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INDUSTRY NEWS


Alcoa Invests $22M in Hot Isostatic Pressing Facility Alcoa, New York, announced an


Alcoa expects its new operation


investment of $22 million in hot isostatic pressing (HIP) technology at its facility in Whitehall, Mich. Te investment will enable Alcoa to cap- ture growing demand for advanced titanium, nickel and 3-D-printed parts in jet engines. “As aerospace growth soars, Alcoa


continues to invest in the latest technologies, creating added capac- ity to capture fast-growing demand,” said Olivier Jarrault, executive vice president, Alcoa. HIP involves the simultaneous


application of high pressure and temperatures to improve mechanical properties in cast products. Tis in- vestment will enable Alcoa to process its largest jet engine parts in-house.


Foundry, Cut 262 Jobs General Electric Co. announced plans to close its Lufkin, Texas, metalcasting facility as the company addresses decreasing oil prices and declining demand for drilling and well equipment. The closing, an- nounced in late August, will result in the loss of 250 jobs. In addi- tion to the Lufkin closing, GE will eliminate a dozen jobs at the Buck Creek facility in Lufkin. Lufkin Industries and GE Oil and Industries saw orders drop 40% in the second quarter, due in part to oil prices dropping by more than 50% in the last year, according to GE Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bornstein. GE acquired Lufkin Industries in 2013 for $3.3 billion. After an- nouncing a $60 million investment in the metalcasting plant late last year, GE scrapped the so-called “Project Phoenix” and announced a first round of layoffs. In July, Lufkin city officials said they were hopeful to find a buyer for the GE facility, but company officials cited “increas- ingly challenging market conditions” for the closure.


September 2015 MODERN CASTING | 17 GE to Close Lufkin


to be ready for product qualifica- tion in 2016. Alcoa’s eight other HIP production systems are also located in Whitehall, where it has a concentration of engineer- ing and technical resources. The


City of Whitehall has approved a 12-year tax exemption valued at over $1,000,000. This investment supports Alcoa’s strategy to build its value-add business for profitable growth and greater innovation in the aerospace market.


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