Young CEDA visits Allard
Recently, a group of Young CEDA members got the opportunity to visit Allard Europe, a major supplier of casted parts for amongst others the dredging industry.
A group of thirteen youngsters travelled to the foundry located in Turnhout, Belgium, on a Tuesday morning. The program started with an insightful presentation about the company Allard, the markets they supply and mostly an explanation of the whole casting process, from the casting simulation and design of the casting system up to the post processing and machining.
After the presentation we got a tour through the facilities of Allard, starting with a rare opportunity to see a live casting with the pouring of a large 20t pumphouse, which was very impressive. Furthermore the tour showed us the impressive collection of casting models, different steps of the molding process, the grinding and removal of the casting system, the ovens for heat treatment and the impressive machine shop.
It was impressive to see the large castings, like pump houses, branch pipes, impellers and suction mouths, for our major dredging contractors in different stages of the process. Another takeaway was how high the labor intensity is for the casted parts, starting with the engineering and creation of the model and mold, all the way up to the post processing.
We want to express our thanks to Allard Europe for receiving us, sharing their knowledge and showing us around their facilities. If you don’t want to miss the next Young CEDA event, make sure to follow the Young CEDA LinkedIn page!
