BorgWarner Inc. and Delphi Technologies PLC entered into a definitive transaction agreement under which Auburn Hills, Mich.-based BorgWarner will acquire Delphi Technologies for approximately $3.3 billion. The acquisition will strengthen BorgWarner’s power electronics products, capabilities and scale. Combining with London-based Delphi Technologies will enable BorgWarner to maintain flexibility across combustion, hybrid and electric propulsion. The combined company will serve light- and commercial-vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket.

Protective coatings continue to play a major role in increasing productivity and reducing costs in hot forging and heat treatment. This paper presents details and successful case studies of three such protective coatings.

Premier Forge Group, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, acquired California Amforge Corp. Located in Azusa, Calif., Amforge manufactures closed-die, upset and rolled-ring forgings for the aerospace, defense and oil-and-gas industries. The company supplies critical components for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft and engines in military and civil applications. Located in Portland, Ind., and Lebanon, Ky., Premier Forge provides high-value, complex forgings for OEMs in a range of markets. The company’s capabilities include comprehensive forging processes complemented by in-house design and engineering, product machining and heat-treating services.

Blue Point Capital Partners acquired Mattco Forge Inc., a manufacturer of forged-metal products primarily for the aerospace and defense sectors. Paramount, Calif.-based Mattco offers a wide range of products and customized product configurations in various metal alloys that are critical to high-performance parts. According to Blue Point, Mattco has strategically positioned itself as a key supplier of forged-metal products in the aerospace and defense industries. Blue Point hopes to expand the company's production capabilities, improve its supply-chain management and enhance its business infrastructure.

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.

Platte River Equity announced the sale of its portfolio company PRV Metals LLC to Tinicum L.P., a New York-based private investment firm. Through its two operating subsidiaries, Sierra Alloys (Irwindale, Calif.) and TSI Titanium (Derry, Pa.), PRV Metals manufactures and supplies forged and rolled titanium, stainless steel products and other specialty alloys to the commercial aerospace, defense, medical, energy and industrial sectors. The company specializes in flat and round bar and plate products, and it performs in-house heat treating, hot rolling, forging, conditioning and machining.

Thyssenkrupp will build an advanced forging line at its Homburg site in Germany’s Saarland region. The company will invest approximately $90 million in a new 12,000-square-meter facility to produce forged front axles for trucks. The centerpiece of the highly automated and digitized forging line will be a 16,000-ton forging press measuring 32.8 feet (10 meters) high and weighing 1,700 tons. According to thyssenkrupp, the press will produce 360,000 forged components per year and will not be restricted to one product. In addition to front axle systems, the line will be able to produce crankshafts and other forged parts as required.

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.

Are we starting to see the signs of an “extinction-level event” as future vehicle innovation accelerates?