100 Years of Innovation in Metal Flow Engineering
PRESS RELEASE
Vesuvius, a global leader in molten metal flow engineering,
this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. Foseco, the
Foundry Division of the Vesuvius Group, was established
in the UK in 1932 and is a world-leading supplier of
products and services to the metalcasting industry. Ever
since Vesuvius opened for business in 1916 with a mission
to produce the most effective clay graphite crucibles, it
has pioneered new developments to meet the needs of
its customers. Founded in Pittsburgh by the Arensburg
brothers and their friend Arthur Jackman, the company was
able to respond to the huge increases in demand for steel
production to produce armaments for WW1. 100 years
later, Vesuvius is the undisputed market and technology
leader in flow control systems for the steel industry.
In the 1940s, Foseco developed Feedex powder and Ferrux
anti-piping covers, and in subsequent decades followed
up with innovations such as KALMINEX and FEEDEX
exothermic sleeves, SEDEX, STELEX and SIVEX foam filters,
world leading solvent and water based coatings, FDU
rotary degassing and the INITEK ductile iron process.
The history of Foseco, the company’s foundry division, is
also a story of innovation. In Birmingham, UK in 1932, Eric
Weiss and Dr Kossy Strauss set up Foundry Services Ltd –
the company that would become Foseco. Dr Strauss was a
chemist, and with Eric Weiss on the commercial side, their
mission was to provide products and services that truly
supported the foundry industry. They began with six flux
products that they improved iteratively as they learned
more about their customers.
Contact Person:
John Sutherland;
International Marketing Services Manager
Tel: +44 (0)7767 383708
Email: [email protected]
Today, Vesuvius continues to lead innovation in the steel
and foundry industries, with 17 research and development
centres, including the brand-new Global Foundry R&D
Centre at Enschede. The company has also established
a technical services division to explore new ways of
integrating continuous data capture into its solutions to
give customers the insights they need.
1.
2.
3.
(1) Photo of Foseco laboratories in 1937, (2 and 3) Photos of Enschede R&D centre