Te new aluminum diecasting
operation includes a 2-ton pouring furnace and three highly automated machining centers that can produce approximately 1,000 castings a day. With such capabilities, Hardisty believes Zealous has the capability and expertise to be a reliable supplier of aluminum castings and compete for large international contracts. “Planning [for facility upgrades]
started in 2007 and equipment was only ordered in 2010,” Hardisty said. “Te first samples came off the line in May 2011, and these were only approved in January 2012. Start of production took place that March and will operate in three shifts, 24 hours a day, five days a week.”
Shifting Priorities Zealous concentrated primarily on
zinc castings when it was established in 1970. Te privately owned company has refocused its efforts in recent years. After completely divesting aluminum in 1980 to focus on zinc, Zealous re-entered the aluminum diecasting market in 1996. Aluminum accounts for 70% of its current daily production of approximately 6 metric tons. Te Zealous Group split into two main divisions in 2003 when it formed Zealous Automotive to accompany its pressure casting business. In 2009, Zealous reached an agreement with Ukuvula Investment Holdings, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a firm with roughly half its portfolio in the automotive industry. It acquired a 26% share of Zealous holdings. Zealous Pressure Castings special-
izes in non-automotive products and utilizes a more traditional approach to diecasting in zinc and aluminum. Te
An ABB robot is central to the hydraulic locking aluminum diecasting system.
zinc department currently has 13 hot and cold chamber machines in opera- tion ranging from 20 to 500 tons, and the aluminum department currently has 14 machines in operation, ranging from 60 to 700 tons. “Entering the automotive OEM
market in 2001 with a Toyota contract and substantially increasing our foot- print in 2004 with Volkswagen’s LT3 engine project, Zealous Automotive was strategically developed and regis- tered in 2003 to fill a niche market in South Africa with a longer term view of export outside Africa,” said Steven
“Zealous Automotive was strategically
developed and registered in 2003 to fill a niche market in South Africa with a longer term view of export outside Africa.”—Steven Reid
Reid, CEO. “Tere are currently seven diecasting cells within this divi- sion capable of running a three-shift system six days a week, supported by a 2-ton/4-ton Striko smelter.” Nearly a decade into its Volkswa-
gen LT3 project, Zealous has cast a total of nine components for more than 200,000 engines built for export. “During this time, we have devel-
oped a full metallurgical laboratory and a metrology department where we have access to 3-D digital content creation measuring for full in-process inspec- tions and full machining capability on 17 CNCs, making Zealous a leader in supplying fully machined and assembled
MEDIA RESOURCE
Using the Actable App, scan this page to see a slideshow of images from Zealous. For instructions on how to use the app, go to page 3.
September 2013 MODERN CASTING | 19
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