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Tupy Expanding SinterCast CGI Capacity

Oct. 31, 2024
Rising demand for heavy-duty commercial vehicle castings is driving the group’s Mexican foundries to plan capacity increases for compacted graphite iron.

SinterCast AB reported that Tupy S.A. has ordered an expansion of the process control capacity for compacted graphite iron at its ferrous foundries in Saltillo and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, to support rising demand for CGI for heavy-duty commercial vehicle production in North America and Europe. The Brazil-based metalcasting group is among the largest producers of CGI in the world, and a licensee of SinterCast’s process control technology.

CGI, compacted graphite iron, is a specialty grade of cast iron that has greater tensile strength, stiffness, and fatigue strength than gray iron or aluminum. It is gaining market share with diesel and gas engine manufacturers seeking to reduce weight, noise, and emissions for their designs.

Stockholm-based SinterCast is the developer and licensor of the world’s most widely used technology for producing CGI.

Tupy operates foundries in Brazil and Portugal, as well as Mexico, and produces cast-iron cylinder blocks and heads for multiple automakers and commercial vehicle engine manufacturers.

“Tupy continuously invests in innovation and technology, and this impacts all regions where we are present. In Mexico, as an example, we are expanding the throughput of our SinterCast process control system to support the increasing demand for compacted graphite iron commercial vehicle components,” stated CEO Fernando Cestari de Rizzo.

The group has seven SinterCast process control systems operating on seven production lines in three countries. The Saltillo, Mexico, foundry has also adopted the Cast Tracker system developed by SinterCast to monitor the production progress for cores, molds, and castings through the plant.

“The capacity increase is business as usual for Tupy and SinterCast,” commented Dr. Steve Dawson, president and CEO of SinterCast. “Since our first installation at the Tupy Joinville facility in Brazil in the year 2000, we have regularly brought new production lines on stream and implemented capacity expansions.

“With the onset of the production ramp in early-2025, the CGI capacity expansion reinforces our track record of double-digit growth and adds momentum to our robust outlook for installation revenue in 2024,” Dawson continued. “From July through October, our total order intake for new installation revenue has amounted to more than SEK 9 million, exceeding our historical full-year average.”