Ohio Star Forge Celebrates 25 Years, New Equipment
CHAMPION, Ohio -- Ohio Star Forge Co. just looked like “small nephews” when the joint venture of Copperweld Steel Co. and Daido Steel got started, reflects Roy Setterberg, who started at Copperweld in 1965. Setterberg switched over to Ohio Star Forge in 2000 when Copperweld closed.
“Their success has been absolutely fabulous,” he remarked. “It’s been steady growth.”
Setterberg, who recently retired from OSF, witnessed another milestone in the company’s growth Saturday during an open house celebrating its 25th anniversary and the installation of the new production machine at the plant, which has grown to 206,000 square feet.
Ohio Star Forge was formed to supply the bearing industry, and 10 years ago the company diversified to offer automobile transmission components as well as a variety of other fasteners and components for diverse industry sectors, said Carl Paglia, director of sales and business development. The new machine, the Hatebur AMP 70XL, “takes us to the biggest level” in terms of the size of product OSF can make.
“We’re the only one in North America that can offer a continuous lineup of Hatebur products,” Paglia said.
The new equipment will allow OSP to forge larger products up to an outside diameter of 165 mm and up to a maximum width of 130 mm. The plant now produces wheel bearings on the AMP 30 and 40 machines, the AMP 70 will allow OSP to supply wheel hubs for its existing customers.
“Our customers and new customers we don’t have yet are literally chasing us down. They’re beating on the door, wanting their parts that are vertically forged to go on this machine because it’s far more efficient than vertically forged parts," said Ray Harkins, quality manager.
While vertical forging is far more abundant, horizontal forging is five to 10 times faster, Harkins explained.
“They’re coming to us. They’re insisting that we make their parts because this technology is so lacking,” he added.
“Everything we do is geared toward efficiency [and] improvements in quality,” said James Walker, a 17-year employee of the company who will operate the AMP 70. The new equipment “means that we can now move into markets that we couldn’t get into before as far as shapes and product types.”
The company’s 2006 expansion positioned it to enter into more automotive applications, and OSF now supplies American, European and Japanese auto makers as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 supplier.
The last expansion also allowed the company to gain business in oil and gas, which is a slow market now nationally despite the activity locally, Paglia said. “We’re when you see a national increase in drilling activity we will benefit from that and also this machine will help us in that sector as well,” he said.
Billy Orbach, president and CEO, welcomed employees, representatives of Daido steel, public officials and other guests to the “state-of –the-art, horizontal hot-forming facility.”
The company broke ground in May on the $20 million project, the largest expansion project in the company’s history. “We maintained the business that was here prior to the construction and never missed a beat,” he remarked. “My hat’s off to the employees.”
Orback also praised Daido, for its vision in launching the joint venture with the now-defunct Copperweld, a decision also celebrated Saturday. The company started with 27 employees and two machines and has grown to 100, with the expansion to lead to the addition of 30 more. He recalled an article written by a current manager back in 1995 based on the story of Rip Van Winkle, musing on what might be expected 25 years later and questioning “where we would be” and whether the company would survive or “slowly fade away” as others have.
“I can tell you we haven’t been asleep for 25 years,” Orbach said.
“What’s really interesting about this project is it connects a lot of what makes Ohio so great,” remarked David Mustine, managing director of JobsOhio, the public-private agency that handles economic development for the state. The company supplies product to Honda, which hires Ohioans to building cars and “you’ll be making parts that go into the oil and gas industry that's starting to grow in this area,” Mustine noted.
In his remarks, Trumbull County Commissioner Paul Heltzel reflected on Abraham Lincoln’s observation in the Gettysburg Address, delivered 150 years ago, that the world would “little note, not long remember” what was said that day. “He was wrong about that,” he said. “Though you may not recall the words spoken today, you will remember that you were here with a smile of satisfaction as this company grows and prospers.”
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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