Modern Casting articles from December 2005

Modern Casting archives from December 2005

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
December 1, 2005... The October web site question asked, "Which positions/functions at your facility have you outsourced to improve performance/efficiency and reduce costs?" Accounting 17% Human 11% Resources Marketing/ 11%...

Worth repeating.(HOTLINE)
December 1, 2005... "We're all manufacturers. Making good, making trouble or making excuses." H.V. Adolt

How do you stack up?(EDITORIAL)
December 1, 2005... This issue contains the last installment of MODERN CASTING's three-part series examining the U.S. metalcasting industry's cost structure and how it competes against foreign competition. By combining the reports from the October, November and...

Intermet emerges from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, enters credit facility.(North America)
December 1, 2005... Intermet Corp., Troy, Mich., emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection after its previously approved plan of reorganization became effective Nov. 9. In connection with the emergence, Intermet entered into a $285million credit facility...

Waupaca receives aid from Wisconsin Dept. of Commerce for facility upgrades.(North America)
December 1, 2005... In an effort to assist businesses within the state, the Wisconsin Dept. of Commerce announced it will provide $2 million in funding to ThyssenKrupp-Waupaca Foundry Inc., Waupaca, Wis., for the upgrade of its metalcasting in Waupaca and...

U.S. Pipe Chattanooga plant to close, will transfer production to Mueller operations.(North America)
December 1, 2005... Walter Industries Inc., Tampa, Fla., will close the Chattanooga, Tenn., metalcasting facility of its subsidiary, U.S. Pipe and Foundry Co., within the next year. The announcement came in the wake of Waiter's acquisition of Mueller Water...

Tupy expands Maua plant with robotic coremaking, new mold line for heavy truck engine parts.(Around the World)
December 1, 2005... The intense global competition that exists with the production of iron engine cylinder blocks and heads for heavy trucks makes automation the only route metalcasting plants can take to ensure a level playing field. This rule exists whether the...

Vulcan to develop new Technocast plant in Mexico.(North America)
December 1, 2005... Vulcan Engineering Co., Helena, Ala., was awarded a turnkey contract from Technocast (a joint venture between Cifunsa and Caterpillar Inc.) to head the development of a new 500,000-sq.ft. green sand casting facility in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. ...

Intermet facilities receive awards from customers.(North America)
December 1, 2005... Intermet Corp., Troy, Mich., announced that several of its metalcasting facilities earned quality awards from their customers. The company's Archer Creek Foundry, Lynchburg, Va., received a Certificate of Achievement award from Toyota Motor...

Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., announced that its Commercial Highway operations, located in Akron, Ohio, and Berea, Ky., received the 2005 Supplier of the Year Award from StrickTrailer, Monroe, Ind., for its effort in providing quality products and services.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., announced that its Commercial Highway operations, located in Akron, Ohio, and Berea, Ky., received the 2005 Supplier of the Year Award from StrickTrailer, Monroe, Ind., for its effort in...

Spuncast Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... Spuncast Inc., Watertown, Wis., announced that the company is now employee-owned, with employees possessing a 51% stake in the company.

Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, announced that its European subsidiary, Wescast Hungary Autoipari Rt., Oroszlany, Hungary, received new business contracts from PSA Peugeot Citroen.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, announced that its European subsidiary, Wescast Hungary Autoipari Rt., Oroszlany, Hungary, received new business contracts from PSA Peugeot Citroen, Paris, Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, Germany,...

The Green Bay (Wis.) Chamber of Commerce honored Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co. Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... The Green Bay (Wis.) Chamber of Commerce honored Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co. Inc., Manitowoc, Wis., with the 2005 large manufacturer of distinction award.

IdraPrince Inc., Holland, Mich., and Idra Casting Machines (ICM), Brescia, Italy, formed an alliance with Hishinuma Machinery Co. Ltd.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... IdraPrince Inc., Holland, Mich., and Idra Casting Machines (ICM), Brescia, Italy, formed an alliance with Hishinuma Machinery Co. Ltd., Ranzanmachi, Hiki-gun, Saitama, Japan, granting Hishinuma the right to distribute and sell products...

ASI International Ltd., Cleveland, and Black Lab Corp., Chardon, Ohio, completed the purchase of the flux and hot toppings product lines.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... ASI International Ltd., Cleveland, and Black Lab Corp., Chardon, Ohio, completed the purchase of the flux and hot toppings product lines from Hickman, Williams & Co., Cincinnati.

Quantron Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2005... Quantron Inc. announced that its new company location is 180 Boulder Drive, Suite 120, Fitchburg, Mass., 01420.

Equipment Merchants International Inc. (EMI), Cleveland, acquired AISCO Metallizing.(Newcast)
December 1, 2005... Equipment Merchants International Inc. (EMI), Cleveland, acquired AISCO Metallizing, Cleveland, giving EMI the ability to provide metallizing and machining of worn and damaged components.

The Simpson Group, Aurora, Ill., recently approved multiple installations and product upgrades across the globe.(Newscast)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Simpson Group, Aurora, Ill., recently approved multiple installations and product upgrades across the globe, including Technocast, Saltillo, Mexico, one multi-cooler, two Speedmullors, two bond determinators with compactability control and...

Quality certifications.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2005... The following metalcasting and supplier organizations have received recent certifications or passed surveillance audits: Bronze Craft Corp., Nashua, N.H., (ISO 9001:2000); The Buck Co. Inc., Quarryville, Pa., (ISO 9001:2000).

2005 FEF Conference delivers metalcasting opportunities to students across the country.(Metalcasting Associations)
December 1, 2005... More than 330 people (including 101 student delegates) turned out for the 2005 Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) College Industry Conference to focus on future opportunities in the metalcasting industry. Held Nov. 10-12 at the Drake...

Correction.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2005... In the article, "Domestic Competitiveness: What Does Our Balance Sheet Show?" (MODERN CASTING, October 2005, p. 18-23), a notation for Table 4, Average Annual Prices for Metallic Raw Materials and Energy, was omitted. The data for pig iron...

Superior Industries International Inc.(Foundry Ticker)
December 1, 2005... Superior Industries International Inc., Van Nuys, Calif., reported a third quarter revenue decrease of 5.9%, from $199.3 million last year to $187.6 million this year. Wheel revenue declined 7.2%, from $192.2 million last year to $178.3...

Westcast Industries Inc.(Foundry Ticker)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, reported third quarter sales of $86.9 million, a 2% decrease from $88.7 million declared during the same time last year. The company also reported a net loss for the quarter at $3.2 million...

Leggett & Platt Inc.(Foundry Ticker)
December 1, 2005... Leggett & Platt Inc., Carthage, Mo., reported record quarterly sales of $1.35 billion for the third quarter, an $11 million increase from the third quarter last year. The company also declared earnings per diluted share at $0.28, a $0.13...

Walter Industries Inc.(Foundry Ticker)(sales)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Walter Industries Inc., Tampa, Fla., reported a net income of $20.2 million for the third quarter, an increase compared to $19.1 million reported the same time last year. The company also announced net sales of $399.9 million, a 3.5% increase...

Observing the charted course.(Letterbox)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... Few, if any, of those who work in the foundries of our country are pleased with the way our political system works, and special interests dominate what does and does not get done. I noticed in the editorial, "Charting a Course for Ourselves"...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
December 1, 2005... January January 20-22--The 54th Indian Foundry Congress, Pune, India. February February 6-7--AFS Foundry Environmental 101 Seminar, Crown Plaza Atlanta Airport Hotel, Atlanta. February 9-10--AFS Wisconsin Regional, The...

Great Lakes Casting Corp.(Personals)
December 1, 2005... Great Lakes Casting Corp., Ludington, Mich., promoted Eric Bansch to vice president of sales and marketing.

Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.(Personals)
December 1, 2005... Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., named John Stephenson vice president of the company's steel wheel operations for its International Wheel Group.

Inductoheat Inc. (Inductotherm Group).(Personals)
December 1, 2005... Inductoheat Inc. (Inductotherm Group) Madison Heights, Mich., appointed Gerald Wills district sales manager for Ohio and the western side of the states of Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Ferrosource.(Personals)
December 1, 2005... Ferrosource, Tequesta, Fla., announced the appointments of Judy Hurley as Michigan district manager and Andrew Colen as account executive and promoted Mark Fritts to Chicago district manager.

FKI Logistex.(Personals)
December 1, 2005... FKI Logistex, Chapel Hill, N.C., named Ken Thouvenot vice president of project management and marketing, Matt Wicks director of systems engineering and Brett Felton international sales manager.

B & L Information Systems Inc.(Personals)
December 1, 2005... B & L Information Systems Inc., Bridgman, Mich., hired Jay Wigner as a support consultant in its client services department and Tom Burkhart as a software development engineer in its research and development department.

The Soundcast Div. of Griswold Industries.(Personals)
December 1, 2005... The Soundcast Div. of Griswold Industries, Newport Beach, Calif., named Robert Ogden assistant director of foundries.

U.S. calls for proof of China's IPR enforcement efforts at WTO.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
December 1, 2005... In an attempt to monitor international trade, the U.S. has asked China for detailed information regarding its efforts to enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) laws. A provision of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on...

IRS proposes new rules on domestic manufacturing tax incentive.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
December 1, 2005... The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in October issued proposed regulations on the new domestic manufacturing deduction under tax code Section 199. This tax break was enacted into law last fall with the passage of the American Jobs Creation Act...

AFS expands environmental, health & safety duties to Waterman & Assoc.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
December 1, 2005... As a means to strengthen and enhance its environmental, health and safety services, AFS announced that Government Affairs Representative Waterman & Assoc. now will be staffing managing and supporting all functions of the AFS Environmental,...

Global competitiveness: identifying our challenges: a recent U.S. ITC investigation addressed domestic and global influences on U.S. metalcasters. This article reveals U.S. ITC data detailing how foreign competition affected the U.S. metalcasting industry from 1999-2003.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2005... What is the Cost of U.S. Metalcasting? This article begins Part 3 in a three-part series. Part 1 of the series was published in the October issue of MODERN CASTING, and Part 2 appeared in the November issue. Part 1: Domestic...

Food for thought.
December 1, 2005... With the constant fluctuation of currency exchange rates, it's ideal that domestic casting firms gain a sense of how their prices match up against foreign competitors. A simple method to examine the value of a country's currency can be...

39th Census of World Casting Production--2004: as casting production grew across the globe last year, individual nations reported more expansion than contraction for casting shipments.(Illustration)
December 1, 2005... According to the 32 nations responding to MODERN CASTING's 39th Annual Census of World Casting Production, 2004 was a positive year for the global casting industry. The results from 2004 showed that total global tonnage (represented by...

Optimizing green sand compaction.
December 1, 2005... Inside This Story: * Adequate green sand compaction is essential to produce quality castings and reduce energy and mold cycle times. * Most high-volume green sand casting facilities utilize automation, but could improve their...

Increasing profit with machining.
December 1, 2005... Inside This Story: * Castings often need additional features machined-in for their end-use applications. * Many metalcasting firms have found success implementing a full-service machining operation into their facilities. * By...

Cashing in on today's lost foam.
December 1, 2005... Inside This Story: * Despite early struggles, recent improvements in the lost foam casting process have heightened its appeal to metalcasting facilities looking to expand their casting capabilities. * Automation, improved compaction...

The wisdom of Mark Twain.
December 1, 2005... I'd have to say that Mark Twain is my favorite author and, of all his books and stories, the one I like the most is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." This is the story of a 19th century factory superintendent blessed with more than...

Northeast Wisconsin--in October, Danielle Visser, Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corp.), presents Ray Donahue, Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corp.), with a speaker's award for his presentation, "Lost Foam at Mercury Marine.".(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2005... NORTHEAST WISCONSIN -- In October, (photo at l) Danielle Visser (r), Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corp.), presents Ray Donahue, Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corp.), with a speaker's award for his presentation, "Lost Foam at Mercury Marine." In...

Pittsburgh--in October, Bob Creese, West Virginia Univ., presented a speaker's plaque to Manfred Dickersbach, Inductotherm Corp.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2005... PITTSBURGH -- In October, Bob Creese (l), West Virginia Univ., presented a speaker's plaque to Manfred Dickersbach, Inductotherm Corp., for his presentation on the basic theory, safety and maintenance of induction melting furnaces. ...

Oregon--in October, Beth Knipple, Bridgetown Cores Inc., presents a Lewis and Clark commemorative casting to Raymond Monroe.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2005... OREGON -- In October, Beth Knipple, Bridgetown Cores Inc., presents a Lewis and Clark commemorative casting to Raymond Monroe, Steel Founders Society of America, for his presentation, "Recapitalizatien and Prosperity." [ILLUSTRATION...

Detroit/Windsor--in October, Richard MacDonald, Ford Motor Co., presented a speakers award to John Koszewnik.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2005... DETROIT/WINDSOR -- In October, Richard MacDonald (r), Ford Motor Co., presented a speakers award to John Koszewnik, Ford Motor Co., for his overview of diesel technology trends at Ford. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Central Ohio--in October, Parashar Joshi, Ashland Casting Solutions, presents a speaker's award to Tom Cobett, OmniSource Corp.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2005... CENTRAL OHIO -- In October, Parashar Joshi (r), Ashland Casting Solutions, presents a speaker's award to Tom Cobett, OmniSource Corp., after his presentation, "How Will the U.S. Foundries Survive?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Texas--in October, in attendance were the 2005-2006 chapter officers.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2005... TEXAS -- In October, in attendance were the 2005-2006 chapter officers Pictured are (from I), Michael Lloyd, Americast Metal Products Inc., Treasurer; Dan Melton, Citation Corp.-Lufkin, Secretary; Woody Peavy, Lufkin Industries Inc.,...

Chapter meetings.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)(Calendar)
December 1, 2005... BIRMINGHAM Jan. 9 -- Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham, Ala.; Regular Meeting. Feb. 6--Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham, Ala.; Regular Meeting. March 13--Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham, Ala.; Regular Meeting. April 7--TBD; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Student Night & Golf....

Automated finishing improves Dalton Corp.'s profitability.(Case History)
December 1, 2005... Neenah Foundry Co.'s Dalton Corp. Kendallville Manufacturing Facility, Kendallville, Ind., is a leading producer of high-quality, highly cored gray iron castings serving various end-use segments of the casting market. As with most metalcasting...

Neptune Technology Group benefits from customized automated pouring.(Case History)
December 1, 2005... Like many metalcasters, Neptune Technology Group, Tallassee, Ala., a manufacturer of lead-free brass water meters, sought to reduce its operating costs to enhance its competitive position. It was determined that increasing casting yields...

Continous duty actuator.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
December 1, 2005... Duff-Norton now offers its 7500 series actuator for applications requiring continuous duty cycles. The 7500 series is designed with a screw and ball nut system and cast aluminum shell and shell cap. It can perform with efficiency ratings up to...

Industrial robots.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
December 1, 2005... KUKA Robotics Corp. introduced its Linear Slide, a self-contained one-axis unit that adds a seventh or eighth axis when used with another robot. It is capable of being floor or ceiling mounted and comes equipped with a mounting face on the...

Low pressure diecasting machines.(Alupro Coating Technologies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ALUPRO Coating Technologies developed SiNergy, a coating system that forms a tenacious bond with a ferrous mold surface beneath the top coat. The SiNergy system is designed to run for 1,000 shots. While the mold is still in place on the...

Contemporary art with a metalcasting twist.(SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know ...)
December 1, 2005... Cast iron is associated most often with industrial production items, such as machinery, pipes and manhole covers, but some artists have found it to be a valuable medium for expression, as well. The National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis,...