Arconic Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc. in an all-cash transaction that values the company at an enterprise value of approximately $5.2 billion. The transaction includes a minority investment from funds managed by affiliates of Irenic Capital Management. Arconic is the company once known as Alcoa. Alcoa Inc. spun off its alumina and bauxite operations in 2016 into a company called Alcoa Corp., while Arconic became the company that produces rolled and plate aluminum as well as products for the aerospace and industrial sectors. Upon completion of the transaction, Arconic’s shares will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and Arconic will become a private company.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently vacuum degassed 175,000 pounds of 6Al-4V titanium in its 48-foot-long vacuum furnace. The furnace load consisted of 154 sheets of titanium measuring 40 inches wide x 240 inches long. It represented the largest and heaviest single load of titanium ever processed in Solar’s history.

JSW Steel USA (JSW) plans to create 26 new jobs and invest at least $119.4 million at its Mingo Junction steel plant in Ohio for upgrades to better serve growing markets in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors. JSW representatives said they plan to exceed their $119.4 million commitment and invest up to $145 million at the Mingo Junction plant. The proposed investments will enhance JSW’s domestic manufacturing capabilities while enabling the company to produce “Made in USA” slabs. Proposed equipment technology upgrades will help the company make more environmentally friendly products in a cleaner, more sustainable way.

Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) plans to set up an electric vehicle (EV) battery-cell production joint venture in the United States with partner SK On. The total investment is expected to be approximately $5 billion, with the Group and SK On each holding a 50% stake. The joint venture plans to establish an EV battery cell plant in Bartow County, Ga., close to the Group’s U.S. production facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Kia Georgia and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America. The new plant is expected to start manufacturing battery cells in the second half of 2025 with an annual production capacity of 35 GWh, which is sufficient to support the production of 300,000 EVs. Hyundai Mobis will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant and supply them to the Group’s U.S. facilities for production of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.

Assan Alüminyum, a flat-rolled aluminum manufacturer based in Turkey, ordered four aluminum coil-annealing furnaces equipped with the Vortex 2.0 system from SECO/WARWICK. The furnaces are equipped with an improved nozzle system that produces increased heat-transfer efficiency. According to SECO/WARWICK, Vortex guarantees a lack of local overheating on the coil surface, which significantly affects the final quality of the heat-treated material, and provides a significant reduction in the total process time compared to traditional systems. The system operates with a temperature uniformity +/-3°C.

General Motors (GM) and Samsung SDI plan to invest more than $3 billion to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States that is targeted to begin operations in 2026. The plant will have more than 30 GWh of capacity and will bring GM’s total U.S. battery cell capacity to about 160 GWh when it is at full production. The companies plan to jointly operate the facility, and it is projected to have production lines to build nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.

UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, installed an ExoFlex gas generator for Jomarca, a manufacturer of fasteners, bolts, nuts and fixing elements in Brazil. The generator will supply exothermic gas to a continuous wire annealing furnace, which is part of Jomarca’s efforts to meet market demand efficiently and sustainably for baling wire in the South American construction industry. The ExoFlex gas generator is the latest addition to Jomarca’s in-house heat-treating operations. The company now has the ability to produce exothermic gas on-demand with zero waste while also making more efficient use of electricity and gas feedstock.

Ipsen completed the installation of a vacuum furnace for Taiwan Hodaka Technology Co. Ltd., an aluminum extrusion supplier specializing in high-end aerospace aluminum alloys. The TurboTreater has a work zone size of 36 inches (914 mm) x 36 inches (914 mm) x 48 inches (1,219 mm) with a weight capacity of 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) and a normal operating temperature up to 2400°F (1315°C). The furnace was designed with convection heating, which allows for more uniform processing of large cross-section parts and dense loads. It is also capable of quenching at up to 12-bar positive pressure in nitrogen.

Johnson Controls announced the launch of a program for recycling steel through a collaboration with Nucor Corp., the largest steel producer and recycler in North America. Over 70% of Johnson Controls’ steel purchases in the U.S. and 45% globally are manufactured from recycled scrap materials. The program with Nucor will recycle nearly 100% of that secondary scrap steel again, amounting to thousands of tons each year, at major Johnson Controls’ manufacturing sites in the U.S. Nucor will remelt the scrap steel using EAF technology, which generates approximately 75% less emissions than traditional blast-furnace manufacturing.

Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe-joining and fire-protection solutions, acquired Horizon Metals Inc. of Nephi, Utah. Horizon Metals is an iron and steel foundry that offers heat-treatment, induction-melting and mechanical-testing services. The acquisition increases Victaulic’s capacity for large-diameter piping solutions. With this acquisition, Victaulic has added over 1.4 million square feet of foundry and manufacturing capacity in North America since 2011. The Easton, Pa.-based company now has four foundries located in the United States.