November 2021 Volume 3

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Conclusion It is commonplace that forges include a machine shop to accommodate their tooling needs, such as is the case with Anchor Harvey. Finish-machining services are contracted to independent machine shops. For some forging companies, such as Specialty Ring Products andThe Ulven Companies, it has become a lucrative growth strategy to take their machining operations beyond their tool rooms, and into rough- or finish-machining of the products they produce. These services may be developed internally or may be integrated through acquisition.

supplier of finished products to our customers.” After the successful completion of the Brooklyn Bridge project Ulven Forging acquired Brookway Machining. Similarly, in 1996, Houston Structures was incorporated to acquire the assets of STX Structures in Houston, Texas. Ulven Forging and Wolf Steel had been supplying forgings and castings to STX for years, making this a natural acquisition. Now located in Oregon, Houston Structures’ primary focus is on infrastructure projects that use wire rope and bridge strand assemblies, such as suspension bridges, stadiums, towers, and dams. In 2013 Skookum acquired the brand name and intellectual property for the SOWA line of oil field blocks, hooks, and shackles. The SOWA name is synonymous with quality and service, and this tradition continues under Skookum. In 2019, Ulven Aerospace & Precision Solutions (UAPS) became a stand-alone subsidiary derived from the 1995 acquisition of Brookway Machining. The breakout of UAPS allows it to focus on supporting the demands and requirements of aerospace, space and other industries requiring precision machined kits, mechanical assemblies, and subassemblies. Today, what started as a single hammer forge in Molalla, Oregon, is a diverse manufacturing group that occupies 160,000 ft2 of building on 34 acres of land. Ulven Forging, Skookum, Wolf Steel Foundry, Houston Structures, and Ulven Aerospace & Precision Solutions all require machining services to finish and support their product output. “About 90 percent of all the products we ship require some level of finish-machining,” stresses Dan Ulven. “We are proud to be here and, through our value-added capabilities, offer our customers turnkey product solutions that make them competitive in the markets they serve.”

Forged and machined handrail clamps installed on the George Washington Bridge in NYC. Image courtesy of The Ulven Companies.

Author Dean M. Peters has covered metal working markets, including the foundry, welding & industrial gas, heat treatment and forging industries for more than 30 years. His journalistic credentials are enhanced by his B.Eng in metallurgical engineering, his MBA in finance, and a decade of experience in market research. He can be reached by e-mailing info@ forging.org. ■

Forged mandel shackles. Photo courtesy of The Ulven Companies

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2021 20