Kennametal Inc. formed a 3D-printing materials and production business unit, Kennametal Additive Manufacturing, as part of its Infrastructure segment. Kennametal Additive Manufacturing combines the company’s expertise in materials science and wear-resistant solutions with additive-manufacturing capabilities to supply high-performance metal additive powders and fully finished 3D-printed parts for wear, erosion, corrosion and high-temperature applications. The new business unit is already shipping production parts to customers. These high-performance wear components include parts printed with powders specifically designed and optimized for 3D printing.

Pyrotek Inc. is scheduled to complete construction of a new manufacturing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in November to serve and supply the rapidly growing aluminum smelting operations of the region. The first phase of construction will provide 66,000 square feet of floor space, and there is enough land at the site to allow for an eventual doubling of the plant footprint. Spokane, Wash.-based Pyrotek is scheduled to occupy the facility in January 2020.

Solar Manufacturing Inc. relocated Souderton, Pa., to Sellersville, Pa. Situated on a combined 8.5 acres just 3 miles from the previous location, the newly constructed $10 million building has 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 17,500 square feet of office space. Solar Manufacturing has the option of adding an extra 22,500 square feet to the manufacturing building in the future.

Heat Treat 2019, the biennial show from the ASM Heat Treating Society, begins today in Detroit. The three-day event will feature an exciting mix of exhibits, technical programming and networking events geared toward the heat-treating industry. Visit Industrial Heating in booth 2026. Conference highlights include: face-to-face networking opportunities with approximately 200 exhibitors; the latest research and industry insights through more than 125 technical sessions, featuring special symposiums on induction heat treating; “This is Heat Treat” free college student program; and continued co-location with Motion + Power Technology Expo 2019 (formerly Gear Expo), providing attendees with access to an additional network of 4,000 attendees and 250 exhibiting companies.

Siemens and Materials Solutions opened a highly advanced metal AM innovation center in Orlando, Fla. The 17,000-square-foot facility offers a pairing of design with manufacturing, implementing robotics, rapid prototyping, scanning, digital tools and on-site metal AM. Materials Solutions – a Siemens Business – uses selective laser melting (SLM) technology for the manufacture of high-performance metal parts, with a focus on high-temperature superalloys. The Siemens innovation center will focus on rapid problem solving supporting the company’s energy businesses, while Materials Solutions will offer additive services to support the innovation center and external customers. 

Hertwich Engineering received an order from Exlabesa, an independent extruder based in Europe, for a multi-chamber melting furnace that will increase the capacity of its casthouse in Padrón (Spain) to 60,000 tons per year. The furnace, which has a capacity of 130 tons per day, will be designed to process a relatively wide range of scrap. To remelt the loose and moderately contaminated scrap, an Ecomelt-PR furnace with preheat ramp, melting chamber and main chamber will be installed. Commissioning of the furnace is scheduled for mid-2020.

Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. received an order from Oregon Products to design and commission a continuous mesh-belt austemper heat-treatment system. The high-capacity system integrates a computerized loading system, pre-wash system, atmosphere-controlled mesh-belt austenitizing furnace, molten salt quench conveyor system, post-quench residual salt removal and recycling system, mesh-belt parts drying oven and unloading system. It also includes Can-Eng’s PET system, which provides individual lot/product traceability, detailed process data collection for continuous process improvements and comprehensive Industry 4.0 equipment diagnostics capability. 

Fives received two contracts to design and supply reheating furnaces to Chinese steelmakers, both with strict requirements on energy consumption and NOx emissions. The first project covers an ultra-low-NOx furnace to reheat long products, such as stainless steel bars, coils or wires, for Yantai Walsin Stainless Steel. Fives will supply a walking-beam furnace with a capacity of 85 tons per hour. The second contract was signed with Shijiazhuang Iron & Steel Company within China’s HBIS Group for two reheating furnaces, each with a production capacity of 130 tons per hour.

Liberty Steel USA will invest up to $25 million in its liquid steel production facilities at Georgetown, S.C., to substantially boost output and secure the long-term future of the mill, which reopened just over a year ago. The company will install a modern electric-arc furnace (EAF) and extensively improve the infrastructure of the facility’s melt shop to increase wire-rod output to over 400,000 tons a year. Liberty Steel has already increased the versatility of its rolling mill at Georgetown in an effort to serve key markets for wire rod in the southeastern U.S.

Novelis Inc. announced that the European Commission has approved its proposed acquisition of Aleris Corp. The approval is conditioned upon the sale of Aleris' plant in Duffel, Belgium, which produces aluminum for the automotive and specialties markets. Novelis is working to market the plant to potential buyers. With this conditional approval in the European Union, as well as a clear path forward for approval in the U.S., the Atlanta-based company continues to work closely with the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) to receive its approval. According to Novelis, the transaction will strengthen its ability to compete against steel in the automotive market, meet growing customer demand for aluminum and achieve its recycling goals.