Metal masters
As a technology-driven specialist in cast iron and bronze, Belgium’s Omco Metals is active across the world. Growing, expanding and heavily investing, Omco is continuously developing new products alongside its customers. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to managing director Jan De Mey to learn more.
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ounded in 1964 as a European business for the US-based Overmeyer Mould Corporation, a leading American producer of glass moulds, OMCO’s market position in Europe has continued to go from strength to strength. Creating specially alloyed cast iron and bronze, OMCO established its own European foundry in Hamme, Belgium in 1971, where castings for both the glass industry and general engineering are produced. In 1984, OMCO became a wholly Belgian company and enjoyed rapid investment and progression. A completely new foundry equipped with the very latest machines opened in 1990 and second foundry was added to the OMCO family in 2000 when it bought a state-of-the-art plant in Slovenia, where glass moulds are produced for the company’s Croatian and Romanian divisions. Today, OMCO employs around 77 people and pours approximately 3800 tonnes each year, with a turnover of EUR16.5 Mio. Managing director Jan De Mey said, “The last few years have seen
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OMCO Metals investing heavily to optimise both the plant and the outcome of the processes. These investments include a cooling drum installation at the end of the moulding line in order to get a stabilised temperature of the sand. We have also installed a new sand preparation centre with the very latest controlling devices. On the engineering side, we’ve invested in a 3D scanning device as well as new engineering buildings and offices.”
Green to be believed Both of the OMCO foundries embrace environmentally friendly practices wherever possible. Mr De Mey said, “Both of our foundries are similar in that they use green technology to operate, with clay bounded sand technology used to produce castings. Our Slovenia foundry also offers hand mould castings, with this process running on chemical bounded sand. The combined capacity for the two plants is over 10,000 tonnes each year. We take the environmental
