Industry News

AFS Corporate Member Mueller Water Products announced it is adding a Kimball, Tennessee, facility that is expected to bring 325 jobs.

Mueller is investing $41 million in the project, which will use a 233,000 sq. ft. building that was vacated when another company closed this spring.

“The new location in Marion County supports the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities around our Chattanooga operations,” Mueller Water Products president and CEO Scott Hall said in a news release.

The facility is expected to open in 2020.

AFS Corporate Member Wellman Dynamics announced that the US Army Contracting Command has selected Wellman as the recipient of a Defense Production Act Title III award of $15.7 million. As a condition of the award, Wellman is required to fund a matching investment of $7.9 million. The total investment of $23.6 million will be used for plant modernization in response to the growing demand for Wellman’s products.

AFS Corporate Member Mueller Water Products (Atlanta) broke ground on its new, state-of-the-art foundry in Decatur, Illinois.

Impro Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Impro Mexico SLP Campus in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

The campus will cover almost 2.5 million sq. ft. and have five plants, including precision machining, sand casting, investment casting, aerospace components and surface treatment.

Impro plans to invest over $100 million into the campus over the next 3-5 years, which will generate up to 1,500 new jobs locally. 

AFS Corporate Member Faircast Inc. (Fairfield, Iowa) announced it has acquired Corporate Member Galesburg Castings (Galesburg, Illinois).

In a news release, Faircast said "the increase in business with this acquisition will bring Faircast one step closer to a major modernization that includes new molding lines and sand systems." 

The American Foundry Society (AFS) highlighted metalcasting careers to students, teachers, and families during its Manufacturing Day Open House on Oct. 4, 2019.

The event is part of a coordinated annual national celebration by the manufacturing industry to show the public its importance to the economy and address common misconceptions about manufacturing. Companies are encouraged to open their doors to their communities and show what they make, the technologies they use, and the promising career paths available.