Nodular & grey cast iron integrated solutions
for industries that move the world – railway, construction, agriculture and beyond
- Development & Technology
- Core Shop
- Melting
- Moulding Line
- Cleaning & Painting
- Quality Control
- Sustainability
One foundry. Multiple industries. Endless applications.
Ideas cast in metal –
even before the first pour
- Full in-house R&D: new castings, alloys, production technologies
- 3D CAD modelling and 2D technical drawings for every casting
- 3D sand printing for cores and molds: faster prototyping, complex geometries made possible
- Magmasoft casting simulation: flow and solidification modelled digitally before production starts (eliminates costly trial & error)
- Development of new advanced material grades as tailor made solutions
- In-house modern pattern shop for production of pattern sets
Pros at internal geometries
- Core making machine capacity: 15 L to 100 L
- Cold Box processes
- Automated sand mixing and transport
- Water-based coatings for superior casting surface finish
- Gas oven drying for dimensional stability
- Re-use recycled bentonite sands for cores production
- Zero waste approach and highly sustainable production process
Where metallurgy begins
- Integrated Melting Technology
- Two ABP electric induction furnaces (IFM 7 Twinpower, 6.100 kW, 250 Hz)
- Automated raw material storage and charge preparation (no manual variation)
- Automatic dosing system for alloy additions
- Mg-treatment with Tundish ladle (2 t)
- High-Efficiency Melting Operations
Cast iron grades available
Nodular cast iron
EN-1563 (EN-GJS-400 to 700 series)
Grey cast iron
EN-1561 (EN-GJL-300, 250, 250-special (improved for brake discs))
Special cast irons
ADI (EN1564)
Vermicular graphite cast iron (EN-16079)
KL-GJS-SINIMO, KL-GJV-SINIMO
special low-temperature grades to -40 °C (EN-GJS-400-18-LT)
Smart moulding.
Reliable quality.
- Automatic moulding line & pouring machine (HWS)
- Mould size: 1270 x 1070 x 400+400 mm
- Complete mould-level traceability system: every casting trackable back to its pour
- Automatic green sand plant with Eirich vacuum mixer technology (140 t/h)
- Real-time sand quality control (AT1 system)
- Flexible production with different castings (1/1 mould or ½ mould)
- High-Performance Moulding Technology for consistency and dimensional accuracy
Polishing the final touches
- Automatic shake-out & controlled 60 m long Magaldi cooling conveyor belt
- Optimized cooling cycles reduce internal stresses and enhance the mechanical stability of every casting
- Castings and pour systems separated with precision breaking wedges
- Automatic sandblasting machines
- Diverse CNC grinding machines (MAUS, LIANCO)
- Automatic dip painting line with water-based paints (red or black)
- Max dimensions: 1100 x 900 x 500 mm
Handovers with
zero defect policy
Quality for us is not just a final check.
It runs through every step of production.
- INCOMING: raw material analysis, supplier qualification
- IN-PROCESS: in-house laboratory NDT/DT inspections at control points
- FINAL CONTROL: full documentation, 3.1 certificates, packaging control
- HIGHLY QUALIFIED and CERTIFIED EMPLOYEES
Inspection capabilities
thermal + spectrometer
microstructure, grain size
non-destructive examination
faster, more reliable than X-ray, better defect detection, direct integration into production data
detects subsurface defects up to 2 mm, reliable on complex geometries
tensile test (up to 250 kN), Charpy impact test (20 °C to -40 °C, up to 300 J)
Certificates
Green practices
built into our core operations
At Kovis Livarna, reducing environmental impact is not an afterthought, it is built into our core foundry work process.
own solar plant
GREEN SAND - recycling for better tomorrow
- 2500 tons reclaimed sand and 200 tons of recycled premix annually -50 % of core sand mixutre
- 50 % of reclaimed sand in core sand mixture and 15 % of recyled premix in overall premix addition
- Overal yield of input sand ~78 % (73 % reclaimed sand+ 5 % recycled premix)
- Almost NO manpower required-completely automatized
- Energy efficiency (~ 100 kWh of EE and gas/ton of rec. sand)
Circular economy
Scrap and production residues are processed back into raw material and fed into the next melt. This is how zero waste comes best to life – with 90 % of secondary raw materials in our products.
Less climate impact
- Year-to-year reduction of CO2 footprint
- Replacement of primary raw materials with secondary materials
- Usage of less hazardous alternative materials in production process
- Own solar power plant generating 700 MWh of electricty annualy
- Noise and emission reduction
A certified commitment
ISO 50001 (Energy Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management). Maintaining high standards in sustainable practices.
Sandblasting
Automatic sandblasting machines handle the bulk of surface prep at high throughput. This is followed by CNC grinding (MAUS, LIANCO), robotic grinding (for tight-tolerance surface) or manual finishes.
The result: clean, consistent castings ready for customer inspection.
Robot cleaning
Finishing cores with robotic cleaning ensures consistent quality and surface preparation. It removes human variability from one of the most detail-sensitive steps in the process.
Machine vision
Automated visual inspection is integrated in the process. This way we can catch deviations before they reach the moulding line, preventing irregularities even before the start.
Rapid prototyping 3D
sand print
With 3D sand printing we produce moulds and cores directly from digital CAD files, eliminating conventional tooling and significantly reducing development lead times.
- 2x 3D sand printers with box size 1800x1000x700 mm
- rapid prototyping and 60 % lead time reduction,
- tool-less production for prototypes and small series,
- economical spare-parts production,
- Near-nett shape design with optimized geometry and post-processing,
- production of highly complex cast iron components up to 250 kg
Casting starts with a precise pattern set
- Modern pattern workshop with CNC machines
- Pattern sets from: plastic, aluminium and wood
- Full in-house capability: new patterns, adaptations, repairs
- Own pattern warehouse (with barcode system) for flexibility and faster times
- Good storage conditions – longer lifetime of pattern sets
Good ideas create future
Behind every casting we produce stands a group built around one idea: complete integrated solutions for safer, more efficient and climate-friendly rail transport and beyond.
Kovis Group operates five production sites across four countries.
Each with a focused role, all working as one.
Kovis Group at a glance
last 10 years
Kovis d.o.o.
Kovis is an internationally innovative company developing and manufacturing high-quality railway components.
As the largest manufacturer of axle boxes for freight wagons in Europe, Kovis has also developed and produced over 500 types of brake discs for all railway vehicles – from locomotives, commuter trains, trams and metros to high-speed trains.
With a strong focus on innovation and precision manufacturing, KOVIS delivers tailor-made solutions, including gearboxes, stator housings, flanges, consoles, swingarms, and other key components.
Kovis Livarna d.o.o.
Foundry · Nodular & Grey Cast Iron
The casting foundation of Kovis Group. Kovis Livarna supplies high-quality iron castings for the group’s own railway components and for external customers across railway, construction, agricultural and other industries.
- 18.000 t of castings produced annually
- Castings from 20 to 270 kg
- 50+ years of foundry expertise
- 265 employees
Kovis Transporti
Logistics - Internal & External Transport
Kovis Transporti provides comprehensive domestic and international transport and logistics solutions tailored to modern supply chain demands.
It performs groupage shipments across Europe and countries of the Western Balkans, ensuring reliable, safe, and timely delivery of goods.
The company is based on professionalism, flexibility, and long-term cooperation with partners. The focus is on high-quality service delivery and efficient transport organization.
Kovis BP
Machining. Painting. Railway.
Kovis BP specializes in high-quality machining and final production of axle box housings for freight wagons.
By combining modern machining technologies, automated robotic welding, and controlled painting processes, Kovis BP provides efficient and high-quality finishing of key railway components.
JWL Kovis India PVT. LTD.
Foundry & Machine Shop · Railway & Beyond
Kovis’s production footprint in Asia. A full foundry and machine shop producing brake discs and cast iron components for railway, construction and agricultural machinery.
- Capacity up to 1.000 t of cast iron per month
- Certified to ISO 9001, 14001, 45001
- 180 employees
If it can be cast, we can make it.
Casting solutions for demanding industries.
Railway is our home industry. We produce castings that go into the most demanding, safety-certified applications, but our expertise goes well beyond, to a variety of industrial sectors.
Explore our reference by selecting an industry.
RAILWAY
Railway is our home industry. We deliver safety-critical castings — brake discs, axle boxes, gearbox & stator housings, and passenger components — for the most demanding rail operators in Europe.
Pick a programme on the left to see the castings we make.
- 500+ brake disc types in production
- Europe’s leading axle box foundry
- Max gearbox casting size: 1270 × 1070 × (400+400) mm
- Certified by DB, SNCF, Alstom, Siemens, Stadler …
Railway
- Material
- Weight
- Application
- Advantages