INDUSTRY news
ThyssenKrupp Waupaca to Reopen, Expand Shuttered Plant 6 T yssenKrupp Waupaca (TKW),
Waupaca, Wis., announced it will resume production at its Plant 6 in Etowah, Tenn., in January 2012 and add approximately 20,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space to the facility. According to a company press
release, the decision to reopen and expand the plant was made in response to increasing market demand for gray and ductile iron castings. “T e reopening of our Etowah
foundry is good news for our customers and for the state of Tennessee, but also for the men and women we will be able to put back to work,” said Gary Gigante, TKW president and chief executive offi cer. “Our facility is one of the most technologically advanced in the iron castings industry, and we are proud to once again be open for business.” TKW will add the new
manufacturing space, as well as new melt, core and mill room equipment for ductile iron production, to its existing 270,000-sq.-ft. facility, which operates four high-speed vertical green sand molding machines. According to the company
statement, startup of the metalcasting facility will occur in two phases. After the new equipment is installed in the third quarter of 2011, phase one will focus on gray iron production and begin in the fi rst quarter of 2012. Full production is expected to begin no later than the end of the third quarter. Phase two will include the launching of ductile iron production in the second quarter of 2012. Full
ThyssenKrupp Waupaca’s Plant 6 is a high-production, vertical green sand molding facility.
production is expected by the fi rst quarter of 2013. Castings manufactured at Plant 6
are used by the passenger car and light truck, material handling, agriculture, construction, hydraulic and commercial vehicle market segments. At full production, the facility is capable of producing 200,000 tons of gray and ductile iron castings. TKW announced it would hire more than 250 hourly employees for the re-start of the facility starting in August, with a further 200
jobs expected to be added through 2014. T e company said it will begin with the rehiring of former employees impacted by the 2010 idling. In May, the executive board of
TKW parent T yssenkrupp AG, Essen, Germany, announced its intention to divest the iron casting division as part of its plan to reduce debt and focus on the automotive sector, particularly in emerging markets. T e parent company has declined to update the status of the divesture.
Former Kurdziel Plant, Carlton Creek Ironworks, Sold Again Carlton Creek Ironworks Inc.,
Muskegon, Mich., has been sold to Rothbury Steel LLC and will be reconfi gured to produce commercial steel castings, according to the company that brokered the deal. T e plant was purchased by
Monomoy Capital Partners LP, New York, from Kurdziel Industries Inc. in July 2008 for an undisclosed amount. Now, FL Sales Inc., Solon, Ohio,
has brokered a deal to change the ownership again. According to Kaleigh LoPresti, FL
Sales’ controller, the sale included the land and buildings and some of the machinery and equipment at the facility. “T e new owners will be removing the cupola and holding furnace and installing induction melting equipment to produce commercial steel castings,” LoPresti said in an email.
8 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Sept/Oct 2011
When it purchased the facility
in 2008, Monomoy added the metalcaster to a portfolio that included two other metalcasting facilities, both operated in its Compass Automotive Group. Prior to the purchase, the plant manufactured commercial castings and counterweights for a variety of industries. Its customers included John Deere, Haas, Komatsu and Genie.
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