Metallurgists are developing new steels to assist automotive engineers in designing better trucks, cars and SUVs.

Nova Steel USA Inc. plans to build a 108,000-square-foot tube manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Ky. The $70 million investment is expected to create 110 full-time jobs in the coming years. The project includes purchase and installation of equipment for precision roll forming, laser cutting, tube bending, fabrication and robotics. According to Nova Steel, the facility will produce a variety of automotive parts used in the production of pickup trucks and SUVs.

General Motors plans to invest $71 million into two Ohio manufacturing facilities, including $39 million at its Toledo transmission plant and $32 million at its Defiance casting plant. Work will begin immediately at the two locations. The Toledo investment will be used to upgrade and enhance the production of GM’s eight-speed rear-wheel-drive transmission, and the Defiance investment will be used to prepare the facility for future engine casting components work. The investments will enable the company to retain 240 jobs.

Denmark’s Mountain Top Industries, which manufacturers aluminum roll covers for pickup trucks, plans to invest $13.3 million to open a 73,000-square-foot facility in Montgomery, Ala. The plant will create 90 full-time jobs. In addition to Denmark, the company also has design and production facilities in Australia and Thailand.

Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems rebuilt and shipped a 24-inch, four-zone continuous mesh-belt brazing furnace for an automotive-parts supplier in Mexico. The rebuild included a new 330 stainless steel muffle, new silicon-carbide heating elements, new cooling sections and new furnace controls to meet CQI-9 requirements. The CQI-9 controls package includes data acquisition, preventive-maintenance alerts, remote connectivity, furnace parameter trending and temperature deviation alarms. Gasbarre will provide ongoing service and support for the company in Mexico.

SECO/WARWICK received an order for a three-chamber vacuum furnace from a global manufacturer of automotive components. It will be the first furnace utilizing low-pressure carburizing (LPC) technology for the Indian company. It was chosen to solve a problem with intergranular oxidation present in the company’s traditional atmosphere heat-treat furnaces. The LPC furnace will be dedicated to small and large gear, pinion and other types of automotive gears.

Ajax TOCCO Magnethermic and Ohio Crankshaft are wholly owned subsiaries of Park Ohio Holdings. Park Ohio is a diversified international company providing world-class customers with a supply-chain management outsourcing service, capital equipment used on their production lines and manufactured components used to assemble their products.

Ipsen received an order for two 2-bar vacuum furnaces from a rapidly emerging global automotive component manufacturer with locations in Asia and the U.S. The company awarded Ipsen this order as part of a series of eight furnaces over the last two years. The TITAN H6 was selected because of its inherent process flexibility and ease of installation, as well as the local regional support provided by Ipsen’s sales and service teams in both Asia and the U.S.

Abbott Furnace Company received an order from a global automotive supplier for a continuous-belt, stainless steel brazing furnace. It is scheduled to be installed in Mexico in the second quarter of 2020. Abbott Furnace will design, manufacture and install the five-zone, electrically heated furnace, which is rated for 2150°F (1175°C) and includes a 30-inch-wide belt and silicon-carbide muffle.

Global automotive parts manufacturer NTN will invest approximately $58 million to expand its facility in Anderson, Ind. The expansion will create 140 new jobs and allow for heat treatment in the plant.