tradetalk
Processing equipment builder reaches 60 years
2019 marks Red Bud Industries’ 60th anniversary. In 1959, at just 23 years old, Ken Voges sold his prized 1955 Thunderbird to start a tool and die shop on his parents’ farm. The company is still family owned and has evolved into a designer and builder of coil processing systems with over 1,200 installations worldwide.
Laguna Tools acquires Dake Corp.
Laguna Tools Inc., Irvine, California, acquired Dake Corp., Grand Haven, Michigan, bringing Laguna a diverse platform for the continued development of its metalworking line of products and offerings. Dake Corp. is the second acquisition for Laguna in the past two years. In September 2017, Laguna Tools acquired SuperMax.
Amada opens manufacturing center
Amada America Inc., Buena Park, California, has opened a 190,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in High Point, North Carolina. The first products manufactured at the center will include automation systems and Amada’s newest line of press brakes, the HRB Series. The company also plans to open a 62,000-square-foot technical center on the High Point campus later this year.
Nucor acquires TrueCore
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, inked a pact to acquire TrueCore LLC, an insulated metal panel manufacturing company based in Laurens, South Carolina. TrueCore produces insulated metal panels serving the cold storage market, and plans for additional commercial and industrial applications. TrueCore will become part of Nucor Buildings Group.
Novelis upgrades scrap operations
Novelis Inc., Atlanta, broke ground on a $36 million investment to expand and upgrade recycling capacity at its Greensboro, Georgia, facility. The investment includes adding equipment for aluminum scrap recycling, a new baghouse for improved dust mitigation and designs for safer and more efficient traffic flow. The company expects to complete the project by autumn 2021.
Severstal orders Fagor CTL line
Fagor Arrasate, Gipuzkoa, Spain, won an order to build a high-performance cut-to-length line to Severstal, Russia. The line will be fully automated through the complete process of unwinding, leveling, cutting and electromagnetic stacking. It is equipped with the latest sensor technology for measuring flatness and surface quality. The line will process surface-critical material. The cut sheets will be shipped to Russian automakers and their supply bases.
Wire manufacturer acquires two companies
TPC Wire & Cable Corp., Macedonia, Ohio, purchased Pittsburgh Wire and Cable (PWC) Inc. and Cicoil LLC. PWC is a stocking distributor of electrical solutions for the video inspection, mining and rail industries. This acquisition allows TPC to further penetrate new end-use markets and expand its portfolio of wire and cable solutions. Cicoil LLC, Valencia, California, manufactures and distributes flat cable and flat and round cable assemblies are used in mission-critical applications within industries such as military/aerospace, semiconductor and medical equipment. This acquisition allows TPC to expand its market reach and strengthen its portfolio of specialized wire and cable solutions to sophisticated, high cost-of-failure environments.
AK Steel receives DOE award
AK Steel, West Chester, Ohio, has accepted an award from the U.S. Department of Energy High Performance Computing for Materials Program. AK Steel researchers will collaborate with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop microstructure-based transformation models to predict austenite stability in high-strength steels in a project titled “Thermo-Mechanical Forming Process Development to Produce Tailored Strength Automotive Structural Components.” The project will be funded by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Vehicle Technologies Office. This is the fourth recent award AK Steel has received from EERE to support steel research.
Constellium wins Defense grant
Constellium SE’s Ravenswood, West Virginia, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense for a grant of $9.5 million to increase throughput, quality and performance of cold-rolled aluminum. The funding was awarded by Defense’s Cornerstone OTA and will be managed by the Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Constellium will use the funds to perform electrical, mechanical and hydraulic system upgrades to Ravenswood’s 144-inch-wide cold rolling mill and add automation and process controls.
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