FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2006
Contact: Mike Marn
Francis Marketing
(616) 235-1122

Chicago Extruded Metals Integrates New Hot Jet Furnace
Fuel Savings Greater than Cost of Technology

Belding, Michigan — Chicago Extruded Metals (CXM) has chosen Granco Clark to supply the billet heating system for a 2750-ton brass extrusion press at its Cicero, Illinois facility. The furnace is a Model 69-65-6 “Hot Jet” billet furnace, which will be used to process primarily 9-inch diameter billets. This furnace will provide 25,000 pounds per hour of 9-inch billet at 1400ºF.

The recent spike in the cost of natural gas has made it possible to justify the replacement of the old billet-heating furnace based on fuel savings alone. The Granco Clark Hot Jet billet furnace features a system that recaptures heat that would otherwise escape, and puts it back to work in further heating the billet. This allows it to average approximately 50% efficiency in normal operation—55% at aluminum extrusion temperatures—well beyond the averages other furnaces typically achieve.

Chicago Extruded Metals Company is a leading manufacturer of extruded brass shapes, rod, bar and precision components for a variety of industries and applications.

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Founded in 1947, Granco Clark began manufacturing billet furnaces and has evolved into a global, single-source supplier and leading equipment manufacturer to the aluminum extrusion industry. Quality is a key component in every extrusion system the ISO-9001 certified company fabricates — from billet log furnaces and log shears to age ovens and stacking equipment.

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