INDUSTRY NEWS
GF Automotive to Expand in Asia, Divest Aluminum Sand Casting in Europe GF Automotive, a corporate group of
Georg Fischer, Schaffhausen, Switzer- land, will expand its existing plants in China and focus in Europe on its iron and aluminum diecasting facilities. Its aluminum sand casting business, with two facilities in Friedrichshafen and Garching, Germany, will be divested. Georg Fischer expects continued
growth in the Asian automotive market and an overall subdued situation in Eu- rope. Consequently, the expansion of GF Automotive in China will continue at a substantial pace. In the last six years, sales in that country went from zero to 10% of the total turnover of the corporate group. Te strong local demand will require an increase in the production capacity of the two existing iron and aluminum diecasting facilities of approximately 40% within the next two years. In Europe, the GF Automotive cor-
porate group has decided to concentrate on iron and aluminum diecasting, and it will reduce its production footprint in Europe. Te two corresponding plants
MetalTek Acquires
in Germany will be divested through a share deal to MWS Industriehold- ing GmbH, an aluminum casting and CNC machining specialist headquar- tered in Schwoich, Germany. Te two facilities employ a total of 430 people, producing aluminum sand castings for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and
industrial applications. “With this acquisition, we will
become the technological leader as well as the largest supplier in aluminum sand casting in Europe. Te existing manage- ment will stay in place to guarantee the continuity of the business,” said MWS co-owner Dr. Christoph Senft.
Florida Fab Shop MetalTek International, Waukesha,
Wis., has acquired Specialty Mainte- nance and Construction Inc. (SMCI), Lakeland, Fla., a close tolerance fabricat- ing and machining services provider targeting high performance markets, including energy. Te addition of SMCI’s capabilities
advances MetalTek’s growth strategy as a key comprehensive provider of metals technology in targeted global markets. “Te addition of SMCI to our newly
formed Energy Group puts us in a very strong position to be the ‘go-to guys’ for almost anything metal in our targeted key environmental and energy markets.” said Robert Smickley, CEO, MetalTek. MetalTek International is a private-
ly held manufacturer and integrator of quality high‐alloy components with operations in Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and the U.K. Te company employs more than 1,400 people in 10 facilities in the U.S., England and Scotland.
January 2013 MODERN CASTING | 15
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