Automotive

With new ownership, governance, investment, leadership and professional manufacturing focus, Continental Casting LLC, Monroe City, Mo., has become Arcadia Metalcraft, a manufacturer of lighter die cast and precision-machined components for automotive and other industries.

After 9 years as a plant manager for a tool and die maker, Jason Cantrell decided to launch his own tool and die business. In 2011, he established Triple C Machine & Fab, Livingston, Tenn. Cantrell's vision for business ownership has since paid off. What started as a small job shop has expanded into a thriving company.

A sensei is a teacher or instructor, usually of Japanese martial arts. Sensai the company offers an augmented productivity platform for manufacturing operations, but transferring knowledge to help people make better decisions is at the heart of the company's concept, according to CEO Porfirio Lima. "We believe that the most valuable asset an organization has is the knowledge that comes from its people."

Fallbrook Technologies Inc., Cedar Park, Texas, announced that Roger Wood, former CEO of publicly traded Dana Holding Corp., will become the CEO and chairman of the board for the privately held developer and licenser of the patented NuVinci continuously variable planetary transmission technology.

Kitagawa North-Tech Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., which manufactures standard chucks, advanced chucks, custom-engineered workholding and steady rests, hired Edward Borsos as regional sales manager.

Vero Software Ltd., Cheltenham, England, hired Application Engineer Kevin Wedderburn to support customers who use the company's SMIRT software products for the tooling industry.nn

Earlier this week we shared the conclusions of the McKinsey Report, which concluded that it may be possible for U.S. manufacturing to grow by 20 percent and add more than 2 million jobs by 2025. That was the good news. It can only happen, however, if manufacturers embrace Industry 4.0 technology. The Integr8 conference in Detroit showed how to get started.

International automotive technology, systems and components supplier DENSO, Southfield, Mich., is expanding its U.S. footprint with a $1 billion investment in its Maryville, Tenn. location. The investment is meant to significantly increase the role North America plays in the global trend toward vehicle safety and electrification, according to the company.

Hexagon AB, Surrey, U.K., a provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, acquired assets from Kronion GmbH, Landau, Germany, and transferred them to Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, North Kingstown, R.I.

Absolute Machine Tools Inc., Lorain, Ohio, hired Jeff Sturtevant as general manager of the Mason Technical Center in Mason, Ohio.

Micro Technology Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., makes parts that are used to mount to automotive engine blocks to be robotically transported through assembly lines. The company uses HAAS VF-3 with CAT40 taper tools. One part is 6061 Aluminum with a tolerance requirement of +/- 0.002" and was being machined with a face mill at 3,000RPM 120IPM with 1.25" axial and 1.2" radial depth of cut. The challenge: Improve productivity without sacrificing quality and accuracy. OSG Tap & Die describes their solution in a recent web feature: