Fynn-Willem Lohe has been a driving force behind CAEF's initiatives during his tenure as Secretary General starting in October 2020. This period was marked by a permanent state of challenges ranging from CoVid-19, over the outbreak of the Ukraine war to its consequences of an energy crisis and now the first signs of economic turmoil.

The industry has managed to stop its downward trend in the past month, marking a significanthalt to the negative development observed in 2023. The Index has stabilized just above the 90-point mark. Despite facing intense competition and operating in a challenging and pressurized industry environment, it is noteworthy that the sector is demonstrating resilience and holding up admirably well. European…

The meeting, attended by representatives of leading European foundry associations from across Europe, saw important decisions taken to reshape the future of the Federation. Among the most important developments was the decision to give the federation a new name, which will be from 2024, the European Foundry Federation will be renamed EFF. This change reflects the Federation's commitment to strengthening its…

Currently, a key challenge facing the European Foundry Industry is the shortage of new orders. With backlogs nearly cleared, new orders in various categories are needed. Despite the current relative stability in raw materials and scrap prices, the European Foundry Industry appears to be encountering light signs of weakening. Following the latest developments there is no turnaround in sight. High inflation…

Johannes Kappes takes over the role of Secretary of the Commission for Economics and Statistics. Kappes succeeds Tillman van de Sand, who is taking on a new role within the BDG. Tillman van de Sand has been an integral part of CAEF for the past three years. We sincerely thank him for his work and wish him all the best in his new position within the BDG. Johannes Kappes has a strong academic foundation,…

The European Foundry Industry Sentiment Indicator (FISI) records its first increase since February this year. Rating of 0.7 index points higher than in June, the index reaches a value of 99.2 points in July. The foundry industry is still grappling with multiple challenges. As in the previous months order backlogs are being worked off, while new orders fall short again. The ongoing decline in raw material…

The European Foundry Women`s Award 2023 was awarded this year by the jury of CAEF (The European Foundry Association) to Italian professor Annalisa Pola, followed by Amandine Miot of EJ France in 2nd place and Ghyslaine Delpierre, Ferry-Capitain France in 3rd place. During GIFA and Newcast in Düsseldorf in June, the award was presented in a fitting ceremony by Assofond President and CAEF member Roberto…

It is alarming that the negative trend is thus intensifying. While order backlogs are still high but being worked off, new orders seem to collapse across several sectors. Meanwhile, a turnaround is not in sight particularly regarding the expectations for the upcoming 6 months. While, in the last months, the development of steel and iron foundries on the one hand and non-ferrous metal foundries on the other…

Women must be part of this strategy, because more than ever it will be the integration of the talents of all that will help to address the important challenges that we have to face in the transformation of our industries and our economies towards a more sustainable future. The full integration of women in the industry is not only a great opportunity to develop new talent, but it is also an important…

European foundries recently assessed the current business situation as better than in the previous month. Expectations for the coming six months, on the other hand, were more pessimistic. This is in contrast to the development of the past months, in which the significant gap between pessimistic expectations and a positive assessment of the situation began to diminish. Working off the order backlog leads to…