Harz Guss Zorge (HGZ) has been sold to a US investor

The GMH Group subsidiary Harz Guss Zorge (HGZ) has been sold to the US investor Hugh Aiken it has been announced. GMH wants to devote more time to its core businesses.

GMH Gruppe is one of the largest privately managed metalworking companies in Europe. Under its umbrella we combine the expertise of 20 medium-sized companies in the steel, forging and foundry industry.

In the course of a change towards the core business areas of circular economy (recycling), green steel (particularly hot-rolled long products) and heavy forging (large forgings), the GMH Group is separating from the iron foundry Harz Guss Zorge GmbH (HGZ) from Walkenried in Lower Saxony, Germany. The latter specialises in core-intensive, tailor-made iron castings and is a development partner for well-known manufacturers in the areas of construction equipment, compressors, railway and mechanical engineering. HGZ employs almost 450 people and has been part of the group since 2000.

US investor Hugh Aiken has invested in several iron, steel and aluminium processing companies in the USA and Europe (Poland, France and Sweden) over the past three decades

US investor Hugh Aiken has invested in several iron, steel and aluminium processing companies in the USA and Europe (Poland, France and Sweden) over the past three decades. The purchase agreement between the GMH Group and Hugh Aiken was signed on 12 November and legally implemented on 21 November 2024.

The investor has set itself the goal of increasing productivity, improving technical processes and deepening and expanding customer relationships. Aiken, who also speaks French and German, will initially take over management of Harz Guss Zorge while the company is looking for a new managing director.

For HZG employees, this development means a greater focus on the specific challenges of the foundry. These include, among other things, reducing the CO2 footprint, prioritising investments, optimising sand disposal and recycling, and unspecified automation measures. At the same time, ongoing competition from low-wage countries from Asia and Turkey remains a key challenge.