. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inDustry neWs
Citation Wins Brake Contract, Confirms Grede Merger (continued from page 8)
Chris Keenan of Wayzata informed Grede suppliers of the merger in a letter dated Dec. 23, 2009. The newly formed metalcasting giant will maintain 14 plants with nearly 600,000 tons of iron casting capability. In his letter, Keenan estimated the company’s future annual revenues at $575 million. “Hopefully, no more [consolida-
tion] is needed, but that is going to depend on sales volumes,” Grimm said. “Volumes and utilization will continue
to be an ongoing review, but at this point, the goal is to maintain the cur- rent footprint.” In the past several months, Citation
has announced several key moves intended to refocus its marketing strategy. The contract with automotive systems supplier Continental Teves, a subsidiary of Continental AG, is to sup- ply cast iron brake components for hy- brid small cars and crossover utility ve- hicles for the North American market. The company also recently acquired
Blackhawk Foundry & Machining Co., Davenport, Iowa, but said it would not maintain the plant’s operations, instead taking over its customer contracts and some equipment, which were expected to be transferred to three of Citation’s facilities in Berlin, Wis., Bessemer, Ala., and Biscoe, N.C., by February. “Our focus continues to be on fur-
ther strengthening our diversification strategy,” Grimm said. “The Black- hawk acquisition further enhances our market diversification. A vast majority of the Blackhawk business is in the agriculture, energy, military and construction markets, which fur- ther bolsters our balance of industrial and transportation customers.” The new program with Continen-
tal Teves will launch in October 2011 at Citation’s Brewton, Ala., facility. The contract includes orders for brake calipers and anchors, products Citation indicates are important to its “core” operations. The program is expected to be in production for up to five years and generate $50 million in revenue over its life. “Citation and Continental Teves
have partnered for more than five years on several passenger car, sport utility vehicle and crossover utility vehicle programs,” said Tony Lovell, Citation’s vice president of sales and marketing. “This contract reaffirms our ability to meet customers’ increased needs for critical brake applications on hybrid vehicles.” In addition to the new business,
Citation recently announced the sale of its Albion, Ind., machine shop, a 68,000-sq.-ft. facility with 25 employees that primarily manufactures marine engine manifolds, to Busche Machine. “The sale of our Albion facil-
ity allows us to concentrate on our core iron casting and machining capability,” Grimm said. “The Albion business fits better with Busche Ma- chine’s principal products, markets and manufacturing footprint. We’re accelerating our effort to concentrate on core iron casting and machining, which includes our 250,000-sq.-ft. Menomonee Falls, Wis., facility that has 180 machining centers and em- ploys 150 people.”
METAL 10 Metal Casting Design & PurChasing January/February 2010
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