Foundry, forging company consolidates its brands

Southfield, Michigan-based Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. (MPG) has announced it is consolidating its portfolio of metals production and component manufacturing brands under the MPG name. Among the companies to adopt the MPG name will be the Grede iron foundry business unit. (Ferrous scrap consumer Grede was profiled by Recycling Today in this 2010 feature story.)

MPG says some of the consolidating brands have been in existence for nearly 100 years. In addition to Grede, the list of companies and brands includes HHI, Cloyes, Metaldyne, Jernberg, Impact Forge, NovoCast and FormTech.

“Our business was formed nearly two years ago through a combination of three metal-forming technology manufacturing companies,” says MPG CEO George Thanopoulos. “Integration has gone exceptionally well and exactly as planned. As such, we can now take the next step to brand ourselves solely as MPG.”

Doug Grimm, the former Grede Holdings chairman, president and CEO, says the commitment to one brand reflects a unified organization, but all the legal entities and reporting segments in the company will remain intact.

“The change to MPG reflects an ongoing integration of great companies that provide global customer solutions using advanced engineering and product development expertise,” says Grimm, who is now the president and chief operating officer MPG. “Our former iconic brands combine to make a stronger ‘One MPG’ and will further enhance our progress toward our long-term growth targets.”

MPG describes itself as a leading provider of highly engineered lightweight components for use in powertrain and suspension applications for the global light, commercial and industrial vehicle markets. It uses metal-forming manufacturing technologies and processes that include aluminum die casting, forging, iron casting and powder metal forming. The company’s global operations encompass more than 60 locations in 13 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia staffed by approximately 12,000 employees.