Daily Times.

According to the report, the school has been working to finalize curriculum and select equipment for classes during the 2018-19 school year. and was working to raise $60,000.

Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. Inc. announced plans to expand its New Hampshire operations with the construction of a new, 85,000-square-foot facility on the company’s Elm Street Campus. 

The building represents a multi-phased $50 million capital investment and will house operations to support new growth in markets Hitchiner currently serves. The investment is contingent on securing financing and permits from the town and state. 

AFS Corporate Member Smith Foundry Company (Minneapolis) announced it will participate in the Industrial Manufacturing Technician (IMT) Apprenticeship program, an 18-month long, 3,000-hour program that will build a pipeline of highly qualified and diverse individuals prepared to enter middle- and high-skilled occupations within the manufacturing sector. 

AFS Corporate Member McWane Inc. has purchased Waterman Industries (Exeter, California). Waterman manufactures water control products for water treatment, wastewater, agriculture, rural water delivery, hydro-power and flood control management.  

Grupo Industrial Saltillo, S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican multinational industrial conglomerate serving the automotive market, with a presence in the construction and housewares sectors, announced the consolidation of the three auto parts businesses – CIFUNSA, ACE and INFUN – into one unit named Draxton.

Accuride Corporation (Evansville, Indiana), a supplier of components to the North American and European commercial vehicle industries, announced that IndustryWeek magazine selected its Rockford Operations wheel end manufacturing facility in Rockford, Illinois, as a winner of the 2017 IndustryWeek Best Plants competition. The annual program recognizes North American plants that are on the leading edge of efforts to increase competitiveness and customer satisfaction. 

Shiloh Industries Inc., a global supplier of lightweighting, noise and vibration solutions, completed its acquisition of its Brabant Alucast Italy and Brabant Alucast Netherlands.

The company will double production capacity for magnesium castings with this addition and says it will "become one of the leading global manufacturers of magnesium cross car beams as well as one of the largest automotive magnesium suppliers worldwide."