AMFT unites expert brands, advanced technology and global scale to deliver mission-critical metal solutions
With roots tracing back to 1857 across AMFT’s combined legacy brands, when Wallace Barnes began spring manufacturing, Associated Metal Forming Technologies (AMFT) evolved from Associated Spring. Formed in 1922, AMFT unites five established metal-forming brands into one global platform, bringing together expert teams, advanced technology and global scale to deliver mission-critical solutions.
Today, Associated Spring™, Hänggi™, AH Metal Solutions™, E. Winkemann™, and Sko-Die™ form AMFT, a company engineered for mission-critical performance and problem-solving. Manufacturing Today spoke with President and Chief Financial Officer, Todd Smith, who tells us more about AMFT, particularly its ongoing investments in technological innovations: “Essentially, we are a custom engineering business – we’re not a catalogue business,” begins Todd. “We co-engineer unique designs with our customers, drawing on over 300 years of knowledge and expertise to serve clients globally. We turn complexity into real-world results, delivering custom engineered metal forming solutions with an unwavering commitment to mission-critical quality, and always delivered on time.
“That heritage shows up in how we execute, with in-house talent and tools across design, co-engineering, prototyping, finishing, testing and production. We support industries where reliability, speed and quality are non-negotiable, such as aerospace, defense, medical technology, energy, power generation, transportation, electronics and consumer applications. We continually invest in equipment and capabilities, backed by a significant annual capital budget to meet customer demand. Our certifications are critical for defense work, giving customers confidence in the security and traceability of information.”
AMFT operates a diversified manufacturing network across America, Europe and Asia, with three sites in the US, and locations in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Singapore and Thailand. This global footprint allows the company to combine its local execution with worldwide continuity, mitigate supply chain risk and position itself near customers.
“In the current geopolitical environment, customers are looking for a resilient supply chain in-region or in-country,” explains Todd. “Therefore, having capacity near them is critical and we have specialized environments for high precision medical and electronic production. Also, we have a few key customers in the aerospace sector in the US, so now we need to penetrate Europe. Again, with defense, it’s very region specific, and we’re investing in people, processes and certifications that matter to defense primes and Tier 1 suppliers.
“We’re seeing meaningful opportunity in defense across Europe, and the momentum is building as supply chains and industrial capacity ramp up. By 2035, Europe’s expected to spend about 80 percent of what the US does today on defense, so we’re positioning ourselves with key government suppliers to be a partner in that supply chain. Additionally, Mexico and Brazil are growth areas where we see a lot of potential.
“Historically, we’ve seen Mexico supply a lot of products into the US and looking at our customer base now, there’s tremendous opportunity in Mexico, so we’re aiming to rebuild our commercial engine there and explore how we can further serve the needs of our transnational customers in Mexico – similarly with Brazil.”
Smart factory transformation and future vision
Alongside its geographical expansion, AMFT has been investing heavily in technologies and adopting Smart Factory approaches. “We’re currently evaluating our roadmap and understanding what the ROI is on our Smart Factory adoption,” continues Todd. “We’re rolling out MES for real-time performance and traceability, expanding our inline inspection and digital quality systems, and then looking to apply analytics to compress raw material lead times and boost operational excellence. We’re also about to kick off a pilot program where we will introduce AI and sensors specifically for the manufacture of a customer’s product, enabling them to see end-to-end data on the production of their product in one of our facilities.”
Driving organic growth is a top priority for AMFT this year, through disciplined execution and targeting high-margin segments. Operationally, it is focused on employee safety and culture, expanding capacity, standardizing site-level performance management and continuing to invest in cybersecurity and compliance. “Looking beyond 2026, we’ll be a partner of choice for our largest global customers, serving them at a local and regional level which will result in trust of engineering depth, continuity and speed,” concludes Todd. “We’ll also be partnering on next-gen transportation with our customers, whether that’s hybrid programs or battery operated, and we’ll continue to modernize our manufacturing scale and digital operations. Overall, we’re continuing to build a company that wins complex multi-site programs and delivers for the customer every time, wherever that’s needed across the globe.
“For me, AMFT is the evolution of a great legacy; we’re not trying to rewrite history, but instead we’re writing our next chapter and being reimagined for what our customers need now and in the future. We’re intently focused on unifying engineering talent across continents, elevating quality and compliance, and investing where it moves the needle for reliability, speed and total cost. This year is about execution, and that will set the foundation for long-term durable growth and partnership for our customers.”