Weir opens new foundry in China

The opening ceremony, hosted by Weir’s CEO Jon Stanton, was attended by a Senior Leadership Team from Xuzhou Hi-Tech Industry Zone and other members of Weir and its ESCO division from China and across the globe.

Occupying a 16.5 acre site in Xuzhou’s High-Tech Industrial Zone, the new foundry features the very latest technology and equipment, incorporating high levels of automation. These enable Weir to optimise capacity and enhance its foundry processes, improving efficiency and further reducing cost of manufacture, aligned with the goals of the its Performance Excellence transformation programme. This new site strengthens Weir’s global foundry network, ensuring the company remains highly responsive to its customers’ needs.

The new foundry represents a US$60 million investment and will replace Weir’s existing foundry that is located close by. Staying in Xuzhou allows the company to capitalise on its culture of continuous improvement and sustainability, resulting in consistently high performance in process control, safety, employee engagement and on time delivery. Weir is pleased to retain its highly skilled and loyal workforce – many of whom have been with the company since it began foundry operations in Xuzhou in 2006.

The new foundry has been designed to produce a wider range of the company’s proprietary GET products, including larger sized components, enabling the manufacture of more product types in a more cost-effective way. It expands its foundry capacity in China by over 30% and provides additional flexibility across the Weir global network to best serve customers around the world.

Speaking at the official opening, Jon Stanton, CEO of Weir, said:

“The opening of our new foundry in Xuzhou is a significant strategic milestone for Weir. I’d like to congratulate our project team in Xuzhou who have designed and built what we expect to be the safest, most efficient, most sustainable, most advanced foundry within our global network. I’d also like to thank our partners throughout the Xuzhou government for their time and experience to help deliver this important project.

“This investment demonstrates our commitment to long-term presence and economic contribution in Xuzhou, ensuring Weir drives further efficiency and sustainability in our operations while supporting our continued growth as supplier of premium mining GET technology to customers worldwide.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/finance-business/14032024/weir-opens-new-foundry-in-china/