GKN Driveline has committed to a five-year, $179-million capital-investment program at five manufacturing operations in North Carolina, taking advantage of several state and local subsidies in four counties. The manufacturer indicates the investments will add 302 new positions to its payroll in the state, where it already employs an estimated 2,700 workers.
GKN Driveline designs and manufactures a variety of automotive driveline components and systems, including constant-velocity joint (CVJ) systems, all-wheel drive systems, trans-axle systems, and eDrive systems. It is one of four business units of the British engineering group GKN plc.
Directors of Bharat Forge Ltd., in Pune, India, approved the company’s acquisition of 100% of the shares of Walker Forge Tennessee LLC (WFT), in Surgoinsville, TN, making it a subsidiary of its Bharat Forge America holding.
Dana Incorporated announced that it will begin supplying axles and driveshafts for the 2018 Isuzu FTR from Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. Production of this new Class 6 medium-duty truck will begin mid-2017.
The 2018 Isuzu FTR will be assembled with a Spicer® single-reduction drive axle, Spicer® E-Series steer axles, and a Spicer Life® Series driveshaft.
“We chose Spicer axles and driveshafts for the 2018 Isuzu FTR due to Dana’s dedication to quality and innovation,” said Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. “This truck represents our vision of the future for the medium-duty industry. The truck of tomorrow needs to be fuel efficient, maneuverable, environmentally friendly, and offer a low cost of ownership. Dana’s driveline components will help achieve all of those objectives.”
The 2018 Isuzu FTR is designed for city delivery applications, such as beverage, box, and refrigerated box trucks. Like all Isuzu trucks, the 2018 Isuzu FTR will feature a low cab forward design for increased visibility and maneuverability, features that are crucial to these types of applications. These trucks will be powered by a segment-first Isuzu 4HK1-TC 5.2 liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine, and will also include an Allison 2000 Series automatic transmission.
Dana’s driveline components help to optimize the 2018 Isuzu FTR for durability and efficiency. Spicer single-reduction drive axles have been engineered with stronger wheel differentials to absorb shock, providing maximum robustness for city delivery applications. Spicer E-Series steer axles with a new lightweight beam design are the lightest weight solution on the market, weighing up to 69 pounds less than competitive offerings. Spicer Life Series medium-duty driveshafts are the premier drivetrain offering for this market. Precision balanced for reduced noise, vibration, and harshness and permanently lubricated with a sealed spline, these driveshafts have been designed for reduced maintenance and extended product life.
Dana has previously supplied driveline components and thermal technologies for Isuzu trucks in Japan and Thailand.
Sapa has developed the first-ever automotive aluminium brake line using a high-strength aluminium alloy.
“The entire industry is on a mission to reduce weight in cars as a key to lowering emissions. In Sapa, we are using our knowledge to identify new parts where we can use aluminium to make cars lighter, safer and more efficient. The brake line development is one such innovation that can reduce the weight with over 50 percent compared to steel,” says innovation and technology manager Jens Sandahl Sørensen.
Fourteen meters of weight savings The normal volume of a brake line in a light vehicle is around 12-14 meters. By replacing steel with aluminium in this component, car manufacturers can shed around 600 grams of the approximately 1 kilogram of weight.
“Aluminium is a material that gives enormous flexibility in both design and workability, and this opens up for new developments. The automotive market is one of Sapa’s main markets, and we are dedicated to investing in research and development to help car manufacturers develop lighter and safer cars,” says business development manager Klaus J. Sandfeld.
The full potential of extruded aluminium in cars and trucks is far from realized. Aluminium is often viewed only as an alternative material, but aluminium is not lightweight steel. “You can design components that simply cannot be manufactured in steel, with different properties and added functionality,” says Sandfeld.
Sapa supplies the automotive industry with a broad range of solutions based on aluminium profiles, from semi-finished to fully fabricated and value-adding components.
Facts about the brake line
– The high-strength alloy in combination with a proprietary designed production process and line-connection design brings optimized mechanical properties toward brake lines requirements.
– The new solution has passed tests toward OEM specifications, including vibration, burst, torque, leak, coating adhesion and corrosion.
Harper International, world leader in custom thermal processing solutions for advanced materials, has been awarded a contract for a high volume Rotary furnace system by Prayon, headquartered in Belgium.
The innovative reactor will be used for drying and calcining of Prayon’s advanced iron phosphate powder, a key component of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cathode materials used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, and is a part of their recently announced new plant investment to supply the lithium ion battery market. The gas-fired Harper Rotary kiln will support their high volume operations with features to maximize Prayon’s production, including advanced tube features to provide enhanced reaction kinetics, gas-tight and dust-tight design, and internal heat recovery within the furnace chamber to improve energy efficiency. Prayon collaborated with Harper through their Ignite™ process during the development phase by supporting scale up planning and analysis. The Ignite™ program offers scale-up expertise and testing resources to help minimize risk and maximize efficiency for pilot and production level outputs. “Harper is focused on supporting the next generation of materials in advanced markets, and this project for the lithium iron phosphate market is a great representation of that”, commented Brian Fuller, Sales Manager for Harper International. “The material is an ideal solution for many of today’s most progressive technologies for electric power and storage battery systems, and we are proud to be a part of Prayon’s solution to supply this market.”
This is the first time in the world that titanium sheet has been used as fuel tank material for a mass produced motorcycle. Read more to find out the other features of the CRF450R.
Sapa Extrusions opened a new R&D lab in Troy, MI, dedicated to the development of extruded aluminum solutions for the automotive industry. Read more to find out what key disciplines will be available at Sapa Technology Americas.
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. and Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which AAM will acquire MPG for approximately $1.6 billion in cash and stock, plus the assumption of $1.7 billion in net debt. The combination brings together highly complementary businesses and forms a premier, global Tier 1 supplier with broad capabilities across powertrain, drivetrain and driveline product lines, as well as diversified customer base and end-markets.
Under the terms of the agreement, each share of MPG’s common stock will be converted into the right to receive $13.50 per share in cash and 0.5 share of AAM common stock. Upon closing of the transaction, AAM’s shareholders will own approximately 70% of the combined company and MPG’s shareholders will own approximately 30%. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is anticipated to close in the first half of 2017 subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
Concurrent with the signing of the merger agreement, AAM entered into a voting agreement with an affiliate of American Securities LLC, the controlling stockholder of MPG, pursuant to which American Securities LLC has agreed to vote in favor of and otherwise support the transaction, subject to the terms of the voting agreement. Following the transaction, an affiliate of American Securities LLC will own approximately 23% of the combined company.
“AAM’s transformational acquisition of MPG brings together two complementary Tier 1 organizations to create a company with greater scale and increased diversity across products, customers and end markets,” said David C. Dauch, AAM’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “MPG’s expertise in complex, highly-engineered powertrain components and its global footprint will be tremendous assets to AAM. We are excited about the powerful industrial logic in this combination that will allow us to create additional value for our customers and other key stakeholders. Together, we are forming a company with increased earnings potential and enhanced cash flow generation that will allow us to rapidly reduce leverage while fueling growth and delivering value to our shareholders.”
George Thanopoulos, MPG’s Chief Executive Officer, added, “This compelling transaction offers MPG shareholders an immediate premium and significant participation in the growth potential of the combined organization and its talented associates. MPG and AAM share a similar culture and value system, laser focused on quality, operational excellence and technology leadership, which creates a natural fit and clear path to value creation for stakeholders of both companies.”
Compelling Strategic Rationale
Creates a global leader in powertrain, drivetrain and driveline: The combined company will have the power to deliver a wide range of quality, highly engineered components, modules and sub-systems across multiple engine, transmission and driveline applications.
Diversified global customer base and end markets: Accelerates AAM’s profitable growth and diversification objectives, significantly reducing product, customer and end-market concentrations.
Complementary technologies focused on light-weighting, fuel efficiency, vehicle safety and performance solutions: Expertise in complementary product, process and systems technology strongly position the company to address the global automotive mega trends for both mechanical and alternative propulsion systems.
Stronger financial profile through greater size, scale and enhanced cash flow generation: On a pro forma basis, the combined entity will represent nearly $7 billion of annual sales and have the potential to generate over $1.2 billion of EBITDA and $400 million of free cash flow after full integration.
Powerful industrial logic with significant synergies: Estimated annual run rate of targeted cost synergies estimated to be between $100 and $120 million by 2018.About AAM
AAM is a world leader in the manufacturing, engineering, design and validation of driveline and drivetrain systems and related components and modules, chassis systems, electric drive systems and metal-formed products for light trucks, sport utility vehicles, passenger cars, crossover vehicles and commercial vehicles. In addition to locations in the United States (Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana), AAM also has offices or facilities in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, Scotland, South Korea, Sweden and Thailand. AAM has approximately 13,000 employees globally.About MPG
MPG is a leading provider of highly-engineered lightweight components for use in powertrain and suspension applications for the global light, commercial and industrial vehicle markets. MPG produces these components and modules using complex metal-forming manufacturing technologies and processes for a global customer base of vehicle OEMs and Tier I suppliers. MPG has a global footprint spanning more than 60 locations in 13 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia with approximately 12,000 employees.
“Effective case depth is an important factor and goal in gas carburizing, involving complicated procedures in the furnace and requiring precise control of many thermal parameters. Based upon diffusion theory and years of carburizing experience, this paper calculates the effective case depth governed by carburizing temperature, time, carbon content of steel, and carbon potential of atmosphere. In light of this analysis, carburizing factors at various temperatures and carbon potentials for steels with different carbon content were calculated to determine the necessary carburizing cycle time. This methodology provides simple (without computer simulation) and practical guidance of optimized gas carburizing and has been applied to plant production. It shows that measured, effective case depth of gear parts covering most of the industrial application range (0.020 inch to over 0.250 inch) was in good agreement with the calculation.”
Dana Incorporated announced a definitive agreement to purchase strategic assets of SIFCO S.A., a leading producer of forged and machined components located in Brazil.
Under the terms of the proposed purchase, Dana would acquire manufacturing and other assets of SIFCO. This acquisition will enable Dana to enhance its vertically integrated supply chain, which will further improve the company’s cost structure and customer satisfaction by leveraging SIFCO’s extensive experience and knowledge of sophisticated forged components.
“For nearly 70 years, Dana has operated in Brazil, which has long been one of the top ten economies in the world,” said James Kamsickas, president and chief executive officer of Dana. “This is an opportune time to invest in strategic and selective assets in Brazil that will further strengthen our position as one of the most trusted, top-tier suppliers to the mobility industry – thus positioning us for future profitable growth throughout the region.”
By expanding manufacturing capabilities in Brazil, the acquisition will also enable Dana to help vehicle manufacturers better accommodate local content requirements, which reduce import and other region-specific costs. It will also further strengthen Dana’s position as a central source for products that use forged and machined components throughout the region.
“Dana has worked with SIFCO for 40 years as a supplier of key components used in vehicle drivelines,” said Mark Wallace, president of Dana Commercial Vehicle Driveline Technologies. “This acquisition will add the talent and capabilities needed to help us meet the requirements of our commercial-vehicle customers and provide value for our light-vehicle and off-highway customers, as well.”
SIFCO has operated under judicial restructuring since 2014, and the transaction is subject to closing conditions, including bankruptcy court and regulatory approvals. Final financial terms of the agreement are subject to the outcome of closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
Dana designs, manufactures, and distributes products in Brazil for virtually every major global producer of passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, and off-highway equipment.
Source: Forge
