Member Article

New software opens up £1m opportunity for Alucast

The acquisition of new casting simulation software is set to unlock over £1m of new opportunities for a leading Black Country manufacturer.

Alucast, a specialist supplier of sand gravity and pressure castings, has purchased the UK licence for MAGMASOFT® to help it speed up time to market and reduce the cost of prototyping.

The industry-leading software simulates the process and aids casting and runner design to provide optimal filling characteristics – essential when producing structural parts for the automotive sector.

Bosses at the Wednesbury-based firm believe the investment gives it the platform to quote for £1m of new work and will lead to a number of jobs, taking staff numbers to over 100.

“MAGMASOFT® gives our engineers the chance to test die set-ups to avoid gas inclusions, porosity and cold shuts…or in layman’s terms the opportunity to find the optimal die casting conditions for each new part,” explained John Swift, who became Managing Director last year.

“What this means to the customer is the chance to avoid timely and often expensive set-up costs for trialling the production process. We know it’s going to be in demand with both new and existing customers and the initial response has been fantastic.”

He continued: “Automotive will be the initial target, but this software can be applied to our work across other sectors, including construction, hydraulics and domestic goods.”

A member of the Midlands Assembly Network (MAN), Alucast signed the MAGMASOFT® agreement during its recent appearance at the GIFA International Foundry Trade Fair in Dusseldorf.

It will be supported with the installation by UK agent Maxima Engineering, who will be providing the hardware and technical support, not to mention the specialist training for its team of engineers.

Tony Sartorius, Chairman, continued: “The upgrade in software is part of a bigger investment drive, with well over £1m now committed to new CNC machines, furnaces and property upgrades in recent years.

“This is a bold and ambitious move and one that will hopefully help us achieve our vision of being a £10m company by 2018.

“GIFA was a tremednous show and an excellent way to find out all the latest developments that are taking place in the castings sector. We’re just glad to have tied in this deal, which takes us to another level.”

Alucast is a founder member of the Midlands Assembly Network (MAN), a unique collective that offers the complete sub-contract manufacturing solution to customers.

The group, which employs over 700 people and records combined sales in excess of £70 million, provides access to precision pressings, castings, design, etching, injection moulding, wiring looms, toolmaking, PCB assembly, high volume machining and electrical control systems.

Member firms include Advanced Chemical Etching, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, Grove Design, Mec Com, Muller England, PP Electrical Systems, SMT Developments and WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group).

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .