Representatives of the South African Institute of Foundrymen recently travelled to Russia to attend the International Congress of Russian Foundrymen and Exhibition “Lityo-2015” in Nizhny Novgorod. At the same time the 5th BRICS Foundry Forum took place. The main subject of the Forum was “Production of steel castings”, which gave delegates a perfect opportunity to explore the current economic situation in Russia and gain an impression of the huge potential they have there.

The hosts from the Russian Association of Foundrymen, with president Prof. Ivan Dibrov, provided an interesting program that included highlights of the Volga Region of Nizhny Novgorod, work visits to leading plants of the region and an intense exchange of information among the BRICS Foundry Forum members, suppliers and exhibitors.

Nizhny Novgorod, a leading region for the production of railway components, wheels, special steel parts, and automotive and aerospace products, was the right place for Russian metalcasters and the delegates from the BRICS Foundry Forum to meet.

The BRICS countries, which cover almost 60% of the world production of castings, held the 5th conference to support its member countries in becoming more competitive and strengthening their position in the global economy.

BRICS Foundry Association
During the forum, delegates signed the constitution for establishment of the interregional BRICS Foundry Association. The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Valery Shantsev, and representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry of Niizhny Novgorod participated at the signing ceremony.

The establishment of the BRICS Foundry Association was initiated by the national foundry associations: the Brazilian Foundry Association (ABIFA), the Russian Association of Foundrymen (RAF), The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF), the China Foundry Association (CFA), and the South African Institute of Foundrymen (SAIF), which have cooperated on annual Foundry Forums since 2011.

The BRICS Foundry Association is the project of multilateral, interregional, industrial cooperation and the first industrial association of BRICS countries.

The aim of the association is the consolidation of national foundry enterprises and organisations of BRICS countries for international industrial cooperation development, and assisting in the implementation of national development plans to provide BRICS economies sustainability as an integral part of the global economy.

Foundry production is a basic pillar of machine building and the machine tool industry. 30 to 50% of tools, machines, equipment, etc. consist of foundry products. At the same time, foundry enterprises are closely connected with metallurgy production and technology by providing foundries with metal raw materials.

Thus, the foundry industry is a vital technology link in the production cluster “Metallurgy– Foundry–Machine building” which is considered as one of the key factors of a national sustainable economy.