A record-breaking giant in Ostrava!

LIBERTY Ostrava’s giant mold starts its challenging journey to the UK

A giant industrial mold, produced by the foundry of LIBERTY Engineering Products Ostrava for its British customer Sheffield Forgemasters, today starts its challenging 1600 km journey by road, river and seas to its new home.

The mold, which is a special device for casting steel, pig iron, metals or other alloys, is the largest ever produced by the foundry at a record 140 tonnes. It will initially be shipped to Lovosice on a special truck which has 14 axles to ensure proper weight distribution. There it will be transferred to a ship on the Elbe and will travel via the river and canal system to Vlaardingen in the Netherlands. There it will be shipped to Immingham on the east coasts of the, UK, from where it will be moved by truck to its final destination in Sheffield.

For the production of the mold, it was necessary to secure 150 tons of liquid metal from Ostrava’s Blast Furnace, which was transported to the foundry on rails by two special cars. Production coordination was prepared in detail, because the temperature of the liquid metal must not fall below 1210 to 1230 degrees Celsius, the casting temperature at the foundry.

Aleš Sekanina, the marketing manager for LIBERTY Engineering Products Ostrava

At Sheffield Forgemasters the mold will be filled with liquid metal before being processed into the final product. The British company specializes in the production of large parts for the shipbuilding, nuclear and defence industries.

Already during production, we contacted a carrier that specializes in oversized shipments. The transport of such a large and heavy mold is complex and very demanding, which is why the police and an assembly truck will accompany it on its full journey between the Czech Republic and Great Britain.

The assembly truck operator is there to ensure the truck runs smoothly and doesn’t cause any damage on the way, so for example, may have to remove traffic signs or place reinforcements under the truck when passing through a roundabout.

Aleš Sekanina, the marketing manager for LIBERTY Engineering Products Ostrava

The tradition of producing castings in LIBERTY Ostrava dates back to 1951. The long-term experience gained in the production of castings is currently used for the production of castings from steel, gray iron and ductile iron for engineering companies in the Czech Republic and abroad. The operation also includes a model shop. At the same time, the operation received product certificates from Bureau Veritas for the entire production range and Lloyd’s Register for gray and ductile iron castings up to a unit weight of 25,000 kg.