HEUNISCH Foundry in Bad Windsheim is restructuring its group organization and will close one of its two plants in the Czech Republic. The decision was driven by the high modernization needs of the production facilities, increasingly strict environmental regulations, political pressure, and the difficult overall economic situation. Added to this are the enormous investments required for the transition to CO₂-neutral production.
Exactly 64 years after its foundation on October 3, 1961, the final melt will be poured at Slévárna HEUNISCH Brno, s.r.o. The company, specialized in sophisticated castings for agricultural machinery and originally part of the renowned Brno-based tractor manufacturer Zetor, filed for insolvency in 2005 and was taken over by HEUNISCH in 2006. Under the dedicated leadership of Jens Heunisch, the site developed into an efficient foundry operation, effectively expanding the capacity of the Bad Windsheim headquarters.
Safeguarding the stability of the group
Like the entire industry, HEUNISCH faces the enormous challenge of establishing CO₂-neutral production processes at all sites. At Brno alone, the conversion of the melting operations would have required an investment of around 25 million euros. To meet the stricter EU-wide emission limits in force since December 2024, an additional five million euros would have been needed over the next four years for modern filter and wastewater treatment systems.
“Amortization within a reasonable economic timeframe would have been impossible – especially as we are simultaneously making significant investments in climate-neutral and low-emission technologies at our three other sites. To safeguard the stability of the HEUNISCH Group as a whole, we could not shoulder the extraordinarily high investments in Brno at the expense of the other plants,” explain the two Managing Partners, Dr. Christiane Heunisch-Grotz and Christian Gerhäuser.
In addition to the economic factors, the lack of political support locally and even massive personal threats against company management contributed to the decision. Even multi-million-euro investments in odor reduction measures went unrecognized by the authorities.
“Whether for household appliances, engines, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, machine parts, or construction components – German industry cannot function without castings,” emphasizes Dr. Heunisch-Grotz. The entire European industry is under severe cost pressure due to rising energy prices, competition from Asian imports, and complex regulatory requirements. To avoid dependencies and secure know-how, it is therefore essential to preserve key sectors such as the foundry industry in Germany.
HEUNISCH is fully committed to climate neutrality and will consistently drive forward the transformation of its three remaining sites. The goal is to establish CO₂-neutral production processes in the near future. “However, we need the right political framework conditions to achieve this,” the management stresses. In order for foundries to remain competitive, excessive bureaucracy, high energy and environmental costs, and often unmanageable regulatory requirements must finally be reduced.
