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Frequently Asked Questions
What does recycle mean?
To reuse materials that otherwise would have been thrown away; to pass through a process once again; to recondition and adapt spent materials to a new use or function.
What are castings?
A casting is a metal part formed by puring molten iron, steel, aluminum, zinc, titianium, magnesium, copper, brass, bronze or cobalt, in nearly all cases from recycled materials, into a mold or dies. Virtually any metal that can be melted can and is cast. Sometimes these castings are used as produced, but more often they are machined or heat-treated and used as components of assembled products.
Why is metalcasting considered the backbone of American industry?
The metalcasting industry plays a critical role in every major manufacturing sector in the United States -- whether it be energy, transportation, agriculture, aerospace or national defense. Metalcasting is unique among metal-forming processes. It allows us to produce complex components in any metal, raning in weight from several tons to less than an ounce. Artificial heart valves, propellers for aircraft carriers and auto parts are just a few examples of the wide variety of engineered components cast by U.S. foundries.
Today, 3,000 foundries across the nation manufacture castings. U.S. foundries are world-class leaders offering cutting edge technologies and the highest levels of productivity and quality available anywhere in the world. A majority of casting companies are small- and medium-sized businesses. These foundries fulfill a specialty niche, casting unique products or filling small be highly customized orders. Their craftmanship and quality cannot be matched.
Foundries know what competition, quality, customer satisfaction and business survival is all about. They've had to develop expertise in all of these areas. Their business and the jobs they provide depend on it!
Our entire industry is proud to provide American manufacturers with the highest quality cast components.
What is the economic impact of the foundry industry?
Here is a brief look at the U.S. metalcasting industry and its significant impact on the nation:
- Directly provides over 200,000 well-paying jobs
- 3,000 foundries located in 49 states
- 80% of foundries are small businesses with fewer than 100 employees -- with only 6% employing more than 250 people
- Indirectly supports the employment of thousand working in the supplier base and our many end-use customer industries
- Shipped over 14 million tons of castings with a value in excess of $25 billion in 1995
- Castings are used in 90% of all manufactured goods and in all manufacturing machinery
- Foundries consume 15-20 million tons of recycled scrap metal annually -- giving new life to products that would otherwise go to landfills
- Metalcasters use and reuse 100 million tons of sand annually. Only 6% can no longer be used in the foundry process and becomes available for beneficial reuse.
What kinds of stuff do foundries make?
Automotive
Automobiles and other transportation equipment use nearly 35% of all castings produced. Engine blocks, braking components and piston are just a few of the cast parts used in motor vehicles.
In addition to the many iron castings used in autos, strong lightweight aluminum castings consumption in motor vehicles continues to grow at a rapid rate. This has helped reduce overall vehicle weight, improving gas mileage. U.S.-made cars contain about 150 pounds of aluminum castings, and projects call for 180 pounds per car by 2004.
Construction Industry
Every home contains more than a ton of castings from bathtubs, pipes, sinks and fixtures to the furnace, air conditioner and other home appliances. And, castings are also an essential component of construction equipment.
Defense
The metalcasting industry is essential to the national defense of our country. Approximately 10% of all castings are produced soley for military application. Tanks, planes, ships, weapons and a myriad of other military hardware contain thousands of cast parts. The figures do not begin to include the dual-use applications that support the military.
Other
Other significant applications for cast parts are in power tools, sporting goods, municipal water and sewer systems and oil and gas pipelines.
What makes foundries recycling leaders?
Metalcasters are some of the world’s first recyclers. For centuries, foundries have been making new metal objects by remelting old ones. In fact, the oldest existing casting is a copper frog made in Mesopotamia and dating back to 3200 BC.
Old and discarded products such as appliances, sewer grates cans, automobiles and water meters are not trash to foundries –they are raw materials. U.S. foundries convert this unwanted scrap metal and recycle it into valuable products such as faucets, engine blocks, golf clubs, aluminum wheels and much more.
Our industry recycles at all phases of the metalcasting process –from beginning to end and beyond.
- We purchase recycled-content materials and components as our feedstock;
- We use and reuse a variety of materials within the melting and molding stages;
- We produce recyclable products for our customers; and
- We supply We supply secondary markets with usable by-products generated by our facilities.
Accordingly, a wide variety of materials including metal, sand, wax, wooden pallets, packaging materials, steel drums and other products find a second life through recycling as a result of our efforts.
How do foundries create new life for used sand?
Our casting processes require large volumes of sand, which are continually used, reconditioned and reused in the foundry. Metalcasters use and reuse almost 100 million tons of sand annually.
Sand that can no longer be reused in the foundry process is available for beneficial reuse. Most foundries have installed sand reclamation systems that screen the metal and debris out of the sand so that a good, clean product is available for reuse in a variety of applications and industries. Below are some of the areas in which foundry sand is successfully marketed:
- Construction Fill
- Road Subbase
- Grouts and Mortars
- Potting and Specialty Soils
- Cement Manufacturing
- Precast Concrete Products
- Highway Barriers
- Pipe Bedding
- Asphalt
- Cemetery Vaults
- Brick and Pavers
- Landfill Daily Cover
How do foundries save energy and reduce pollution?
Making castings from recycled metal products saves energy and conserves resources. Since foundries produce castings with recycled content, we are able to reduce our needs for raw materials and energy. Processing raw materials places heavy demands on our nation’s energy resources; however, it requires 95% less energy to make castings out of recycled metals.
Reprocessing used materials in the foundry industry also has a domino effect by reducing the energy demands for mining, refining and many other metal-related processes.
Interestingly, every pound of steel recycled saves 5450 BTUs of energy, enough to light a 60-watt bulb for over 26 hours. Foundries recycle over 14 million tons, or 31.5 million pounds of steel each year . . . enough energy to light the homes of Chicago for one year!
Recycling also reduces pollution risks by keeping materials out of disposal facilities. For instance, reusing steel reduces both water and air pollution and saves water, compared to making new steel from iron ore. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycling steel, rather than using iron ore, reduces air pollution by 86%, water use by 40%, water pollution by 97% and mining wastes by 97%.
Is recycling good business?
The U.S. foundry industry is committed to the preservation and protection of the environment and our natural resources. We all live in this world and hope to pass on a strong environmental legacy to future generations.
Metalcasters recognize the vital role we play in recycling and take this job very seriously. Every day, foundries divert valuable materials from the waste stream, reducing the burden on landfills and incinerators and minimizing the need for virgin materials.
Our recycling efforts not only support the preservation of natural resources, but also make good business. For example, using scrap metal significantly reduces our energy usage, minimizing on the largest expenses faced by each foundry. With sand costing $38-65 per virgin ton, reusing it 8-10 time prior to disposition proves significant cost savings. Finally, in states with limited landfill space, disposal costs have quadruples are still on the rise — diverting foundry byproducts into beneficial reuse markets reduces our disposal costs.
The metalcasting industry is excited about the great strides we’ve made to increase our in-process recycling and to identify and develop secondary markets for our by-products. Despite the success in these areas, we recognize that there is still more that can be done.
Increased awareness, acceptance and proactive government policies are critical in order to continue the upward trend of recycling and reusing materials whenever possible. Foundries want to continue to be recycling leaders and responsible stewards of the environment.
What are some examples of beneficial reuse success stories?
- For over a decade, Waterman Industries, a California foundry, has completely eliminated all of its landfill costs. In addition, it has recycled and developed manufacturing materials and saleable byproducts out of "would-be" wastes.
- Kohler Co. of Wisconsin used 25,000 tons of foundry sand in the last three years as construction fill material in several road and building construction projects, displacing the need for virgin materials.
- Ford Motor Company’s Cleveland Casting Plant beneficially reuses 100% of its spent sand in a wide variety of environmentally responsible projects. Since 1994, they have recycled over 1,000,000 tons of spent sand.
- A consortium of 33 foundries in southeastern Pennsylvania has established alternative uses for spent sand, resulting in over 80,000 tons being recycled.
- Foundries and legislators in Ohio, working with the state Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation, have developed applications for foundry sand for low-strength concrete.
- A Buffalo, New York foundry had accumulated an 8000-ton pile of spent sand on its property that would have cost $680,000 for disposal. The foundry partnered with a cement and fill manufacturer and today that pile of sand is gone!
- Spent sand has been used to make concrete barriers, including barrier production, for the Cleveland Grand Prix auto race.
- The Grede Foundry plant in Michigan built a state-of-the-art employee training facility, learning center and lunchroom using concrete blocks made from foundry slag.
Did you know . . .
- Foundry sand is cleaner than water? 98% of foundry sand exceeds the federal Safe Drinking Water Act leachate standards.
- Some foundries produce ZERO waste? Several foundries treat and recycle all of their wastewater, sand and other refuse, or find beneficial reuses for it, producing no waste to be landfilled.
- Buildings are made from foundry sand? Foundry sand is used to make concrete, cement, block and bricks — all of which are basic construction materials.
- Reused foundry byproducts are a widespread part of our everyday lives? Foundry sand and other recycled materials are commonly found in our roads (asphalt), gardens (mulch), building (blocks), parking lots (concrete) and recreation areas (specialty topsoils).
- Some states refuse to allow foundries to recycle sand and other byproducts? Despite the efforts of our industry, many states maintain rules and regulations that prevent the beneficial reuse of foundry materials.
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