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Source: Light Metal Age
A US$175 million investment is being planned which will include melting equipment for scrap material and a casting line to be installed by July 2018 and a cold rolling mill to be completed by April 2019.
Read more to find out where this expansion is scheduled to occur: UACJ Invests in Aluminum Sheet Production Capacity Enhancements
Casting Line to be Installed Read More »
Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. has been acquired by American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. . The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and recently approved by stockholders of AAM and MPG.
“Today is an historic day where we combine the strengths of both AAM and MPG into a premier, global Tier 1 automotive supplier with broader capabilities across multiple product lines,” said David C. Dauch, AAM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This transformational acquisition will allow us to maximize stakeholder value by creating a company with greater size, scale and increased business diversification that delivers efficient, powerful and innovative solutions for our customers.”
Premier Global Tier One Auto Supplier Formed by Union Read More »
Source: Engineering 360
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found a way to double the strength of steel by using a heat treatment process. Read more to get the details of the process….
Read more: Researchers Develop Stronger Titanium Alloy by the Engineering 360 Newsdesk
Heat Treatment Process Helps Develop Stronger Titanium Alloy Read More »
Automotive Industry to Benefit from New SBQ Steel Mill Read More »
Global technology, engineering and advanced manufacturing leader Arconic announced a multi-year supply deal with Toyota North America. Arconic is supplying aluminum to Toyota for its all-new Lexus RX. The vehicle debuted last year and became Toyota’s first vehicle in North America to prominently feature aluminum exterior panels.
“Automakers worldwide are turning to aluminum for the stronger, tougher, higher performing vehicles that consumers demand,” said Mark Vrablec, President of Arconic’s Aerospace & Automotive Products business. “Many bestselling vehicles in America have already converted to aluminum for improved performance, including better fuel efficiency, more towing and payload capacity, and improved vehicle safety scores. This trend will continue. We are proud to expand our relationship with Toyota.”
This makes Arconic the sole aluminum sheet supplier to Toyota for the Lexus RX, named by Consumer Reports as the Best Luxury SUV of 2016.
The Arconic and Toyota deal draws on the strong automotive expertise and manufacturing capability of Arconic’s Global Rolled Products business. Arconic will supply Toyota from its plants in Davenport, Iowa, and Danville, Illinois.
Arconic Announces Multi-Year Deal with Toyota Read More »
At the beginning of 2017, LOI Thermprocess GmbH and its Chinese subsidiary company LOI Thermprocess (Tianjin) Co. Ltd. received a contract for a wire annealing plant from STM Kunshan Cheng Tongming Metal Co. Ltd. a Chinese wire manufacturer in the province Jiangsu. The order includes the delivery of a bell-type furnace plant with two annealing bases, two heating hoods and one Jet-cooling hood. The HPH® (High Performance Hydrogen) bell-type furnaces also works with hydrogen as annealing atmosphere and has per base an usable diameter of 4,200 mm and a charging height of 3,500 mm. Thus, an average batch weight of 28 tons steel wire per annealing base can be achieved. Not only hot rolled wire coils but also drawn wire coils shall be annealed. The start of production for the new annealing plant is forecasted for end of the third quarter of 2017.
STM Kunshan Cheng Tongming Metal Orders Bell Furnace Read More »
Source: Light Metal Age February 2017
The demand for aluminum and its alloys is projected to grow by 39% over the next decade in the North American light automotive sector [1]. Aluminum is an attractive material for the transportation industry as it is lightweight and possesses excellent static and dynamic mechanical properties. With the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards mandating reduced fuel consumption, automotive vehicles need to be lighter in weight. However, reducing fuel consumption is only one part of the issue. The reduction of CO2 emissions and energy usage during production is also critical moving forward. By manufacturing aluminum components from secondary material streams, 95% less CO2 is emitted and the energy consumed is reduced by 92% compared to primary production [2-3]. The complete benefit of automotive light-weighting using aluminum cannot be fully achieved without an efficient and effective end-of-life collection and recovery process.
Read more: Grave -to-Gate: Automotive Aluminum Recycling at End-of-Life by Sean Kelly and Diran Apelian
Grave-to-Gate: Automotive Aluminum Recycling at End-of-Life Read More »
Clemens Iller – CEO SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH, a global leader in special long steel, and TSINGSHAN GROUP, a world leader in stainless steel, announced the formation of a Joint Venture in China. The JV company is 60 percent owned by SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH and 40 percent by TSINGSHAN and will operate under the name Shanghai Xinzhen Precision Bar Co. Ltd. out of Shanghai (China).
By creating the JV, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH and TSINGSHAN share the common ambition of further growth in the Chinese stainless long steel market. The combination of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH’s technical know-how with TSINGSHAN’s strong market position in China creates a world-class supplier of special bright bars that is able to meet the growing demand in the region.
The JV focuses on the production of a wide range of drawn bright bars with a reliable and flexible supply chain, leveraging technical expertise, operational excellence and deep customer and market knowledge of both parties.
Key feedstock will comprise stainless steel wire rods from TSINGSHAN as well as from SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH’s Business Units Ugitech and Deutsche Edelstahlwerke which are recognized as a global benchmark in quality and performance. Deep understanding of end-use applications coupled with a local manufacturing capability in China will allow to comprehensively delivering industry-specific
value proposition to customers through this partnership. To further strengthen its leading position, Shanghai Xinzhen Precision Bar will invest in additional equipment that allows expanding the offering to higher performance steel grades.
“By partnering in drawn bar activity with highly respected TSINGSHAN we will establish local downstream production capability in China,” SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CEO Clemens Iller commented. “This marks a milestone in our efforts to better serve global customers located in China and consolidates our leading position in technical products, mainly for the Automotive and Electronics industries. Beyond that, we can address several market segments such as Industrial Equipment or Food & Beverage that offer niches with excellent growth potential.”
Mr Huang Weifeng, Vice Chairman of TSINGSHAN GROUP, said: “TSINGSHAN is one of the worldwide major players in the stainless steel industry and Shanghai Decent Group, the JV partner, is a member company of TSINGSHAN. The joint venture is an excellent example of win-win cooperation in the stainless steel industry.”
TSINGSHAN is a global leader endeavor to the excellence operation of complete stainless steel production chain with more than 26’000 employees. It currently operates a bar drawing facility in Shanghai under the name Shanghai Xinzhen Special Steel Co. Ltd. SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH is a leading global producer, processor and distributor of special long steel products, operating with a global sales and services network in an attractive niche market. It enjoys strong customer relationships globally in various application industries and an extensive international footprint. This partnership will help to further consolidate its existing strong presence in Chinese markets.
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH and TSINGSHAN to Form Joint Venture Read More »
Source: Light Metal Age
Aluminum armor solutions have been in existence for the past 60 years, almost since the start of the Aluminum Association circa 1954. These plate products were developed for armored personnel carriers, either wheeled or tracked. Armored vehicles serve an important function as reconnaissance, ambulance, scout, or infantry delivery vehicles. One of the first armored vehicles, which used aluminum armor, was the M113 armored personnel vehicle (Figure 1). The M113 introduced new aluminum armor that made the vehicle much lighter than earlier vehicles; it was thick enough to protect the crew and passengers against small arms fire, but light enough that the vehicle was air transportable.
Read more: Advanced Aluminum Armor Alloys by Michael Niedzinski, Constellium
Advanced Aluminum Armor Alloys Read More »
Source: Advancedmanufacturing.org
General Motors Co. said it will spend an additional $1 billion on US manufacturing plants, a move the automaker estimated would add or retain 1500 factory jobs.
GM (Detroit) didn’t specify the factories affected, saying in a statement that such details “will be announced throughout the year.” The investment will involve “multiple new vehicle, advanced technology and component projects,” GM said.
Read More: GM to Spend an Additional $1 Billion on US Plants by Bill Koenig
GM to Spend an Additional $1 Billion on US Plants Read More »