INDUSTRY NEWS North America


Grede Wins Jeep Components Contract Grede Holdings LLC, Novi, Mich.,


has begun production of various safety- critical components on the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. According to an announcement


from Grede Vice President of Sales Tony Lovell, the company is supply- ing several chassis components for the vehicle, which recently launched production at Chrysler’s Jefferson Avenue plant in Detroit. The com- ponents are produced at Grede’s St. Cloud, Minn., metalcasting facility,


then painted and shipped to a Tier One supplier in Michigan, where they are machined and assembled. “We’re proud that Grede was se-


lected for this important application based on our experience in producing high quality, safety-critical suspension components,” Lovell said. Grede specializes in ductile, gray and


specialty iron castings for the transpor- tation and industrial markets and oper- ates 13 metalcasting facilities and two machining operations in the U.S. MC


UAB Officially Launches Materials Development Lab


Harrison Steel Castings Joins Energy Star


The Harrison Steel Castings Co.,


Attica, Ind., recently announced it has become an Energy Star partner and vowed “a fundamental commit- ment to protect the environment.” The voluntary partnership with


the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is intended to help the company improve its energy ef- ficiency and fight global warming. Harrison Steel also hopes the energy management program will help its bottom line. “Harrison Steel is striving to achieve


better energy utilization,” said Robert Harrison, the company’s vice presi- dent of finance and treasurer. “Energy Star partnership gives us the ability to benchmark performance, share ideas and try new things.” In partnership with Energy Star,


The new center combines the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s new metalcasting capa- bilities with its existing composites laboratory


The University of Alabama at Bir- mingham (UAB), Birmingham, Ala., has officially opened its new Materials Pro- cessing and Application Development Center (MPAD), a laboratory announced last spring that includes state-of-the-art metalcasting capabilities. The ribbon on the facility officially


was cut during a ceremony on Aug. 24. “Companies that don’t want to spend


extra dollars in this economic time on research and development can now look to UAB to conduct tests and de- velop new materials,” said Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office. “This center is the real deal. They


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have an unparalleled level of intellect here and are operating state-of-the-art equipment to work in the most ad- vanced areas of composite and metal materials research.” Home to a 6,000-sq.-ft. composite materials laboratory and 9,000 sq.-ft. metals laboratory, MPAD, which oper- ates out of the UAB Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is the largest academic research facility of its kind in the country. “Having both composites and metals


research under one roof is extremely rare,” said Linda Lucas, Ph.D., dean of (continued on page 12)


Harrison Steel will measure and track the energy performance of its facilities. The energy management guidelines the program offers are intended to help promote the impor- tance of energy efficiency to staff and community; support the Energy Star Challenge, a national call-to-action to help improve the energy efficiency of America’s commercial and indus- trial buildings by 10% or more; and highlight its partners’ achievements with recognition. Energy Star was introduced by EPA


in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products, new homes, and commer- cial and industrial buildings. Harrison Steel produces carbon


and low/medium alloy steel castings for companies in the agriculture, heavy equipment, energy, military, mining, oil and gas industries. The metalcaster is capable of produc- ing castings ranging from 350 to 14,000 lbs.


MC MODERN CASTING / October 2010


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