Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) announced a realignment of its business segments to further enhance its position as a leading specialty materials manufacturer and to accelerate sustainable long-term profitable growth. Starting with first-quarter 2020 financial results, ATI will report in two business segments: a streamlined High Performance Materials & Components (HPMC) segment and the new Advanced Alloys & Solutions (AA&S) segment.

L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. shipped a floor-standing forging furnace and a floor-standing tempering furnace to a manufacturer of medical implant components located in the northeastern U.S. The forging furnace has working dimensions of 48 inches wide x 24 inches high x 24 inches deep and a maximum operating temperature of 1800°F (982°C). The parts that are blanks are heated in the furnace. Once at temperature, they are moved to the hot-forming press and formed into the required shape. The electrical heating system provides a clean atmosphere with no products of combustion that could affect the workload.

Premier Forge Group, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, acquired California Amforge Corp. Located in Azusa, Calif., Amforge manufactures closed-die, upset and rolled-ring forgings for the aerospace, defense and oil-and-gas industries. The company supplies critical components for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft and engines in military and civil applications. Located in Portland, Ind., and Lebanon, Ky., Premier Forge provides high-value, complex forgings for OEMs in a range of markets. The company’s capabilities include comprehensive forging processes complemented by in-house design and engineering, product machining and heat-treating services.

Blue Point Capital Partners acquired Mattco Forge Inc., a manufacturer of forged-metal products primarily for the aerospace and defense sectors. Paramount, Calif.-based Mattco offers a wide range of products and customized product configurations in various metal alloys that are critical to high-performance parts. According to Blue Point, Mattco has strategically positioned itself as a key supplier of forged-metal products in the aerospace and defense industries. Blue Point hopes to expand the company's production capabilities, improve its supply-chain management and enhance its business infrastructure.

China’s AVIC Shaanxi Hongyuan Aviation Forging Co. Ltd. put what it says is the world's largest clutch-operated screw press into operation at its site in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. The SPKA-type clutch-operated screw press, which was supplied by SMS group, has a screw diameter of 1,330 millimeters (52 inches), a blow force of 365 MN, a gross power of 27,000 kJ and a weight of 2,900 tons. It offers flexibility when it comes to optimizing the forging process and requires far less stroke to achieve the preset ram speed than a conventional slipping-wheel screw press. This type of press is particularly suited for high-energy forging typically used for turbine blades or structural aircraft components.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that Bharat Forge America Inc. will build an aluminum forging plant to manufacture automobile components in Lee County, N.C. The $127.3 million investment will create 304 jobs. The new facility will be part of a larger manufacturing center that will create as many as 460 jobs. According to Bharat Forge, the investment will help it create a strong global manufacturing footprint as part of its aluminum strategy.

Platte River Equity announced the sale of its portfolio company PRV Metals LLC to Tinicum L.P., a New York-based private investment firm. Through its two operating subsidiaries, Sierra Alloys (Irwindale, Calif.) and TSI Titanium (Derry, Pa.), PRV Metals manufactures and supplies forged and rolled titanium, stainless steel products and other specialty alloys to the commercial aerospace, defense, medical, energy and industrial sectors. The company specializes in flat and round bar and plate products, and it performs in-house heat treating, hot rolling, forging, conditioning and machining.

Primetals Technologies and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will acquire ABP Induction Systems (ABP), a global manufacturer and servicer of induction furnaces and heating systems. ABP provides state-of-the-art equipment for ferrous and nonferrous metal casting, forging and steelmaking. Its main products are induction melting, holding and pouring furnaces as well as induction heaters. MHI and Primetals Technologies will jointly take ABP’s shares, and future business activities will be conducted in close cooperation with and under the leadership of Primetals Technologies.

Thyssenkrupp will build an advanced forging line at its Homburg site in Germany’s Saarland region. The company will invest approximately $90 million in a new 12,000-square-meter facility to produce forged front axles for trucks. The centerpiece of the highly automated and digitized forging line will be a 16,000-ton forging press measuring 32.8 feet (10 meters) high and weighing 1,700 tons. According to thyssenkrupp, the press will produce 360,000 forged components per year and will not be restricted to one product. In addition to front axle systems, the line will be able to produce crankshafts and other forged parts as required.

ParkOhio completed the previously announced acquisition of Erie Press Systems (formally EFCO Inc.) of Erie, Pa. Erie Press manufactures advanced forging presses, hydraulic and mechanical presses, and metal stretch-forming and carbon extrusion machines for end markets including aerospace and defense, primary metals and high-speed rail.