NORTH AMERICAN NEWS
Former Textron fastening factory back from brink
Fasteners are part of the manufacturing resurgence sweeping industry in Rockford, Illinois. I I
n 2010, the CAMCAR plant in Belvidere was down to 100 workers, the Rockford Register Star reports. Parent company Acument Global Technologies was near shuttering the factory and moving production elsewhere. “It wouldn’t
have been a surprise,” writes Alex Gary of the Star. “The East Madison Street plant, where workers mainly make fasteners for the automotive industry, was all that was left of the old Textron Fastening Systems.” At one point TFS had employed 3,300 people making nuts
and bolts at a dozen plants. Acument took a calculated risk and kept the plant open. That risk was rewarded with increased business when automotive sales finally increased after a four- year hibernation. In response CAMCAR began hiring, and now it’s payroll numbers 220 workers, according to plant manager Dave
Brooks. “We exceeded our forecasts for 2011 by quite a bit, and we’re planning for a stronger 2012,” Brooks stated, adding that CAMCAR fasteners are found on most Ford, General Motors and Chrysler vehicles. Acument Global Technologies unveiled its new North American
processing and technical center in Fenton, MI, re-opened having been mothballed in April 2009 during the height of the recession. The facility handles some of Acument’s processing needs, including heat treatment, sorting parts and other services that were previously done out of state. The facility workforce is projected to top 100 in 2012. In addition to serving as a technology and processing center, the Fenton facility will also house Acument’s North American engineering group. Acument employs about 2,300 workers throughout North and South America.
Allfast growth exposes skilled labor shortage
Aerospace supplier Allfast Fastening Systems is part of the 18% of Los Angeles-based companies boosting their workforce, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
n 2011 Allfast reportedly boosted its staff by 17%, going from 220 to 258 employees. And more hiring is on the way. “By the end of next year we’ll hire another 50 people,” Allfast owner Jim Randall told the Tribune. “But there’s a shortage of skilled workers. I’m mostly bringing in kids from community colleges, vocational schools and high schools and training them.” Randall said Allfast is growing because orders at Boeing and Airbus are up, increasing demand for the company’s rivets
and other fasteners. Allfast is not the only fastener company struggling to find qualified workers. In recent months billionaire Sam Zell, who
owns a controlling interest in Anixter International, told CNBC that when Anixter tried to open a plant in Illinois, the company found there weren’t enough qualified applicants. “We can’t fill the plant with workers to make fasteners because in order to make fasteners you’ve got to be able to read plans. And we can’t find people who can read plans and specs and who are vocationally trained.”
Alcoa CEO: “We are #1 in fasteners”
Alcoa reported engineered products revenue in the fourth quarter rose 12% year on year to US$1.4 billion but was essentially flat sequentially.
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fter tax operating income for the segment grew 8% to US$122 million compared with fourth quarter 2010 and down 12% from third quarter 2011. Decreased ATOI was mainly driven by cost increases and unfavorable product mix, partially offset by productivity improvements. Full-year engineered products revenue increased 16.6% to US$5.34 billion, with segment ATOI climbing 30% to US$539 million.
In a media conference call CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said: “We continue to drive innovation and acquisitions as the major driver for
our downstream profitable growth.” He continued: “On the innovation side, I really almost don’t know where to start. We are #1 in fasteners. 90% of the fasteners are specialty fastener, 55% are patented.” Later he commented: “In addition to that we have the bolt-on acquisitions on the fasteners side from Perry Republic [ph], TransDigm.” In March 2011 Alcoa completed its US$240 million acquisition of TransDigm Group’s aerospace fastener business, which
included Valley-Todeco and Linread. Alcoa entered the fastener industry with the 2000 acquisition of Cordant Technologies Inc., which included Huck. Huck had
acquired fastener manufacturer Jacobson Mfg. Co. in 1998 and Chicago-based Continental/Midland Group in 1999. Alcoa acquired Fairchild Fasteners in 2002 for US$655 million, combining the company with Huck International to form AFS. AFS operates 29 manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, Asia and Australia. AFS employs 5,500 people in two divisions: aerospace and industrial.
Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 73 January 2012
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