Post 2008-2010 economic crisis and global recession that followed it, made Chinese companies vehemently dump its wrought and cast steel products and portfolio of numerous low-cost, cheap products into the Indian market, making local manufacturers non-competitive bringing them to the brink of its closure. Eventually, Acme Alloys Private Limited (export business) was merged with parent company AcmeCast. We decided to target custom-made alloys solutions to niche markets where we could compete profitably, and yet, protect ourselves from eroding margin from low end products-domestic as well as those being rampantly imported into India, attacking head on the local manufacturing industry. In addition, AcmeCast ventured into manufacturing-proof machined, machined and precision machined parts and components from cast, forged and wrought ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, rather than focusing just on cast parts being a job-shop foundry.

In the intervening years from 2010-2018, AcmeCast developed several proprietary alloys and diversified its alloy portfolio with modified alloys apart from offering standard alloy metallurgies. It fervently developed 4th generation heat resistant alloys for demanding elevated temperature service up to 1250°C (including new alloy group of nickel aluminides); upgrading its existing heat resistant alloys portfolio in line with the North American, the UK and EU markets by intelligently microalloying with titanium, aluminium, niobium/columbium, tantalum, cerium and other rare earth metals. It successfully developed many proprietary grades of austenitic manganese steels and high manganese steels that outperform conventional standard austenitic manganese steel chemistries. Being a trusted advisor to its clients for years, in 2012 AcmeCast began its engineering, materials and metallurgical consulting services with a goal to solve vexing problems faced by customers in their industry specific end applications.

Since 2000 (now more than 20 years), we have been avidly following avant-garde research and works of Professor Dr. John Campbell (and his colleagues), Professor Emeritus, University of Birmingham, UK; in casting, foundry, and metallurgy. In particular his propositions in casting methoding and recommendations about of bi-film theory provides novel insights in understanding mechanisms of metallurgical failure of metals and alloys; that has troubled engineers, metallurgists, scientific community and industry at large for a long time. Tirelessly applying his recommendations to ferrous and non-ferrous (nickel & cobalt) alloys has been our motive. We have been assiduously putting into practice remedies, iteratively improvising our casting processes, feeding and gating methodologies to overcome bi-film formations in our cast alloy metallurgies which has enabled us to have some success in enhancing metallurgical properties of our cast alloys compared with competition as well as those mentioned in various industry standards.

In all humility, we had our share of frustrations from casting rejections, metallurgical defects and excruciatingly painful learning curve in our understanding while continuously improving castings we make. One such impediment that needs mention is controlling macro-inclusions in stainless steel and high alloy castings. A significant research conducted in the 1980’s by a team of experts at Steel Founders Society of America (SFSA) USA, revealed attributes of macro-inclusions in ferrous castings. The insights research findings provided were indeed well ahead of its time which still challenges many foundries across the world. The chart below speaks for itself intimidating foundries to determining innovative foundry practices to overcome it.

With advent of 2020, the world has been badly affected by global pandemic coronavirus (COVID19). It has caused deaths of millions of people, infecting millions more across the globe in a short span of time. Acute crisis of global recession, crashing financial systems, belligerent trade-wars, and a long economic recession is lurking in near future for all of us. Contrarily, we (like many others) envisage a complete re-set, and re-start from present adversity. With immense fortitude, we perceive current situation as an opportunity in crisis to transform our lives, and businesses; bounce back graciously, overcoming ordeals and meeting future challenges that come our way in post COVID regime.

With a planned new bottom gas purging high frequency induction melting system, and clean energy piped natural gas (PNG) already installed at our facility in 2019, we envisage adding sand cast aluminium alloys to our poured alloy portfolio, and further adding new 4/5 axis CNC machines to enable us to manufacture and enter into the market of high precision CNC machined components of growing sectors like railways, defense, arms and ammunition, aircraft & aerospace, power and nuclear energy.