Foseco Foundry's products make up a small proportion of the overall cost of the foundry process but, when delivered in consultation with the Group's application engineers, can produce significant economic benefits to customers through improved process capacity, yield and efficiency. The quality and performance of process consumables are of key importance to foundry operators. For example, the presence and correct positioning of a 25¢ filter can have a major impact on the economics of producing a $20 casting. As a result, customers seek quality and reliability from their suppliers of foundry consumables. The performance, quality and reliability of Foseco's product ranges, together with the input of the Group's technical staff working alongside customers' process engineers, are fundamental to the Group's reputation as a world leading supplier of foundry consumables.

Foseco Foundry's products are in the main single use, as they are either consumed or transformed during contact with the molten metal during casting. In a typical foundry process the Group's products may be used in the melting shop, core shop, moulding line and pouring stages.

Using Foseco's chemical binders and refractory 'paints', the customer foundries prepare the sand moulds and cores, the quality of which determines the precision and surface finish of the final casting. As a liquid alloy is transferred from the melting furnace to the casting line, it may be in contact with Foseco molten metal transfer products, such as insulating Ladle Linings, and be modified and conditioned by metal treatment equipment and additives.

A Foseco ceramic filter may be used within the mould to remove impurities and reduce turbulence during pouring, thereby reducing scrap and improving the mechanical properties of the finished casting. The Group's feeding aids are also important in the reduction of material waste and improvement of casting quality: Foseco's exothermic feeding aids may be employed in the mould to provide secondary heat sources that can control cooling, minimizing the adverse effects of shrinkage during solidification, helping to optimize the yield and the quality of the cast finished casting.

The foundry market can be segmented by end use of cast parts as follows:

  Automotive - components for passenger cars and light trucks.

  Railway and heavy transportation - components for railway rolling stock, heavy trucks and shipbuilding.

  Construction and heavy machinery - components for heavy industrial machinery such as cranes, bulldozers and excavators.

  General engineering - components and finished assemblies for industrial applications such as machine tools, valves and pumps.

  Other - including mining machinery