OsturuConsulting

For procurement teams · Grey & ductile iron castings

What your castings cost – and what they should cost – are rarely the same number.

Most procurement teams managing casting spend have no independent view of foundry pricing. CastCalc gives you one – built on real sand casting economics, not industry averages.

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All features for 30 days. No card needed, company e-mail required.

  • From the foundry floorQuality director at Livar (IATF 16949, team of 25+), then sourcing.
  • Transparent should-cost8 cost blocks, monthly market data, how it is built.
  • Within 5%of actual supplier pricing in a customer case (Italy).
  • 30 days freeTry it on your own parts: all features, no card.

The problem

Casting pricing is a black box. And suppliers know it.

Foundries quote what the market will bear. Without an independent cost model, procurement teams have no way to tell whether a quote is competitive, whether a price increase is justified, or whether a design change will add or save cost.

The numbers are not abstract. At €5M annual casting spend, a 1% pricing gap is €50,000 left on the table – every year, without knowing it's there.

€50,000

What a 1% pricing gap costs a company spending €5M/year on castings. Most gaps we find are larger – and they compound year on year.

What procurement teams tell us

  1. Quotes arrive with no breakdown. You accept or walk away – with no data to negotiate from.
  2. Price increase letters cite energy costs with no supporting data. Challenging them feels impossible.
  3. Engineering makes design changes without knowing the cost impact until the RFQ comes back weeks later.
  4. Two suppliers quote the same part 30% apart. You don't know who's right – or why.
  5. New supplier evaluation takes months because you have no internal benchmark to qualify quickly.
  6. Comparing EU vs. China vs. Turkey quotes is almost impossible – currency, logistics, quality risk, and overhead structures are all different.
Luka Plahuta
Luka PlahutaMetallurgical Engineer · MBA
Founder, Osturu Consulting

Why this is credible

I built CastCalc because I needed it – and it didn't exist.

Before I built tools for buyers, I worked inside foundries. I started on the production floor at Livar, one of Slovenia's main iron foundries, and eventually led their quality department – a team of 25 – certified to IATF 16949.

I know what a moulding line actually costs to run. I know how yield loss compounds through a poor gating design, and why two identical-looking parts can carry completely different overhead burdens depending on the foundry's setup.

That experience – combined with an Executive MBA and years of active EU casting sourcing – is what I encoded into CastCalc. It isn't a generic calculator. It reflects how foundry cost engineers actually think.

  • Production floor, LivarWhere it started – hands-on foundry operations
  • Quality Director, LivarTeam of 25+, IATF 16949, automotive supply chain
  • Executive MBA, LjubljanaAI tools and business development focus
  • Osturu ConsultingActive EU casting sourcing – Italy, Germany, France, Austria and beyond

Luka Plahuta on LinkedIn ›

The insight

Why iron casting prices are so hard to challenge.

Casting cost is a compound problem. Material, yield loss, moulding line performance, overhead allocation – each component is invisible in a standard quote. Here is where the money actually goes.

60–70%

Material & melt cost (typical)

The largest component – and the most traceable to market data. Yet most buyers don't track current scrap and alloy prices closely enough to verify what they're being charged on the material line.

3–4×

Yield loss multiplier (typical)

A finished part weighing 10 kg may require 30–40 kg of metal poured. Gating systems, feeders, and scrap rates drive this. Design geometry alone can move total casting cost by 15–25%.

EU · TR · US · CN · IN · JP

All main casting markets

Labour, energy, scrap, and alloy prices move differently in Germany versus Turkey versus China. CastCalc covers the main casting markets, with energy prices updated monthly for 17 European markets – so when a supplier claims their costs went up, you can check whether the market data supports it.

Services

Two ways to work together.

A one-time portfolio audit for teams who want an immediate picture of where they stand, or the CastCalc platform – from a single buyer to a team with ongoing expert access – for teams building a permanent benchmarking capability.

One-time engagement · done for you

Casting Cost Audit

A structured, expert-led review of your casting portfolio – focused on spend, price benchmarks, design cost flags, and a concrete action plan. Delivered as a written report.

What is included

  • 80/20 spend analysis – identify which parts drive the most cost
  • Independent price benchmarking across your key parts vs. current EU market rates
  • Design-for-cost observations – advisory ideas, no DFM sign-off
  • Quality and specification risk flags
  • Written report with benchmark data and a prioritised action plan
  • 30-minute debrief call to walk through findings
From €1,800Scoped to portfolio size · excl. VAT
Typical delivery: 3–5 working days after data receipt
Request an audit

Software · do it yourself

CastCalc

Should-cost for your castings, quote checks, the 5-Step Price Challenge and proven savings – with monthly market-based price updates.

Free€0Market Index, Foundries, your saved parts read-only
Professional€149/mo€1,790 billed yearly or €179 monthly · one user
Team€416/mo€4,990 billed yearly or €499 monthly · up to 5 users

What is included

  • Unlimited should-cost calculations for grey and ductile iron (steel, aluminium and 3D sand printing on request)
  • Quote check and supplier cost breakdown comparison
  • My Parts portfolio tracker – save your parts, get monthly price recalculations automatically, download reports
  • Monthly market-based price updates – scrap, alloys and energy
  • Team: live online onboarding + 10 consulting hours per year, usable for workshops, design reviews, RFQ support; quarterly price review, priority support, invoice or card
Start 30-day free trial Compare plans

Materials: Iron (grey & ductile). Steel, aluminium and 3D sand printing (incl. low-volume & manual moulding) available on request.
Markets: Slovenia · Germany · Italy · Austria · Czech Rep. · Poland · Croatia · Serbia · Hungary · Romania · Bulgaria · BiH · Sweden · Finland · Spain · Portugal · France · USA · Turkey · China · Japan · India

CastCalc quote check: 'This quote is 15% (€0.30/kg, €4,791/yr) above should-cost' with the should-cost per cost block

Transparent by design

Every number traced to its cost block.

CastCalc adds up metal, sand and cores, energy, labour, equipment, overhead and profit the way a foundry cost engineer does, with market data updated every month: scrap (ACO index), copper and nickel (LME), ferro-alloys, and power-exchange electricity prices for 17 European countries.

Worked example: a ductile iron bracket quoted at €2.35/kg is 15% above its €2.05/kg should-cost. With the supplier's breakdown, CastCalc points to energy (+€0.13/kg) and overhead (+€0.10/kg) as the places to negotiate first.

How the should-cost is built ›
The worked example ›

Screen with sample data.

Insights

Casting cost intelligence – in plain language.

Short articles for procurement managers who buy iron, steel, or aluminium sand castings and want to understand what's actually driving supplier pricing – without needing a metallurgy degree.

Market pricing

Why the Same Casting Costs 30% More in One Country Than Another

It's not just labour. Scrap markets, energy tariffs, moulding line investment levels, and overhead structures all vary – and compound.

Read article → Negotiation

How to Challenge a Casting Price Increase – With Data, Not Just Objections

When a supplier sends a 12% increase letter citing energy costs, here is exactly what to ask for – and how to quantify their actual exposure.

Read article → Global sourcing

EU vs. Turkey vs. China: How to Compare Casting Quotes Fairly

A quote that looks 25% cheaper ex-works often lands at 5% cheaper – or more expensive – once the full picture is in.

Read article →

See all 6 articles →

Free live webinar · next date to be announced

The 4 Hidden Cost Drivers in Iron Casting Pricing

A 60-minute online session designed for procurement managers who buy iron, steel, or aluminium sand castings and want to understand how foundry pricing is actually built – so they can negotiate from a position of knowledge.

  • How material, melt, and yield loss compound into the €/kg you see on a quote
  • Why two foundries in the same country quote the same part 25% apart
  • EU vs. Turkey vs. China vs. India – how to compare cross-market quotes on equal terms
  • What a price increase letter actually reveals – and what to ask for in response
  • How design geometry drives cost – three real part examples
  • Live Q&A with Luka Plahuta – bring your actual parts and questions

Get notified

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How it works

From first contact to negotiation leverage.

  1. Free trial or discovery call

    Start the 30-day free trial, or book a 30-minute call. We review your situation and where the biggest opportunities are.

  2. Audit or onboarding

    One-time portfolio review with a written report, or a live online onboarding for your team on your own parts.

  3. Independent benchmark

    You receive €/kg data for your actual parts – built on real foundry logic, not industry averages.

  4. Negotiate with data

    Use the benchmarks in supplier meetings, price increase responses, RFQ comparisons, and budget planning.

CastCalc showed a meaningful accuracy gap where our previous reference tool significantly overestimated cost on larger parts. The CastCalc benchmark landed within 5% of our actual supplier pricing – which is exactly what we need to negotiate with confidence.

Procurement team, Bondioli & Pavesi, Italy (CastCalc customer)

Next step

Find out what your castings should cost.

Start the 30-day free trial, or book a direct 30-minute call. Either way, you will leave with a clearer picture of where your casting spend stands.

Start 30-day free trial Book a demo

Or reach us directly: sales@osturu.com · +386 70 275 682

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Who is CastCalc for?

Procurement managers and supply chain teams at European manufacturing companies that buy iron or steel castings regularly – typically €1M or more per year. Companies between 100 and 2,000 employees where procurement has real accountability for cost.

What does CastCalc cost?

Three public plans: Free (€0: Market Index, Foundries and your saved parts read-only), Professional (€149 per month billed yearly = €1,790, or €179 monthly; one user) and Team (€416 per month billed yearly = €4,990, or €499 monthly; up to 5 users, live online onboarding + 10 consulting hours per year for workshops, design reviews and RFQ support, invoice or card). Every account starts with a 30-day free trial. Compare the plans.

What materials does CastCalc cover?

Grey and ductile iron sand castings are the core. Steel, aluminium and 3D sand printing (binder jetting, including low-volume and manual moulding lines) are available on request. CastCalc is built specifically around sand casting economics, not die casting or investment casting.

How accurate is the benchmark?

In a customer case in Italy, the CastCalc benchmark landed within 5% of actual supplier pricing. Accuracy depends on how well the inputs describe the part and the foundry's setup; the advanced parameters let you mirror a specific supplier (yield, feeders, cores, energy, overhead).

What does the Casting Cost Audit deliver?

A written report covering your top spend parts, independent price benchmarks vs. current EU market rates, design-for-cost observations, quality risk flags, and a prioritised action plan. Plus a 30-minute debrief call to walk through findings.

Can I start with the audit and move to the subscription?

Yes – that is a natural path. The audit identifies where the biggest opportunities are. The subscription gives you the tools to capture them on an ongoing basis.