ME Elecmetal Is in DEMAND
The world’s hunger for metal has kept the steel casting company’s production at capacity, even after a significant $42 million plant optimization. BY SHANNON WETZEL, SENIOR EDITOR
N
o one is standing idle in the mold- ing area of ME Global’s Duluth, Minn., facility, nor are they loafing in
the melt room or cleaning room. With capacity booked solid for the near term, every employee in the V-process casting facility, in each of its three shifts, has plenty to do to meet delivery deadlines. It’s boom time for the maker of impact and abrasion resistant castings used in mining and ore processing. To meet demand, the Chile-based manufactur- ing group completed two major expan- sions last year at its facilities in Tempe, Ariz., and Duluth, and plans to double production in one of its Chilean casting facilities by 2015. In addition, in 2012 it announced a $45 million project to build a specialty steel casting facility in China. “We are in a very tight capacity
situation right now,” said ME Global President and COO Andy Ful- ton, who oversees the business out of the North American headquarters in Minneapolis. “Our recent investments were made to try to keep pace with demand from our domestic and international customers. In spite of the uneasiness in Europe and slower growth in China, there is still a growing demand for metals.” Notwithstanding the huge
demand for copper, in the U.S., devel- oped countries’ peak demand for metals is stable. But developing countries need the infrastructure to build their cities. Electrifying a city takes a significant amount of metal, which is where ME Global’s customers come in. Tey pro- cess the ore extracted from the earth in large tumbling mills. Te longer exist- ing mines are open, the deeper the pits, and typically at a lower grade of ore. “Tere are countries in the world that
are entering the stage of development where people are moving from rural to urban settings and electrification is needed,” Fulton said. “For existing mines to have the same output of copper, with lower grades they have to process more ore. When they process more ore, they use more of our product.” In just the Tempe and Duluth
expansions in 2011 and 2012, ME Global invested close to $42 million to optimize production flow to open up
ME Elecmetal Santiago, Chile
Number of Casting Processes: Nobake and V-process sand molding.
Casting End-use Industry: Mining and minerals processing.
Other Non-steel Industries: Glass container manufacturing, wine, media and communications.
28 | MODERN CASTING January 2013
65 additional net good tons a day. Te Duluth facility has more than doubled its workforce since 2008. Total sales for the North and South American plants (which also include a grinding media business) reached approximately $500 million in 2012. “Our owners have made a significant
investment in their North and South American facilities and are committed to the mining industry,” Fulton said. “Our board, and chairman Jaime Claro, have a long-term vision for the business and see the wisdom of investing in and optimizing Tempe and Duluth.”
Optimization and Expansion In 2001, Chile-based Elecmetal pur-
Metalcasting Facilities: Five, with a sixth being built in China this year. Material: White iron, martensitic and pearlitic steel.
chased ME International, which con- sisted of the Tempe and Duluth casting facilities and Minneapolis corporate office, to form subsidiary ME Global. At the time, Elecmetal operated two steel casting facilities in Chile produc- ing the same type of impact and abrasion resistant castings for mineral processing (among a wide range of other businesses, including wine making, bottling and communications). After the purchase, Elecmetal—under the brand name ME Elecmetal— added another South American metalcasting facility and a licensee in Mexico to comple- ment its capabilities in Duluth and Tempe. But demand for the
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