September 08, 2008

ThyssenKrupp Waupaca in Tennessee starts expansion

It is reported that ThyssenKrupp Waupaca held a ground breaking ceremony on Monday for the USD 162 million expansion of its iron castings foundry at Etowah in Tennessee State of US.

The Etowah facility began operations in 2001. The expansion will add a new state of the art ductile iron production line housed in a separate building, expected to be fully operational in 2009. The automated line, which will include up to 50 robots for material handling, will nearly double the facility's existing size of 272,000 square feet.

ThyssenKrupp Waupaca part of Germany's ThyssenKrupp Group claims to be the largest non captive iron foundry in the world and produces gray and ductile iron castings. The unit's headquarters and four manufacturing facilities are located in Wisconsin. Additional plants are located at Tell City in Indiana and Etowah in Tennessee. Ductile iron castings are used for the production of brake calipers, brake supports and automotive chassis components, such as steering knuckles and differential cases for gear boxes. The Etowah plant also manufactures gray iron castings, primarily used for rotors and brake drums in cars and heavy trucks.