September 16, 2002
SINTER-FORGED COMPONENT PRODUCTION TO
START IN THE U.S.A.
Louisville Forge and Gear Works, an Aichi Steel subsidiary in the U.S.A.
| Louisville Forge and Gear Works, LLC. (headquartered in Kentucky, U.S.A.,
and headed by President Arthur R. Lattanzi; hereinafter referred to as "LFG"), a
United States subsidiary of Aichi Steel Corporation (headquartered in Tokai City, Aichi
Prefecture, Japan, and headed by President Yuji Shibata), will soon start producing
automotive components by the sinter-forging process. Aichi Steel Corporation has announced that it has recently completed, with the technical support of Toyota Motor Corporation, a sinter-forged connecting rod production line at their LFG plant (the LFG Main Plant). LFG has been producing hot-forged automotive components, including engine crankshafts and suspension parts, for delivery to Toyota Motor's subsidiaries and other automobile manufacturers in the United States. With the recent introduction of the sinter-forging process, the company will be able to produce components with higher precision and accuracy (in terms of dimensions and weight balance) than by the existing hot-forging process. This will allow LFG to respond to all diverse customer needs even more efficiently and flexibly than before. LFG intends to use this opportunity to further expand their forged automotive component business in the United States, starting from the delivery of sinter-forged connecting rods, produced by the newly completed line, to Toyota Motor's subsidiary plants in the U.S. The following are the details of the planned production:
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| 1. Company Profile of LFG | |
Name: Louisville Forge and Gear Works, LLC Head Office and Plant: Georgetown, Kentucky, USA Business Description: Manufacture and sales of forged products President: Arthur R. Lattanzi Capital: 25.8 million U.S. dollars (as of December 2001) Number of Employees: 276 (as of June 2002) Annual Sales: 53.5 million dollars (year 2001) Investment: Aichi USA, Inc 100% (Subsidiary Company of Aichi SteelCorporation in the U.S.A.) Establishment: August 8, 1997 Forging Equipment: 8000T mechanical pressline, 6000T mechanical pressline, and 5 other presslines. (Excluding sinter-forging equipment)
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| 2. Sinter forging | |
Production line configuration: Composed of forming → sintering → forging → finishing units Production line capacity: 170,000 units/month Product: Connecting Rod Start Operation: October 2002 Client: Toyota Motor's Subsidiaries in the U.S.A. Production Plan: 170,000 units/month (in 2003)
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| 3. For detailed information | |
-----Mr.Takeuchi, Oversea Business Div., Aichi Steel Corporation Phone: 052-603-9833 |
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