Green die-casting that gives unique value to it’s customers
Meet the second of this year’s ambassadors for Elmia Subcontractor - the family business in Småland that provides the Swedish manufacturing, because of a green manufacturing process, added value to the customer, a value that contributes to a better product over the entire life cycle.
Elmia Subcontractor is the heart of the manufacturing industry. An innovation arena that oxygenates the industry and strengthens the sector in Sweden in a global market. To clarify this, every year Elmia Subcontractor appoints ambassadors for the fair who, through their activities and innovative capabilities, give the manufacturing industry extra oxygen and impetus going forward.
The second of this year’s ambassadors is Lundbergs Pressgjuteri which, after 70 years in business, is now greener than ever thanks to innovative investments and green electricity from solar, wind and water.
- For me, sustainability is something that makes money. It's about being careful with your resources and caring for your health and the environment. A form of Småland thriftiness. But at the same time it's a challenge for us to make the customer understand that - is it something they value or will it just be a matter of dollars and cents? says Cajsa Lundberg, CEO of Lundbergs Pressgjuteri.
Sustainability brings value to the customer
Sustainability is not a buzzword for Lundbergs Pressgjuteri. On the contrary. It is something that permeates the entire business and gives the Swedish manufacturing industry extra oxygen.
The reason is simple - they want to contribute to the green transition, to do their bit, as CEO Cajsa Lundberg herself puts it. But also because a green manufacturing process provides added value to the customer, a value that contributes to a better product over the entire life cycle.
- We have been green for a long time and the environmental aspect is very important to us. It is clearly a driving factor. We don't cheat, we base our decisions on it. Like when we rebuilt in 2006 and installed in energy-efficient glass and LED lighting, while at the same time began to recycle our own process heat. It's a long road ahead, but it's the focus of everything we do," says Cajsa Lundberg.
Getting involved early
For Cajsa Lundberg, it's all about being clear about what's unique about the process. How sustainable and carbon-free processes actually create added value for both the customer and the finished product. How their unique expertise results in lighter products, simplifies recycling and contributes to a financial saving for the customer.
- The dream scenario for us is that the customer chooses their supplier early, then we can be involved in developing and running the production together with the customer in a close collaboration. But usually the supplier is only chosen once the product is designed, so we don't get involved in the process. Otherwise, we are allowed in, but it's not always sure that we will win the business. Currently, the price is a controlling factor and other aspects are not necessarily valued," says Cajsa Lundberg.
Read a longer story about Lundberg's Pressgjuteri HERE.
Lundbergs Pressgjuteri has a total of six casting machines and the work is done in three shifts. "It's easy to think that casting is a clumsy process, but the casting itself only takes 7-8 hundredths of a second," says CEO Cajsa Lundberg.
All the aluminium used by Lundbergs Pressgjuteri is secondary aluminium, which means it is recycled. Whether it is ingots that are traded in or its own scrap that is reused.
The fast-paced pulse meetings take turns in the various departments at Lundberg's Press Foundry. It may not be slavishly Lean according to the Toyota model, but involves methodical ways of working to avoid wastage.
