Stamping, casting auto supplier driven by sustainable lightweighting strategy

Shiloh Industries re-engineered a full aluminum casting as a hybrid stamped and aluminum cast assembly, saving weight and reducing costs. The assembly, which also includes the company’s proprietary ShilohCore acoustic panel laminate, offers a serviceability benefit too. If the SUV bottoms out while the driver is off-roading, an all-cast part could crack and would have to be replaced entirely; the re-engineered assembly allows for just the pan to be replaced if needed. Images provided by Shiloh Industries

Shiloh Industries, Valley City, Ohio, has transformed from a regional coil processing and stamping company into a global $1-billion-annual-sales stamping and forming heavyweight by concentrating on a single strategy: lightweighting. The company’s laser beam focus on lightweighting is so acute that all of the company’s products fall under one of three branded lines: StampLight, BlankLight, and CastLight.

BlankLight includes engineered materials in both monolithic (single) and multimaterial blanks composed of its unique acoustic elastomer, ShilohCore, and laser welded segments of different thicknesses of material, leaving the thicker, heavier material only where it is needed.

CastLight includes the company’s various aluminum and magnesium casting processes.

StampLight is an umbrella term for all the different types of stampings Shiloh makes, applying all the materials and processes at its disposal to remove weight from a stamped part or assembly.

“Our motto is ‘Lightweighting Without Compromise,’ said Shiloh Industries CEO Ramzi Hermiz, who implemented the redirection. “It drives everything we do.”

Today you’d be hard-pressed to name an automaker that doesn’t source stamped or formed components and assemblies from the Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 automotive supplier.

Lightweighting Branding Strategy Began as Mission

When Hermiz became CEO, he sensed that what the company was already doing as standard operating procedure could springboard it to greater heights by magnifying certain efforts and employing some savvy branding.

“We had been doing a lot of steel processing. As a part of our business strategy, we partnered with our customers to identify ways to take cost out of the final product,” Hermiz said. “At the same time, we were also taking weight out of certain products.”

“This is where I saw the opportunity. We were lightweighting vehicles already. In fact, we were ahead of the curve. We had great core skill sets. So how could we extrapolate and extend those skill sets to do more than we were currently doing? We subsequently built on our engineering and manufacturing capability to take weight out of a vehicle.

“Our company slogan, ‘Lightweighting Without Compromise,’ is about how we can achieve environmental benefits through lightweighting without compromising safety, cost, or

Shiloh re-engineered a cast-iron clevis into a stamped design using a 21-station progressive die. This precision-engineered, patented process reduced costs, improved cycle time, and eliminated the need for machining or secondary processes.

product performance,” Hermiz continued. “And so we built our product strategy around our purpose, and our purpose is based on our vision statement, which is ‘Creating innovative solutions for sustainable mobility and a cleaner, healthier environment.’”

Manufacturing Strategy Includes Materials, Engineering, Joining

Hermiz leaned on his background as an automotive engineer working on improving fuel economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the internal combustion engine (ICE) powertrain to develop the company’s lightweighting tactics.

Lighter Materials. Obviously, an initial lightweighting tactic is to substitute lighter materials for heavier ones, so Shiloh looked to aluminum grades, magnesium, stainless steel, and advanced high-strength steel (AHSS). “Lighter doesn’t mean less strong. Lighter can be stronger. Magnesium, for example, is lighter and stronger than steel,” Hermiz said.

Strategic Material Mix. Hermiz said it made sense to use multiple materials. “Not every vehicle is going to have the same weight-reduction requirements. It is more about achieving an end goal. You also have to consider how the OEM is building the vehicle and their assembly processes.

“Steel is not going away,” he continued. “In fact, we’ve seen a resurgence of investment in steel R&D as competition among materials producers increases. From a consumer standpoint, it’s great to see those lightweight Gen 3 steels compete with aluminum and magnesium because that brings more choice and downstream benefits.”

Shiloh’s position on materials is that it is materials-agnostic, Hermiz said. “It will be steel and it will be aluminum and it will be magnesium as well as some other materials. Carbon fiber will be part of the materials mix. Plastics have a place in the market. So you will continue to see that mixed-materials model.”

Process-agnostic. Wanting to be able to offer multiple options led to the addition of aluminum laser welding and aluminum and magnesium casting capabilities. The company expanded its stamping capacity also. Shiloh has stamping, casting, and assembly capabilities, as well as the ability to form all grades of AHSS, including Gen 3 steel, and aluminum, offering a full portfolio of options to customers.

“Different solutions require a different answer. We don’t believe that there’s a silver bullet. We believe that a mixed-materials, mixed-processes approach is a strength that Shiloh brings. We can look at a particular vehicle application and offer several alternative approaches.

“For example, on a shock tower, we could stamp the component and assemble it, or we could cast it out of aluminum or magnesium. Each one would have a different weight benefit and cost result.”

Alternative Joining Methods. Shiloh uses multiple joining methods in its assemblies. “The type of joining that’s going on is not just rivets and spot welding. Different adhesives are coming into play. And we’re using castings and stampings where you would traditionally see an all-cast solution.”

A BlankLight blank comprises sections of material with different gauges and compositions to result in an overall lighter blank.

Shiloh re-engineered an oil pan that traditionally would have been full aluminum cast or a fully stamped part into a combined cast-and-stamped component that also included Shiloh’s proprietary NVH laminate material.

Laser-welded Segmented Blanks. Another lightweighting approach Shiloh takes is incorporated in BlankLight. A laser-welded blank comprises sections of material of different gauges and even of different compositions, resulting in a lighter blank and, hence, lighter component.

“A perfect example is our door inner,” Hermiz said. “What we’re able to do through our laser welding technologies is join aluminum or steel in two different material thicknesses, so you have the added strength only where you need it.

“Let’s say you apply the thicker-gauge material along the hinge area where the door is being supported, and the lighter, thinner-gauge material everywhere else. There’s a significant weight benefit. We can save up to 5 lbs. over a monolithic steel or aluminum door. Then multiply that by two or four doors ….”

There’s also a significant cost benefit and an emissions benefit.

“One of the things that we also focus on when we talk to customers is the amount of CO2 emissions we reduce because less aluminum or less steel needs to be produced. So again, that is lightweighting without compromise.”

Simplifying Stamped Assemblies. Hermiz said that Shiloh collaborates with customers to explore how to simplify multipart assemblies to reduce the number of components as a weight- and cost-reduction approach. “A recent example would be the new Corvette—a beautiful car. We worked with the engineering team to redesign and reduce the complexity of approximately 60 steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber components. We looked at how we could combine parts and simplify the assembly with our structural aluminum castings. Ultimately, we took those 60 parts, reduced the complexity, consolidated them to fewer than 20 parts, and took out 35% of the weight,” Hermiz said.

Supplying Electric and ICE Vehicles

Shiloh supplies components for ICE vehicles as well as the emerging hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and electric vehicle (EV) markets. Hermiz said that Shiloh is propulsion system-agnostic, and that he sees opportunities in all three major types of propulsion systems. “We measure opportunity in terms of content per vehicle—what Shiloh produces that can go into the vehicle. It’s approximately the same for a pure electric vehicle as for an ICE vehicle,” he said. There are more potential parts in an HEV that contains both.

Hermiz said that the company is very well-positioned for any vehicle market. For example, for an ICE vehicle, the manufacturer can make oil pans. For EVs, it can make battery housings or battery protection and electric components.

“Changing propulsion technology is not a risk. It’s actually an opportunity for us to do more.” He said some components will be the same no matter what. “We make stampings for seat structures that take weight out of the assembly—whether for EVs or ICE vehicles.”

Considering that CAFE standards were designed to reduce tailpipe emissions, and that EVs don’t have a tailpipe, does lightweighting still matter?

“Absolutely,” Hermiz said. “Because if you can take weight out of the vehicle, you extend battery range. We’re doing that right now with some of our customers on the electric vehicle front. And so the focus on lightweighting is just as important.

“By lightweighting, you’re reducing energy consumption, whether it’s energy to power an internal combustion engine or energy to reduce battery consumption to extend range.”

Sustainability by Lightweighting, Landfill-free, Renewable Power

Shiloh does not pay lip service to its mission. “As a company, we’re passionate about our vision statement,” Hermiz said, noting that the company integrates sustainability into its products as well as its own environmental footprint—facilities and operations.

Its product portfolio is 100% recyclable at the end of life.

Shiloh has a global network of landfill-free facilities. In 2018 alone it diverted more than 340 million lbs. from landfills.

The manufacturer is very much focused on renewables in its manufacturing facilities as well. “We’re pleased to announce that we have five facilities that will be 100% powered on renewable electrical energy,” Hermiz said. The company has 12 additional facilities that are between 19% and 63% clean energy, he added.

“When we’re buying capital equipment, we spend a lot of time looking at the energy efficiencies. We’re converting to LED lighting. We’re focused on reducing compressed air leaks.”

In terms of investments, 100% of its R&D goes to lightweighting or a green solution, Hermiz said. “We’re focused on finding different ways to reduce energy consumption in the manufacturing process—how we weld, reducing water consumption, using environmentally friendly lubricants … things that aren’t necessarily mandated. We just know that it is the right thing to do. We can improve the environment without compromising profitability because we capture additional benefits.”

Hermiz believes Shiloh’s sustainability mission fits its customers’ sustainability missions, such as Tesla’s mission of an electric future, and General Motors’ vision of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.

Their premises of not compromising the environment and not compromising safety ties in directly with Shiloh’s. “Our purpose isn’t about making a specific part or saying we’re going to be the best stamper or best casting company. Our purpose is to improve the environment in what we do—Lightweighting Without Compromise. And it’s fun to be aligned with customers who share that same vision.”

Doubled in Size

In 2012 two U.S. OEMs represented more than 50% of Shiloh’s revenue, Hermiz said. “Today we’ve doubled in size to more than $1 billion annual sales, and those same customers have continued to grow with us. But our top customer mix now also includes OEMs out of Europe and Asia. Companies like BMW, Mercedes, JLR, and Volvo are some of our top customers. We now have over 4,000 active part numbers for more than 100 different customers all over the world.”

Continued Growth Is Projected

Hermiz said he sees significant opportunity for growth, including by growing Shiloh’s content per vehicle.

“Our technology is still in the infancy of opportunity. We have a solid foundation that’s focused on the right things and focused on the environment. We have an outstanding team of 3,600 globally. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by great people in great facilities, and that clearly drives benefits for all of us.”