Inside EICF


Over 40 Years of Investment Casting Knowledge An Interview with Mark Ward by Carlos Olabe, Executive Director, EICF


Mr. Mark Ward is the Zollern


Investment Casting Divisional Managing Director, having joined the Zollern group in March 2020. Mr. Ward has a solid background


of expertise in the Investment Casting field following his assignments at the Doncasters Group. Initially as General Manager of Doncasters Deritend Precision Castings from Oct 2010 till December 2014 and then as Divisional Managing Director of the Doncasters Group Turbine Airfoils Division. Getting close to two years of Mr.


Ward´s new venture with the Zollern Group, INCAST has approached him to find out his impressions.


Q A


Q A


How and when were you first involved in the Investment


Casting technology and industry?


I started working within the foundry industry at the age of 16, some 40


years ago and although I moved on through many varied positions in my career within other industries, returning in 2010 was a pleasure and a privilege.


Are there any elements of this industry or technology that


attracted you most and that you might consider as unique to justify a professional career?


There are many areas within our industry that offer attractive


career prospects in terms of technical, commercial, and operational activities especially for those wishing to dedicate themselves in these areas for the longer term.


Q A


A differential aspect from this industry and in particular in the


high tech applications is the yield factor and its potential variability. From a Managing Director perspective, how do you position to have this factor under control? And what should be the key aspects in respect?


As we all know, our industry can seem very simple when viewing a manufacturing process flow diagram, but within this are many specific sets of criteria that must be maintained to ensure consistent yield factors, therefore to me the areas of process control are critical and your embellishment of these using statistical process control are the leading factors to success, combined with the continual training of our operational colleagues.


Q


Just at the time you are starting this new venture leading the


Zollern Investment Casting division, I guess full of ideas and expectations, you find with an unforeseen situation as it was the pandemic. What sort of feelings emerged at that time versus your initial plans? And how did you navigate and adapt these ideas versus the imminent crisis with its uncertainty and the lockdown?


us on the path for greater flexibility. The challenge led us to ensure we had even greater dialogue with our customers, suppliers and partners to understand their ever changing needs and to ensure we could still meet their expectations for the future. I am convinced that those businesses that


A 28 ❘ January 2022 ®


I think the pandemic has been a challenge for all of us and has set


show flexibility will survive through the current crisis, which is what we have done.


Q


The pandemic has had an effect on the Investment Casting market


severely hitting about the 85% of the overall European market as per the segments of Commercial Aerospace, Industrial Gas Turbine and Automotive. Recovery is being shown up but it might bring along a reconfiguration of the market segments as per end users post pandemic shifts. How is this being digested, managed and transformed into new opportunities?


A


Regular and consistent dialogue with our customers has determined


the very specific needs that the pandemic has given rise to and with this we have been able to determine plans that are consistent with our customers needs for the future.


Q


Tradition and Innovation is one element associated with


the


Zollern Group as per their historical roots. What does this mean in terms of


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40