The successful ramp-up of Ford’s 2.7-litre gasoline engine at the Lima Engine Plant, Ohio,, with a compacted graphite iron (CGI) vee block, has contributed to a 25 per cent increase in production in 2015 of passenger vehicle using CGI cylinder blocks. Not for the first time has Ford contributed to SinterCast's growth; engines from Dagenham, UK and Chihuahua, Mexico have played their part too. Added to which, several important applications of the new V6 EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline engine can be expected next year.
The result is that production in 2015 compared
to 2014 has increasing passenger vehicle volume from 55 per cent to 60 per cent
of SinterCast's total production. Further boost in the industrial sector means
it has retained its 10 per cent share.
SinterCast's newest entrant in the US pick-up
truck market, the Nissan Titan, won four top honours at the 2015 Texas Truck
Rodeo, one of the largest pick-up truck events in the United States. The
Nissan Titan received awards from the Texas Auto Writers Association for
"2015 Best Truck of Texas", "Luxury Pickup Truck of Texas"
for the XD Platinum model, "Off-Road Pickup Truck of Texas" for the
XD PRO-4X model.
Most significantly for SinterCast, the award for
the Titan of "Best Powertrain" for the new Cummins 5-litre V8
turbodiesel engine with a SinterCast-CGI cylinder block signalled a benchmark.
The initial ramp-up of the Cummins ISV5.0 V8 cylinder
block is underway at Tupy’s foundry in Brazil in advance of the planned start
of Nissan Titan sales in December.
Growth of CGI at Cummins
The
ISV5.0 is not the only Cummins engine to use CGI components. The production of
industrial power components, with 40 per cent growth compared to 2014, is bolstered by
start of production of the new Cummins QSK95 industrial power engine during the
quarter.
With SinterCast-CGI cylinder heads produced at
the Motor Castings foundry in the US, the QSK95 industrial power engine is a
16-cylinder engine for mining, locomotive, marine, stationary power and
offshore drilling applications.
New products such as the Cummins QSK95 provide
the opportunity for components other than automotive blocks and heads to continue
to provide approximately 10 per cent of the total volume as the core automotive
market grows. This growth was primarily derived also from the continued
increase of the General Electric locomotive cylinder head.
Following five new installation commitments in
the first half of 2015, a new order was received for a System 3000 Plus installation
at the Teksid do Brasil foundry in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The equipment
for the Teksid do Brasil installation is planned to be shipped during the first
quarter of 2016. The Teksid do Brasil installation marks SinterCast's
sixth installation of the System 3000 Plus technology that was launched in
2012.
System 3000 Plus is intended to provide the
highest level of automation, productivity and process security for high volume
series production, so significant volumes of CGI components can reasonably be
expected from the foundry in Brazil. Teksid would not make the investment if it
did not think it could more than recoup its layout. Certainly, Teksid has
no doubt watched with some envy as CGI production volumes have ballooned at
Tupy’s foundry in Brazil.
The Teksid do Brasil order also marks
SinterCast's sixth installation commitment of 2015, equalling the records set
for new installation commitments in 2011 and 2013.
SinterCast claims that installation
commitments announced in the first half of 2015 in Asia and Europe “have all
been successfully commissioned and product development is proceeding according
to schedule”.
Revenue for the third quarter (July –
September) firmed in at SEK 20.6 million (SEK 13.4 million), giving an
operating result of SEK 7.1 million (SEK 3.1 million). Cash flow from operations
nearly tripled to SEK 6.5 million (SEK 2.6 million). The third quarter results
improved the overall 2015 Year-to-Date figures to the point that revenue for period
is SEK 55.2 million (SEK 38.9 million), and an operating result of SEK 15.9
million (SEK 6.7 million). The most dramatic improvement has been in operational
cash flow which was almost five-fold higher at SEK 15.8 million (SEK 3.5
million).
The company’s installed base amounts to 24
fully automated systems and 20 mini-systems in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Thus, following extended
summer shutdowns at key customers in July and August, series production
returned to full volume in September providing annualised volume of 2.4 million
Engine equivalents, the second highest month on record (I engine equivalent is
50kg.)
Overall, the company’s
progress has resulted in a 54 per cent increase in year-on-year revenue, with
the revenue for the first three quarters of 2015 surpassing the previous
full-year revenue record established in 2014.
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