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Sustainable future for European foundry.

Issued at 2011-04-21



In September 2011 Victaulic, a high quality castings manufacturer, announced an €11 million investment in its European foundry. The new facilities will offer increased output and capabilities, more value added services and increased sustainability.

 

Foundries worldwide

With foundries in Canada, China, Poland and the USA, Victaulic strategically promotes local production to support its global reach and implements a rigorous quality control system to manufacture castings to consistently exceptional standards for any project worldwide.

“We are one of very few companies to be able to produce ductile iron castings on this scale and breadth,” said Didier Vassal, Victaulic vice president. “What this means for our customers is that we manufacture to the same high standards in all our plants so they are guaranteed the same high standards of quality wherever their castings are needed.”

Since 1999, when Victaulic acquired the European foundry, it has seen an increased demand for ductile iron castings from across the continent and from its main market segments - in particular the growing OEM, rail and automotive sectors – and is now projecting an annual output of around 18,000 tons.

Located in Drezdenko, Poland, the foundry is perfectly positioned to serve an expanding market – the site is just 100km from the Polish-German border and 100km from Poznan. The area has a rich tradition in foundry operations and a pool of highly skilled labour, coupled with favourable local economic conditions.

Local records indicate a foundry has stood on the same site for at least 150 years, playing a significant role in the country's history. In the last 60 years it contributed to the restoration of Poland after the Second World War and later produced vital agricultural machinery.

Since its purchase by Victaulic, the plant has developed substantially with a heavy investment in new equipment to meet modern quality standards, and its production profile extensively tailored to ductile iron articles. Today the 10 hectare site employs over 400 highly qualified specialists from the casting trade who have expanded their horizons to serve clients in countries across Europe. The most common parts manufactured include valves, brakes and railway fasteners but a whole array of other custom castings are produced on a daily basis.

 

Rebirth of manufacturing

Now the foundry is entering a major new phase of expansion and undergoing an €11 million modernisation to introduce a substantial increase in production capacity and deliver enhancements to the sand moulding processing station, moulding lines, pouring area and dust extraction systems. These improvements are being implemented with the support of an EU funding initiative and are scheduled for completion in August 2011.

New equipment already installed includes two MTP 3000A turbine mixers, a new type MC-200 cooler and a Verdimat processing control system. Other line enhancements include type 231 Disa moulders, General Kinematics tumblers, Uceram automatic pouring machines and Dantherm dust collectors. All improvements have been specially phased in so as not to impact customer service levels.

“The decision to invest heavily in the foundry was driven by demand,” adds Vassal. “We have always aimed to produce castings of the highest quality and this has ensured business has always been strong, even in these recent difficult economic times. We are simply looking to the future and anticipating customer trends.”  

Trends that Vassal refers to include increased demand for value added services such as just-in-time manufacturing, that can help with customers lower lead times by providing added services - such as finishing  and offering customers a one-stop-shop solution. These services help customers save money and reduce their time to market. Victaulic also offers design enhancement services to help customers perfect their castings – for example looking at possible weight reductions – with teams of specialists in the US.

In addition, on the Drezdenko site there is a modelling plant and library as well as treatment facilities offering value added services including heat and mechanical treatment, painting, galvanisation, cast rubberisation and nickel plating.

 

Quality and sustainability

 

The Victaulic foundry specialises in the fast and efficient manufacture of ductile iron castings for industry and, with an eye on just-in-time production techniques, can handle orders from as low as 10 pieces in a large range of dimensions, weights and different types of cast iron. The foundry produces a range of complex castings that meet customer requirements while optimising casting design to maintain performance while reducing weight and cost.
Of course quality is absolutely paramount for customers and Victaulic takes this aspect very seriously. Its quality control is central to its operations and its team of 25 employees – including fully qualified engineers - guarantees there are always around 10 staff on the floor at any single time inspecting output and conducting regular reviews of moulding.

Other reviews include treatment and assembly processes, as well as tests of chemical composition and physical properties, instrument calibration controls, spectroscope controls, metallographic controls, sand moulding, machine reviews and final products controls. All tests are performed in strict accordance with ISO standards.

“Quality is simply at the heart of everything we do, as we know it is for our customers,” comments Vassal. “It is the first thing they ask about and our low rejection rates of below 0.5% - well below industry averages - reflect a commitment to outstanding levels of customer service. And with new investments quality will only get better.”

Equipment installed includes a chemical composition analysis SPECTROLAB
spectrometer, a NEPHOT 32 metallographic examination microscope, METTLER electronic scales, a LECO CS 200 carbon and sulphur analysis machine,  an INSTRON impact testing machine, a Brinell hardness testing system, a MEGA-CHECK 10ST thickness coating gauge, a Mitutoyo height gauges and an ULTRASHAL DMU ultrasonic instrument for examination of internal defects.

The foundry has been awarded international quality certificates by Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) (ISO 9001:2000), Vertrauen durch Sicherheit (VdS) Schadenverhutung GmBH, Acknowledgement Germanischer Lloyd, TUV Certificate for casting deliveries in production of pressurised devices in conformity with the 97/23/EG directive and AD-2000-WO regulations, technical approval of Railway Scientific and Technical Centre, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Acknowledgement (UL), Underwriters Laboratories Inc Canada (ULC) and Factory Mutual Corporation (FM).

Equipment on the cutting edge

The Drezdenko plant has one of the most highly skilled workforces in the industry and the modern equipment to match. The most significant changes currently underway will involve the introduction of cutting edge production management and process automation, including an automated pouring system to ensure even higher quality production on a greater scale.

The foundry automatic moulding line features a Disamatic 2013 Mk4, with plate dimensions 480 x 600 mm – and the core making technology utilises Hot-Box Complete. Shell core making is realised using Shalko and updated PS1 machines.
Melting is with two induction furnaces – an Inductotherm of mean frequency of 8 tonnes and a 12-tonne metal storage furnace. Production output is 18,000 tons annually.

Mechanical digital processing is carried out using the most technologically advanced equipment.

Shot blasting is used for purification with GG-1100s. Tumbling uses OB-1000s while heat treatment uses spheroidisation and stress relief annealing, and KRGw-09/2330 (Remix) furnaces with a batch mass of 6 tonne. The burnishing shop features four 2-stand band burnishing machines and 9 FAMO Kraków upright burnishing machines.

Sustainable future

Victaulic has also sought to address its environmental responsibilities and is committed to reducing its manufacturing footprint. Its use of scrap means that 90% of its output is made of recycled material and the company also utilises dip painting techniques to reduce the impact of Variable Organic Compounds (VOCs) and new systems recycle the foundry sand.
We know sustainability is an increasingly important factor to our customers and is beginning to influence their decision making processes,” adds Vassal, “and that is why we have decided to put such an emphasis on it in the new developments. Dust extraction will make a very positive impact on both the local environment and the working conditions in the factory. Recycling sand and increased use of dip coatings over sprays will also be highly beneficial.”
The company is also currently working to improve the efficiency of its dust extraction process by a factor of 50% with the recent installation of Dantherm dust collectors.

"Victaulic has always been associated with high quality precision castings, and thanks to this new investment the company will soon have one of the most modern iron foundries in Europe,” concludes Vassal. “We will also have a major increase in production capacity at a time when many companies in our industry are scaling back operations. Victaulic is investing and expanding to better serve its customers and we are looking forward to a sustainable future in this business."


Source: Victaulic



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