Technocast starts production on engine blocks, heads.New iron casting plant Technocast, Saltillo, Mexico, will begin production this month after final testing is completed on castings produced on its green sand molding line. The 550,000-sq.-ft. casting facility, which will manufacture engine blocks and heads for off-road earth moving equipment and on-highway truck engines, is a joint venture established in 2005 between Mexico-based Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS (1) (Geographic Information System) An information system that deals with spatial information. Often called "mapping software," it links attributes and characteristics of an area to its geographic location. ) and Caterpillar caterpillar (kăt`əpĭl'ər, kăt`ər–), common name for the larva of a moth or butterfly. Caterpillars have distinct heads and are segmented and wormlike. Inc., Peoria, Ill. The initial plan for the metalcasting firm is to take on high volume jobs, some of which will replace castings produced at the Mapleton, Ill., Caterpillar casting facility. Technocast will start production on five engine cylinder blocks and three cylinder heads in 2007, eventually taking on 22 jobs by the end of 2009. The first projects will be the highest volume, at 6,000 units a month. The average casting size is 460 lbs. for heads and 712 lbs. for blocks. The joint venture grew from GIS's desire to build a strong relationship with a strategic customer and Caterpillar's search for high volume production. "Because of higher productivity labor, this region in Mexico is the best location for manufacturing facilities in this industry," said Juan R. Aguirre, manager of Technocast. A $160 million investment, Technocast has a long-term agreement with Caterpillar to supply castings for more than 15 years. The facility's setup, which was engineered by Vulcan Engineering, Helena, Ala ALA aminolevulinic acid. Ala alanine. ala (a´lah) pl. a´lae [L.] a winglike process. ., incorporates two finishing and two Loramendi coremaking lines with a single Kuenkel-Wagner molding line. The capacity is balanced so that as one product line's molds are cooling, both product lines are running through the finishing department, which was equipped by Fanuc, Reichman, Scheoul, Pangborn and Maus. The molding line is fed by three ABB n. 1. Among weavers, yarn for the warp. Hence, Noun 1. ABB - an urban hit squad and guerrilla group of the Communist Party in the Philippines; formed in the 1980s furnaces collectively melting 45 tons/hour. General Kinematics kinematics: see dynamics. kinematics Branch of physics concerned with the geometrically possible motion of a body or system of bodies, without consideration of the forces involved. installed the plant's shakeout Shakeout A situation in which many investors exit their positions, often at a loss, because of uncertainty or recent bad news circulating around a particular security or industry. Notes: During the dotcom boom and bust, numerous shakeouts occurred. and cooling conveyance The transfer of ownership or interest in real property from one person to another by a document, such as a deed, lease, or mortgage. conveyance n. equipment. "We wanted a single stream production flow with as little process interruption INTERRUPTION. The effect of some act or circumstance which stops the course of a prescription or act of limitation's. 2. Interruption of the use of a thing is natural or civil. as possible," said Juan C. Valdez, project manager for the new facility. Productivity at Technocast is expected to be double that of nearby Cifunsa, and equal to that of the Mapleton plant. The facility was designed for annual production of 93,000 metric tons in three shifts working 296 days. Once in full production, Technocast could employ as many as 700 people. MODERN CASTING will profile this facility in the fall of 2007. |
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