For centuries, the region of Liezen in Austria has contained deposits of iron ore, and the industries of mining and smelting grew from the town. The site of today's Maschinenfabrik Liezen und Gießerei Ges.m.b.H. was founded in 1939 and taken over by the current owners, the Haider Group, in 1994. Since then, MFL has developed into a globally sought-after supplier for rail transport. The offer ranges from safety steel castings and welded components to complete rail transport vehicles.
In the years since the company was founded, the world has changed dramatically. The Alpine landscape of Liezen is facing new dangers rooted in climate change. After over eighty years of tradition and experience, technological change and social responsibility is driving MFL forward to minimise the company’s carbon footprint and the resource consumption for its products. This involves understanding and taking into consideration the entire product life cycle, from the production to the use to the recycling. MFL is aiming to reduce the environmental impacts caused by its production. Additionally, what is equally important to reducing detrimental impacts to the environment is the design and implementation of innovative products which can help in the creation of a greener, more sustainable future.
INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING AND SMART PRODUCTS
“The method that the components derived from the geometry and the steel grade is determined by the design process”, and Peter Fuchs, Leader MFL Foundry, adds: “The contribution of our engineers in this project phase has a big impact on the optimised compromise between minimum weight of the component and the energy and material consumption for its more complex production.” MFL has for example partnered with Siemens Mobility Austria in order to implement the company's innovation strategy. The engineering department of MFL works with Siemens Mobility Austria to develop parts which will fulfil Siemens’ production line. Siemens are highly proficient in developing and expanding on the technology requirements required, and as manufacturers MFL are experts in creating and designing castings. Harald Schönwetter, Head of Structural Design Siemens Mobility Austria GmbH, says “MFL are the experts for steelcastings. They know how to design a cast that it will be very good and easy to produce, and it will also fulfil our requirements. So, weight reduction of trains leads to various positive effects, like a better energy efficiency, and also a minor wear of brakes, wheels and rails.”
CONSERVING RESOURCES AND MAXIMUM RECYCLING
Melting is the most energy consuming process step for steel casting, however MFL furnaces are unique in the fact that all moving parts are driven electrically, as well as being fast and extremely precise. This combined together with a state-of-the-art electrode controller ensures a high rate of energy efficiency. This has placed MFL in a position to use low quality raw material, such as recycled steel castings, and produce high quality steel from them.
MFL is also involved in the EU project MORSE for sustainable steel production. With the further development of software for optimising the use of resources MFL is doing further pioneering work. With 70 different steel alloys produced each year, saving energy and other resources is a corresponding challenge, but one that MFL regards as an opportunity.
In addition, MFL has installed a heat recovery plant in order to use the waste heat lost in its production process. MFL’s heat treatment furnaces of the Foundry castings are heated up to 1,000°C. At full power, the waste heat energy generated per year comes to 2,000 MWh. To recover this heat new complex heating systems have been installed. Despite the technical challenges it presented, MFL is now able to feed in 75 % of the waste heat into its heating system and reduce energy consumption by 2,000 MWh per year. With this innovation, MFL supplies energy to the district heating system of Liezen, warming homes across the city.
INNOVATION IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE
“In 5 to 10 years, MFL will have completed the transformation from a regional leader to an international player in its claimed technology area. Our potential and that of our industry is not to be part of the problem with regard to the climate change, but part of the solution”, Herbert Decker, General Manager MFL, sums up. After 80 years of corporate development, MFL is now taking off as a leader in sustainability.
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