Linamar has started optimising a new giga casting plant in Welland, Ontario, scheduled to begin activities in February 2025. The plant, when prepared, will supply structural aluminium castings for application in lightweight automobiles.
The company has already begun site preparation for the plant. This investment will hail Linamar as the first Tier 1 supplier outside Asia that uses high-pressure die-cast giga press machines.
Linamar is optimistic about the growing demand for sustainable vehicles in the market as it has planned to make "very large structural parts for electric vehicles," the company claimed.
Despite Linamar's silence on its customers or supply deals, the plant's strategic location near manufacturing bases in Michigan and Ontario offers numerous potential clients. If this is true, Linamar will have better proximity to the US and Canadian manufacturing zones for serving bespoke aluminium components for vehicles.
Tesla popularised giga casting with their IDRA Giga Press machines, which produce single-piece front and rear castings for the Model Y, and later the Cybertruck's body.
Linamar President and COO Jim Jarrell commented: "The Welland giga casting facility will have capabilities few companies in the world possess. There is an increasing trend of cast aluminium used in vehicle architectures, particularly BEVs. Structural aluminium castings offer an alternative to traditional steel stamping and weldments, creating a less complex and more lightweight solution for OEMs."
As per the observations of the Welland Tribune, the plant might be located at the former Energex site in the city's south end, but Linamar has not confirmed this information.
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