. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inDustrY neWs
GM to Invest $59 Million in Defiance Plant General Motors executives an-
nounced in a press conference in late February the company will invest $59 million in precision sand cast- ing technology at its Defiance, Ohio, metalcasting plant. Addressing employees and members
of the media gathered at the Tonawa- nda, N.Y., engine assembly plant, the executives announced a total invest- ment of about a half a billion dollars in GM manufacturing. The Tonowanda plant will receive the lion’s share of the investment ($425 million), and GM’s Bay City, Mich., plant will receive a smaller chunk. Eighty jobs will be created at the
Defiance plant in conjunction with the investment. The metalcaster will use the funds to build engine cylinder blocks for the second generation of GM’s Ecotec engine. The engines, which should be available in GM cars in 2013, are intended to increase fuel efficiency and reduce noise.
“This is part
of GM’s entire- ly new concept of making sure the planet is safe,” said New York Governor David Pater- son. “It’s going to reclaim the U.S. as the greatest automotive producer in the world.”
Mueller to Close North Birmingham Ductile Pipe Plant U.S. Pipe and Foundry Co. LLC, Bir-
mingham, Ala., will close its ductile iron pipe casting plant in North Birming- ham, Ala., by March 31, according to an announcement by parent company Mueller Water Products Inc., Atlanta. The plant closure is expected to
eliminate approximately 260 positions. The company said production from the North Birmingham plant will be moved to U.S. Pipe’s Bessemer, Ala., and Union City, Calif., facilities. Over the past several years, U.S. Pipe
has invested in a new automated ductile iron pipe casting process. A metalcast- ing facility for the new technology was built adjacent to its existing Bessemer plant and launched in September 2008. According to a Mueller press release, the new technology and the downturn in the overall economy and its end markets has forced U.S. Pipe to address excess capacity in its other plants. “The performance of our automated manufacturing process has exceeded our expectations for quality, efficiency and overall productivity,” said Gregory Hyland, Mueller’s president and chief
8 Metal Casting Design & PurChasing
executive officer. “As a result, we are able to consolidate production, elimi- nate fixed costs and improve produc- tivity by leveraging the investment we made in upgrading our manufacturing technology.” Hyland said the need to repair or re-
place the country’s water infrastructure and a residential construction recovery should cause an eventual upturn in the demand for ductile pipe. In connection with the North Bir-
mingham plant closure, Mueller expects to incur a restructuring charge of approx- imately $15 million, with approximately $6 million in asset write-offs and $9 million in cash costs. The company also expects an incremental cash operating expense associated with the restructuring of approximately $2 million. However, annual savings are projected to be be- tween $20 million and $25 million. Mueller’s 12-month net sales through
Dec. 31, 2009, were $1.4 billion. The company is comprised of three oper- ating segments: Mueller Co., U.S. Pipe and Anvil. The company employs ap- proximately 5,100.
METAL
GM’s Defiance plant will produce the blocks for the company’s new Ecotec engines.
GM installed precision
sand casting technology at the De- fiance plant in Spring 2007 with an investment of $61 million. Precision
sand casting involves the pressurized filling of resin-bonded sand molds with high dimensional accuracy. In engine block building, the process allows the use of cast-in-place iron liners. METAL
Neenah Enterprises Files for Bankruptcy Reorganization
Municipal castings giant Neenah Enterprises Inc., Neenah, Wis., an- nounced it has filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to restructure its balance sheet. According to a press release issued
by the company, Neenah will continue to do business as usual throughout the restructuring process. “We’ve been going through efforts
to streamline operations and reduce expenses over the last few years, with the intent of keeping sufficient liquid- ity to move operations forward,” said Robert Ostendorf Jr., the company’s president and chief executive. “We will emerge from this stronger and more financially sound than ever. There is a bright future ahead.” Neenah, which filed for protection
in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, also announced it has reached an agreement in prin-
MarCh/aPril 2010 (continued on page 15)
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