BlueScope, an Australian steel producer, has approved the expansion of its North Star facility in Delta, Ohio. The company will add an additional 850,000 metric tons per year of steelmaking capacity. The $700 million project is expected to begin in mid-2022 with full ramp-up scheduled for approximately 18 months later. In addition, the expansion has potential future growth of a further 500,000 metric tons per year. According to BlueScope, the expansion offers long-term sustainable earnings growth from a high-quality asset.

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.

The Ellwood Closed Die Group (ECDG) completed construction of its climate-controlled close-tolerance finish machining complex at its Ellwood Texas Forge Navasota (ETFN) facility. The new operation concludes a year-long initiative to integrate operations of the former Ellwood Texas Forge and Machine with ETFN to improve customer solutions and to better leverage engineering and management resources. Capabilities include turning, milling, drilling, boring and single-point threading operations, with up to 14,000 square feet serviced by several overhead bridge cranes.

HarbisonWalker International (HWI), a supplier of refractory products and services, completed the first phase of a $9 million expansion at its manufacturing operations in White Cloud, Mich. The project will significantly increase warehousing space and add advanced-manufacturing and hydraulic press technologies. HWI’s 110,000-square-foot White Cloud facility currently employs approximately 140 people and produces brick and monolithic refractories utilized by the steel industry.

Steel Dynamics Inc. awarded SMS group an order covering the supply of a complete steel production line for its new mill in Sinton, Texas. Germany’s SMS group will supply two direct-current electric-arc furnaces (DC-EAF) having a capacity of 190 tons each, two twin-ladle furnaces and a double vacuum tank degasser. The line, which is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2021, will enable SDI to produce thin slabs with thicknesses of up to 5.2 inches (130 mm) and slab widths of up to 84 inches (2,134 mm). SMS group will also supply electrical and automation systems as well as technical support during installation and commissioning, which is scheduled for mid-2021.

Quaker Chemical Corp. and Houghton International combined to create Quaker Houghton, a global provider of industrial process fluids to the primary metals and metalworking markets. Along with the new name, the company revealed a new logo and brand representing the combined companies. Quaker Chemical’s combined breadth of product and service offerings can be found in end markets such as aerospace, aluminum, automotive, machinery, industrial parts manufacturing, mining and steel.

The 23rd International Forging Congress (IFC), to be held in Chicago Sept. 19-21, 2020, issued its call for presentations. The event, which will immediately follow the IMTS show, will showcase the best in technical and business-oriented presentations for the worldwide forging community. The IFC Planning Committee is calling for presentations now through Aug. 31, 2019.

Primetals Technologies and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will acquire ABP Induction Systems (ABP), a global manufacturer and servicer of induction furnaces and heating systems. ABP provides state-of-the-art equipment for ferrous and nonferrous metal casting, forging and steelmaking. Its main products are induction melting, holding and pouring furnaces as well as induction heaters. MHI and Primetals Technologies will jointly take ABP’s shares, and future business activities will be conducted in close cooperation with and under the leadership of Primetals Technologies.

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.

Noodle.ai and SMS group announced a partnership to further optimize the world’s first learning steel mill for Arkansas-based Big River Steel. The joint solution was created by implementing Noodle.ai’s learning algorithms into SMS group’s X-Pact MES 4.0. Noodle.ai was able to leverage the existing integration of SMS group’s X-Pact MES 4.0 in the steel mill‘s IT environment and in their SaaS (Software as a Service) applications. The new end solutions digitize applications throughout every stage of the steelmaking process, from the liquid phase all the way to strip finishing.