Grede scores Navistar engine contract, adds new local jobs; Shipbuilders of Wisconsin anticipates more layoffs
Grede scores Navistar engine contract, adds new local jobs
Grede Holdings LLC , a manufacturer of cast, machined and assembled components for the transportation and industrial markets, has been awarded a multi-year contract to supply engine components to Navistar Inc. for its new 2010 MaxxForce 7 V-8 turbodiesel medium-duty engine.
Grede will manufacture the Navistar components at its Menomonee Falls plant and its casting facilities in Wauwatosa and Iron Mountain, Mich. Grede also supplies Navistar with ferrous castings from its plant in Biscoe, N.C., and lost foam castings from its plant in Columbiana, Ala.
A company spokesperson said the Menomonee Falls plant has added eight new jobs with the new contract, while its Wauwatosa casting facility has added 10 new employees.
The Navistar engine will launch this summer in several commercial truck and school bus applications.
The contract is the largest per-truck content award for Grede.
“It is critical that Navistar has engine components for its Maxx Force 7 that can achieve durability and reliability requirements while, at the same time, meet stringent fuel economy and clean air standards,” Vito Parente, Grede’s vice president of sales, Heavy Truck and Industrial, said in a prepared statement. “Grede has a long-standing relationship with Navistar and is pleased to partner with them on this important new engine. We were selected as a supplier because of the value we provide in product development, our comprehensive manufacturing experience and past performance, having won the Diamond Supplier Award from Navistar in 2009 and 2010.”
Grede Holdings LLC was formed earlier this year through the combination of assets of the former Grede Foundries Inc. with Citation Corp.
Shipbuilders of Wisconsin anticipates more layoffs
Manitowoc-based Shipbuilders of Wisconsin Inc. has informed the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that it may lay off an additional 70 workers in the next six months. Small layoffs are anticipated during the summer months, with larger layoffs beginning in September, the company said.
Shipbuilders of Wisconsin will lay off carpenters, finishers, metal workers, mechanics, fluid power technicians, pipefitters, electricians and office staff. None of the layoffs is considered permanent, the company’s letter says, but there are no specific return to work dates at this time.
