Digitalization and AI in the German family-owned Mid-Sized Foundry Georg Röth GmbH & Co. KG

The advantages of digital transformation and artificial intelligence are no longer limited to major industrial corporations. Forward-looking mid-sized foundries are increasingly adopting connected technologies to improve efficiency, quality, and long-term competitiveness.

One example is the German family-owned foundry Georg Röth. Recognized for its consistent manufacturing quality, complete production traceability, and dependable deliveries to leading OEMs, the company is investing in the digital integration of its machinery and manufacturing operations. By connecting production assets and processes, Georg Röth is creating greater operational transparency while laying the groundwork for future AI-powered analytics and process optimization.

Building a Data-Driven Foundry for the Future

The transformation at Georg Röth illustrates how traditional foundries can successfully combine decades of manufacturing expertise with modern digital technologies.

Established in 1890, the family-owned company in Mosbach, Germany, is now led by the fifth generation of the Röth family. Serving leading OEMs in the mechanical engineering sector, the foundry has earned a strong reputation for consistent casting quality, full process traceability, and dependable delivery performance. Around 100 employees manufacture approximately 14,000 tons of gray and ductile iron castings each year, with a particular focus on technically demanding, core-intensive components.

To further enhance its production capabilities, Georg Röth launched an Industry 4.0 initiative together with IIoT specialist Monitizer. The project connects operational data from key production stages, including sand preparation, molding on DISAMATIC and HWS lines, melting, pouring, and quality control, into a unified digital environment. This provides real-time access to critical process and quality information, allowing employees to identify deviations more quickly, make better-informed decisions, and improve production consistency.

Rather than replacing established manufacturing practices, the digital infrastructure strengthens the company's proven quality management system and disciplined production processes. Especially in the manufacture of small and medium production runs with complex core-intensive castings, this creates measurable value for customers through stable production quality, complete traceability, and faster, data-supported responses to quality inquiries, root-cause investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Breaking Down Data Silos for Faster Decision-Making

Before introducing a centralized digital platform, production information at Georg Röth was spread across several independent systems. Although extensive process data was already available, combining it into a complete and reliable picture required significant manual work.

“Our production generated a large amount of valuable information,” says Dr. Markus Ehrmann, CEO of Georg Röth. “However, because it was stored in different systems, creating a comprehensive overview was time-consuming. We wanted to connect this information so that process interactions would become immediately visible.”

With a deliberately lean IT organization and data stored in multiple locations, analyzing quality deviations or process variations often meant manually gathering information from different sources. Assigning production data to individual casting batches and the corresponding equipment could take days, slowing both investigations and corrective measures.

The company identified fragmented data management as the primary barrier to deeper process transparency. To overcome this challenge, Georg Röth introduced a centralized cloud-based database that consolidates information from across the foundry while remaining intuitive enough for employees without specialized IT knowledge.

“Having one reliable source of process data allows us to determine the causes of quality issues much more quickly and respond before minor deviations develop into recurring problems,” Ehrmann explains. “When operational knowledge is digitally captured and made accessible, it strengthens the expertise of the entire organization.”

A Digital Platform Designed Specifically for Foundries

During its search for an IIoT solution, Georg Röth evaluated several digital platforms but found that many required extensive customization, additional middleware, or complex integration projects before they could deliver value. For a mid-sized foundry with limited internal IT resources, these approaches were often too costly and difficult to maintain.

Monitizer offered a different approach. Developed specifically for the foundry industry, the platform provided a fast implementation path and an environment already tailored to common foundry processes.

“For a company of our size, the straightforward implementation of Monitizer | DISCOVER was a major advantage,” says Dr. Markus Ehrmann, CEO of Georg Röth. “The solution comes with predefined dashboards and data structures that are immediately usable, while still giving us the flexibility to reflect our own production processes instead of forcing us to adapt to the software.”

By consolidating production data into a structured, foundry-specific database, Monitizer | DISCOVER also creates the foundation for more advanced digital capabilities. Georg Röth is already looking toward the next stage with Monitizer | PRESCRIBE, an AI-supported application that analyzes production data to identify robust operating windows and recommend process settings that can reduce scrap, minimize defects, and increase production efficiency.

“Our long-standing partnership with Norican companies such as DISA, Wheelabrator, and Simpson spans more than two decades,” Ehrmann adds. “Because Monitizer is part of the Norican Group, the platform reflects deep foundry expertise. That knowledge is built directly into its predefined variables, dashboards, alarm functions, and AI models.”

A Phased Implementation with Immediate Benefits

The digitalization project at Georg Röth was carried out in close cooperation with the Monitizer team. By working directly with the foundry's engineers and production personnel, machine interfaces were identified, data sources were integrated, and the system was configured efficiently. This collaborative approach enabled the company to achieve practical results early in the project.

“Monitizer managed the coordination with our equipment suppliers and connected virtually every relevant production system,” says Dr. Markus Ehrmann, CEO of Georg Röth. “From the very beginning, DISCOVER collected exactly the process data we needed while creating the ideal basis for future optimization. Employee training was equally straightforward as most users were comfortable with the platform after about an hour.”

Because Monitizer | DISCOVER and Monitizer | PRESCRIBE are built on the same modular cloud architecture, companies can begin with essential monitoring capabilities and extend the platform over time as their digital maturity grows.

“We gradually connected every quality-critical production area, including sand preparation, our vertical molding and molding lines, melting, pouring, and final inspection,” Ehrmann explains.

Access to a single, centralized source of both live and historical production data has significantly changed daily operations across the organization. Instead of relying on separate spreadsheets maintained by different departments, production, maintenance, and quality teams now evaluate the same information in real time.

“Previously, a great deal of information was scattered across countless spreadsheets,” Ehrmann says. “Now everyone works from one consistent data source. We review quality developments during our morning meetings and can respond immediately whenever trends emerge. Our decisions are driven by data instead of assumptions.”

The integrated data environment also strengthens the analytical capabilities of Monitizer | PRESCRIBE. By linking production parameters directly with the quality results of individual castings and production batches, the system makes root-cause investigations faster and more precise.

“We can now compare a stable production batch with one that experienced deviations and immediately see which process parameters differ,” Ehrmann explains. “This helps us understand not only individual influences but also the interaction between multiple variables, such as pouring temperature, magnesium treatment, and changing sand properties.”

Real-Time Visibility Strengthens Quality and Team Performance

By providing continuous access to live production data, the digital platform enables operators to monitor how closely each process remains within its defined operating limits. Automated alerts immediately notify employees whenever critical parameters, such as sand permeability, move outside the specified range, allowing corrective action before quality is affected.

According to Dr. Markus Ehrmann, CEO of Georg Röth, this immediate feedback has fundamentally changed the way production teams work and make decisions.

“Our operators and supervisors now have a much stronger focus on maintaining process stability,” Ehrmann explains. “By keeping key parameters consistently within their target ranges, we experience significantly fewer production interruptions. Small deviations are identified and corrected long before they develop into quality issues.”

The increased transparency extends beyond quality control. Because production data from all process areas is available in a single real-time view, inefficiencies and operational constraints become much easier to recognize.

“When you can see the entire production process at once, it becomes immediately obvious where material is being wasted, where bottlenecks are forming, or where equipment is not performing as expected,” says Ehrmann.

A key factor in the project's success was the early involvement of employees. Rather than introducing the system without consultation, Georg Röth encouraged operators and supervisors to participate in its development by reviewing dashboard concepts and identifying the performance indicators that were most valuable for their daily work.

“We invited our employees to contribute from the beginning by discussing dashboards and defining the KPIs that matter most in practice,” Ehrmann says. “As a result, the platform has been very well received because it simplifies daily tasks while helping our teams produce a higher proportion of defect-free castings.”

Moving Toward AI-Assisted Process Optimization

With a centralized digital data foundation now in place, Georg Röth is preparing for the next stage of its digital transformation. Future developments will include AI-supported process monitoring, beginning with intelligent operating windows and progressing toward real-time recommendations that help optimize production parameters as conditions change.

Even before these advanced AI capabilities are fully deployed, the company is already seeing tangible operational improvements. Continuous access to production data enables teams to identify process deviations early, prevent quality issues before they occur, and rapidly determine which production batches may be affected if an issue arises. At the same time, integrated decision-support functions provide valuable guidance for less experienced employees, while complete production histories for individual castings can now be accessed within minutes rather than requiring lengthy manual investigations.

“By identifying problems earlier, we avoid unnecessary downstream processing of defective castings, which saves both time and money,” says Dr. Markus Ehrmann, CEO of Georg Röth. “We are already experiencing more consistent production processes, improved product quality, fewer unplanned stoppages, faster root-cause investigations and reporting, and greater confidence among our employees.”

For Ehrmann, the greatest benefit extends beyond technology itself.

“This level of transparency gives management a reliable, real-time foundation for decision-making,” he concludes. “It enables us to respond more quickly, make consistent decisions across the organization, and maintain stable production performance.”

About Georg Röth Eisengießerei GmbH & Co. KG

Headquartered in Mosbach, Germany, Georg Röth Eisengießerei GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned iron foundry with more than 135 years of history. Since its establishment in 1890, the company has remained under family leadership and is today managed by the fifth generation.

The foundry specializes in manufacturing technically demanding gray and ductile iron castings with complex core geometries for customers in the mechanical and plant engineering sectors. Supported by a workforce of around 100 employees, Georg Röth produces approximately 14,000 tons of cast components each year for leading OEMs.

The company has built its reputation on consistently high product quality, comprehensive process traceability, and dependable on-time delivery. By combining long-standing metallurgical expertise with advanced Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies, Georg Röth continues to enhance process transparency, manufacturing efficiency, and continuous operational improvement.