. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inDusTrY neWs
inDusTrY neWs
Acra Cast Remodels Laboratory, Adds Employees Investment caster Acra Cast, Bay City,
Mich., has upgraded its in-house labora- tory and grown employment numbers almost to their pre-recession levels, ac- cording to a company executive. Richard Singer, Acra Cast’s presi-
dent and owner, said the company has spent $70,000 on improving its labo- ratory testing facilities, including the addition of a new spectrometer, and now employs 18, up from a low of 11. “We’re on the incline again, which is positive news,” Singer said. In addition to purchasing the new
spectrometer, the company has im- proved its lab by moving its air com- pressors outdoors, creating a dedicated modular space with new plumbing and electrical lines, and upgrading the facility’s doors and ceiling to make it more airtight and reduce dust. The company can now test incoming melt stock, verify chemistries are correct
through in-process metallurgical tests and self-certify alloy chemistries prior to shipping. According to Singer, Acra Cast has
seen a growing number of defense contracts since he and his father purchased the facility in 1998. Singer estimates the company’s customer list has gone from 10% defense to 60% defense since that time. “That was one of the drivers for
investing in the spectrometer,” he said. Singer said Acra Cast is also in
the process of examining a potential expansion of the facility as part of its long-term growth plan, which may also include the installation of a robotic dipping line. “There is vacant land adjacent to us
that we’re currently having surveyed,” he said. “The owners have expressed a willingness to sell it, and the ball’s in our court.”
METAL
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Grede Holdings LLC, Southfield,
Mich., announced its St. Cloud, Minn., facility was awarded a bronze certifica- tion from Caterpillar Inc., just several months after the company’s New Cas- tle, Ind., plant earned the award. The award is part of Caterpillar’s Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP). The St. Cloud plant supplies Caterpillar with stabilizer legs for its backhoe loaders, as well as hubs, caps, links and covers for its construction/mining equipment and large dump trucks.
Ward Manufacturing, Blossburg, Pa.,
was awarded a $50,000 grant from Ben Franklin Technology Partners for a “Less Energy 2011, Ward Foundry via Novel Core Making” project, according to the Wellsboro Gazette. The newspa- per reports the grant will be used to help the company develop a “greener” way of making castings. Ward produces cast iron fittings and nipples.
MetalTek International, Waukesha,
Wis., which maintains metalcasting capabilities among other manufac- turing processes, has joined forces with Mackson Inc., Rock Hill, S.C., a
March/april 2011
supplier of nuclear safety related and ASME code materials.
G&W Electric, Blue Island, Ill., is re-
locating all of its operations other than its metalcasting facility, Manufacturer’s Brass & Aluminum Foundry Inc., to Bolingbrook, Ill.
Rapid prototyper Clinkenbeard,
Rockford, Ill., has expanded its capac- ity by adding a five-axis vertical mill- ing machine to its stable of CNC and milling machines. It is the company’s sixth five-axis vertical milling machine.
Thixomat Technologies LLC, Ann
Arbor, Mich., has been established as the holding company for the Thixomat group of companies, which includes Thixomat Inc., developer of the Thixo- molding injection molding process for converting magnesium alloys into parts, nanoMAG LLC, inventor of a magnesium sheet technology, and Molded Magne- sium Products LLC, a manufacturer of precision molded magnesium compo- nents. The new holding company is part of Thixomat’s strategy to expand the company’s licensing business. METAL
For Design engineers & purchasers 15
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