Chicago-based Larson Forgings, a manufacturer of open-die and rolled-ring forgings, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The company was founded in 1895 by Charles E. Larson, who began hammering out horseshoes and small tools from his blacksmith shop near the Chicago River. Today, Larson Forgings is a global industry resource. 

Independent Forgings and Alloys Ltd. (IFA) acquired Doncasters Precision Forge from the Doncasters Group and rebranded it as IFA Precision Forge. IFA manufactures high-integrity, open-die forged components for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers within the aerospace, nuclear, power-generation and marine industries. The deal increased IFA’s site size threefold to 680,000 square feet and expanded its capabilities.

Western Superconducting Technologies Co. Ltd. (WST) successfully put a 63-/80-MN two-column open-die forging press into service. Supplied by SMS group, the high-speed push-down press has a maximum press force of 63 MN and an upsetting force of 80 MN. Due to the advanced hydraulic and control systems installed, the press is capable of forging highly demanding and temperature-sensitive materials such as titanium and titanium alloys with extreme precision.

SMR Premium published “Open-Die Forging Book,” a comprehensive handbook of open-die forging producers that includes company profiles of more than 270 global producers and a separate chapter about forging market data.

SMS group received the final acceptance certificate from Japan’s Hitachi Metals following the successful commissioning of its open-die forging press. This is the largest four-column open-die forging press in push-down design that SMS group has built in the last 25 years. The press, which operates with a forging force of up to 90 MN and an upsetting force of 108 MN, forges flat and round bars from ingots at a maximum starting material weight of 30 tons. Hitachi Metals intends to use it to process titanium alloys, tool steels, high-speed steels and nickel-based alloys.

SMS group received an order from China’s Sichuan Liuhe Forging Co. for a high-speed, 50/55 MN open-die forging press. The press is a two-column, push-down design and features a table shifter and die shifting unit. Operating with a press force of up to 50 MN and a maximum upsetting force of 55 MN, it is suited to forging high-quality products with finished dimensions within the close tolerance range of ±1 mm.

The forging industry has achieved an impressive place in the North American industrial economy by producing components with unique benefits that are difficult to duplicate by any other metalworking process.

In a recently announced deal that occurred last year, Forged Components Inc. (FCI) of Humble, Texas, acquired hammer-forge and heat-treatment facilities from Houston-based Forge USA. This added eight additional heat-treatment furnaces to FCI's existing furnaces located at its Humble and Navasota, Texas, forging locations. The acquisition, which also included a 16,000-pound polymer quench tank and 30,000-pound water quench tank, has added 300,000 pounds of heat-treating capacity to FCI’s Humble and Navasota sites.

Union Electric Steel Corp., a subsidiary of Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp., has been selected by Zhongwang High Precision Aluminum Industry Co. Ltd. (Zhongwang Aluminum) to supply rolls for its new hot-rolling mill. The $4.4 million agreement, which includes forged finishing work rolls and forged roughing work rolls, follows a successful series of trials at Zhongwang Aluminum’s existing manufacturing plant. Shipments are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.