Goldcasting Podcast

For decades, many foundries did not really need a sales strategy. Get listed on the automotive supplier portals, wait for the RFQs, calculate the part, and compete for the nomination. As long as the volumes were there, the system worked. But the market has changed. Automotive volumes are under pressure, international competition is growing, supply chains are shifting, and foundries increasingly ne...

Humanoid robots are no longer only a futuristic idea or a trade show spectacle. For manufacturing, they raise a practical question: where can a flexible, human-form robot solve problems that are too variable, too expensive, or too difficult to automate with conventional industrial robots? In Gold Nugget 78 of the Goldcasting Podcast, Fabian Niklas speaks with Dr. Wilberth Solano, Senior Materials...

Everybody says China is fast. But what does that actually mean when you stand on the show floor at China Diecasting 2026 and look at the technologies, materials, machines, and supplier strategies developing in real time? In this Gold Nugget, Fabian Niklas takes listeners directly into the exhibition halls in Shanghai to understand why the Chinese die casting market moves at a pace that many Europe...

After three years and 76 episodes, the Goldcasting Podcast is entering a new chapter. Staffan is stepping away from the podcast, while Fabian will continue Goldcasting in a slightly different format. But this is more than a farewell episode. We use the moment to reflect on what has changed in the die casting and foundry industry since the podcast began; from the pressure on automotive volumes to t...

Is traditional die casting really dead, or is the industry simply being forced to change faster than many foundries expected? In this Gold Nugget, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström speak with Luca Greco about gigacasting, new markets, automotive pressure, and why die casting still has a strong future for companies willing to move. Luca Greco is a project manager in the technical department of...

AI search is changing how industrial customers discover suppliers, compare technologies, and prepare purchasing decisions. For foundries and manufacturing companies, the old assumption that customers will call early, ask basic questions, and involve suppliers in the first design discussion is becoming less reliable. In this episode of the Goldcasting Podcast, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström...

Humanoid robots are often presented as an AI story. But for the foundry industry, the more interesting question is not only what the robot can think, learn, or do. It is what these machines will need to be made from, how they can be industrialized, and where die casting can become a serious enabler. In this host-led episode, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström look at humanoid robots from a foun...

Japan is one of the most important die casting markets in the world, but it is also one of the hardest to understand from the outside. Strong OEM relationships, compact factory layouts, high expectations on cycle time, and a very structured supplier landscape make it a market with its own rules. In this Gold Nugget, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström speak with Atsumori Fujie, Founder of Vitto...

BYD looks like an overnight success story. A company that barely registered as a global car brand a decade ago is now reshaping markets, challenging established OEMs, and forcing the automotive industry to rethink what scale, speed, and vertical integration really mean. Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström look behind the rise of BYD: from batteries and hybrid strategy to government support, supp...

AI is no longer something the foundry industry can laugh off as a distant software trend. Large language models are already being used by engineers, buyers, designers, and decision-makers to explore manufacturing options, compare processes, prepare for meetings, and form first impressions of suppliers. In this episode, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström look at AI from the perspective of foundr...

Rheocasting is one of the most discussed, misunderstood, and often misjudged technologies in the die casting industry. Some see it as a miracle process. Others remember failed trials from the past and dismiss it completely. In reality, the truth is far more interesting. Rheocasting is neither golden paint nor science fiction. It is a highly capable extension of high-pressure die-casting that opens...

The foundry industry is not just fighting cycle time, cost pressure, and shrinking automotive volumes anymore. It also struggles to build effective teams that can actually lead transformation out of the crisis. In this episode, sponsored by the Euroguss, hosts Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström speak with Tiziana Tronci and Isabel Jeschek about why diversity, fresh perspectives, and courageous...

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is no longer a future topic. It has already been impacting global supply chains, pricing structures, and competitive dynamics in the casting industry since January 2026. In this episode, hosts Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström sit down with Marcel Duits, CBAM expert, entrepreneur, and president of the International Association for CBAM, to break down what...

Dirty scrap might look like waste. But inside that messy pile lies one of the biggest opportunities in the aluminum industry. In this episode, hosts Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström talk with Julio Quintero — materials engineer and host of the Dirty Scrap Podcast — about how recycling actually works in practice. From scrapyards to alloy recipes, from sorting technology to geopolitics, the con...

Young researcher Paul Becker brings a fresh perspective straight from the shop floor and the next generation of the foundry industry. The discussion with the hosts Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström explores what it really means to enter a mature, conservative industry at a time of technological disruption and demographic change. From Rheocasting innovation to the aging workforce, from recruitm...

For decades, alloys were treated as fixed inputs. One specification. One melting furnace. One way of doing things. In this Gold Nugget, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström challenge that thinking and explain why alloys have quietly become one of the most powerful strategic tools in the foundry industry. This conversation is not about chemical limits or phase diagrams. It is about margins, differ...

This Gold Nugget comes straight from the Euroguss show floor. Instead of a studio discussion, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström take the microphone into the exhibition halls and talk to people from across the entire value chain, OEMs, foundries, technology suppliers, alloy developers, associations, and young professionals. By stitching together many short conversations, this episode creates a...

2025 tested the foundry industry like it hasn't in many years. Volumes dropped, forecasts evaporated, and many companies found themselves stuck between rising costs and shrinking demand. In this Gold Nugget, Fabian Niklas and Staffan Zetterström reflect on what really went wrong in 2025 and why 2026 will be the year that separates those who merely survive from those who actively shape their future...

Staffan Zetterström and Fabian Niklas invite you on a Euroguss tour built around the people and companies who have appeared on the Goldcasting Podcast. These are the companies that dared to step outside the box, share insights openly, and contribute to shaping the future of casting. This episode is about energy, ideas, and conversations. Use it as your personal map through Euroguss to meet people...

The Rheowalk is an initiative to showcase a worldwide network supporting Rheocasting, organized by Comptech. This Gold Nugget is based on this map and provides additional insights into why you should visit each company. You will find Staffan Zetterström at the Comptech booth (5-162d) and Fabian Niklas at the Casting-Campus booth (5-153). Both hosts are proud to share each company's Rheocasting acc...

For decades, process stability in semi-solid casting has been the single biggest barrier to scaling the technology. With automotive quality departments demanding verifiable, traceable, and reproducible solid-fraction data, the days of “trust us, we’ve done 5,000 quenches” are over. In this sponsored episode, Fabian Niklas interviews Staffan Zetterström, not as co-host, but as Marketing & Sales Man...

Staffan Zetterström and Fabian Niklas break down why the future of the foundry industry cannot rely on automotive alone and why non-automotive business is rapidly becoming the most strategic and profitable path forward. With automotive volumes flattening, EV architectures reducing part count, and new competitors squeezing margins, the classic “wait for the rebound” mindset is no longer viable. Thi...

Staffan Zetterström and Fabian Niklas take a closer look at the Rheocasting Masterclass by Casting-Campus GmbH. A practical, business-focused online learning format designed to help the foundry industry unlock new applications and profits with Rheocasting. Whether you’re an engineer evaluating new processes, a commercial leader searching for fresh revenue streams, or a supplier who wants to unders...

In this episode, Staffan Zetterström and Fabian Niklas travel to India, one of the world's most dynamic and rapidly growing die casting markets. Our guest, Tej Bambra, brings nearly four decades of industry experience and a lifetime of insight into how the Indian die casting landscape has evolved from manual casting in the 1970s to today’s robotics and closed-loop systems. Key Insights * India vs....

This week, Staffan Zetterström sits down with Fabian Niklas, this time in a different role. Fabian is the driving force behind the new Marketing Accelerator for the high-pressure die casting industry. If you’ve ever struggled to make your company visible beyond job ads and trade fairs, this episode is for you. Fabian explains why our industry has world-class technology but often hides it “in the d...