25 Aug Wall Colmonoy Ltd (UK) upgrades its casting facility

Wall Colmonoy UK has completed a £600,000 upgrade to its casting facility located in Pontardawe, Wales.  The investment modernizes the  casting foundry, reducing its environmental footprint and improving its efficiency.  The casting facility investment is partly supported by Welsh and European funding, with a £150,000 contribution from the Economy Futures Fund.

The company is part of a global materials engineering group of companies engaged in the manufacturing of surfacing and brazing products, castings and engineered components across aerospace, automotive, glass, oil & gas, mining, energy and other industrial sectors.

The upgrade of the casting facilities includes new induction melting equipment and magnetically screened furnaces. The new casting furnaces offer increased capacity and reduced processing times, due to improved reliability and reduced downtime. The upgrade also incorporates better controls on pouring practices with data-driven monitoring sensors and software.

Andrew Williams, Project Leader, explains: “It is very satisfying to successfully complete the project, with a brand new high-specification foundry. The investment puts us on the leading edge of cast alloy melting technology and helps us facilitate our drive for innovative growth to meet the increase in global demand for our castings.”

With the disruption of global supply chains following the pandemic, Wall Colmonoy has seen increased demand from EU and UK customers for its engineered cast or fully machined components which are designed to optimize wear, corrosion, abrasion, and heat resistant properties. The foundry supports multiple casting methods including investment, centrifugal, sand cast, and vacuum cast processes across such industries as food, steel, glass, aerospace, and oil & gas.

This significant foundry upgrade forms part of a strategic investment program at Wall Colmonoy Limited, which has included the purchase of advanced measuring systems, upgraded machinery, such as a new Hurco 5-Axis Milling Machine and a Desktop Metal Shop System™ for additive manufacturing – all of which are designed to position the Precision Components division at the forefront of manufacturing technology.