SRS - Casting champions
Specialist Refractory Services Limited was established in 1984 to manufacture refractory mould materials for the casting of non-ferrous metals by the lost wax casting process. Over the years the company has developed into a leading specialist in the use of gypsum plaster for non-ferrous metal casting.
SRS products are used for the manufacture of jewellery and for the production of precision non-ferrous parts in the Aerospace and other industries. Other products have now been developed for processes including materials for the automotive industry and casting of jewellery with pre-set diamond stones. In addition to its own range of products SRS offers a contract blending service. SRS blended materials are used by leading corporations on a daily basis and are now in situ on some of Europe's largest construction projects.
A complex manufacturing process is backed up by exhaustive raw material control testing and in-house quality control. It goes without saying that SRS operate ISO9001. SRS handle naturally occurring minerals and have become experts in producing consistent finished products to the tightest specifications. Every batch of SRS investment powder is tested in the company's in-house hot metal laboratory as part of the QC procedure.
The SRS factory is based in Riddings, Derbyshire. In 1984, 3 people were employed in a 7500 sq. ft factory. The company now employs 40 and occupies a 30,000-sq. ft. factory producing in excess of 20,000 tonnes per annum. The growth of SRS has been achieved by maintaining the highest standards of quality and reliability allied to constant research, development and product innovation. Out of the 40 employees, 20% are employed in a fully equipped laboratory designed for quality control testing and for duplication of customer production conditions.
Three SMART Awards for Research and Development have recognised the success of SRS in product development and two Queens Award for Export have been presented in 1995 and 1998 for outstanding worldwide sales. SRS is accredited to ISO 9001 and is fiercely proud of the quality control system that has been developed over many years. The system has been upgraded and improved over the years as new technology and knowledge has been gained. This process of constant improvement is on going.
SRS has recently upgraded its technical facilities and added new equipment to further enhance its knowledge of raw materials and finished products. The new equipment will allow SRS to qualify all raw materials and finished products and will be used as part of the on going research & development programme and well as for some quality control processes.
The company has added machinery and equipment to measure compressive strength, sheer strength and flexural strength – all the above tests can be performed on both hot and cold test samples allowing the company to monitor materials at actual working temperatures. In addition SRS has purchased equipment to test both hot and cold mould permeability and a new state of the art dilatometer will allow thermal expansion to be measured in terms of both heating and cooling cycles. This will allow materials properties to be derived from the results. In addition SRS uses a host of other testing methods including Hot Modulus of Rupture, Electron Microscope, chemical analysis, particle size analysis, surface finish measurement.
SRS has invested heavily in its laboratory and R&D function in the belief that product quality is of the utmost importance. Product quality can only be maintained by on going investment in research and development. SRS considers itself to be at the cutting edge of technology used in the lost wax casting industry
