Historic foundry awarded for a year of achievement

Sheffield Forgemasters historic foundry has won a national industry award for its outstanding performance over the past year.

The foundry has been awarded the Cast Metals Federation Company Achievement Award 2008 for its diversification into new markets and retaining its coveted ASME certification for civil nuclear production and its turnaround following devastating floods in 2007.

Forgemasters’ foundry made history in 2006 by producing Europe’s largest steel castings for German press manufacturer, the SMS group, and continues to push the boundaries in development of new and innovative casting techniques.

Foundry director, Roger Richardson, said: “Winning this award is an excellent achievement and an honour. It recognises many years of dedicated work by the foundry team to ensure that we remain at the forefront our chosen field.

“The castings we produce here are shipped all over the world and are widely used in the offshore, power generation and civil nuclear industries and we can boast that 90 per cent of oil platforms operating off of the Gulf of Mexico now use Forgemasters’ castings as structural or mooring components.”

The award follows success in 2006 when Sheffield Forgemasters was awarded the Cast Metals Federation Cast Component of the Year Award, for Europe’s largest ever steel casting at 325 tonnes - made for the vast Bohler Press in Austria.

John Parker, Chief Executive of the Cast Metals Federation, said: “Sheffield Forgemasters is a worthy winner of this year’s Company Achievement Award and is a shining example of the ‘Best of British Casting’.

“It operates to a superb business plan, which has demonstrated product diversification and shows refinement of production procedures, heavy investment in training, financial returns and growth to secure at a stable future.”

The award was given at the Cast Metals Federation annual awards dinner at the Arden Forest Hotel in Meriden, Warwickshire.