Articles: Industry News

The Manufacturing Leadership Council announced AFS Corporate Member Humtown is among the finalists in the 2024 Manufacturing Leadership Awards for their outstanding achievements in the Transformational Business Cultures Category.  
“This is the team of finalists who is leading us all into a new and better direction in the manufacturing future,” said Humtown President Mark Lamoncha. 

AFS Corporate Member Bingham & Taylor honored its workforce on National Employee Appreciation Day, observed annually on the first Friday of March––but the company says it extends staff recognition beyond just a single day. To further its mission of fostering a culture of collaboration, Bingham & Taylor has dedicated years to developing and enhancing the C2ARES values program, a cornerstone of its corporate culture. The initiative, shaped by both executives and staff, stands for Collaboration, Creativity, Accountability, Respect, Excellence, and Sustainability. 

Metals recycler MetalX LLC has selected a 190-acre site in Defiance, Ohio, for its previously announced aluminum recycling campus. Initial development plans include an aluminum rolling slab manufacturing plant, a scrap shredding and advanced sortation facility, and a dedicated logistics hub. 

AFS Corporate Member Le Sueur Inc. (LSI), a supplier of complex aluminum castings, machined castings, and plastic injection molded components, has completed the acquisition of Craft Pattern and Mold (Craft). 

Craft, based in Montrose, Minnesota, is a rapid prototyping and complex metal and plastics component manufacturer. Craft has over 30 years of industry experience and has established itself, along with its skilled employees, as a leader in delivering high-quality parts to customers. 

Wabash Castings Inc., Wabash, Indiana, has installed a new, $1.5 million JOEST Complete Shaker System that will improve operations and reduce landfill waste. The new shaker system allows the aluminum casting manufacturer to reclaim and reuse approximately 500 tons of sand per month, removing it from the landfill stream. 

AFS Corporate Member Metal Technologies Inc. (MTI) of Auburn, Indiana, has acquired Key 3 Casting LLC, which owns and operates two aluminum die and squeeze casting facilities as well as a ductile iron foundry. 

The facilities involved in the sale include Jackson Die Casting LLC in Jackson, Tennessee; Minneapolis Die Casting LLC in Minneapolis; and Northern Foundry in Hibbing, Minnesota. The combined operations have approximately $74 million in annual sales and 300 employees. 

AFS Corporate Member Bingham & Taylor celebrated a two-year expansion and upgrades at its Culpeper, Virginia, foundry with a ribbon cutting event on October 6. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin along with local and regional elected officials were in attendance to show their support for the company’s newly unveiled electric melt system.

Cinnaire, a nonprofit community development financial organization, has secured an $11 million New Markets Tax Credit Investment for AFS Corporate Member Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry (WAF), based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. With it, the foundry will be able to expand with more manufacturing and office square footage. With the expansion comes 80 new jobs. 

AFS Corporate Member Progressive Foundry, Perry, Iowa, is launching another phase of its renovation improvements late this fall, with a $2.5 million investment to update its shakeout system. The company has purchased a new Didion media drum and several new conveyors from General Kinematics for the project, which is aimed at reducing casting breakage and lowering shotblasting cycle times. 

Television viewers nationwide will soon get a glimpse of the exciting world of metalcasting thanks to a fast-paced video from the American Foundry Society and the Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF).