Industry News

AFS Corporate Member Waupaca Foundry has named Michael Hawthorne as its new chief executive officer. He succeeds Mike Nikolai, who left the company after nine years as CEO and over three decades of service at the company. 

“We’re excited to welcome Mike Hawthorne to the Waupaca Foundry family,” said Chairman Daniel Collin. “He brings over 30 years of industry experience and understands the roles that engineering, design, system integration and operational excellence play in achieving breakthrough results.”

Two standards on the Reduced Pressure Test and the Specific Gravity Test for aluminum melts were recently approved as part of the AFS Standards Initiative. These standards are the first two fully approved standards, but more are currently being developed on Grain Refinement of Aluminum Alloys, the Use of Printed Sand in Casting Production, and Furan 3D Printing Safety, among others. 

AFS has installed a live chat tool located on the bottom righthand corner of the AFS homepage (www.afsinc.org). The online assistance feature can help visitors navigate the website and find content, and it can answer questions regarding the webpages, class registration, webinars or events, and purchasing products. The chat tool includes a library of FAQs and articles and is supplemented with a link to chat with a live person. Check out the new online assistance feature to enhance your browsing experience.  

AFS Corporate Member Waupaca Foundry is one of 22 employers statewide recognized as a 2024 Vets Ready Employer by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and its Office of Veteran Employment Services (OVES). The annual award recognizes Wisconsin employers that have gone above and beyond to hire and support veterans and their families.

Approximately 10% of the foundry’s workforce are veterans of the armed services, and several team members have been employed while on active duty with the National Guard. The firm employs 3,500 people nationwide. 

AFS Corporate Member McWane Ductile of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, was among the winners of OSHA’s 2024 “Beat the Heat” contest. The annual contest highlights strong efforts to help protect workers from heat hazards.

This is the second consecutive year that one of McWane Ductile’s foundries have earned the recognition––in 2023, McWane Ductile Ohio in Coshocton won the award.

Senior leaders from across the U.S. Army gathered early in December at AFS Corporate Member Rock Island Arsenals Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center for a two-day war game about advanced manufacturing.

The session focused on enhancing and synchronizing efforts so the Army can best leverage technology to achieve its modernization and readiness goals. Advanced manufacturing is viewed as a potential game-changer for how the Army designs, produces, delivers, and sustains materiel capabilities. 

Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell visited AFS Corporate Member EJ in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on December 13. In addition to touring the operations, Pinnell discussed infrastructure, workforce, and area housing issues. 

AFS Corporate Member Kent Foundry has received local municipal go-ahead for a $10- to $12-million expansion to its Greenville, Michigan, plant. Plans for the project will likely be unveiled in the late first quarter or early second quarter. 

On November 19, the Greenville city voted unanimously to approve establishment of an industrial development district for Kent Foundry.  Kent Foundry, a manufacturer of gray and ductile iron castings is owned by Canadian-based  parent company Canerector Inc. of Toronto.

Private-equity group Stellex Capital Management has acquired two Pittsburgh-area manufacturers: a ferrous foundry and a forging and machining business, from Arcosa Inc. Both of the acquired companies supply a range of components for railroad and industrial buyers. McConway & Torley is a steel foundry with plants in Pittsburgh and Kutztown, PA, and 60,000 tons/year of melting capacity from three electric arc furnaces. Its cast products include couplers for freight trains and transit cars, knuckles and coupler parts, yokes and followers, striker parts, and draw bars.

The Ohio State University’s Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME) is leading a project to improve the cybersecurity and operational efficiency of 3D-printed sand molds used in metal casting.