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With investments of around 30 million Euros the SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP will continue to expand their competence as special steel casting expert over the next years. The aggregate will go into new installations as well as into an optimized material flow.
“We are specialized in sophisticated high-quality casting solutions. Consequently, our investment of 30 million Euros primarily targets a focusing of our product portfolio and improvement of our performance,” explains Matthias Pampus-Meder, chairman of the management board of the SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP. Around 20 million Euros will be invested in the Krefeld plant over the next three years. The company plans to replace the current 2.5-ton furnace with a 15-ton furnace – a step that will increase the maximum casting weight from its current 34 tons to 45 tons. The special steel expert is also building a new blasting hall as well as a hall with shake out equipment. “In taking these steps, we are reacting to the market development in which the required cast parts are even larger and heavier. Moreover, these investments will help to lower emissions and this will contribute to a further release of our neighbourhood,” explains Mr. Pampus-Meder. The new shake out equipment produces significantly less vibration and has also been erected on a special foundation. A new integrated exhaustion concept ensures moreover that dust is extracted from the air in a manner that is environmentally compatible – thereby the particulate emissions are considerably lowered.
Already completed is the addition to the investment casting department at the Ennepetal plant. In the past the CASTING GROUP focused at this plant primarily on the manufacture of sophisticated parts in small piece numbers. “Because of pending large-scale projects, we decided to expand this area,” reports Mr. Pampus-Meder. The new facility equipped with state-of-the-art components enables a robot-supported and climatically optimized continuous operation – the increase in yield is more than 100 percent. This step virtually closed the gap in the production technology between the classic rapid prototyper and serial precision casting.
At the Monheim plant, the CASTING GROUP will concentrate in future on the manufacturing of centrifugal casting. The stainless steel expert will replace the centrifugal block for large pipes; at the same time a new vertical centrifugal machine was ordered. As a result, mould casting will be closed in Monheim. These products moved to the plants Kohlscheid and Ennepetal. “This is a strategic decision that allows us to serve a much broader range of customers with centrifugal castings in future and this at competitive market prices,” says Mr. Pampus-Meder.
Apart from that, trading in cast products is becoming even more important. The SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP assists their customers in this sector as a competent service partner: the plant at Kohlscheid will be converted into a trading platform. Parts that can no longer be produced at competitive prices inhouse, can in future be ordered by the company from its foreign trading partners. Still the stainless steel expert certifies and guarantees its customers the required quality. All products traded run through a quality inspection prior to delivery and are remachined as needed. For this purpose, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH is investing in a FE test facility, a heat treatment furnace, an additional dimensional testing machine as well as in warehouse systems. Mr. Pampus-Meder sums up the situation positively: “”With this extensive investment program we have laid the best foundation to remain competitive and to continue offering our customers highest quality products in the future.”
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH GUSS GmbH
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP is the market and quality leader in the area of special steel casting in Europe. It is a subsidiary of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH KG, the world’s largest producer of tool steels and stainless long steels. The range of casting procedures extends from hand and machine mould casting over CONTURAâ (ceramic casting) and investment casting to centrifugal casting – the weight of single pieces ranging from 30 grams to 20 tons. The core competence lies in consulting, development, materials expertise (400 alloys), state-of-the-art casting technology and flexibility in the manufacturing depth. The SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP created 2008 a turnover of 150 million Euros, and employs approximately 700 employees at its four plants – Krefeld, Ennepetal, Monheim, and Kohlscheid. The new customer and training center opened 2009 in Krefeld. Customers stem from the energy, general mechanical engineering, steel works and rolling mills, pumps and accessories, automotive and art sectors.
Foundry Profile: Schmolz + Bickenbach Guss GmbH & Co.KG
