Sheffield Forgemasters awarded £1m US casting contract

Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd (SFIL) has won a casting contract worth £1m after beating off Korean competition.

The Sheffield heavy engineering specialist was awarded the contract by Ajax-Ceco, an American press manufacturer, based on its quality of production and developmental input into the design of the frame.

SFIL will use 550 tonnes of liquid steel to cast the press frame, which will measure almost 13m in length, 3.5m wide and 3.2m deep and aims to complete the project, including final machining, by early 2017.

Michael Holloway, senior sales manager at SFIL, said: “Winning the Ajax casting contract against strong overseas competition and harsh market conditions is purely down to our quality and technical manufacturing skills.

“We put a considerable body of work into modeling the casting ahead of a visit from the customer and this threw up some design modifications which were beneficial.

“This, combined with our history of delivering press frames to exacting specifications, including prior castings manufacture work with Ajax, was crucial to securing the work.

“The frame will take several weeks to cool after the casting has been poured before it can be lifted from the pit and it will undergo heat treatments and machining work to incredibly fine tolerances prior to despatch.“

The frame will form part of an expansion to the fully automated Southwest Steel Processing LLC forging plant in Newport, Arkansas.

Southwest Steel Processing LLC is a 75% -25% joint venture between Park Ohio Industries based in Cleveland Ohio and Arkansas Steel Associates, based in Newport Arkansas.

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