Laser welding joint venture of Worthington Industries opens facility in Canada

TWB Company, LLC has opened a new facility in Cambridge, ON, Canada, that will initially have one laser welding line with the capacity to produce 2 million tailor-welded blanks per year.

Nov. 18, 2014

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Columbus, OH - TWB Company, LLC, a tailor-welded blanking joint venture of Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR), has opened a new facility in Cambridge, ON, Canada. Initially, the facility will have one laser welding line that has the capacity to produce 2 million tailor-welded blanks per year, with the opportunity to expand.

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"Our business continues to grow as we partner with automakers to help reduce the weight of vehicles by expanding the use of tailor-welded products and introducing new, lighter and stronger material choices for car parts," said Geoff Gilmore, president of Worthington Industries Steel Processing. "Our first Canadian facility is strategically located near key customers and frees up capacity at our Monroe, Mich. location."

The use of tailor-welded blanks in vehicles has grown in recent years as automakers use light weighting to improve the fuel economy of vehicles to meet new targets set by the government. The significantly higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards take effect in 2025. Laser-welded blanks are made from welding steel blanks of various thicknesses and grades together to form a tailored blank that is then stamped into automotive body panels.

The new facility is 35,000 square feet with 16 employees, and will initially serve General Motors, Chrysler, and several Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Production began the week of November 10, 2014. The new facility is TWB's eighth in North America; additional locations include Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, and four in Mexico.

For more information, please visit www.twbcompany.com.

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