ESCO Corporation, a global provider of engineered consumable products, announced today the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Austcast Pty Ltd in Brisbane, Australia, and its subsidiary Newlcast in Dunedin, New Zealand.

The acquisition of these two foundries strengthens ESCO's product offerings and expansion efforts in Australia by providing local foundry capacity, the company said in a statement.

"In recent months, ESCO Corporation has made significant investments in Australia to directly support a growing number of mining and construction customers in the region," said Cal Collins, President of Engineered Products for ESCO Corporation.

"Our acquisition of Austcast is a key development in ESCO's plan to establish a national sales, supply chain, and manufacturing network in Australia, and will further our efforts to deliver quality, value and speed to our customers on a global scale."

With the formal closing of the acquisition, the company welcomes approximately 100 new Austcast and Newlcast employees to its workforce of nearly 4,700 globally.

This purchase follows ESCO's July, 2010 acquisition of Swift Group with offices and facilities in Brisbane, Mackay and Kingaroy, and according to Collins, "demonstrates ESCO's firm commitment to the Australian market and local manufacturing, contrary to other companies which are moving manufacturing out of Australia."