North American makers now have a one-stop, expedited domestic source for forging equipment as a result of the June, 2019 acquisition of Erie Press Systems with Ajax-CECO under parent company Park Ohio (NASDAQ: PKOH).
 
Park Ohio's acquisition of Erie Press Systems adds hydraulic press and stretch creating equipment to its already impressive selection of automated and hammer forging presses offered under the Ajax-CECO brand. By manufacturing and supporting all three brands, Park Ohio efficiently becomes the greatest forging equipment manufacturer in North America.
 
'By obtaining Erie Press Systems, we stretch our engineering, manufacturing and service capabilities, control costs more effortlessly and benefit from economies of scale when working with our core suppliers,' says Ken Copeland, president of Ajax-CECO. 'The goal is to become a one-stop provider of new, rebuilt and remanufactured products for a variety of traditional and advanced forging applications, along with providing full service and timely support.'
 
According to Copeland, part of the appeal of the acquisition is that Erie Press Systems' extensive hydraulic press capabilities perfectly complement the equipment offered by Ajax-CECO.
 
Erie Press Systems has a long history, dating back to 1895 when the company initially started as the Erie Foundry Company. Today the company offers a line of common mechanical forge presses as well as hydraulic presses for a variety of applications including forging (closed die, open die, and ring preforming), metal-forming, carbon extrusion, composite presses and stretch forming machines - as well as support for a legacy line of forging hammers.
 
'Combined, the three companies have been in present for more than 350 years,' explains Copeland. 'That means we can make equipment, parts, support and service for all three brands more conveniently available from a single source here in North America, while also improving our ability to compete with overseas providers.'



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com