Forging Press Installation
Kobe Aluminum
Photo credit: Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.
CLIENT
Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, LLC
PROJECT SCOPE
INDUSTRY
Automotive Manufacturing
LOCATION
Bowling Green, Ky.
The SilMan Industries Specialty Trade Services provided two 6300-ton presses for the Kentucky Tier 1 auto supplier.
Demand for Industrial Aluminum
Forging Press in Manufacturing
With the continued demand for fuel efficiency and safety, the auto manufacturing industry continues to challenge its top suppliers to provide stronger, lighter parts.
These circumstances have created a perfect opportunity for Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products (“KAAP”) to expand its business. The company has successfully established its reputation for designing and manufacturing lightweight aluminum airplanes and automotive components.
In 2015, the firm added an additional building to their Bowling Green campus to lay the groundwork for this expanded trajectory.
Thanks to SilMan’s in-house automotive experience and familiarity with the press equipment and process involved in this project, as well as long-standing local partnerships, SilMan Industries was contracted to install the first presses in the new structure.
About Kobe Aluminum
KAAP is part of the Kobe Steel Group, known as KOBELCO, headquartered in the Chūō ward of Kobe City in Japan. Kobe’s aluminum division was founded in 1937, and its U.S. plant in Bowling Green was established in 2005.
Kobe is a Tier 1 auto supplier serving Nissan, Chrysler, BMW, and Mercedes.
The company’s website indicates the plant specializes in aluminum forged suspension products. Equipment onsite includes Continuous Casting Machine, 6300-ton Mechanical Forging Presses, 300-ton Mechanical Trimming Presses, Continuous Heat Treatment Furnaces, and Automatic Penetrant Inspection Lines.
Speak to a key team member on this project
Meet Tom Mangin
For more information about this project or related topics, contact Tom by email or call directly at 925.984.8992
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SilMan Industries provides material handling solutions to the manufacturing community nationwide, including clients such as BASF, Brown-Forman, Daikin, Fruit of the Loom, Georgia Pacific, GE Appliances, and Whirlpool.
The Project
The new forging presses to be installed, #7 and #8 at the facility, create front power steering arms for a variety of automobile manufacturers. Moreover, with KAAP’s surging success and expansion, the installation occurred in a newly constructed building.
The scope of work for the project began from the ground up with the damper installation to absorb the 6300-ton strike force of the Sumitomo press. Additional elements include Trimming Press, Machining Line, CNC machine, Furnace, and Robotics.
Each unit completes the entire fabrication process, from the aluminum rod, cut, heat, press (three strikes), and finish. Material handling throughout the process is guided by six Kawasaki single-arm robots and Kobe operators.
Transport of the over-sized components is a major affair. The largest pieces require six days of transport to Bowling Green from Savannah, Georgia. This is due to the limited number of hours the escort team is allowed to travel each day on state and federal highways.
In addition to challenges involving the scale of the project, access to the work area, and use of the crane during the installation were regularly limited due to the facility expansion simultaneously underway on the property.
The Contributors
The long-term relationships and skilled communications of all teams were key aspects of the success of the project, which was completed on time.
We are grateful to our partners and the many skilled Trades professionals that were onsite each day, sometimes up to 40 each day!
| Project Element | Partner |
|---|---|
| Labor (millwrights) | D&D Machine Movers (Bob Williams) |
| Pit Cover | H&H Steel Metal (Ricky Holloway) |
| Mechanical Piping | Knights Mechanical (Nick Soards) |
| Electrical Support | M&L Electric (Curtis White) |
About SilMan Industries
SilMan Industries (formerly SilMan Construction) is based in San Leandro, California, with Engineering and Field Operations offices in Tupelo, Mississippi. The firm provides integrated turnkey solutions in the Industrial, Manufacturing, Distribution, and Public Works sectors.
Notably, in 2010, SilMan Industries was contracted to dismantle and transport the NUMMI assembly line in Fremont, Calif., transport the equipment, and reinstall the system in Blue Springs, Miss., establishing Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi (TMMMS). This high-visibility project ignited the company’s meteoric growth, laying the foundation for SilMan’s national service area.
For more information, please visit www.silmanindustries.com/about.
Looking for more? Take a deeper dive into SilMan’s Specialty Trade Services high-performance solutions for Equipment and Controls, Industrial Facilities, and Building Systems.
