Smart Foundry
Ideally equipped for the future
On the Eisenhammer site in Hasloch, the Kurtz Ersa Group continues to work at a great pace on the completion of a very ambitious project: Ten million were invested by the company in one of the most modern hand mould foundries in the world - the "Smart Foundry 200." Production begins in just a few weeks …
The new iron foundry project was an ambitious matter, not only financially speaking. In terms of the timing too, the construction of the Smart Foundry was on a very tight schedule. But once the first sod was turned at the beginning of February, the mild winter meant that work could proceed at a smart pace with production continuing almost unimpaired at the same time. But to get back to the building project itself: It was not a matter of simply setting down a ground slab - over 300 bored piles had to be sunk deep into the ground to carry the many tons of weight to which the hall would later be subjected, in the solid bedrock. The construction of the basement of the hall was followed by the pouring of the concrete for the floor slab and walls; the foundations and retaining walls of the basement were completed. Now things had progressed to a stage where the steel structure of the individual halls could be tackled - since the beginning of the summer, the shell of the new iron foundry has been in place. After 1½ years, a project of the Kurtz Ersa planning team has been brought to a successful conclusion - almost, as the cranes and plant still have to be installed in the halls. And the Kurtz foundry workers eagerly await the start of production in their Smart Foundry - we′re almost ready to go!
Core competence iron casting since 1852
Founded in 1852, the iron foundry, like no other trade, embodies the core competence of Kurtz Ersa. With this investment featuring the latest technology, the iron foundry embraces the vision of the group, to be the best foundry partner for the customer.
Perfect partner for the mechanical engineering industry
In terms of strategy, the focus is on the development and deepening of long-term customer relations; similarly continued growth is planned with new customers, primarily from the German mechanical engineering industry, for example from branches such as machine tools, motors, energy, medicine and drive engineering, ship building, plastics machines as well as printing and paper machines. "We believe in the German mechanical engineering industry as the main customer for our cast iron products," says Kurtz Ersa CEO Rainer Kurtz with conviction. In order to ensure that the project is a complete success Kurtz Ersa is focussing more closely than ever before on the service concept in the value added chain of its customers.
Inseparably linked with this is the continuous production over SAP R3 with connection to the internal transport system, with driverless transport equipment moving the pallets at the defined time to the respective workplace. Here casting can be carried out at the specified time. Similarly, the connection of customer systems via the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is part of the standard and certified process in accordance with DIN ISO 9001, environmental certification in accordance with ISO 14001 as well as health and safety protection in accordance with OSAS 18001. Everything is going to plan; the team in Hasloch is geared up to advance iron casting to the fore!
The Smart Foundry in Hasloch will be one of the most up-to-date hand mould foundries
Key data Smart Foundry 200:
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Ideal for unit weights between 300 and 8,000 kg
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Medium batch sizes between 5 and 20 units, annual production as a rule under 1,500 units
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Alloys: grey iron GJL 150, GJL 300; spheroidal casting GJS 400, GJS 800; special materials ADI, GJS 500-10, GJS 500-14
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Annual capacity: 20,000 t, in the second stage of expansion 25,000 t