August 2023 Volume 5

INDUSTRY NEWS

The on-site steam plant powers the forging hammers.

A drone operator demonstrated aerial photography.

parts up to 5,000 lbs. can be forged. CDF has a proud history and worldwide reputation as a premier forging supplier. Aircraft containing CDF forgings flew in both world wars and in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the Golden Gate Bridge, the German Zeppelins of the pre-World War II period and a wide variety of early industrial and electric generating equipment incorporated CDF forgings, as did America’s first aircraft jet engines.

A Brief History of Canton Drop Forge Canton Drop Forge, Canton, Ohio was founded in 1903 in the days when horses and buggies still ruled the roads. It was originally called The Canton Drop Forging and Manufacturing Company, which manufactured parts for railroad tools and horse and buggy hardware from a small building housing two forging hammers. As the emerging automotive industry changed the industrial landscape the new company found additional opportunities to

With 241,000 square feet of space on 33 acres of property, CDF now employs about 200 people and ships to customers around the world. Market diversification is one key to the stability CDF has enjoyed, and it is constantly seeking new markets to serve. CDF can provide heat treating, rough machining, and in-house die manufacturing to maintain tooling on modern CNC machines. In addition, CDF has an experienced engineering and metallurgical staff that can assist customers in meeting the design and material specifications for their particular application.

manufacture parts for the rapidly growing transportation sector and other industries. By 1909, CDF added four additional hammers and started work on a new and larger facility to house its operations – Plant A. From there they forged aircraft parts for WWI planes. In 1942, the new Department of Defense facility known as Plant B was operated by CDF to supply forgings in support of WWII efforts. CDF played an important role in both World Wars and Vietnam, creating forged parts for land and air combat, fueling the aerospace industry. CDF purchased Plant B from the DoD in 1951.

In early 2018, Park Ohio (Cleveland) acquired CDF. CDF continues to pride itself on being customer-oriented and responsive to customer needs. The company services six major markets including aerospace, oilfield industry, power generation, mechanical power transmission, off highway, and railways. One way the company achieves such efficient operations is by maintaining a thin layer of upper management with a focus on excellence, execution, and continuous improvement, which includes Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma initiatives. CDF is also ISO9000, AS9100 and Nadcap certified to meet the demanding needs of the aerospace market.

CDF continued its expansion during the 1950s, during which it assumed its current name and grew its participation in the aerospace industry with power generation turbine blades and jet engine discs. These markets, in turn, led to expansion into the oil and gas industries. In the early-1980s Plant A was shut down, leaving Plant B as the sole operating plant. Today, CDF operates some of the industry’s largest drop forging hammers in its 241,000 square foot manufacturing facility. They operate 14 forging hammers and can produce forged parts up to 3,000 lbs. With the addition of the 50,000 lb. hammer

Historical photo showing steam hammer in operation. Courtesy of Canton Drop Forge.

FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2023 44