Interior of the steel hall with crane girders

01About the works

Fifty years ofheat behind us.

Foundry crew beside a stream of molten metal
Inspector checking a part against a drawing
2ndgeneration,
family-owned

01Who we are

An independent foundry and forge on the IJssel.

We melt, pour, forge, heat treat and machine steel and alloy parts for rail, energy, mining and marine customers across Europe.

Keeping five processes on one 14-hectare site means one schedule, one quality system and one heat number that follows every part from ladle to loading bay. Our metallurgists work the same shifts as the melt crew, so alloy questions are answered on the floor, not in a ticket queue.

  • Independent of any mill group
  • Accredited test lab on site
  • Three shifts, five days a week
  • Scrap-based, low-carbon melting
Johanna KesslerJohanna KesslerManaging director, second generation
50+Years of pouring metal
12tLargest single pour
240People on site
38Countries shipped to

02Our history

From two furnaces to five processes

Every expansion answered the same question from customers: can you do the next step too?

1976

Two furnaces and a sand floor

Hendrik Kessler starts a jobbing foundry with two 500 kg induction furnaces, casting pump housings for the Rhine barge fleet.

Glowing furnaces on a foundry floor
1989

The forge shop opens

A 2,500 t open-die press arrives from Duisburg. Shafts, rings and blocks up to 18 t join the order book.

Smith holding glowing iron with tongs
2004

Heat treatment hall

Twelve gas and electric furnaces go in, surveyed to AMS 2750, so no part leaves site for heat treatment again.

Steel ring heating in a furnace
2015

Machining and the CMM lab

5-axis machining centres and a climate-controlled CMM room close the loop from melt to finished part.

CNC machine cutting a part
2021

EN 1090 fabrication bay

A 60 m bay with two 20 t cranes and coded welders for structural and pressure work up to EXC3.

Welder at a fixture table
2026

Fifty years, second generation

Johanna Kessler takes over as managing director. The plant runs three shifts and ships to 38 countries.

Molten metal pour

03What we stand for

Three rules the whole plant works to

Test first, ship second

No part is packed until the lab has signed its chemistry, mechanical values and dimensions.

One record per heat

Melt log, furnace trace, test results and inspection report live under one heat number, kept for ten years.

People before tonnage

A pour waits for a safe ladle. Every shift starts with a toolbox talk and ends with a clean floor.

04Certificates

Audited every year, by people who don't work here

ISO 9001:2015

Quality management

Covers melting, forging, heat treatment, machining and fabrication under one system.

[Certification body] · valid to 2028PDF
ISO 14001:2015

Environmental management

Scrap-based melting, closed-loop cooling water and independently audited emissions.

[Certification body] · valid to 2027PDF
ISO 45001:2018

Health & safety

Every contractor and visitor inducted before the gate, incident figures published monthly.

[Certification body] · valid to 2028PDF
EN 1090-1 EXC3

Structural steelwork

CE-marked welded structural components up to execution class 3.

[Certification body] · valid to 2027PDF
PED 2014/68/EU

Pressure equipment materials

Material manufacturer approval for castings and forgings in pressure service.

[Certification body] · valid to 2029PDF
AMS 2750

Pyrometry

Furnace surveys and thermocouple calibration for every heat-treatment line.

[Certification body] · valid to 2027PDF

06Careers

Build a career in metal, not just a job

Apprenticeships in foundry, forging, welding and machining, with a paid route to shift lead.

Apprentices working at benches in a training workshop
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