Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd
Encyclopedia
Goodwin Steel Castings Limited is a heavy engineering firm located in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire
, England. The company specialises in the production of large, bespoke, machined steel
castings.
, with 180 employees, is supported by its sister company, Goodwin International Ltd, located 5 km away which carries out machining
, fabrication
and assembly work on the castings produced by the foundry. The Goodwin machine shop employs some 270 people in its modern CNC
machining facility.
Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd, part of the engineering group Goodwin PLC, is the foremost independent producer of high alloy and high quality integrity castings in the United Kingdom.
The company has been in the casting industry since its formation in 1883. It is one of the 10 oldest companies listed on the UK Stock Exchange.
In 1984 Goodwins was the first steel foundry in the world to be awarded accreditation by the British Standards Institution
to BS5750 (now ISO9001
) for casting production and also for the computer simulation of casting feeding. In 2006 the company was awarded the Queen's Award for International Trade
.
Materials supplied include carbon, low alloy, stainless steel, heat resistant, duplex and super duplex stainless steels and super nickel alloys.
They supply machined castings from 200 kg to 10,000 kg as single pieces and up to 18,000 kg as fabricated single components. Welded assemblies up to 50,000 kg can be supplied.
Steel and nickel alloys are melted in the electric arc furnace
and can be processed through the AOD refining vessel
.
alloy development programs for fossil fuel power plants for Advanced Super Critical Applications (A-USC).
These projects include:
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England. The company specialises in the production of large, bespoke, machined steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
castings.
History
Goodwin Steel Castings has been a supplier of machined castings since 1883. The foundryFoundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, with 180 employees, is supported by its sister company, Goodwin International Ltd, located 5 km away which carries out machining
Machining
Conventional machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing, in which a collection of material-working processes utilizing power-driven machine tools, such as saws, lathes, milling machines, and drill presses, are used with a sharp cutting tool to physical remove material to achieve a desired...
, fabrication
Fabrication (metal)
Fabrication as an industrial term refers to building metal structures by cutting, bending, and assembling. The cutting part of fabrication is via sawing, shearing, or chiseling ; torching with handheld torches ; and via CNC cutters...
and assembly work on the castings produced by the foundry. The Goodwin machine shop employs some 270 people in its modern CNC
Numerical control
Numerical control refers to the automation of machine tools that are operated by abstractly programmed commands encoded on a storage medium, as opposed to controlled manually via handwheels or levers, or mechanically automated via cams alone...
machining facility.
Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd, part of the engineering group Goodwin PLC, is the foremost independent producer of high alloy and high quality integrity castings in the United Kingdom.
The company has been in the casting industry since its formation in 1883. It is one of the 10 oldest companies listed on the UK Stock Exchange.
In 1984 Goodwins was the first steel foundry in the world to be awarded accreditation by the British Standards Institution
BSI Group
BSI Group, also known in its home market as the British Standards Institution , is a multinational business services provider whose principal activity is the production of standards and the supply of standards-related services.- History :...
to BS5750 (now ISO9001
ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
) for casting production and also for the computer simulation of casting feeding. In 2006 the company was awarded the Queen's Award for International Trade
The Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (Export) (2006)
The Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade was awarded on 21 April 2006, by Queen Elizabeth II.-Recipients:The following organisations were awarded this year.* 20 Essex Street of London WC2 for legal services...
.
Capabilities
The company specialises in cast parts for suppliers to the engineering, nuclear, oil, petrochemical, and process industries worldwide.Materials supplied include carbon, low alloy, stainless steel, heat resistant, duplex and super duplex stainless steels and super nickel alloys.
They supply machined castings from 200 kg to 10,000 kg as single pieces and up to 18,000 kg as fabricated single components. Welded assemblies up to 50,000 kg can be supplied.
Steel and nickel alloys are melted in the electric arc furnace
Electric arc furnace
An electric arc furnace is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc.Arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one ton capacity up to about 400 ton units used for secondary steelmaking...
and can be processed through the AOD refining vessel
Argon Oxygen Decarburization
Argon oxygen decarburization is a process primarily used in stainless steel making and other high grade alloys with oxidizable elements such as chromium and aluminum. After initial melting the metal is then transferred to an AOD vessel where it will be subjected to three steps of refining;...
.
Applications
Goodwin castings are used in a variety of projects. Some of the more high profile projects are listed below.Bridges
- Hardanger BridgeHardanger BridgeHardanger Bridge is a bridge under construction which will cross the Hardangerfjord in southwestern Norway. It will replace today's ferry connection, a part of the shortest road connection between Oslo and Bergen....
- Oakland Bay Bridge Eastern Span Replacement
- Tsing Ma BridgeTsing Ma BridgeThe Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after two of the islands at its ends, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan . It has two decks and carries both road and rail...
- Jiangyin BridgeJiangyin Suspension BridgeThe Jiangyin Suspension Bridge was the most seaward bridge to cross the Yangtze River of China at the time of its completion, however, the recently completed Sutong Bridge and Shanghai Yangtze Bridge/Tunnel are now more seaward. It connects the cities of Jiangyin and Jingjiang...
Structural/Architectural
- Faslane Naval BaseHMNB ClydeHer Majesty's Naval Base Clyde is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy...
- Stratford stationStratford stationStratford station is a large multilevel railway station in Stratford, east London. The station is served by the National Rail services National Express East Anglia, London Overground and c2c, by London Underground's Central and Jubilee lines, and by the Docklands Light Railway . Stratford is in...
- Ludwig Erhard Haus
- Paddington station
Power Generation (including Nuclear)
- Pelamis Wave Energy ConverterPelamis wave energy converterThe Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The machine is made up of connected sections which flex and bend as waves pass; it is this motion which is used to generate electricity....
- Sizewell B nuclear power stationSizewell nuclear power stationsSizewell nuclear power stations are two nuclear power stations located near the small fishing village of Sizewell in Suffolk, England. Sizewell A, with two magnox reactors, is now in the process of being decommissioned, while Sizewell B has a single pressurised water reactor and is the UK's newest...
- Sellafield re-processing plant
Development
Goodwin have been heavily involved in NickelNickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
alloy development programs for fossil fuel power plants for Advanced Super Critical Applications (A-USC).
These projects include:
- Thermie AD700AD700The AD700 Technology initiative began in the early 1990s with the idea of developing a range of advance materials that would permit the raising of main and reheat steam temperatures in Pulverized Fuel boilers up to 700°C and beyond.-Key features and benefits:...
- COMTES
- Pacific Basin 700 research
- European NextGenPowerNextGenPowerNextGenPower is a unique integrated project which aims to demonstrate new alloys and coatings in boiler, turbine and interconnecting pipework. The concept of NextGenPower is to perform innovative demonstrations that will significantly contribute to the EU target to increase the efficiency in...
- MacPlus