Sapa Opens Aluminum Extrusion Lab in Detroit
This is the first facility of its kind in North America that is dedicated to research and development of extruded aluminum solutions for the automotive industry.
Posted: April 13, 2016
Sapa Technology Americas (Troy, MI) is the first facility of its kind in North America dedicated to the research and development of extruded aluminum solutions for the automotive industry. The new lab has now opened its doors and is in operation.
Sapa Technology is the corporate research and development hub for Sapa AS (Oslo, Norway). Established in 1963 with its base in Sweden, the unit has expertise in material, physics, chemistry and mechanical engineering. Sapa Technology Americas, located near the “motor city” of Detroit, represents an extension with an automotive focus.
“In total, we have around 1,000 engineers working in research and with application development throughout the world. This is a new step forward in our work to provide customers with the solutions that improve their products,” stated Egil Hogna, the president and chief exective officer of the company.
Executive vice president Tolga Egrilmezer, who is responsible for strategy and business development, stated, “We are committed to developing innovative and sustainable aluminum solutions, and this new facility brings us even closer to the automotive industry, which is focused on building lighter and safer cars. We want to stimulate the use of aluminum in automotive applications and build on our role as the preferred development partner in automotive extrusion-based solutions.”
The company’s automotive customers include OEMs like Ford, General Motors, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover and Tesla, as well as Tier 1 suppliers such as MAHLE, Benteler, Panasonic and TI Automotive. Sapa Technology Americas has five engineers on staff and expects to further increase manning before the end of the year, according to the lab manager Nathan Nickolopoulos, who adds that they have invested more than $3 million in new equipment at the site. Most of the equipment has been installed and is in use.
The facility provides service to the business areas within the company, specifically on projects requested by their North America Technical Center (NATC), its plant network and corporate research and development. In addition to its current portfolio, they are working toward ISO 9001 and 17025 certification by this summer. The lab will not handle external queries, aside from projects with key academic partners, such as Michigan Technological University.
The key disciplines available at Sapa Technology Americas include:
- Physical metallurgy and advanced metallography
- Finite element analysis (linear and non-linear)
- Thermal analysis
- Corrosion and surface treatment technologies
- Joining, in particular solid state methods such as friction stir welding
- Solidification and casting technology, including billet quality assessment
In addition to Sapa Technologies and the new satellite, Sapa has technical expertise working around the world in market-specific or industry-related centers. In the U.S. these include the NATC in Michigan, Oregon and other locations, and the Corrosion Test Center in Florida. Headquartered in Oslo, Sapa are a leader in innovative aluminum solutions and have 23,500 employees in more than 40 countries that deliver solutions to all industries, from automotive and mass transportation to building and construction, electronics, offshore and maritime. They are a 50/50 joint venture owned equally by the Norwegian companies Orkla and Hydro.
www.sapatechnology.com, www.sapagroup.com
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