How automation sets Gränges in leading sustainability

The work towards optimising casting productions for sustainability began to take shape over ten years ago.

- The view of sustainability has gone from being relatively ignored to being a high priority. Awareness is snowballing, and at the same time, as we feel that it is essential to produce more sustainably, our customers agree. They now demand that we lower our carbon footprint and that our materials maintain a certain standard, says Elin Lindfors, Production Technology Manager at the Melting Plant at Gränges Finspång.

Safer and smoother

The concept of sustainability has, in turn, developed from primarily dealing with environmental aspects to including automation and personnel. Automating the production line will make each casting safer, simpler, and more sustainable.

- We continuously measure sustainability according to several parameters: our staff's well-being and security in the workplace, environmentally based on carbon footprint and energy consumption, and efficiency based on production power and speed. Many of our employees have worked with us all their lives, while many are new employees. We work intensively to engage the entire workforce to operate sustainably, retain the community and build strong teams.

Reaching business goals

Several set sustainability goals have come ever closer by automating production. Gränges has created a win-win situation by using modern solutions in casting.

- Automatic casting is a big part of our safety and sustainability work. We started using Precimeter for this around 2006–2007. For us, it is a regular workday to let the casting go automatically. Our set-up allows us to avoid having staff in critical places at critical moments. We also increase production efficiency, says Elin. In addition, it has never been a problem to teach new employees our systems with Precimeter. It is very straightforward.

Increased productivity

Automation is crucial to ensuring sustainable production as the spotlight from customers, and the industry increasingly focuses on energy consumption and efficiency. Solutions for measuring metal levels and actively controlling flows are essential to improving productivity, reducing waste and minimising energy consumption.

- Productivity has improved a lot since we started using Precimeter lasers to measure our levels and actuators to regulate the flow, says Elin. We have fewer fails and rejections because we can repeat castings several times. We also have more stable starts for each casting.

Good teamwork

High-quality solutions and good communication describe the collaboration between Precimeter and Gränges. The importance of understanding and knowledge builds a successful partnership.

- The collaboration with Precimeter is only positive! It is excellent to have a supplier close by and open to the intimate cooperation we have. We can get service on-site; there are fast response times and good support but also dialogue to develop solutions that suit us. Precimeter is very knowledgeable about what we want and understands the risks we may experience, which gives us peace of mind knowing that the propositions fit our needs, Elin concludes.