The selection of an appropriate flooring system contributes to increased productivity and profitability by decreasing outages related to floor repairs and replacement, reducing expensive equipment repairs related to inconsistencies in the flooring and decreasing the risk of operator safety concerns and fatigue.

The U.S. Labor Department reports a national unemployment rate of 3.6% for the latest available statistics (May 2019).

Forgital, a producer of large forged and machined components for the aerospace and other industries, will be acquired by global investment firm The Carlyle Group. The transaction values Forgital at approximately $1.1 billion and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2019. Established in 1873 with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy, Forgital is a specialist in the manufacture of machine-finished forged and laminated rolled rings made from different materials, including steel, aluminum, titanium and nickel-based alloys. In addition to aerospace applications, Forgital also serves the oil-and-gas, construction, mining and power-generation industries. The company employs over 1,100 people across nine facilities in Italy, France and the United States and through its global salesforce.

Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) agreed to sell two non-core forging facilities to Wynnchurch Capital for $37 million. These facilities, located in Portland, Ind., and Lebanon, Ky., are part of ATI’s High Performance Materials & Components (HPMC) segment. They use primarily traditional forging methods to produce carbon-steel forged products for use in the oil and gas, transportation, construction and mining industries. Their capabilities include comprehensive forging processes complemented by in-house design and engineering, product machining and heat-treating services.

The productivity of closed-die forging lines and ring-rolling plants strongly depends on the right handling equipment.

On Feb. 8, 2019, Arconic Inc. announced its decision to split itself into two separate companies: Engineered Products & Forgings and Global Rolled Products (GRP). The two businesses will focus on, respectively, the production of finished parts and the production of sheet. The company says it is considering the sale of operations and assets that do not fit its new organizational model. Also, it has reduced its dividend from $.06/share to $.02/share.

The 116th U.S. Congress commenced chaotically on Jan. 3, with Democrats taking control of the House for the first time since 2010, Republicans retaining the Senate and a partial shutdown of the U.S. government in full swing.

Ohio Star Forge (OSF), a subsidiary of Japan’s Daido Steel, recently completed an expansion project that was announced last year. The Warren, Ohio-based company added 15,000 square feet to its existing building for a new machining division. OSF, which started with two forging machines and 23 employees, now employs 120 and runs five forging machines. The company primarily supplies forgings to the automotive market but has sought diversification into other markets, such as oil and gas, as well. In addition, OSF celebrates its 30th anniversary this month.

This column will discuss activity at the intersection of competition policy/competition law with intellectual-property (IP) law.

In June’s issue, we opened the topic of MES/ERP systems by discussing what they are and how they are used in today’s business climate. The majority of forge companies today continue to discuss the need to establish information integration that is coordinated and summarized among their various departments.