Koyama Co. Ltd., Nagano, Japan


Metals: Ductile, gray and compacted graphite iron, aluminum.


Processes: Green sand, shell and permanent mold.


Size: 80,000 sq. m.


2010 Sales: $50 million U.S. (90 billion yen). Employees: 460.


Main End-Use Industries: Automotive, construction, heavy truck and hydraulic valve.


Koyama has engineered for production and the environment with its new iron mold line, installed in 2008.


Ltd.’s Nagano, Japan, metalcast- ing facilities, what strikes you is a balance of old and new. Te heart of the facilities (and the plant you first encounter on a tour) is the original gray and ductile iron foundry built in 1964. Similar to any 50-year-old plant across the globe, the drive for continuous improvement has resulted in a plant that functions on the marriage of traditional and modern technology. Te original plant has been modernized with state-of-the-art environmental


W


hen walk- ing through Koyama Co.


controls, a strong safety con- trol system and four modern cope and drag molding lines. When you step out of


the original facility and walk through Koyama’s other two casting buildings, core shop, cleaning and finishing room, and machining facility, the tour unfolds the vast progression the metalcaster has made. In Koyama’s shell-based coremaking facility, hoods


Fig. 1. Koyama’s focus on the environment required the shell core machines to be encapsulated by emissions hoods to ensure the high- est air quality throughout the plant.


July 2011 MODERN CASTING | 19


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