With the unique ecoCasting technology for passenger car cylinder crankcases, Fritz Winter Eisengießerei already created a new benchmark for sustainable foundry processes in iron casting in 2015.

The past year was a major challenge for many companies from all industries. This was also the case for Fritz Winter Eisengießerei. It is now all the more gratifying that the company has been able to unveil an important new investment for the future: the world's most modern foundry for heavy commercial vehicle cylinder blocks.

The unique "ecoCasting" technology on which the new production facility is based was developed by Fritz Winter. Having been used for passenger car cylinder blocks since 2015, this technology has been further developed in recent years to enable the production of heavy commercial vehicle cylinder blocks as well. The new ecoCasting foundry offers ideal conditions to meet the future requirements of customers from the commercial vehicle segment. "Through the targeted integration of components, as well as the utilization of significantly lower manufacturing tolerances, we are able to support our global customers in achieving their CO2 emission targets through significant weight savings." Explains Wilfried Wolf, Head of Development Fritz Winter Group.

The new foundry not only offers technical advantages, but also has significant benefits in the area of sustainability. The process consumes less energy and thus saves CO2. The component itself also saves CO2 due to the difference in weight. "After a development period of a further five years, our employees have succeeded in adapting the ecoCasting process successfully for commercial vehicle cylinder blocks as well" enthuses Markus Semmler, head of the planning and environmental department at Fritz Winter. "Thanks to the moldless casting process, we save tons of CO2 and close material cycles, which will lead to a lower volume of trucks and thus improve the quality of life in Stadtallendorf. In particular, reducing the consumption of resources such as sand and water, as well as saving CO2, takes us a long way in terms of sustainability." The high savings were rewarded with a six-figure subsidy from the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.

Fritz Winter has been one of the world's leading suppliers of commercial vehicle cylinder blocks for many decades and sees ecoCasting as a central building block for consolidating and expanding this position. "The new foundry in Stadtallendorf serves us as a blueprint for the future. It is our goal to also produce cylinder blocks based on the same technology at our site in the USA in the future," says Manuel Stark, who is responsible for both the new ecoCasting production in Stadtallendorf and the ecoCasting USA project. "Sustainability is a global issue and our technology is attracting great interest from customers worldwide."

The Mayor of Stadtallendorf Mr. Christian Somogyi was able to see the benefits of the new technology for himself during a visit and was given a tour of the new foundry by Mr. Jörg Rumikewitz, CEO of the Fritz Winter Group. "We have invested in the Stadtallendorf site despite difficult economic times because we are convinced that only sustainable solutions will take us forward. The technologically highly demanding process requires qualified employees and secures jobs here on site in Stadtallendorf." Mr. Somogyi welcomes this and emphasizes the importance of Fritz Winter as one of Stadtallendorf's largest employers and the good cooperation.

About Fritz Winter

The Fritz Winter Eisengießerei GmbH & Co. KG, as one of the world's largest foundries, is a supplier and partner to the international automotive, commercial vehicle and hydraulics industries. For more than 70 years, the family-owned company has been developing and producing raw and finished components as well as complex system components for customers worldwide. A special focus is on innovative lightweight construction and coating concepts.

About ecoCasting

EcoCasting is a worldwide unique iron casting technology without molding sand developed by Fritz Winter Eisengießerei. The process offers numerous ecological, as well as economic advantages and is considered the most environmentally friendly iron casting process worldwide. Due to the high CO² savings compared to conventional iron casting processes, the further development was supported by a grant from the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.