June 2008 - Shandong Nashan Industry Co. Ltd., a member of the Nanshan Group, located in Longkou, PR China, placed an order with Wagstaff, Inc. to supply aluminum casting equipment for its latest expansion. The contract included custom direct-chill casting solutions to equip three new rolling ingot casting stations and two new extrusion billet casting stations.

Shandong Nanshan’s three new ingot casting stations will include model 800S ShurCast™ Casting Machines, Wagstaff Ingot Casting Systems equipped with Epsilon™ Ingot Casting Technology, and Wagstaff AutoCast™ Automated Casting Control Systems. Powered by two model 500S Wagstaff ShurCast™ Casting machines, Shandong Nanshan’s billet stations will cast with Wagstaff AirSlip® Air Casting Technology. Shandong Nanshan worked closely with Wagstaff engineers to devise an overall casting strategy that would help the aluminum company achieve future production and quality goals.

This new contract marks the fourth major project between Wagstaff and the Nanshan Group. The relationship began with the rolling ingot project at the greensite casthouse Yantai Nanshan in 2003 and the plant’s subsequent expansions and addition of extrusion billet casting capabilities in 2006. Greensite Shandong Nanshan began production of extrusion billet in 2007, utilizing both Wagstaff AirSlip® and NuMax™ Billet Casting Technologies. 

This new endeavor will boost Nanshan’s aluminum production by 500,000 tons per year.  In a recent visit to the Wagstaff facility in Spokane, Washington, Nanshan’s production manager, Mr. Shaoyu Liu shared, “It is Nanshan's goal to strive to be the best, the largest, and the most successful aluminum sheet and extrusion products manufacturer in the world. As one of the equipment suppliers, Wagstaff will help contribute to our success."

Greensite casthouse, Shandong Nanshan Industrial Co., Ltd., located in Longkou, Shandong, China, recently completed commissioning of a new billet casting station.

Shandong Nanshan’s new billet pit includes equipment purchased from Wagstaff, Inc. including three Wagstaff Billet Systems equipped with AirSlip® Air Casting Technology and one Wagstaff Billet System Equipped with NuMax Casting Technology. The multi-purpose pit is powered by a Wagstaff 500S ShurCast Casting Machine and an AutoCast™ Automated Casting Control System. Along with the AutoCast Automated Casting System, Shandong Nanshan purchased Wagstaff’s Enhanced Reporting System, allowing the casthouse to achieve greater productivity through equipment tracking and product disposition.

A notable achievement during this commissioning was the successful cast of 410mm alloy 7075 billet using NuMax Billet Casting Technology. Shandong Nanshan is currently consuming the billet in their extrusion operation, producing parts for the transportation industry inside China. Shandong Nanshan is also casting 7075 with its AirSlip tooling in multiple sizes.

Shandong Nanshan is part of the Nanshan Group of companies. The Nanshan Group provides power, aluminum, coal, construction, and a variety of other products to the Chinese and world markets. 

Wagstaff, Inc., a 61-year-old producer of direct-chill aluminum casting equipment supplies technology solutions throughout 54 countries. Wagstaff is based in Spokane, Washington, USA.

By  Kim Crompton

As world aluminum prices go, so go the fortunes of Wagstaff Inc., a 61-year-old Spokane Valley company that makes equipment for the aluminum-casting industry. Right now, aluminum prices are hot, and they’re expected to remain so for the foreseeable future.

See the article in its entirety at :  http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokane_id=article&sub=3335

July 2007 - Alufond, a division of Alumil, has recently awarded Wagstaff, Inc. a contract to supply equipment for a new extrusion billet casting station at its Kilkis, Greece facility.  Alumil, the largest extrusion group in southeast Europe, continues to expand and has experienced significant growth for 78 consecutive quarters.  The expansion is in response to a booming construction sector and increased demand for premium extrusion billet at the company’s building product operations.

Included in the contract is a custom-designed casting station consisting of a Wagstaff ShurCast™ Casting Machine, 2 AirSlip® Billet Systems, and an AutoCast™ Automated Casting Control System for casting extrusion billet of various sizes for ultimate use in the production of value-added building products.  The Wagstaff AirSlip® Air Casting Process incorporates a shorter mold, faster casting speed, individual water jets, and unique air bearing to minimize heat extraction through the mold wall and enhance direct chill cooling.  The AutoCast system is designed to integrate casting station control devices to easily control casting parameters, eliminate process variance, and maximize production while keeping operators at a safe distance from molten aluminum during billet casting.

As the primary consumer of its cast billet product, Alumil has strict standards in billet quality intended for use in its architectural applications division.  Alufond cites Wagstaff’s reputation as the leading supplier of billet casting equipment as a key factor in supplier selection for this new project. 

This new casting station is expected to be commissioned in early 2008.

SPOKANE, WA - CAP CEL Co., Ltd., a registered company located in Thailand is currently in the process of becoming ISO 9000 certified and manufactures aluminum alloy billet for "COMECHAI" brand, the recognized brand of Thailand’s best aluminum alloy billet.  They recently purchased a 68 strand Wagstaff AirSlip® Air Casting Process Billet System to support their goal of becoming the best aluminum alloy billet manufacturer in Southeast Asia and to deliver to their customers top quality aluminum alloy billet with excellent surface smoothness.

CAP CEL Co., Ltd. supplies aluminum to their local market and exports all over the world to aluminum extruders who fabricate building construction, furniture, aircraft, accessories, electronic supply, etc. They produce aluminum alloy billet (homogenized) 6063, 6061, 6060 and other series, with billet diameters ranging at 4, 4.5, 5, 6, and 7 inch and have a manufacturing capacity at 24,000M/T per year.  They state they choose Wagstaff because customers will have more confidence in the quality of their product by using Wagstaff, the best casting equipment technology in the world. With Wagstaff technology and equipment, manufacturing capacity will increase to around 40,000M/T per year; expected completion 1^st quarter of 2008. Once fully operational, the factory will have the capacity of 64,000M/T per year.

November 2006 - With the 2005 acquisition of Seval Valjaonica Aluminijuma a.d. in Sevojno, Serbia, Impol dd of Slovenska Bistrica, Slovenia made plans to erect a new direct-chill casting complex to cast rolling ingot. The aluminum producer chose Wagstaff Inc., of Spokane WA USA to supply the casting equipment for the new project.

In close cooperation, the partners engineered and built a new casting pit to include a Wagstaff ShurCast™ Casting Machine and Wagstaff's AutoCast™  Automated Casting Control System including LMI Technologies’ laser-based mold metal level control functionality.

To meet various customer needs for rolling sheet ingot quality and also to position the company favorably for future markets, Impol chose Wagstaff VariMold™ Adjustable Ingot Casting Technology. VariMold™ technology allows the aluminum producer the flexibility of casting multiple sizes of rolling ingot with just one mold. 

The partnership between the parties plus the sophisticated skills of the on-site work force contributed to the smooth installation and start-up period.  The casting operation was producing on scheduled capacity within shortest possible time.