American Axle & Manufacturing, a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of automotive driveline systems and components, opened a new 15,600-square-meter manufacturing facility in the industrial area of Viladecans, Spain, just outside Barcelona. The facility will support demand and growth from new and current European customers, including Renault, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Audi and Ford. AAM Barcelona produces a complete range of vibration control and damper products, including PV-bonded dampers, press-in compression dampers, isolation pulleys, in-mold bonded dampers and damped gears. It consolidates two smaller facilities in nearby Gavà and will employ nearly 300 associates at full capacity. 

Toyota is investing $391 million at its San Antonio truck assembly plant in an effort to better serve customers. The announcement comes as part of a broader commitment from Toyota to invest $13 billion in its U.S. operations over five years through 2021. The investment will make the plant more competitive in the long-term and more efficient while remaining flexible with multi-vehicle production capabilities by introducing various advanced manufacturing technologies. Separately, Aisin AW, a supplier to Toyota Texas and other automakers, will invest $400 million and bring 900 new jobs to a future facility in nearby Cibolo, Texas.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that Bharat Forge America Inc. will build an aluminum forging plant to manufacture automobile components in Lee County, N.C. The $127.3 million investment will create 304 jobs. The new facility will be part of a larger manufacturing center that will create as many as 460 jobs. According to Bharat Forge, the investment will help it create a strong global manufacturing footprint as part of its aluminum strategy.

Forging technology has undergone continuous development during the past few years.

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.

Indiana Wheel Corp. (IWC), a manufacturing company specializing in the production and distribution of steel wheels, plans to establish operations in Plymouth, Ind., and create up to 117 new jobs over the next few years. The company, which is a joint venture led by China’s Jingu Company Ltd., will invest approximately $23 million to purchase, renovate and equip a 300,000-square-foot production facility in Plymouth. The plant will include more than $14.5 million of specially designed equipment to support IWC’s manufacturing operations for the trailer and RV industries. Upgrades will begin this summer with production expected to start later this year.

India’s Bharat Forge Ltd. (Kalyani Group), a manufacturer of heavy-duty diesel crankshafts for commercial vehicles, rolled out its one millionth finish-machined crankshaft in mid-May. Bharat Forge, a long-standing supplier to Daimler AG, produces crankshafts that power Daimler’s heavy-duty engines. The company supplies machined crankshafts for the 13L and 15L engine platforms to Detroit Diesel in the U.S. Additionally, Bharat Forge shares the 13L platform with Daimler’s Mannheim plant in Germany. 

This third article in a series about Germany’s Lightweight Forging Initiative (begun April 2016) focuses on potential weight savings through innovative material selection and forging part and process design. In this segment, potential weight savings on a hybrid vehicle and heavy-duty truck are considered.

Meritor Inc. entered into an agreement with an affiliate of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, under which Meritor will acquire AxleTech for approximately $175 million. Troy, Mich.-based AxleTech designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services drivetrain systems and components, axles and braking solutions. These capabilities will enable Meritor to offer global customers a wider array of differentiated products and solutions while further diversifying its portfolio.

Hydro will upgrade casting operations at its Husnes (Norway) facility with new technology to produce more advanced products for the growing automotive aluminum forging market. Newly developed in-house casting technology, low-pressure casting (LPC), will enable Hydro to provide materials with enhanced properties for various extrusion markets in which it is already a major material supplier. After the upgrade, Hydro Husnes will also be able to offer materials for forging. The Hydro-developed technology enables a shift from traditional extruded forge stock to cast forge stock, eliminating costly steps in the production process while improving quality. The as-cast surface is ready for forging, and homogenizing is not required. The upgraded facility will commence operations in 2020.