Made Green in Italy

Ironcastings S.p.A. is a well-established Italian foundry, founded in 2012 in Reggio Emilia, one of the most efficient industrial hubs in Northern Italy. The company draws on a solid heritage of knowledge and expertise developed over more than 60 years of experience in the sector. Specializing in the production of gray iron, ductile iron, and austempered ductile iron castings, Ironcastings stands out for its use of state-of-the-art technologies and a highly qualified team of professionals.

The manufacturing plant is located in Reggio Emilia, at Via Napoli 12, and covers a total area of 23,000 square meters, of which 11,000 square meters are covered. At this facility, Ironcastings is committed to acting as a single point of contact for its customers, managing the entire process from design to delivery of the finished product, and ensuring machined, tested, and certified supplies.

The foundry has always paid close attention to the local area and to the social and environmental dimensions that characterize it. However, the company’s primary mission has consistently been to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. In this context, our core values have always been:

• Flexibility
• Ethics, transparency, and trust
• Professionalism and reliability
• Punctuality
• Innovation and adaptability
• Environmental protection and workplace safety

Ironcastings’ production capacity is based on four furnaces: three C55 melting furnaces rated at 5,500 kVA (55 tonnes charge capacity and 4,500 kW) and one CAP8 pouring furnace rated at 800 kVA (Coreless Automatic Press Pouring) with a capacity of 8 tonnes and 1,200 kW. The current production capacity, with a plant capable of processing 18 tonnes per hour and producing up to approximately 24,000 tonnes per year, has not yet reached its full potential despite the company’s long-standing experience. Ironcastings therefore plans to further increase both production volumes and the level of specialization as part of a continuous improvement path.

Ironcastings is fully compliant with the most important international standards for cast iron, including:

• UNI EN 1561 – Gray Irons, and the corresponding standards in Italy, Austria, Great Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, the USA, and Japan
• UNI EN 1563 – Spheroidal Graphite Cast Irons, and the corresponding standards within the EU, the FIAT standard, and those applicable in Italy, Austria, Great Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the USA
• UNI EN 1564:1999 – Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI): EN-GJS-800-8; EN-GJS-1000-5; EN-GJS-1200-2; EN-GJS-1400-1

Full compliance with international standards is ensured through:

• Chemical analyses (ARL 3460 spectrometer – 18 elements)
• Tensile and hardness testing (GALDABINI and HECKERT testing machines)
• Dimensional inspections (calipers, depth gauges, scanning machine)
• Microstructural analyses (LEINZ microscope; KRAUTKRAMER ultrasonic system; GOM 5M scanning system)

Ironcastings’ products serve a wide range of industries, including agriculture, forklifts, general mechanical engineering, hydraulics, wind energy, water pumps, and many other sectors.

The company also develops long-term partnerships with customers worldwide, offering customized business models tailored to specific requirements. These include project-based orders, end-to-end solutions, and advanced maintenance and service options.

Ironcastings operates its manufacturing plant at Via Napoli 12, 42124 Reggio Emilia (RE), Italy. Within this DIAP, the cast iron products manufactured at the Reggio Emilia facility are considered.

This Environmental Footprint Declaration covers cast iron products manufactured at the plant located at Via Napoli 12, 42124 Reggio Emilia (RE), Italy.

The product assessed in this study corresponds to the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) code C24.51 – Cast iron castings.

Conventionally, cast iron is defined as an iron–carbon alloy in which iron is the predominant element and carbon is present at levels exceeding 2%. When the carbon content is below 2%, the material falls within the steel[1] category. From the perspective of end-use applications, cast iron castings can serve a wide range of purposes. The following represent typical final uses of cast iron castings:

• Various components for the Agricultural, Earthmoving, and Automotive sectors;
• Industrial valves – cast iron globe valves;
• Spheroidal graphite cast iron pipelines;
• Ductile iron pipelines – polyethylene sleeves for on-site application;
• Pipes, fittings, and accessories in spheroidal graphite cast iron;
• Road manhole covers and closure devices;
• Unfired pressure vessels.

Cast iron castings are also manufactured according to customers’ drawings and technical specifications for major manufacturing sectors (automotive, mechanical engineering, tractor manufacturing, electrical equipment, etc.), in various structures and chemical compositions, including:

• Lamellar graphite cast iron castings;
• Spheroidal graphite (ductile) cast iron castings.

In the case of cast iron castings, unlike steel products, the range of manufactured products is not standardized, as at least 70% of castings are produced based on customer drawings and specifications. Consequently, products may differ even within the same “product family” (for example, in the automotive sector, the same component may vary depending on the commissioning car manufacturer). Cast iron castings are therefore characterized not by their final product application but by their chemical composition. The unit of measure is the tonne, as cast iron castings are considered an intermediate product.

[1] For certain chromium steel castings, the carbon content may be slightly higher than 2%, typically ranging between 2.06% and 2.11%.

This “Product Environmental Footprint Declaration – Cast Iron Casting” refers to the study entitled “Product Environmental Footprint of Cast Iron Castings produced by Ironcastings, Reggio Emilia plant – Version No. 01 dated 28/08/2025”.

The document has been subject to an independent verification process carried out by Bureau Veritas.

Environmental declarations based on different schemes are not comparable.

The following standards and recommendations were referenced for the preparation of the study and this declaration:

• ISO 14040:2021 – Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework
• ISO 14044:2021 – Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines
• Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279, on the use of common methods to measure and communicate the environmental performance of products and organisations throughout their life cycle

presente “Dichiarazione di impronta ambientale di Prodotto – “Fusione in ghisa”” fa riferimento allo studio “Product Environmental Footprint del prodotto fusioni di ghisa di Ironcastings, stabilimento di Reggio Emilia – Ver n.01 del 28/08/2025”.

The objective of this study is to assess the environmental impacts associated with Ironcastings’ cast iron castings, in accordance with the Product Category Rules (PCR) for cast iron castings, published on the website of the Italian Ministry for Ecological Transition within the framework of the Made Green in Italy scheme.

The functional unit considered for this study is:

• 1 net tonne of rough (as-cast) casting (at the foundry gate).

Regarding the key aspects of the functional unit, these are defined as follows:

The reference flow is the quantity of product required to fulfil the defined function and is measured in tonnes. All quantitative input and output data collected in the study are calculated in relation to this reference flow, which corresponds to one net tonne of rough (as-cast) casting at the company gate. It should be noted that, in order to obtain one functional unit of product for its intended use, raw material losses occurring during the production phase (foundry process yield) are included in the production calculations.

The product under study has been modelled using an average recipe of the types of cast iron produced over a representative year of the company’s production. Ironcastings exclusively uses electric induction furnaces and a green sand moulding system for its manufacturing processes.

The table below summarizes the main production characteristics of the product assessed in this study.

There were no methodological deviations in the impact categories used compared to those required by the PEF methodology. Other methodological limitations include:

• The datasets used are not EF (Environmental Footprint)–compliant datasets, as such datasets are only available for PEF/OEF studies conducted in accordance with the PEF Category Rules (PEFCR) published on the official website. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/PEFCR_OEFSR.html

Some processes were excluded from the modelling, in accordance with the relevant Product Category Rules (PCR):

• Packaging for the supply of raw materials and auxiliary materials, as most of these materials are delivered in bulk by truck without packaging; the share of raw and auxiliary materials with packaging is minimal and therefore has a marginal impact;
• Company infrastructure and production facilities, as, when depreciation is taken into account, the annual impact is considered marginal.

For the product under study, the overall data quality is assessed as very good.

The characterized results of the study are presented below.

In the figure below, the impacts by life cycle phase for the product under study are presented.

The most significant impact categories identified in this study, in order of relevance, are:

• Ionising radiation
• Climate change;
• Particulate matter;
• Resource use, fossils;
• Ecotoxicity, freshwater;
• Resource use, minerals and metals.

The most relevant processes for cast iron castings are represented by:

The sum of the weighted scores of the three impact categories indicated in the reference PCR amounts to 92.20 mPt, classifying Ironcastings’ spheroidal cast iron castings in Class A.

The performance classes envisaged are three—A, B, and C—and are defined on the basis of the benchmark value, calculated for the representative product rough cast iron castings, as well as the upper and lower threshold values.

Specifically, products whose impact, calculated as a single score (the sum of the weighted results of the three most relevant impact categories), is higher than the upper threshold value shall be classified in Class C.

Products whose impact, calculated as a single score (the sum of the weighted results of the three most relevant impact categories), is lower than the lower threshold value shall be classified in Class A.

Products whose impact, calculated as a single score (the sum of the weighted results of the three most relevant impact categories), falls between the upper and lower threshold values shall be classified in Class B.

The benchmark values and the definition of the environmental performance classes are reported below.

For the product under study, the sum of the weighted results of the three most relevant impact categories, as defined in the PCR for rough cast iron castings for the representative product, was therefore calculated.

The single score calculated for the as-cast cast iron product amounts to 92.20 mPt, which is lower than the threshold value of 141.44 mPt; therefore, the product under study is classified in Class A.

These results have been achieved thanks to a resource efficiency strategy that the foundry has been pursuing for several years

In accordance with the provisions set out in the PCR, the percentage of recycled material used in the furnace charge recipe is specified, distinguishing between returns (gates and risers)—material derived from the internal recycling of the casting and feeding systems—and externally sourced scrap, purchased as End-of-Waste scrap or by-product scrap.

The percentage of returns used in the charge recipe is 31.82%, while the percentage of purchased scrap is 44.72%.