WCA March 2009

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2009 20
In the late 1960s, when many
commercially available casting methods
for copper and copper alloys were in
use, typically casting downward or
horizontal, a decision was made at
Outokumpu’s Pori (Finland) plant to find
a way to cast rod closer to the size of
the final product.
The initial development work
culminated in the first successful
upward test casting in 1968 and a
couple of years later the first
production line was installed at the
Pori foundry.
The inventors of the technology were
convinced that the Upcast® method
had so much potential that it deserved
active in-house development and
should be treated as a valuable
technological innovation, so sales
and development of upward casting
technology was made into its own
business entity within Outokumpu’s
copper division, the JAVA-unit (later
renamed Outokumpu Castform Oy).
The unit’s work proved fruitful, with 21
lines sold by the end of the
1970s. Landmarks of 50 and
100 commissioned lines were
crossed in 1983 and 1993
respectively.
Coming to the 21st century,
the Outokumpu Group’s
management decided to focus
on stainless steel products and
divest its copper products
division. This was followed
later by an announcement from
the new owner (Nordic Capital)
to concentrate in copper semis
production and to sell or close down
all of its newly-acquired technology
companies.
At that moment Castform Oy’s
management joined forces with two
outside investors to ensure the
continuity of Upcast business activities
and Upcast Oy was born. Upcast
technology continues to be among
leading continuous casting systems
for oxygen-free copper and copper
alloy rod production with more than
170 units sold to date – a total annual
capacity of around 1.5 million tons.
The innovative spirit of early Upcast
technology pioneers lives on within the
Upcast Oy staff. Confidence is strong
in the future and in finding new ways
of utilising this flexible technology.
Upcast Oy – Finland
Fax: +358 207 577 401
Email:
Website:
Forty years of Upcast®
The birthday is taken to be the day of the first m m
successful test casting, 6th November 1968