September marked an important milestone in the history of Matt Cast Supplies. The foundry celebrates 25 years of being in business and in doing so producing 1 000s of castings for an array of clients, industries and products.
Matt Cast Supplies has been in operation since 1999 and has grown considerably over the years producing a wide range of castings using the no-bake resin sand system for the manufacturing of pump, wear part, mining, rail, valves and castings for the general engineering industries.
Established by Allan Bruggeman, a qualified metallurgist, and Allan’s late father-in-law Glen Tillett, who had been in the foundry game for over 45 years, Matt Cast Supplies has grown from humble beginnings to where it is now and is able to produce 60 tons and more of castings a month on a single shift basis.
Matt Cast Supplies has been in operation since 1999 and has grown considerably over the years producing a wide range of castings using the no-bake resin sand system for the manufacturing of pump, wear part, mining, rail, valves and castings for the general engineering industries
Matt Cast Supplies started operating from a small rented factory in Germiston, Gauteng with a total employee compliment of four people, producing four tons of castings per month. Matt Cast Supplies was established to manufacture components – cast iron, chrome iron and stainless steel pump and valve components – almost exclusively for a well-known pump manufacturer but has since diversified into other industrial sectors.
“We soon found that to be able to manufacture castings in the range of materials that the pump manufacturing company required, we needed to expand into other industrial sectors in order to make our business viable, as well as to make the products cost effective to manufacture,” said Bruggeman.
“On a smaller scale and, purely on order, we manufactured brass sundials but that was more of hobbyist venture.”
Rapid growth of the company, and with limited space to expand, necessitated a move. The company bought larger premises in Germiston South, Gauteng where it relocated to in April 2003 and still operates from this facility today. The foundry has 1 800m² under roof and is based on a 3 300m² site and employs more than forty people.
All castings are made in sand moulds using the no-bake resin system and the furnaces include a 350kW 500kg induction melter and a 200kW 250kg induction melter. The two no-bake moulding lines are supported by a core shop with core shooters and a comprehensive fettling shop
Metals cast include 27% chrome iron, cast iron, cast steel, special steels, SG iron, stainless steel, special alloys and many more material types to suit the customers’ needs
Matt Cast Supplies is a jobbing foundry casting a range of materials, ranging from 1kg to 800kg. Box sizes vary up to 1 800mm. Although, it focuses on special materials for the pump and valve industry, it casts components for a variety of industries. These include castings for wear and grinding parts as well as gears, bushes, liners and a vast range of engineering components, including the rail industry.
“Besides our local customers we have also expanded our customer base to include companies in Australia and Europe, which we regularly export castings to,” continued Bruggeman.
All castings are made in sand moulds using the no-bake resin system and the furnaces include a 350kW 500kg induction melter and a 200kW 250kg induction melter. The two no-bake moulding lines are supported by a core shop with core shooters and a comprehensive fettling shop.
To celebrate the 25 year anniversary Allan Bruggeman, in the middle at the end of the table, and all of his staff went for a lunch
Matt Cast Supplies’ staff celebrated the occasion together
Matt Cast Supplies’ staff celebrated the occasion together
Matt Cast Supplies’ staff celebrated the occasion together
The company has also recently invested in a Endeco Omega Spartan 3 PLC controlled continuous sand mixer. The Spartan 3 is a six-ton per hour mixer and comes equipped with an auto blender, giving four catalyst options and two sand selection options. This allows the foundry to automatically adjust sand temperatures, resin and catalyst input amounts.
“In addition, we pride ourselves on the fact that we have a unique computerised tracking system where all castings are tracked and every melt is recorded giving us full traceability of all castings produced,” stated Bruggeman.
“We are constantly getting pressure from our clients to be cost competitive so we have to be innovative in all our thinking and operational procedures to meet their demands. Investing and modernising the equipment in your foundry is one way of doing it. We have just been reminded of that again,” said Bruggeman.
Matt Cast Supplies is a jobbing foundry casting a range of materials, ranging from 1kg to 800kg. Box sizes vary up to 1 800mm
Metals cast include 27% chrome iron, cast iron, cast steel, special steels, SG iron, stainless steel, special alloys and many more material types to suit the customers’ needs.
Matt Cast Supplies also have a Belec 3000s spectrometer to ensure that all materials are analysed and certification can be given for each melt. The company also has an in-house heat treatment facility where they can anneal, normalise and oil quench castings which compliments the foundry and enabling quick turnaround times.
In 2017 Matt Cast Supplies was accredited with the ISO 9001:2008 quality management system, affirming that the company’s Germiston, Gauteng operation adheres to the internationally recognised standard for the quality system. This has now been subsequently upgraded to ISO 9001:2015. The foundry can cast to various BS, ASTM, DIN and other specifications and has an inhouse metallurgist to certify your products and issue certificates.
The company also has an in-house heat treatment facility where they can anneal, normalise and oil quench castings. Matt Cast also have a spectrometer to ensure that all materials are analysed and certification can be given and are ISO9000:2015 certified
“Over the 25 years we have developed the reputation of being a specialised foundry giving the industry quality castings in reasonable lead times. We attribute the success of our foundry to forming good relationships with our customers as well as our suppliers.”
“We are also fortunate and proud to have a very stable, skilled and competent work force at Matt Cast Supplies. Their skill and expertise in making moulds, fettling, casting and finishing has definitely contributed to our success.”
For further details contact Matt Cast Supplies on TEL: (011) 873 2279 or visit: www.mattcast.co.za