ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks to receive up to $12.7M funding from FedDev Ontario

Oct. 20, 2016 – The Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund (AMF), is contributing up to $12.73 million to help Ontario auto parts manufacturer ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Americas (AMTB) adopt advanced manufacturing technologies.

The investment will go towards AMTB’s robotic laser-welding project to produce “lighter and stronger auto parts.”

“This is a first-in-the-world technology that results in lighter weight steel and ultimately contributes to improved vehicle fuel efficiency, increased auto-safety, and reduced carbon emissions. Through this technology, AMTB has increased quality and productivity while lowering costs, thereby enhancing this Ontario manufacturer’s competitiveness in North America,” said the parties in a statement.
 
“Ontario’s manufacturers continue to take on the challenges of an increasingly global and competitive marketplace,” said Peter Fragiskatos, MP for London North Centre. “This investment in AMTB’s world-leading process that creates stronger, lighter auto-parts is creating more high-quality jobs for Canadians and is increasing the global competitiveness of our auto-part manufacturers.”

AMTB, through this project, said it has increased its footprint by opening up a new operation with the retrofitting of a 93,000-square foot facility in Woodstock, Ont.
 
The increased production impacts southern Ontario’s automotive supply chain, which includes materials sourced from an Ontario supplier, final products processed in St. Thomas, and the completed auto-parts integrated at the Chrysler Canada assembly plant in Windsor, it noted.
 
“This investment is a key strategic success for both ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks and the Government of Canada, as it positions our company to successfully service the Canadian automotive market with the most advanced laser welded blanks in the industry. This in turn further strengthens Canadian automotive manufacturing and Canadian jobs in advanced manufacturing,” added Todd Baker, president of AMTB.