OSHA Penalties to Increase Significantly on August 1

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) maximum penalties are set to rise by 78% as part of the federal penalty adjustments mandated by Congress and signed into law last year. OSHA’s maximum penalties have not increased in 25 years.  

On August 1, OSHA’s new…

Rane (Madras) Planning to Invest $5.8 Million in Kentucky Facility

Rane (Madras), Chennai, India, is planning to invest $5.8 million into Precision Die Casting, Russellville, Kentucky, which it purchased in February. The investment is expected to preserve 170 jobs at the plant, which is a supplier to the automotive industry.
Kentucky governor Matt Bevin made…

House Approves AFS Supported Bill to Delay and Modify Ozone Rules

In June, the U.S House of Representatives approved a bill that would delay implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2015 ozone rule. The measure, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act (H.R. 4775), adjusts the implementation timelines for the new ozone standard until…

Consolidated Purchases Two Facilities in Poland

Consolidated Precision Products Corp., Cleveland, a manufacturer of engineered components and subassemblies primarily for the commercial aerospace and defense markets, announced it has completed its acquisition of two casting facilities from Pratt & Whitney Rzeszów S.A., a business unit of…

AFS Issues Call for Papers for 121st Metalcasting Congress

The American Foundry Society (AFS) has issued a call for papers for its 121st Metalcasting Congress held April 25-27 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee.

AFS is seeking papers covering all issues relating to metalcasting, diecasting and foundry management and operations, including…

Proposed Rules from U.S. Department of Treasury Could Harm Manufacturers

Proposed U.S. Treasury regulations, under Section 385 by the U.S. Treasury Department, would give the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) broad latitude to unilaterally treat a company’s related party debt as equity, overturning longstanding tax policy and well-established case law.

The…

AFS Is Project Partner in Newest Manufacturing Innovation Institute

A new Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute has been announced by the White House to support advanced manufacturing in the U.S. Led by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC), the new Institute will spur advances in smart sensors and digital…

AFS Discusses Copper Castings at American Water Works

Members of the AFS Copper Alloy Division provided a presentation on no-lead copper alloy casting for the recent American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE16) on June 22 in Chicago. The Copper Alloy Division highlighted the various low-lead and no-lead alloys…

Update on AFS Silica Litigation: AFS Files Statement of Issues

The AFS/NAM legal challenge to the new silica PEL standard is now part of a consolidated case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In April, the court ordered all petitions for review regarding the silica rule be part of a single case, regardless of the concerns raised in the…

MAT Expanding Mexico Facility

The MAT Foundry Group, Poole, United Kingdom, a subsidiary of MAT Holdings Inc., Long Grove, Illinois, announced it will expand its production facilities in Ecatepec, Mexico.

The facility, called Mincer HD, will be expanded in two stages. The first will provide for 30,000 metric tons of…