INDUSTRY news
WPI Leads Project on Lightweight Metals for Military Vehicles Worcester Polytechnic Institute
(WPI), Worcester, Mass., is participating in a $7.4 million, multiuniversity award from the U.S. Army that will support the development of new metallurgical methods and lightweight alloys for more eff ective and durable military vehicles and systems. T e technologies and pro- cesses developed as part of the research also will have applications in the aircraft, automotive and electronics industries. WPI will receive $2.1 million through the two-year award, which is the latest installment from a multiyear coopera- tive agreement with the Army. T rough an approach dubbed
“nanomaterials by design,” Sisson and coprincipal investigators Diran Apelian, Alcoa-Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering at WPI and director of the university’s Metal Processing Institute (MPI), along with Makhlouf Makhlouf, director of the MPI’s Aluminum Cast- ing Research Center, are using a variety of modeling techniques in concert with laboratory studies to predict the microstructure and microchemistry of
new alloys. To a large degree, the micro- structure determines how the alloy will perform in components produced using processes including metalcasting. The researchers are studying
metallurgical processes such as heat treating, which can alter an alloy’s microstructure. From this work they
Grede to Be Sold to American Securities American Securities LLC has
agreed to a deal to buy iron cast- ing company Grede Holdings LLC, Southfi eld, Mich. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal was made for more than $800 million. Goldman Sachs is the leading lender. Other lenders in the deal include GE Capital Markets and Nomura Holdings.
Grede Holdings represents a 2010 merger of two major cast iron companies, Grede Foundries Inc. and Citation Corp. T e merger coincided with the purchase of Grede Found- ries by Wayzata Investment Partners LLC, Wayzata, Minn. Grede Holdings operates 14 iron casting facilities and three machining
MTI Acquires Precision Gage in Continued Expansion Metal Technologies Inc. (MTI),
Auburn, Ind., has acquired the as- sets of Precision Gage Inc. (PG), a gaging, fixturing and metal machin- ing business with two plants in Hillsdale, Mich. The operation will continue as Precision Gage LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of MTI. MTI, founded by chairman and
CEO Rick James in 1997, oper- ates iron foundries in Auburn, Ind.; Hibbing, Minn.; and Three Rivers and Ravenna, Mich. The company has aluminum diecast and squeeze cast operations in New
Hope, Minn., and Jackson, Tenn. With this acquisition, MTI sales exceed $475 million and it employs approximately 1,100 people. It provides iron and aluminum metal castings throughout North America to a diverse customer base. “The Precision Gage acquisition
continues MTI’s efforts to meet the strategic needs of our customers in targeted markets,” said MTI Presi- dent Matt Fetter. MTI produces gray, ductile and aluminum automotive engine dampers, while PG machines those
are deriving modelling tools that can be used to improve existing al- loys or to custom design new alloys with desired properties. “T e military is looking to de-
velop super-materials that can meet several needs at once,” said Richard Sisson, George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering, director of WPI’s Materials Science and Engi- neering Program, and principal in- vestigator for the Army award. “T ey want new alloys that are strong enough to be used structurally, tough enough to function as armor, and light enough to improve the mobility and fuel economy of vehicles.” The overall aim of the research
is the development of databases and computer modeling techniques that will make it possible to predict the nanoscale properties of light- weight alloys (primarily aluminum, titanium and magnesium), and to use these computational tools to de- sign and test new alloys for specific military applications.
facilities in North America. It recently announced plans to invest $7 mil- lion in upgrades to its New Castle, Ind., facility. T e company employs approximately 4,500 people. Accord- ing to the report, Grede Holdings has earnings before interest, taxes, depre- ciation and amortization of more than $150 million.
components. “Together, we can pro- vide a comprehensive solution for the damper market,” he said. “We anticipate many synergies across the company as we utilize PG’s expertise in cellular manufac- turing to assist us in better design- ing our value-added operations in the foundries.” PG’s 65-person team uses high
performance CNC turning, mill- ing and machining equipment to provide innovative solutions for automotive, medical device and other industries.
May/Jun 2014 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 7
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