Polish production is holding up relatively well

Published with the kind permission of 'Foundry Trade Journal'
www.foundrytradejournal.com

See also:

Economic overview >
Forge Industry report >

Tool to progress

The Polish foundry industry, totally neglected and depreciated as an industry sector, is today an indispensable part of the national economy and a tool of progress in modern industry.

In the 1970s, the Polish foundry industry occupied seventh place in the world with its 2.7 million tonne production. Today its less than 700 000 tonne figure takes it to 18th place, due mainly to an almost non existent domestic demand for machines and equipment in which castings have a large share of the total weight. Because fo this, production technologies currently used are less advanced and, consequently, castings made in Poland is less competitive. Measures called for to allow the Polish foundry industry to function as a partner within the enlarged EU include investment in technology and increased political acknowledge of the importance of the sector.

Total production

Total production of ferrous and non-ferrous castings in 2001 was 745 200 tonnes and was approximately 1.1% below the 2000 figure. Production data for 2001, by type of material, together with a comparison with the data for 2000 appear in table below.

The last 10 years have seen a downward trend in the total production of ferrous and non-ferrous alloy castings. Overall, in 1992-2001, their production declined by approximately 1.9%

Grey Iron and alloy cast iron

Grey iron and alloy cast iron casting production in 2001 was 495 000 tonnes and was approximately 2.9% below the 2000 figure. The last 10 years have seen a downward trend in the production of grey iron and alloy cast iron castings. Overall, in 1992-2001 their production declined by approximately 15%.

Nodular cast iron

Nodular cast iron casting production has been increasing steadily in recent years. In 2001, it was 105 200 tonnes, 16.2% more than in 2000 and almost three times as much as in 1992.

Malleable Iron

Malleable iron casting production in 2001 was 18 300 tonnes, which was approximately 9.9% less than in 2000. The last 10 years have seen a downward trend in the production of malleable cast iron castings, which in 2001 was approximately 40% lower than in 1992.

Cast steel

Cast steel casting production in 2001 was 54 500 tonnes, which represented a fall of approximately 1.6% from the 2000 level. It has remained steady during the past three years, but has displayed an overall downward trend during the last decade. Total decline during the period 1992-2001 was approximately 26%.

Non-ferrous alloy

The (estimated) 2001 production of non-ferrous alloy castings was 72 200 tonnes, falling for a second consecutive year (by approximately 6.7% from the 2000 level), although the output of non-ferrous alloy castings, chiefly aluminium castings, has been rising since 1992. Taking the last decade as a whole, the overall production growth of all non-ferrous alloy castings was approximately 107%.

Casting production by type of material

The contribution of various types of castings to the total for 2001 is shown below.

Grey iron and alloy cast iron made the largest contribution to total casting production. In the last 10 years, their share has been declining. It was 66.4% in 2001, down from 76.7% in 1992.

Nodular iron castings accounted for over 14.1% of total casting production (approximately 12% in 2000, but only 5% in 1992). In spite of the steady growth of nodular cast iron production during the last decade, its contribution to the total is still small in Poland when compared to industrially developed countries.

Malleable cast iron represents the smallest proportion of the total casting production, accounting for only 2.5%. Its contributions to the total has been declining for several years now (down from 4% in 1992.

Cast steel accounted for 7.3% of total castings production in 2001. Its contribution to the total has been declining for several years now (down from 9.7% in 1992).

Non-ferrous alloys accounted for 9.7% of the total casting production in 2001. While this was less than in 1999 (12.1%) and in 2000 (10.3%), it has shown an overall upward trend in the last 10 years, since in 1992 accounting for only 4.6% if the total.

Structure of the casting market

In Poland in 2001, castings for the automotive industry accounted for 26.3% of total production. Ferrous alloy castings accounted for 23.2% of its demand, while non-ferrous accounted for approximately 54.5%. In spite of their recent growth, these figures are quite smaller than in industrially developed countries.

Market segmentation by principal end user based on 2001 data for ferrous and non-ferrous castings, is shown in table below

Exports of castings

Based on data for 2001, total exports of ferrous and non-ferrous alloy castings (by volume) were higher than in 2000 at 306 000 tonnes, of which 267 000 tonnes were ferrous and 39 000 tonnes were non ferrous castings. This increase occurred in spite of the fall in total production.

In 2001, exports as a proportion of total production were slightly above 41% of total castings. Analysis of the export of castings by type of material shows that exports accounted for 39.7% of total production of ferrous castings, and for approximately 54% of total production of non -ferrous castings. Export volumes have been increasing steadily since 1992 (from 62 000 tonnes in 1992 to 306 000 tonnes in 2001).

In 2001, castings for the automotive industry represented the largest proportion of casting exports, accounting for approximately 43% of total exports, followed by castings for the machinery and equipment industry (16.8%), agricultural machinery (11%), construction (9.3) and valve manufacturing.

The largest foreign purchaser of Polish castings is Germany, followed by Italy, France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Exports to EU countries are estimated to account for approximately 95% of all the exported castings. Outside the European Union, castings are exported to the USA followed by Hungary, Switzerland the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Slovakia, Canada, Ukraine and others.

Foundry employment and labour efficiency

In 2001, the Polish foundry industry employed a total of some 28 600 people, which represents a drop of approximately 6.2% from 2000 levels. The estimated number of employees working at iron, steel and non-ferrous foundries in 2001, is shown in table

The recent fall in employment levels resulted in increased labour productivity - productivity rose from 24.7 tonnes per employee in 2000 to 26.1 tonnes in 2001. Nevertheless, inspite of increase, labour productivity remains decidedly below EU levels, where the average is over 50 tonnes per employee per year.

Foundries, production and employment

The number of foundries in Poland at the end of 2001 was estimated at approximately 440. This figure includes some 200 cast iron foundries, 40 cast steel foundries and approximately 270 non-ferrous foundries (including small enterprises). It represents a recent reduction in the number of foundries (by approximately 5% in the last five years). Statistical data suggest that foundries employing over 250 people account for just under 7% of the total, while the total number of employees in this group of foundries is estimated at approximately 14 400. The remaining 93% is made up of foundries with fewer than 250 employees (jointly, they employ approximately 14 200 people), that is foundries forming part of the small and medium size enterprise sector (SME). SMEs account for virtually 50% of total foundry employment and for 40% of the industry's output. The corresponding figures are shown in table below.