The foundry industry is undergoing an enormous transformation. A strongly volatile economic situation and increasing insolvencies are a major source of uncertainty for the industry. But what challenges will foundries face when and with what solutions can foundries prepare themselves?

Quaker Chemical Corporation and Houghton International have combined to create Quaker Houghton, one of the global leaders in industrial process fluids to the primary metals and metalworking markets. Along with the new name, the company revealed a new logo and brand representing the combined companies.

2018 surprised with high growth rates and new record sales. However, there were also strong signs of a slowdown: Many automotive suppliers were confronted with declining margins.

Jan Dannenberg and Tobias Keil of Beryl's Strategy Advisors talk about the transformation strategies of top suppliers, opportunities for weaker companies in the combustion sector and shifts in the ranking of the Global Top 100 Suppliers.

Pressol Schmiergeräte GmbH manufactures machine pump housings and covers made of aluminum with special tools from Ingersoll. These tools are equipped with PKD cutting inserts. This reduces the machining time from 160 to only 7 seconds.

More and more foundries are dealing with additive manufacturing, especially in prototype construction. The Grunewald Foundry in Bocholt is also looking into the new technology. In an interview, Sales Manager Dr. Joachim Gundlach tells us why Grunewald uses the sand printing process, what the process looks like, and what advantages and disadvantages are associated with it.

At EMO Hannover 2019, Renishaw will be showing news from its AM department. The RenAM 500Q with integrated InfiniAM Central process monitoring will also be on show.

Energy efficiency measures in industry are more important than ever due to the energy transition and the global competitive situation. This applies in particular to energy-intensive foundries. Simulation-supported preliminary examinations offer melting and die casting companies the opportunity to assess in advance the effectiveness of possible measures to improve efficiency without influencing production.

For the students of the Foundation University of Hildesheim, local partner companies are of great importance to gain practical experience already during studies. This year, KSM Castings received the Partner Certificate during the 41. Meeting of the Working Group Information Technology.

At the end of July, Continental presented its best automotive suppliers worldwide with the "Supplier of the Year 2018" award in Regensburg. According to Continental, the winners were those who had made an "outstanding contribution to customer satisfaction" - at all levels: Quality, technology, commitment, costs and purchasing conditions.

The Hildesheim-based company KSM Castings Group is solving its cleaning requirements within the scope of a new order to produce throttle valves using a new Twister rotary indexing system.

The metalworking division Henkel Adhesives is committed to environmental friendliness and sustainability. In discussions with Gerko Odink, Head of Product Development Surface Technologies, and Christian Rosenkranz, Business Development Manager Surface Treatment, we take a look behind the scenes.