MAT Foundry Group Ltd. is part of the MAT Holdings Inc. family of companies, manufacturing high-quality grey and ductile cast iron parts for automotive and industrial applications.
The group consists of nine companies with state-of-the-art foundries, including machining and assembly facilities. These are strategically located on three continents. Combined, they make MAT one of the biggest automotive parts manufacturers in the world.
From Concept to Realization: A Close Cooperation
In 2022, with a focus on the North American vehicle market, the MAT Group hired Gemco to develop a new foundry and machine shop in Mexico for the growing demand for castings for heavy trucks. The task was to develop a very cost-efficient, dedicated foundry for grey iron brake drums, potentially to be extended for ductile iron truck hubs.
MAT and Gemco conceptualized a new foundry with high performance and cost efficiency. The concept was developed in close cooperation with a multinational team from Mexico (Juan Carlos Valdez, MAT) and the UK (Andrew Wren).
After the approval of the concept design, including budget and timeline, Gemco was awarded the engineering and construction management of the foundry, including project and site management (EPCM).
Project and site management played a key role throughout the entire realization process. After concept and engineering, everything from the building and utilities to the equipment installation in the various foundry departments was integrated into a seamlessly flowing production system. It is a task that requires considerable insight and expertise.
From breaking ground in September 2023 to the first cast at the end of Q2 in 2025, the realization time for this greenfield project took less than 24 months, with a Gemco team permanently on site for the last 15 months, until commissioning was completed.
High productivity is assured by a state-of-the-art horizontal molding line combined with induction melting and inline automatic demolding as well as manual degating and grinding processes. It permits MAT to offer its North American customers both horizontal molding options (at the new Pachuca plant) as well as vertical molding options (from the Ecatepec facility).
