Providing a full and comprehensive service

The resounding comments and feedback from all customers is that the demand for castings from the market continues to increase with growth continuing across all sectors!

Increased casting volumes resonates throughout the supply chain, more so with a rapid turnaround required of superalloy to maintain the current demand and meet future increases. Customers require rapid response and flexibility to meet the supply chain timeline, production requirements and minimise inventory.

Ross & Catherall can provide a full and comprehensive service that can meet and deliver these requirements, we have the world's largest selection of VIM melting furnace capacities for the manufacture of superalloy bar stick - 8 furnaces (including the latest state-of-the-art 4000kg (8,800lbs) furnace of any superalloy plant worldwide) ranging from 500kg (1,100lbs) to 7200kg (15,800lbs) providing melting flexibility with rapid service - typical turnaround times, from receipt of order/revert, being approx. 6 weeks.

One major topic that was raised by all customers was the revert volume availability/turnaround within their facilities, because of the increased order volumes for castings. This is a common topic that is also a concern for all superalloy cast bar stick manufacturers. It is very simple, if the revert is not available for melting to meet the historical alloy ratio in a set time we are unable to melt that ratio.

The meetings we held with customers were extremely beneficial, with regards to explaining how "late delivery" of revert cannot be simply added to the production plan when the revert arrives on site. Our furnace melt campaigns are planned to a strict chemistry melt sequence, we cannot simply add a melt into a sequence that is outside the chemistry from a previous, or a subsequent melt, without strict planning.

This month’s newsletter, attached, provides alternative options that customers can implement should they have insufficient revert for existing orders, these options will help ensure your alloy is manufactured to meet your on-time-in-full delivery requirements.

One of the options is to increase the virgin content of the melt ratio, and cost, (difficult to persuade your customer) however, this will "refill" the revert loop and help meet production requirements and eventually "level" out the small increase as the revert loop is "refilled". The alternative is a delayed melting date that meets the melt chemistry sequencing plan!