Norican partners with DataProphet to accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence in the foundry industry

Norican Global A/S, a leading metallic parts enhancement company, has entered an industry-exclusive partnership with DataProphet, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) for manufacturing, to bring meaningful AI applications into real-life foundry environments.

The partnership follows a number of joint innovation projects carried out over the past 12 months with Norican brand DISA, one of the leading suppliers of green sand foundry technology. The results of these projects are already maturing into products and the first commercial AI application developed under the collaboration is scheduled to go live in a customer production in a few months.

Anders Wilhjelm, CEO of Norican Group, says: “We know foundries and how they work, DataProphet really knows AI. Together, we can bring practical AI applications into foundries faster – applications that will have a tangible impact for our customers now, not in a distant future. In DataProphet, we have found a partner who shares our pragmatic attitude and our passion for helping foundries work ever more productively and resource-efficiently. We have started with DISA applications, but we will fast forward to the full brand portfolio and beyond soon.”

Frans Cronje, CEO and co-founder of DataProphet, adds: “We first came across DISA when we worked on a project with a forward-looking foundry in South Africa, where we helped reduce casting defects by 40% over 24 months and achieved 0% defects for up to three months. Working closely with an equipment manufacturer of DISA’s deep expertise allows us to make a genuine difference to operations. The team at DISA understand where foundries are on their data journey – where to look for the largest gains, which data to collect and use, which problems to tackle first. Too often AI is a solution without a problem. Together, we can make it a powerful tool that solves real operational issues.”

The new AI applications developed as part of the partnership are equipment-agnostic, meaning they will be available not only on solutions from the other Norican brands (Italpresse Gauss for die-casting, StrikoWestofen for high-end furnace technology and Wheelabrator for surface preparation), but will also work with non-Norican equipment.

About Norican Group
Norican Group is one of the world’s leading providers of technology for the formation and enhancement of metallic parts. The Group is home to four leading, globally operating brands: DISA, Italpresse Gauss (incorporating Italpresse Industrie and Gauss Automazione), StrikoWestofen and Wheelabrator.

Together, they offer customers around the world a broad spectrum of solutions, spanning end-to-end grey iron foundry equipment, integrated light alloy casting solutions, high-end furnace technology and heat treatment solutions for light metal, as well as surface preparation technology and services.

Norican Group serves a wide range of industries, including the global automotive, aerospace, foundry and aluminium sectors, through a global network of engineering expertise, manufacturing capacity and local service support.

The Norican Group is represented in South Africa by Mondeco. For further details contact them on TEL: 079 448 1277 or visit www.mondeco.co.za or www.noricangroup.com

About DataProphet
DataProphet is a leader in AI that enables manufacturers to step towards autonomous manufacturing. Our AI-as-a-service proactively prescribes changes to plant control plans to continuously optimise production without the expert human analysis that is typically required.

Recognised by the World Economic Forum, DataProphet Prescribe (an AI solution for the manufacturing industry) has helped customers around the world experience a significant and practical impact on the factory floor, reducing the cost of non-quality by an average of 40 per cent.

For further details contact them on TEL: 021 300 3555 or visit www.dataprophet.com