CPT International 02/2021

INTERVIEW
can help to secure Germany as an
important foundry location in the long
term.
Mr. Nelissen, Mr. Erger. The foundry
industry is affected by the pandemic.
The trend towards electromobility continues.
In which direction is the industry
developing?
Nelissen: Casting tonnage in Germany
fell by around 35 %in2020 due to the
pandemic-related reduction in the
market. Incidentally, the magnitude is
reminiscent of the effects of the 2009
financial crisis. The global trends
remain essentially unaffected by the
pandemic. Today, weassume that cast
tonnage will stabilize again over the
course of two years and return to the
level of 2019. E-mobility is, of course, a
trend that is strongly influencing the
market, especially for passenger cars. If
hybrid vehicles are produced, the cast
share is stable. With all-electric
vehicles, more non-ferrous metal castings
are used, but important iron castings,
especially in the engine and
drive area, are eliminated. The corresponding
foundries must look for replacements
in time.
Erger: This is adifficult question to answer
because the world continues to be
during aglobal health crisis and aworld
economic crisis whose effects are still
uncertain. Ithink, like Mr. Nelissen, that
the German foundry industry and thus
also Foseco will have to deal with the
consequences of the Corona pandemic
in the medium term. But in the end, I
am convinced that we will emerge
stronger from the pandemic. It is
important to make the right business
decisions now toposition ourselves for
the future. Ofcourse, this also includes
the orientation of the companies, especially
the automotive foundries, to face
the changing demands ofthe electromobility
market and to break new
ground. Brake discs and various chassis
parts will probably remain, but engine
blocks will certainly disappear. However,
it will certainly be several years before
electromobility can establish itself. For
that, fundamental changes in the infrastructure
are still necessary, which first
have to be created.
And what challenges do you both see
for Foseco?
Nelissen: Foseco is part of the Vesuvius
Group, which has come through the crisis
in astable manner so far. Ingeneral,
however, Foseco, the foundry business
Hannes Erger has been appointed to the management team in Borken. He has been working
for Foseco for more than 20 years, currently Business Unit Manager for the iron and
steel foundry sector. Infuture, he will also represent this sector in public relations and
association work.
of Vesuvius, is globally positioned. We
can therefore compensate for geographical
shifts in demand. Now we see a
lot of demand in Eastern Europe and
Mexico. Market proximity is always in
demand. That‘s why we always must
have local forces on site, because we
can‘t necessarily serve the Chinese market
with product managers from Germany
or England, for example. We
must support the growth of the
non-ferrous foundries by building up
appropriate resources. We are continuing
to strengthen this business, but we
already have avery strong presence
there.
Erger: Foseco’ sstrength is its market
presence and proximity to our foundry
customers. It is important that we face
the changing market requirements and
globalization together with our customers
and develop aunique selling proposition
with innovative and individual
casting applications in the different segments
of the foundry industry.
In which direction are you developing
your products for Germany in particular?
Erger: We are facing all the challenges
that foundries must master. These are,
for example, the many environmental
regulations. With our products we are
therefore trying to contribute to the
reduction of CO2 emissions. The
environment and efficiency are key
issues for the future that we must continue
to address.
The German foundry industry will
emerge stronger from the crisis, you
say Mr. Erger. Isthe reason for your
optimism that German foundries are
more solidly positioned than other
countries by investing in modernization
and sustainability?
Erger: Yes, most foundries have earned
money in the past, which they are now
investing in modernization to become
more efficient. This keeps German
foundries at the cutting edge of technology.
Sustainability will certainly also
be acrucial issue. We have many enquiries
from foundries about how our products
can contribute to reducing CO2
emissions. Overall, we have been focusing
on sustainability for along time. At
the last GIFA, it was our main topic.
Nelissen: Sustainability is becoming
more and more important. Customers
from the Scandinavian region also
already attach importance to acommitment
to sustainability. This trend is set
to increase.
The interview with Heinz Nelissen and
Hannes Erger was conducted by Robert
Piterek and Martin Vogt –editorial
team of GIESSEREI magazine. It
is published by the German Foundry
Association BDG as well as CP+T International,
which is the English language
sister magazine of GIESSEREI.
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