ME Elecmetal, part of the Santiago, Chile-based Claro Group, has announced a $45 million project to construct a specialty steel-casting foundry in China. The facility, with a production capacity of 30,000 t/y of mill liners, will be located in the city of Changzhou in Jiangsu province. Project engineering is in the final stage of development and construction is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2012. ME Elecmetal anticipates facility startup in 2013’s fourth quarter. The foundry’s output will support hard rock mining and milling operations, primarily for large-scale mining operations in the Asia Pacific region that are experiencing increasing demand.

“The Changzhou facility will allow us to more quickly respond to our existing and potential customer base in the Asia Pacific region,” said President Andy Fulton. “The liner facility, coupled with our joint venture ball plant, offers a strong manufacturing platform to achieve our goal of being the preferred provider of total grinding solutions to this expanding market.” In 2011, the company teamed with Long Teng Special Steel to construct a joint venture media ball plant. The 50:50-owned entity – ME Long Teng Grinding Media (Changshu) Co Ltd – manufactures high-quality grinding media products designed and engineered by ME Elecmetal that are marketed worldwide under the ME Super SAG and ME Ultra Grind brand names. Due to increased demand in global markets, a significant portion of the plant’s production is committed to several ME Elecmetal customers. ME Elecmetal and Long Teng Special Steel are continuing their investment plan to expand grinding ball production capacity to 370,000 t/y.

ME Elecmetal, with its US headquarters in Minneapolis, is a leading producer of highly engineered impact and abrasion resistant castings used in crushing and milling applications. With its parent company, Elecmetal SA, the company operates foundries in the US in Duluth and Tempe, with a licensee in Mexico. Elecmetal SA operates similar foundries in Santiago and Rancagua, Chile. The company serves its expanding international markets, currently in 30 countries, through sales offices in North and South America, Australia, India, the UK, South Africa, Bulgaria and Russia. In 2011, 33% of the ME Elecmetal’s total revenue was derived from international sales. The company has 1,000 employees, primarily in Chile and the US, as well as in China, Brazil and Canada.