Iron Founding With a History – The

Dossmann GmbH Eisengiesserei und Modellbau

In Rippberg, iron working can be traced back to the 17th century, looking back on an eventful history. When Friedrich, Paul and Wilhelm Dossmann bought the local iron foundry in 1954, it was necessary to rebuild a company, which had been affected by social unrest, economic crises and wars.

Accordingly, the following years were characterized by investment and growth: In 1955, a new foundry, a drying oven and new office spaces were built. This was followed by a cleaning shop with a 10-ton crane (1959), a sand processing plant, a molding shop (1961) and a new cupola plant (1963). By 1963, the number of employees had increased from 35 in 1954 to 140 employees, who were able to produce up to 200 tons of iron castings per month.

By renaming the company to Dossmann GmbH Eisengiesserei und Modellbau and introducing the BONVARITE casting process in 1967, the course was set for a successful future. Further steps to increase the annual output to 4,000 t of castings by 1980 were the construction of a new model warehouse, a new mixing plant for core-making, the expansion of the social and administrative areas in 1968 as well as the expansion of the storage area to 11,000 square meters with a height of ten meters, and the installment of two new cranes and a sand mixing plant (1973).

Further investments and modernization efforts were realized in the 1980s as well. Among the most important developments were the introduction of computer-aided production processes (1983) as well as the introduction of IT for the administration. In 1986, Dossmann GmbH Eisengiesserei und Modellbau acquired the French BONVARITE Group including all patent rights. In 1989, the company also received an international patent for the advanced BONVARITE III casting process. From 1988 to 1996, the production facilities were expanded in three construction phases.

With the new millennium, many changes and developments came along. Initially, the small casting production was discontinued as part of the specialization in the medium and large casting product areas. In the years 2005 to 2008, numerous building conversions, the relocation of the building and energy technology and the administration as well as remodeling a creek and a large-scale recultivation were realized. In addition, the two coke-heated cupolas were replaced by two 5-ton induction electric furnaces. As part of the modernization, around 2,400 square meters of production space were demolished and new production halls with state-of-the-art supply and exhaust air technology were built in two construction phases by 2009.

Dossmann GmbH Eisengiesserei und Modellbau employs more than 175 people who manufacture approx. 15,000 tons of customized cast products with weights ranging from 200 to 8,500 kg per year. With a range of services from technical consulting and design to prototyping and model making to core production, state-of-the-art technical equipment and a highly qualified team, the company is ideally positioned for a successful future.