| Skol! The Swedish
Foundry Industry Enjoys a Boom
"Swedish foundries have been living in a boom
for several years," according to Zoltan Tiroler at the Swedish
Foundry Association. "This is mainly due to the increasing
production of vehicles and the growing telecom markets. But
it is also a result of big structural changes that took place
during the '80s and beginning of the '90s. Remarkable investments
have been made, in improved work environments, automation,
and other types of modernization."
Mainly Domestic
-- While exports are increasing rapidly, they still constitute
only 7% of output, and most of Sweden's castings supply domestic
manufacturers. According to Tiroler, the main consumers are
in the automotive/vehicle industry (cars, trucks, dumpers
etc.). The big growth area is telecom and related components,
for users such as Ericsson. So, while big ferrous foundries
-- such as Volvo and Scania, as well as many other iron foundries
-- have increased production considerably, the industry's
expansion is especially notable in the non-ferrous sector.
(Non-ferrous also occupies the lion's share of exports.)
Centered in Jonkoping
-- Sweden is the center for foundry technology in Scandinavia.
The Scandinavian Foundry School, with courses for Sweden,
Denmark and Norway, is run by the Swedish Foundry Association
(SFA) in Jonkoping, which also carries out or coordinates
all research, trade, and educational work in the foundry sector
within Sweden itself. The Technical University in Jonkoping
has a professorship in foundry technology, and the SFA has
extensive cooperation with other foundry institutes, technical
universities and other organizations in the field.
197 Foundries
-- Within Sweden, the casting industry is mainly concentrated
in southern part of the country, with an additional concentration
in the Western part, bordering Norway. Altogether, there are
197 foundries in Sweden -- 36 iron, 12 steel and 149 non-ferrous.
(You can access 108 of those on the www.castingtrade.com database.)
The industry employs 7,500 people. Annual output is 309,000
tons. (See figure for breakdown. You may compare with USA
casting production. The ratio is calcualated by shipment of
tonnage.)
Industry
Fair -- Want to get a closer look
at the Swedish foundry industry? "GJUTEC, a fair specializing
in the foundry sector, will take place 29th to 31st of May
2001," says Zoltan Tiroler. "This will be followed, in November,
by the annual "Elmia Subcontractor" International Fair in
Jonkoping, which is the biggest annual venue for the casting
industry, and includes exhibits from all over Europe." For
more information on both of these, check www.elmia.se. In
addition, says Tiroler, annual conferences are arranged by
the SFA, but they are held in Swedish.
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
PLEASE CONTACT:
Zoltan Tiroler
Svenska Gjuteriföreningen Swedish Foundry Association
Box 2033 S - 550 02 JÖNKÖPING Sweden
E-mail: zt@gjuteriforeningen.se
Telephone: +46 36 30 12 17
Mobile: +46 70 673 09 10
Fax: + 46 36 16 68 66
URL: www.gjuteriforeningen.se
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