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Aesir Metals creates its own niche
By GRACE WYLER
struthers
The industry that put the Mahoning Valley on the map is getting a high-tech boost from a new advanced- materials startup here.
Aesir Metals, a steel and iron foundry in the CASTLO Industrial Park, has developed an innovative casting technique that aims to streamline prototype manufacturing.
The company, which officially launched its operations Friday, is the brainchild of a trio of local entrepreneurs who wanted to take the innovative thinking common in high-tech sectors such as software and biotechnology and apply it to the age-old metal industries.
Since forming Aesir in fall 2009, the founders — Mark DeBruin and Sarah Jordan of Youngstown and Jeff Rocco of Tallmadge — have developed and installed a casting line using a process known as “lost foam.”
The lost-foam technique replaces the wooden patterns used in conventional foundries with foam forms, allowing the metal to be formed into more intricate shapes. This eliminates the need for machining, welding and heat treatment, Jordan said.
Aesir, which focuses primarily on prototypes and replacement parts, can cast an array of materials using the lost-foam process, including gray iron, ductile iron, plain carbon steel and stainless steel, Jordan said.
The company has supplied products to a variety of companies from a range of commercial sectors such as agriculture, mining, transportation and defense, she said.
“Castings are used in so many different industries,” Jordan said. “And we have an advantage because we eliminate the machining processes.”
Despite the bad economic climate, the foundry, which has eight workers, is running at full capacity, and demand is growing, Jordan said.
The company plans to expand to a larger facility in the industrial park and hire about 100 employees within the next 10 years, she said. “I definitely think there is a big opportunity here.”
Aesir could be only the beginning for the advanced-materials industry in the Valley, said Tom Presby, manager for business development for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
Youngstown was recently named a Hub of Advanced Materials Commercialization and Software Development by the Ohio Department of Development. “There is a lot of potential,” Presby said.
Aesir, which received strategic assistance from the Chamber’s Regional Entrepreneurial Assistance Channel, is part of the region’s changing economic landscape, Presby said.
“Companies like Aesir are the backbone of our economy,” he said. “We are going to build on a lot of diversity with companies like this.”