Castings and fixtures made from heat-resistant alloys for heat treatment, furnace construction and industrial furnaces.
CRONITE Group
Geneva (Group headquarters) · Wuppertal · Crewkerne · Brno · Wuhan · Mexico · India · South KoreaNew on Amplifa
About Cronite
The CRONITE Group, originating in 1917 as the company Klefisch in Wuppertal, specialises in the design and manufacture of heat-, wear- and corrosion-resistant castings. The product range includes heat-treatment fixtures and furnace spare parts, spare parts for shot blast machines made from special cast iron and manganese steel, mono- and bimetallic centrifugally cast rolls for continuous casting plants, burner nozzles and tube spacers for power plant boilers as well as high-temperature tools and presses for composite forming in the aerospace industry. Production takes place in several foundries on three continents using the processes green sand, chemical sand casting (Alphaset) up to 5 t piece weight, lost-wax investment casting and centrifugal casting up to 150 G; complemented by machining of CFC and graphite, welding and sheet metal fabrication as well as rapid prototyping. Customer industries include heat treatment, the steel, cement and glass industries, petrochemicals, waste incineration (waste to energy) and power generation. More than 15,000 furnaces worldwide are equipped with Cronite products. The group headquarters has been located in Geneva since 2014.
- Site
- Wuppertal
- Processes
- Green Sand casting (mass production), Chemical sand casting (Alphaset), Lost Wax Casting (investment casting, high-precision geometry), Centrifugal casting (centrifugal casting for tubes, force up to 150 G), Machining workshop for Carbon Fiber Composite (CFC) and graphite, Fabrication workshop (welding and sheet metal fabrication), Rapid Prototyping, Manufacture of heat treatment fixtures and furnace spare parts
- Materials
- Nickel-chromium steel alloys (heat-resistant), Refractory alloys, Special irons, Manganese steels, Martensitic stainless steel, Carbon Fiber Composite (CFC), Graphite, Nickel-chromium steel alloys
- Certificates
- ISO 9001
- Founded
- 1917
- Industries
- Heat treatment, Steel industry, Waste to Energy, Power generation, Aerospace, Petrochemicals
- 01
Design & Engineering (3D design, FEA, topology optimisation)
- 02
PROCAST casting simulation
- 03
Casting (green sand, Alphaset, lost wax, centrifugal casting)
- 04
Machining incl. CFC/graphite
- 05
Welding and sheet metal fabrication
- 06
Testing in the company's own R&D centre
- 07
Rapid prototyping
Materials & Processes
Nickel-chromium steel alloys
Heat-resistant alloys for heat-treatment fixtures and furnace accessories with high thermal shock resistance.
Refractory alloys
Used in furnace construction, petrochemicals and combustion processes at extreme temperatures.
Special cast iron
Wear-resistant material for spare parts of shot blast machines.
Manganese steels
For wear-resistant spare parts in the shot blasting sector.
Martensitic stainless steel
Bimetallic centrifugally cast rolls for continuous casting plants with hardness 38–48 HRC.
Carbon Fiber Composite (CFC)
High-temperature material machined in the company's own machining workshop.
Graphite
Material for high-temperature applications machined in the company's own machining workshop.
Locations
Geneva
CHGroup headquarters (head office since 2014)
Wuppertal
DEHistorical origin (Klefisch, 1917)
Crewkerne
GBProduction (foundry, Cronite Castings)
Brno
CZResearch centre (CRONITE CZ, R&D test centre for creep, heat resistance, hot strength and
- R&D test centre
Wuhan
CNProduction (CRONITE WUHAN, foundry)
- Foundry
Mexico
MXProduction (CRONITE MEXICO, foundry)
- Foundry
India
INProduction (CRONITE KARTIK, formerly Kartik Steels, alloy foundry)
- Foundry
South Korea
KRProduction in partnership with DKtec (CR technology)
Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Sand casting (mass production)Casting | – | – | – | – | Nickel-chromium steel alloys, refractory alloys, wear resistant castings |
| Chemical sand casting (Alphaset)Casting | – | – | 5 tons | – | Nickel-chromium steel alloys, refractory alloys |
| Lost Wax Casting (investment casting, high-precision geometry)Casting | – | – | – | – | Nickel-chromium steel alloys, refractory alloys |
| Centrifugal casting (centrifugal casting for tubes, force up to 150 G)Casting | – | – | – | – | Nickel-chromium steel alloys, refractory alloys, martensitic stainless steel (bimetallic rolls) |
| Machining workshop for Carbon Fiber Composite (CFC) and graphiteMachining | – | – | – | – | Carbon Fiber Composite (CFC), Graphite |
| Fabrication workshop (welding and sheet metal fabrication)Joining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rapid PrototypingAdditive | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacture of heat treatment fixtures and furnace spare partsCasting | – | – | – | – | Nickel-chromium steel alloys, refractory alloys |
| Manufacture of spare parts for shot blast machines from special cast iron and manganese steelCasting | – | – | – | – | special irons, manganese steels |
| Mono- and bimetallic centrifugally cast rolls for continuous casting plantsCasting | – | – | – | – | martensitic stainless steel |
| Bimetallic rolls made of martensitic stainless steel (hardness 38–48 HRC)Casting | – | – | – | – | martensitic stainless steel |
| Burner nozzles (Low-Nox burners for coal, larger components in sand casting, smallerCasting | – | – | – | – | refractory alloys |
| Lost-wax tube spacers for power plant boilersCasting | – | – | – | – | refractory alloys |
| High-temperature tools and presses for composite forming (aerospace)Casting | – | – | – | – | Nickel-chromium steel alloys |
| Topology optimisation and FEA-based design of castingsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
4 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundry | – | – | – | – | several locations on 3 continents (including CRONITE CZ Brno, CRONITE WUHAN, |
| Machining workshop for CFC and graphite | – | – | – | – | – |
| Fabrication workshop (welding/sheet metal) | – | – | – | – | – |
| R&D test centre (creep, heat resistance, hot strength and corrosion testing) | – | – | – | – | CRONITE CZ (Brno) |
Additional services
Quality
All foundries of the CRONITE Group are ISO 9001 certified. The company's own R&D centre in Brno is equipped for creep, heat resistance, hot strength and corrosion testing; casting quality is ensured using PROCAST casting simulation.
| Evidence | Crewkerne | Wuhan | Mexico | India |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 1917
Foundation of the company Klefisch in Wuppertal (heat-resistant fixtures and furnace accessories).
- 1919
Foundation of Cronite Castings in England; components for marine steam boilers.
- 1935
Foundation of Mancelle de Fonderie by the Bollée family in France.
- 1960
Cronite Castings builds a foundry in Crewkerne.
- 1982
The AFE Group (from 2013 SAFE) acquires Mancelle de Fonderie.
- 1990
AFE acquires Klefisch.
- 1992
AFE acquires Cronite Castings; AFE TECHNOLOGIES is formed as the European market leader.
- 2004
International expansion; renaming to AFE CRONITE TECHNOLOGIES, AFE CRONITE and SAFE CRONITE.
- 2006
Foundation of CRONITE WUHAN (China).
- 2007
First casting at CRONITE MEXICO; BELOG GUSS Brno becomes the CRONITE-CZ research centre.
- 2014
Relocation of the group headquarters to Geneva (Switzerland).
- 2017
Acquisition of the Kartik Steels alloy foundry in India (CRONITE KARTIK); new site in South Korea with partner DKtec (CR technology).
- 2018
On 18 October, after 35 years, CRONITE becomes independent from SAFE.