The iron foundry Torgelow is technically and structurally capable to cast large-scale castings in series (Photos: ASK)
Reprint from “Casting Plant & Technology “ 02/2011, pages 18 – 20
© Giesserei-Verlag, Düsseldorf

Author: Andrea Ferkinghoff, ProTEC Marketing, Würzburg

Wind power systems as growth
driver for the foundry industry
Iron foundry committed to expansion into innovative high technologies
Climate change, restrictions in CO2emissions and the preference given torenewable energies have fostered thegrowth of wind power as an important source of energy. Wind power iscurrently used in more than 80 countries, above all in the USA, China andIndia. The largest users in Europe include Germany, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, the UK and Ireland. According
to the EWEA (European Wind Energy Association) , over 40 % of the installed energy generation potential in
Europe is based on wind energy systems.
For 2010 and 2011, the EWEA expects
double-digit growth rates in the global market for wind energy systems. By

Casting Plant & Technology 2/ 20112017, wind generators will exhibit afivefold increase in performance. Thewind farms in offshore areas are especially promising.
From these developments, it can beseen that wind power systems represent a strong driver of innovation andgrowth due to their advanced technological demands – which applies forthe foundry industry as well – provided that the plants can fulfill the hightechnology requirements throughflexible orientation and cost-efficient
product management.
The management of Eisengießerei
Torgelow – in the east of MecklenburgVorpommern/Germany – was alreadyrecognizing these as strategic challeng-

es six years ago. After the reunificationof Germany, the company, with a history of more than 250 years, struggled
to deal with the necessary transitions,but was always very proud of the quality of its products, which is based on
the highly qualified nature of its employees. The experience passed on
through generations ensured a highdegree of technical competence in thearea of hand-formed gray and nodular
cast iron.

Competence, quality and reliability are the prerequisites
Strong financial partners, a motivatedteam and the continuous further development of metallurgical expertisehave permitted cast parts to be produced in Torgelow for technologicallydemanding applications with complicated component geometries. Extensive investments of over 50 million
euros have been made in order to establish the largest hand molding andsteel blasting shop as well as the mostmodern melting facility in Europe.
Equipped with this high technology, the company produces cast parts
with unit weights of up to 150 t. With
its technical equipment and structure,
the iron foundry can now produce
large-scale cast parts in high volumes
in series production and is oriented
toward both quality and flexibility inproduction in order to guarantee therequired reliable delivery. The foundry is therefore well prepared for future
market requirements.
The goal is not to produce various
cast parts in the shortest period of time,
but rather to make use of opportunities
in expanding markets. In addition to
the special technical equipment, themost important success factors of thecompany are the high degree of competence in assisting the customer inproduct development and redesign,along with technologically optimized
products, quality in their execution,service, reliability and speed.
“Wind energy is a strong pillar whichis perfectly suited to Eisengießerei Torgelow”, according to CEO Peter Christian Weilguni. “It‘s still a young industry that requires high quality castings
and that is exactly what we offer ourcustomers.” For some years now, rotor
blades, frames and generator housingsfor wind power systems have been castin Torgelow (Figure 1).
The business area of renewable energy is an absolute high-end industry
that places corresponding demandson the materials and production
equipment used. This necessary quantum jump was accomplished in Torgelow. The production of the first 80-t
cast part – which is now in series production – represented intensive experience for the iron foundry andreflects the advance in product development that is increasingly demanded by the customer – away from thesmall systems and on to multi-mega-

Figure 1: Among other products rotor blades, frames and generator
housings for wind power systems are cast at the Torgelow foundry

watt systems that the new types of applications require. Large wind power system manufacturers such as theGerman companies BARD, SWP (Siemens Wind Power), REpower, Enercon or their Spanish competitor Acciona place their trust in the skills ofEisengießerei Torgelow.

Strategic partnerships foster
technological leadership
A functional value added chain plays
an important role in achieving this.
Innovations are developed and madeready for production together withsuppliers and customers. “Such strategic partnerships are an importantbuilding block for the future development of the iron foundry”, Weilguni emphasizes.
A classic example of this is the cooperation with the manufacturer offoundry additives – ASK Chemicals
based in Hilden/Germany. Together
with the ASK development team,
new “core” concepts were conceived
for production processes in the coremoulding plant that exceeded the requirements in the area of large-scalecasting. In the process, the competence in development and experience
provided by ASK was primarily focusedon the adaptation of applications withsulfur boundary layers and special resins that exhibit a high degree of slip-

page or finishes that can withstandhigh thermal loading (Figure 2).
The uniform hardening of cast parts
represents a special challenge. Today,
specifically developed casting additives
ensure the quality of the ever larger castparts. The optimization of control systems for sand mixing equipment also
plays an important role in the production process. The adaptation of the furan resin system and the dosing of themixer had to be adjusted to the dimensions of large-scale cast parts. The objective was to quickly mix the sand for the80-t cast parts and to work effectively inthe process. This required that the furan
resin system be equipped with specifically optimized components and thatthe correct mixing ratios were applied(Figure 3). Promptness, economic viability and precision were indispensable requirements in this case. These
requirements were also solved within
the framework of the strategic partnership consisting of ASK specialists, mechanical engineering manufacturers
and in-house specialists. Today, the ironfoundry operates with sand mixing systems which are precisely optimized tolarge-scale casting and which permit
extremely accurate dosing.
For the selection of suppliers, Torgelow considers not only the priceas a deciding criterion, but other important assets as well. Greater impor-Casting Plant & Technology 2/2011

쮿 COREMAKING/BINDERS

Energy sources of thefutureWind energy is one of the few indust       
globally in 2009 despite the economiccrisis. According to statements fromthe German Wind Energy Association,
952 new wind power systems with a
total power output of 1917 megawatts were installed in Germany alone
in that year, which is roughly equivalent to the power generated by 15
nuclear power plants. The future belongs to offshore wind farms – from   
insofar as the high technical requirements can be met.
Figure 2:        
ensure the quality of the castings that become ever bigger

Figure 3: The right mixture of furan resin for large-scale cast parts is a indispensable success factortance is placed on deliverability, in order not to jeopardize the production
sequence – a possible risk that is often overlooked in times of economic pressure.
A particular strength of ASK Chemicals in this partnership is its singlesource structure. Torgelow obtains
everything it needs with respect tofoundry chemicals from Hilden. In
the meantime, ASK is also responsible for warehousing and logistics.
“In such development and produc-Casting Plant & Technology 2/ 2011tion processes, we make our specific expertise, the entire product portfolio and our service available to ourcustomers,” as Stefan Sommer, CEOof ASK, summarizes the basis of thepartnernship. For customers such as
Eisengießerei Torgelow, additives arespecifically adapted to local circumstances. Information about new product solutions from the research center is supplied to the customer earlyon so that it can expand its technological leadership.

Further challenges for thefuture
Those who stand still will be left behind. There are also challenging tasks
for the future – for example, the further optimization and adaptation of
the binder systems in use. The ironfoundry currently operates at a standard capacity of 70 t of sand mixture
in a ratio of 1:6 per hour. In the castingprocess itself, 80 % of the sand is subject to high temperatures. In the opinion of technical experts in Torgelow,
this process is still polluted with toomuch carbon and sulfur. As the foundry team sees it, the regeneration of thesand must be optimized from a chemical, wet-chemical or physical standpoint such that annealing loss is reduced. For the research team at ASK,
it was a challenge to develop its binder system to meet these requirements.
CEO Weilguni is impressed of the collaboration with partner ASK Chemicals.
For him, adherence to agreements anda highly reproducible product quality are the most important things in apartnership. “Only in this way – also in
consideration of the supplier – can weachieve a customer relationship whichis extremely important for our company and guarantee a binding consultation under difficult and diverse customer requests and demands,” he explains,satisfied with the growing trust and thelong-term cooperation.
www.eisengiesserei-torgelow.de