Nordkurier and other media unanimously report the Torgelow iron foundry has ceased operations for the time being after a serious work accident "We are shocked and stunned that this accident has occurred," said Torsten Tiefel It is not yet clear how long production in Torgelow (district of Vorpommern-Greifswald) will be suspended a 60 to 80 ton mould made of hardened sand broke in a hall on the company's premises on Tuesday evening Three workers were caught by the fragments A 53-year-old was immediately pronounced dead by the arriving emergency doctor a trapped 51-year-old could only be recovered dead from the debris hours later a 35-year-old man suffered serious injuries The police were not able to give exact details on the cause of the accident the mould broke when it was about to be placed on trestles Several workers saw the accident and tried to help - they were in shock Public prosecutor's office is looking into the course of the accident specialists are to examine the accident site to find out whether the prescribed material was used and specified distances to loads were kept The public prosecutor's office has appointed an expert to assess these findings and find out the cause of the accident Our sympathy goes out to those affected and their families Torgelow belongs to the Silbitz Group together with three other foundries in Silbitz The foundry has a 250-year tradition and mainly produces components weighing several tons for wind turbines container and plant construction also come from Torgelow I would like to receive the bi-weekly Foundry-Planet newsletter with all latest news Plus the special newsletters – all can be cancelled anytime and at no cost one of Europe's leading foundry groups for steel and iron casting with headquarter in Silbitz has successfully concluded the purchase agreement for the acquisition of Iron Foundry Torgelow in future trading named as Silbitz Group Torgelow GmbH As a company from the portfolio of the listed Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) the Silbitz Group is taking over the business of the Iron Foundry Torgelow and provides the tradition-rich company with long-term prospects as well as securing the approximately 300 jobs The parties have agreed to do not disclose the purchase price The closing of the acquisition is subject to the approval of the competent authorities by anti-trust law Consistent course towards sustainability and a secure future "We are very pleased to be able to give the Iron Foundry Torgelow a long-term and stable perspective as its new owner We are convinced of the performance of the company and its employees," says Dr The main business of the foundry in Torgelow with its focus on highly complex castings in a weight range of 20 t to approx 100 t for the offshore wind power industry perfectly complements the portfolio oft he group: "With the acquisition we are broadening our product range in castings for the offshore wind industry and pursuing our course of supporting our customers in the manufacture of sustainable products," Tiefel continues With the integration of the Iron Foundry Torgelow the Silbitz Group will henceforth be the only European foundry group with direct access to the sea: "The wind turbines are becoming bigger which means that the size and weight of the components are increasing They can only be transported economically over short distances on land Torgelow is located in the north-east of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ten kilometres from the port of Ueckermuende and has strategically important access to the Baltic Sea This allows short and efficient transports to our customers," Tiefel explains Commitment of a strong group in a strong company The Torgelow iron foundry looks back on a tradition of more than 260 years and is currently facing a good demand The company is specialized in large-dimension castings such as rotor hubs and machine carriers for wind turbines and thus generates about 90 % of its turnover with castings for the renewable energy sector "We are planning rapid but sustainable growth for the company and stand by the employees as a strong partner Our group also has many years of foundry experience so we look forward to a lively exchange of knowledge," concludes Tiefel The Silbitz Group is one of the leading foundry groups in Europe It employs about 1,000 people and 41 trainees in three foundries in Silbitz Zeitz and Košice and a mechanical processing company in Staßfurt Turnover of 152 million euros is planned for the current year The foundry group has a casting capacity of more than 75,000 metric tons per year and is a reliable partner for precision casting in nine business sectors mining as well as commercial and railway technology Iron Foundry Torgelow is planning an annual turnover of 45 million euros for 2021 and has a production capacity of around 50,000 metric tons As one of the largest hand-mould foundries in Europe Iron Foundry Torgelow produces complex castings from 750 kg up to 100 t per piece for the wind power industry large diesel engine as well as machine and plant construction Climate change and a reduction of the carbon footprint together with preferential treatment for renewable energies are making wind power an important source of energy According to the European Wind Energy Association EWEA 9.3 GW wind power capacity was newly installed in the EU in 2010 European wind power plants now already cover 5.3 % of the electric power consumption in Europe It is expected that wind power will account for 18% of the total generation of electricity in the EU by 2020 the main driving forces behind this wind energy boom are China and the USA Supplying foundries, like the steel foundry Torgelow GmbH deriving its name from the town of Torgelow in eastern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where it is located, are among those benefiting from this dynamic development. Together with Hilden-based global foundry supplier ASK Chemicals' development team, they have defined new manufacturing process concepts for core making which meet the demand in the field of large casting it can be seen that wind power systems represent a strong driver of innovation and growth due to their advanced technological demands - which applies for the foundry industry as well - provided that the plants can fulfill the high-technology requirements through flexible orientation and cost-efficient product management The management of Eisengießerei Torgelow - in eastern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Germany - was already recognizing these as strategic challenges six years ago found it difficult to deal with the necessary transitions but was always very proud of the quality of its products which is based on the highly qualified nature of its employees The experience passed on through generations ensured a high degree of technical competence in the area of hand-formed gray and nodular cast iron The foundry is therefore well prepared for future market requirements The goal is not to produce various cast parts in the shortest period of time but rather to make use of opportunities in expanding markets In addition to the special technical equipment the most important success factors of the company are the high degree of competence in assisting the customer in product development and redesign along with technologically optimized products "Wind energy is a strong pillar which is perfectly suited to Eisengießerei Torgelow" "It's still a young industry that requires high quality castings and that is exactly what we offer our customers." For some years now frames and generator housings for wind power systems have been cast in Torgelow Large wind power system manufacturers such as BARD Enercon or Acciona place their trust in the skills of Eisengießerei Torgelow A functional value added chain plays an important role in achieving this. Innovations are developed and made ready for production together with suppliers and customers. "Such strategic partnerships are an important building block for the future development of the iron foundry" A classic example of this is the cooperation with the manufacturer of foundry additives - ASK Chemicals based in Hilden, Germany. Together with the ASK Chemicals development team, new "core" concepts were conceived for production processes in the core-molding plant that exceeded the requirements in the area of large-scale casting the competence in development and experience provided by ASK Chemicals was primarily focused on the adaptation of applications with sulfur boundary layers and special resins that exhibit a high degree of slippage or finishes that can withstand high thermal loading Torgelow considers not only the price as a deciding criterion Greater importance is placed on deliverability in order not to jeopardize the production sequence - a possible risk that is often overlooked in times of economic pressure A particular strength of ASK Chemicals in this partnership is its single-source structure Torgelow obtains everything it needs with respect to foundry chemicals from Hilden ASK Chemicals is also responsible for warehousing and logistics "In such development and production processes the entire product portfolio and our service available to our customers," as Stefan Sommer For customers such as Eisengießerei Torgelow additives are specifically adapted to local circumstances Information about new product solutions from the research center is supplied to the customer early on so that it can expand its technological leadership Those who stand still will be left behind. There are also challenging tasks for the future - for example, the further optimization and adaptation of the binder systems in use. The iron foundry currently operates at a standard capacity of 70 tonnes of sand mixture in a ratio of 1:6 per hour 80 percent of the sand is subject to high temperatures In the opinion of technical experts in Torgelow this process is still polluted with too much carbon and sulfur the regeneration of the sand must be optimized from a chemical wet-chemical or physical standpoint such that annealing loss is reduced it was a challenge to develop its binder system to meet these requirements CEO Weilguni is impressed with the collaboration with partner ASK Chemicals adherence to agreements and a highly reproducible product quality are the most important things in a partnership "Only in this way - also in consideration of the supplier - can we achieve a customer relationship which is extremely important for our company and guarantee a binding consultation under difficult and diverse customer requests and demands," he explains satisfied with the growing trust and the long-term cooperation Wind energy is one of the few industries which achieved significant growth globally in 2009 despite the economic crisis According to statements from the German Wind Energy Association 952 new wind power systems with a total power output of 1917 megawatts were installed in Germany alone last year which is roughly equivalent to the power generated by 15 nuclear power plants The future belongs to offshore wind farms - from which the foundries will also benefit insofar as the high technical requirements can be met The iron foundry in Torgelow looks back on a 250-year tradition highly motivated team and the ongoing development of metallurgical expertise make it possible to produce cast parts for technologically demanding applications with complicated geometries and to implement customer orders in a quick Extensive investments helped to establish the largest hand molding and steel blasting shop as well as the most modern smelting facility in Europe the company is in a position to manufacture cast parts with a unit weight of up to 150 tonnes also available in ASK Chemicals GmbH is a leading supplier  for "Core coatings", "Croning resins", "Cold box binders" and many more. For further information and contact details click here: ASK Chemicals GmbH Eisengießerei Torgelow is a leading in foundry for "Grey iron" and "Ductile iron". For further information and contact details click here: Eisengießerei Torgelow