It is a milestone for Saint Gobain PAM, a lighthouse project for the French industry and a showcase project for ABP Induction: an old cupola furnace system in Foug, France, is being decommissioned and replaced by a more climate-friendly induction furnace system from ABP Induction. The aim is to massively reduce CO₂ emissions and water consumption. Once the ABP induction system has been set up and installed, production will be switched over without interrupting production.

There is a long history between Saint Gobain PAM and ABP Induction: “We have been working together on various projects for many years, most recently on projects in China, the Czech Republic and Brazil,” explains Alexander Keller, Head of System Sales at ABP and responsible for sales. Saint Gobain PAM’s objectives are in line with ABP’s strategy, which focuses in particular on the four megatrends of decarbonization, digitalization, deglobalization and demographic change. “In France in particular, the topic of decarbonization is being driven forward much more strongly,” explains Alexander Keller.

Ostensibly, a cupola furnace system is being replaced by induction furnaces – in this case by two 30-tonne IFM furnaces with an output of 18 MW, designed using TWINPOWER® technology; incidentally, this is one of the largest induction furnace systems ever installed in a foundry in Europe. But the changes on the site in Foug are even more far-reaching:

“Much more is happening here – the entire foundry is being modernized. It’s about environmental aspects, digitalization, a significant improvement in working conditions – we at ABP identify with this 100 percent.”

Conversion in Foug – holistic and sustainable

That’s why it would be too short-sighted to reduce the project in the arrondissement of Toul to the process of switching technology.

“Behind this is a complete project planning and implementation that has a holistic and sustainable impact on the organization and the region,” explains Alexander Keller.
ABP Induction supports its customers in the transformation process right from the start: “We accompany all process steps and develop the project together with the customer. This begins with the concept creation, continues with the project planning and leads through to the construction and commissioning of the system, including the implementation of the melting process,” says Alexander Keller. Throughout the entire process, the ABP and customer teams work closely together to identify what is important to the customer. “We need to understand where the focus lies and what role aspects such as environmental influences, occupational safety or productivity play.”

The human factor also plays a major role: ABP Induction trains customer employees on site or in the Virtual Academy so that they can operate the new induction furnace system effectively and efficiently under optimal and safe conditions. ABP also offers products for activities on the furnace platform to reduce human intervention:

“Our modern digital products and safety equipment help to make the foundry a more attractive place to work.” The concept development takes around three to four months: “A new, individual concept is always created for each project because the initial situation and conditions can vary greatly depending on the location and customer. But our project experience and our team’s expertise in converting from cupola furnaces to induction furnaces naturally help a great deal,” he explains.

The approach to a previous project with Saint Gobain PAM was similar. In 2022, the Pont-à-Mousson plant in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department was equipped with a new 30-ton ABP induction furnace for the production of spheroidal graphite cast iron.

Saint-Gobain PAM has a total of 3,300 employees in Europe and five sites in Lorraine and Haute-Marne – responsibility here is not only related to the customer, but to the entire region and the people who live there.

“The modernization in Foug is a flagship project for the region, if not for the whole of France. You understand its significance when you are there – in a picturesque landscape with lots of greenery, which was previously disturbed by the smoke and pollution caused by the cupola furnace.”

Vulcain project: switch to induction without production downtime

Saint Gobain has summarized the complete modernization of the foundry plant under the project name Vulcain. “Many ancillary units and systems will also be modernized, and we will be able to implement all of this without interrupting production,” forecasts Alexander Keller.

As a specialist in ductile iron pipes, Saint-Gobain PAM produces 60,000 tons of pipes and fittings every year, mainly for water and sanitary pipes. In April 2024, the Foug plant laid the foundation stone for the Vulcain project. The foundry, which specializes in the production of nodular cast iron, will be able to dispense with the cupola furnace in around a year’s time once all the buildings for the induction furnace system and the plant itself are in place. 7,800 tons of coal were consumed here every year.

After the changeover, this requirement will be completely eliminated – less energy will be consumed and less CO₂ will be emitted. Overall, the aim is to reduce the factory’s CO₂ emissions by 62 % – that is 22,000 tons of emissions saved per year. With around 330 employees, Foug aims to become the Group’s factory with the lowest CO₂ footprint in Europe. Foug is also aiming to reduce its water consumption by 80 %. This will save the equivalent of the annual water consumption of the city of Toul with its approximately 15,000 inhabitants.

In this context, Jérôme Lionet, CEO at Saint-Gobain PAM, explains the responsibility that the company is aware of and which it communicates proactively: “We must anchor the industry in a more sustainable world, that is part of our conviction.” At the ground-breaking ceremony in Foug, Jérôme Lionet went one step further: “For us, it’s a new industrial revolution, because we’re leaving the age of coal behind us – we’re moving into an age of electricity with a much lower impact on the environment.”

 

The Vulcain project represents a major investment for Saint Gobain. Although 25 % of the planned 20 million euros in investment will be funded by the Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME), it remains a major effort – which should pay off, as Claire Pedini, Deputy General Manager of Saint-Gobain, explained: “It is part of what we want to do at Saint-Gobain – to be a responsible company that reduces its carbon footprint and offers its customers decarbonization solutions.”

Although potential risk factors such as the development of electricity prices are taken into account, this is an acceptable risk that is willingly accepted because the project orientation and statement is part of the sustainable, environmentally conscious corporate strategy.

(source: ABP Induction)