Page 8 - MetalForming-Jun-2018-issue

News Fronts
Facilities
Banker Wire Announces Plans for New Facility Banker Wire, provider of
Business Notes
Combilift Moves Innovation Forward... and in Other Directions
woven and welded wire mesh for industrial applications, has announced plans to relocate its Mukwonago, WI--based manufacturing to a new 182,000-sq.-ft. facility, also in Mukwonago, and scheduled to be fully operational by March 2019. The facility will be home to the country’s widest wire- mesh welding machine.
United Steel Supply Orders Braner/Loopco Slitting Line
Combilift, the Ireland-based manufacturer of customized materials-handling solutions, officially opened its 500,000-sq-ft., $48-million eco-friendly factory in Annahagh, Monaghan. Estab- lished by Martin McVicar, managing director, and Robert Moffett, technical director, the privately held company developed its first multidirectional all-wheel drive, IC-engine-powered forklift in
United Steel Supply, a sup- plier of galvanized and pre- painted steel coil for metal roofing and siding applications headquartered in Austin, TX, has ordered a high-perfor- mance Braner/Loopco triple- turret-head slitting line for its manufacturing operations. The line will have the capacity to process high-strength coat- ed and bare carbon steel coils in gauges from 0.010 to 0.125 in. with mechanical strength to 160,000 psi.
1998. In its first year of operation, Combilift produced 18 units, 17 of which were export- ed. The company now has more than 40,000 units in oper- ation in 85 countries, with 12,000 units in the United States and Canada. To stay ahead, Combilift spends 7 percent of its yearly revenue on research and development.
“As we’ve grown and evolved, we’ve reached a point where we had to decide whether we should add on to our current facility or build a new one,” says Dave Stout, president of Banker Wire. “In the end, we decided to push forward into a new facility. My goal is to build the best, most efficient wire mesh manufac- turing location in the world.”
Operational features that target four setups and four coils/hr. include automatic no-hands coil loading, 1-min. head change, 2-min. no-hands line thread-up, programmable automatic vertical knife-clear- ance adjust, quick-change ten- sioner and overarm separa- tors, programmable automatic constant line tension, adjustable centerline overarm. Other features: advanced labor-saving automation, pro- duction reporting, remote trou- ble-shooting diagnostics and program updates, and advanced safety items.
opening, McVicar said the company projects 30-percent growth for North America this year, attributing the company’s success to mass customization. “Forklift producers that offer customized prod- ucts generally produce low volume,” explained McVicar, ‘but Com- bilift is offering the mass production of tailored products, result- ing in a strategic advantage for our customers.”
Faurecia to Build $60 Million Plant
Set on a 100-acre site with room for expansion, the facto- ry’s eco-friendly features include skylights accounting for about 30 percent of the 11 acres of roof, lighting provided through 1100 LED lights with individual passive infrared sensors; solar panels supplying 185 Kw of energy, with a biomass plant fueled by recycled wood (pallets, etc,) to heat the spraying booth and assembly areas; and harvested rain water used throughout the facility.
Faurecia, the France-based automotive technology compa- ny with North American head- quarters in Auburn Hills, MI, has announced that it will build a $600-million, 250,000- sq.-ft. interiors production facil- ity in Blue Springs, MO, near Kansas City. The company, a global leader in developing automotive seating, interior systems and clean mobility, will create 300 new jobs.
LVD Gains Major Order in Japan
Finn-Power Headquarters Scheduled for Completion Late This Year, 10 Years Following Prima Deal
A recent study by the Brookings Institute listed the Kansas City region as the sec- ond most important automo- tive center in the United States. The region is home to large-scale automotive manu- facturing operations for Gen- eral Motors and Ford, which have expanded to become the region's largest manufacturing employers.
LVD Co. NV, with headquar- ters in Gullegem, Belgium, announced it has been awarded an order from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Minato, Japan, for a custom-built, 1000-ton Syn- chro-Form press brake.
Construction of the Finn-Power Oy headquarters in Seinajo- ki, Finland, begun in 2017, has been given a projected comple- tion date of late-2018, according to company officials. The pro- duction and office facility will cover 20,000 m2 and was financed by the municipality of Seinajoki, which competed to be home to Finn-Power, one of Finland’s leading high-tech industrial companies. The move from the current plant in Kauhava to Finn-Power’s new home will take place as parent company Prima Industrie S.p.A, celebrates its 10-year acquisi- tion of Finn-Power.
The equipment, which maintains maintains angular consistency and the required geometric profile, will be used to produce large panels for the fuselages of commercial
6 MetalForming/June 2018
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Speaking during the Combilift facility’s