Passion for your Lighter Future

GF Automotive
Passion for your
Lighter Future
English Version

Contents
Sustainability
Light and sustainable for Environment and Climate 4
Taking Responsibility for Mankind and Nature 6
Lightweight Design
Taking Lightweight Design forward 8
Lightweight Design with Aluminum, Magnesium and Iron 10
Development Expertise
Developing Tomorrow’s Solutions today 12
Groundbreaking Processes 14
Innovation as a Driving Force 16
Material, Design and Process
Breaking Boundaries with Materials and Processes 18
Optimal Properties 20
Ideal Shapes 22
Precise Procedures 24
Validation
Safety without Compromises 26
Testing Materials and Components 28
Passenger Cars
There’s a Part made by us in nearly every Car 30
Commercial Vehicles
Our Size is crucial in the Commercial Vehicle Industry 32
Industrial Applications
Our Components play a Role in Industrial Applications and Consumer Goods 34
Vertical Integration
Individual vertical Integration — Cast and processed in a single Procedure 36
Everything out of one Hand only starts with the Casting 38
Local Presence
All around the World 40
Reliability is our Foundation 42
Pictures on front page, page 6 and 42: Employees of GF Automotive
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Sustainability
Light and
sustainable for
Environment
and Climate
The responsible use of resources is important
to us — which is why our products are
almost exclusively made from recycled
materials. It is not only our processes that
are responsible for reducing CO 2 emissions;
our lightweight components are also a factor.
Our materials and production processes are
just one of many examples of how we make
engine downsizing possible.
Passionate about responsibility —
GF Automotive.
3-cylinder engine block
Aluminum high pressure die-casting
Downsizing

Sustainability
Taking Responsibility
for Mankind
and Nature
Focusing on
recyclable Materials
600,000 tons of iron, aluminum and magnesium are
casted and processed into 100 million components
at GF Automotive each year. Production on this scale
means that we bear a high level of responsibility.
It is more important than ever to balance economic
requirements with the needs of mankind and the
environment. Striking this balance is an enormous challenge
for the global industry, including GF Automotive.
We take this challenge as an opportunity. We make
our products out of 100% recyclable materials. We
use non-renewable energy sources such as oil, gas
and coal consciously and sparingly. We apply the
latest technologies and leading expertise.
We are continually striving to improve our pro cesses
and products in terms of sustainability and efficiency.
Independent bodies check and validate the
results we publish regularly.
GF Automotive products are
manufactured from recycled
raw materials and are fully
recyclable.
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Lightweight Design
Taking Lightweight
Design
forward
Expertise creates new perspectives.
GF Automotive designs light but powerful
components using innovative materials
and bionic principles. We always find a way
to lighten the load, fully in line with the
requirements of our customers.
With passion for your lighter future —
GF Automotive.
Front cover
Magnesium high pressure die-casting
47% weight reduction compared to aluminum die-casting

Lightweight Design
Elaborate structures make
amazing things possible:
stunningly lightweight
components, even those
cast from supposedly
heavy metals. Our mission is
passion for your lighter future.
Weight Reduction
using Bionic Design
Lightweight Design
with Aluminum,
Magnesium and Iron
Our engineers take inspiration from nature, with its
predilection to solving impossible tasks with absolute
ease. If you base your ideas on nature, it no longer
seems a contradiction to design an ingenious structure
that is rigid and stable despite its thin walls.
The laws of nature and the bionic principles derived
from them highlight where material can be omitted from
a design without the loss of component properties. We
use the insights gained from bionics to develop cast
parts that may be hollow or delicate, but still possess
outstanding properties.
By combining bionics with optimal raw materials and
efficient manufacturing processes, our engineers are
significantly reducing the weight of innumerable components.
By making light work of weight, GF Automotive
is extending the boundaries of what is possible and setting
new benchmarks for the future.

Development Expertise
Developing
Tomorrow’s
Solutions today
Industry, our customers and our engineers
are all looking to the future. We bring
materials, designs, processes and validation
together, allowing us to develop tomorrow’s
solutions today. We support innovation from
the initial concept to full-scale production,
right through to the end of serial production.
Advancing with passion —
GF Automotive.
Shock tower
Aluminum high pressure die-casting
56% weight reduction and one piece compared to 10 piece sheet metal assembly

Development Expertise
Groundbreaking
Processes
From the Conception
Stage to Serial
Production
The highest level of expertise in dealing with materials,
designs, processes and validation is essential to sustainable
production. For more than 200 years, our work
has been based on our ever-increasing expertise.
From the design and virtual simulation of new components
through to serial production, GF Automotive covers
all phases of the development process. Our engineers
aspire to create effective solutions to satisfy requirements
in terms of available space, performance, efficiency
and weight.
All components undergo a virtual development process.
Under both extreme conditions and conditions closer to
reality, we analyze metallurgic and mechanical properties,
simulate the behavior of components and sound
out limitations in manufacturing processes before they
can restrict what we do. This approach means that only
innovative products — with proven high quality replicable
at large production volumes — make it to serial
production.
GF Automotive works hand in hand with manufacturers.
Resident engineers, our on-site specialists, guarantee
rapid, targeted implementation. The earlier
GF Automotive is involved in the development process,
the shorter the lead time before serial production and
the better the final product will be.
Virtual development: The complete development of
the component, from material selection through to the
casting process itself, is simulated, validated and continually
improved.
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GF Automotive

Development Expertise
Innovation as a
Driving Force
We cannot predict
what the Future will
look like
However, some examples already offer an outlook:
Design // Substituting forged or sheet metal parts, integrating
functions and/or reducing the number of components
— designing a casting offers a high degree of
freedom and makes weight reduction possible.
Material // With the development of new materials,
GF Automotive is continually stretching out the boundaries
of what is possible. Whether highly heat-resistant
SiMo1000 for powertrain components or high strength
SiboDur for chassis and powertrain applications, we
offer new solutions in iron casting. With our aluminum
alloy family AluSiDur, we are reaching higher mechanical
properties and offer increased requirements in corrosion
resistance and conductivity.
Process // Results that were previously unconceivable can
now be reproduced to a high standard and in high numbers.
Our developments cover a wide range from
multiple material casting, the combination of different
materials in one casting, over the realization of complete
new production lines to the research and development
and industrialization of new joining technologies
which stop not just with welding processes.
Our visions of tomorrow make
today’s castings even lighter.
Lighter, more stable and even more durable. From
developing new materials and product shapes over the
validation up to mass production processes,
GF Automotive strives to make the best components.
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GF Automotive

Material, Design and Process
Breaking
Boundaries
with Materials
and Processes
Casting is the oldest shaping process in the
world. In spite of this fact, GF Automotive
continually strives towards innovation in
casting. Each and every day, our engineers
show that there are still boundaries we can
push to improve the process and materials.
Passionate about change —
GF Automotive.
Exhaust manifold
Ductile iron SiMo1000 sand-casting
Temperature resistance up to 945° C alternative to steel and sheet metal

Material
Optimal
Properties
Maximizing Material
Properties
GF Automotive’s research department develops groundbreaking
alloys and consistently maximizes the specific
properties of iron, aluminum and magnesium. The properties
of our casting materials allow us to produce more
and more components with lightweight geometries.
Our SiboDur and SiMo1000 iron materials, and our
AluSiDur aluminum casting material, are just a few
examples of our materials expertise. As its name suggests,
the addition of silicon and boron to SiboDur
makes the material more resistant and tougher than
normal spheroidal castings and more cost-effective
than steel.
The SiMo1000 iron casting material can withstand
temperatures of up to 945°C with outstanding scaling
properties, extending the possibilities of spheroidal
casting. Its outstanding durability makes it ideal for
use in exhaust manifolds and turbocharger housings.
Compared to highly alloyed cast iron and sheet
steel, this alloy offers significant cost advan tages.
Our new family of aluminum alloys opens up new
applications for castings due to improved mechanical
properties, increased corrosion resistance and
optimized conductivity.
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Design
Ideal Shapes
Using Degrees
of Freedom
Computer simulations play an important role in all
phases of component development. Virtual tests and
analyses shorten the development time and reduce the
costs of real trials. The simulations allow dimensions
to be determined, shapes to be visualized, noises and
vibrations to be anticipated, casting characteristics to
be simulated and the service life of parts to be calculated.
Meticulously recorded data on materials and behaviors
forms the basis for virtual simulations. This means
that integration of functions can be planned, tested
and optimized using computers as early as the design
phase. The same applies for composite construction
with different materials such as iron, aluminum and
magnesium. The process helps to cut down on material
as much as possible when optimizing bionic shapes,
which reduces weight. The ability to vary the thicknesses
of walls in castings depending on local requirements
also helps to save weight.
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GF Automotive

Process
Precise Procedures
Expert Casting and
ingenious Refinements
Our innovations and expertise in lightweight design
relies on the continued development of established
processes. GF Automotive uses sand-cast iron and diecast
aluminum and magnesium to poor products into
the best shape. Machining, heat-treatment, coating and
assembly are proceses masterd by us to produce finished
products. Our engineers find the optimal process
for each component.
We use the latest production line technology with high
degrees of automation, soft-handling, robotic pouring
and efficient cooling concepts, allowing us to massproduce
lightweight designs.
Our processes combine decades of experience with
state-of-the-art manufacturing.
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Validation
Safety without
Compromises
When you are on the road, you are relying on
components that few people ever think about
to safeguard your life, health and well-being.
GF Automotive casts high-quality safety components
that react as if they had expected an
unexpected situation — and step in to save
lives if the need arises. These components
undergo regular safety testing in our own
test laboratory.
Passionate about safety —
GF Automotive.
Wheel carrier
Ductile iron SiboDur sand-casting
Over 30% weight reduction replacing forging

Validation
Testing Materials
and Components
Testing Functions
Our accredited test laboratory proves that our products
offer the advantages you expect. Using state-of-the-art
testing methods, GF Automotive validates components
produced in-house as well as third-party products, even
during the development phase. Our engineers record
the characteristics of materials, compare alternative
materials, evaluate processes and validate functionality,
eliminating time-consuming development loops
between prototypes and serial production. During serial
production, the test laboratory ensures that the quality
of the products remains consistently high.
We can perform static and dynamic tests and analyses
of tensions, vibrations and resonant frequencies, as well
as manufacture material samples and prototypes — and
much more besides.
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GF Automotive

Passenger Cars
There’s a Part made by us
in nearly every Car
Whether in chassis, powertrain
or body&structure —
we make your vehicle lighter.

Commercial Vehicles
Our Size is crucial in the
Commercial Vehicle
Industry
From frame, to powertrain,
to chassis —
we lighten the load
on your truck.

Industrial Applications
Our Components play a Role
in Industrial Applications
and Consumer Goods
Whether turbine housings,
escalator steps or
electronics housings —
we lighten your product.

Vertical Integration
Individual vertical
Integration — Cast
and processed in
a single Procedure
Our work doesn’t end with a casting.
We take things further: GF Auto motive
machines, coats, joins and mounts
castings in the required form or to
the finished component. Exactly as
the customer requests. The customer
benefits from our flexible vertical
integration, high levels of automation
and consistent process reliability.
Passionate about reliability —
GF Automotive.
Door frame: Aluminum die-casting
Window frame: Magnesium die-casting
Finished, weight reduction replacing sheet metal assembly

Vertical Integration
Everything out of
one Hand only starts
with the Casting
Fulfilling Customer
Requirements
We customize pre-finished components to our clients’
individual requirements. Heat treatment to optimize
component properties, as well as mechanical processing
and coating, are just part of our value added chain.
The customer’s individually specified level of production
is achieved through a range of processes. Manufacturing
at GF Automotive is completed with innovative joining
technologies or mounting and assembly.
The result are finished components that can be seamlessly
integrated into our customers’ manufacturing
processes.
Casting
Processing
Heat treatment
Coating
Joining
Assembly
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Local Presence
Around 3000 different products
for chassis, drivetrain,
bodywork, industry and consumer
goods applications
and 100 million components
produced annually: we
deliver to our customers
worldwide.
All around the World
Size is not just
a Question of Weight
GF Automotive is one of the world’s leading suppliers of
iron and light metal components for the automotive industry,
industrial applications and the consumer goods
industry.
and development facilities in Europe and Asia, as well as
our global partnerships, we guarantee reliable delivery
to our customers and combine the advantages of local
manufacturing with cross-location production flexibility.
Alongside GF Piping Systems and GF Machining
Solutions, GF Automotive is part of the publicly traded
Georg Fischer AG. With our production and research
Our expertise is steeped in tradition. By investing in this
expertise, GF Automotive is following a clear strategy
focusing on lightweight design in casting.
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GF Automotive

Local Presence
Reliability is
our Foundation
Trust and Respect
for long-term
Partnerships
GF Automotive thinks and operates looking to the
future, and sets itself the greatest of challenges. Many
concepts and solutions are developed in close cooperation
with our customers. Joint development activity is
based on mutual respect and trust. Our partners benefit
from a holistic approach to design, research and development,
materials and processes.
Long-term, valuable relationships are based on these
values and on our reliability. Together, we are efficient
and become a force in the market.
Thanks to our structure, we can flexibly manage our
production processes at any time — so our customers
across the globe benefit from short response times,
constant supply availability and reliable logistics.
These are positive advantages for our customers and
employees, our business partners and our stockholders.
Behind these advantages is a success story that
stretches back more than 200 years, to the founding
of the company in 1802 as a foundry in Schaffhausen,
Switzerland, and continues today and tomorrow under
ever-changing conditions.
www.gfau.com
FSC-Zertifizierung
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GF Automotive