A Unique Foundry Initiative for a Competitive Industry

Sweden risks falling behind in the global race for the manufacturing technology of the future. During Almedalen Week, SMEC – the Swedish Metal Casting Excellence Center – is being launched: a national foundry initiative in which Volvo Cars, the Volvo Group, Scania and Jönköping University, amongst others, are collaborating to strengthen the industry’s ability to adapt and its competitiveness.

The global industry is currently undergoing a technological shift in which electrification, new materials and advanced production methods are placing new demands on manufacturing processes. At the same time, the American, Chinese and European competitors are investing heavily in testing and demonstration environments for next-generation metal casting. Swedish foundry technology must therefore be developed to become more cost-effective and sustainable.

In response to this, Jönköping University and the Swedish Foundry Association, together with Volvo Cars, the Volvo Group and Scania, are now launching SMEC, the Swedish Metal Casting Excellence Center, where Swedish industry, academia and research institutes are creating a new testing and demonstration environment in Jönköping. The seminar during the Almedalen Week marks the start of this initiative.

“We are bringing together leading players”

“We are moving from planning to implementation and bringing together Sweden’s leading players around a shared national agenda for research, skills provision and industrial development. This is the start of a long-term, national concerted effort, with the aim of making Sweden a European leader in sustainable and high-performance metal casting,” says Måns Svensson, President at Jönköping University.

SMEC is owned by Jönköping University and the Swedish Foundry Association but is led in close collaboration with active industry partners such as the Volvo Group, Volvo Cars, and Scania.

“Metal casting is one of industry’s most strategic processes; it faces major challenges and is found in almost every industrial product. Through SMEC, we are creating a national environment where companies can develop next-generation components, with lower environmental impact, higher performance and faster industrialization,” says Toni Bogdanoff, CEO of SMEC.

A unique initiative

SMEC is unique in Sweden in that it brings together vehicle manufacturers, foundries, academia and research institutes around a shared physical demonstration environment for sustainable metal casting. SMEC is also unique from a European perspective, combining research, education, a test bed, industrial demonstration and skills provision within the same centre. The new facility in Jönköping is being built in close proximity to Jönköping University and will serve as a hub for industrial projects, research and education.

The Almedalen Week seminar will focus on what is required for Sweden to meet the challenges of industrial transition, and how collaboration between politics, industry and academia can accelerate this development.

Contact: Toni Bogdanoff, CEO of SMEC, toni.bogdanoff@ju.se, 072-206 66 40

Link to the seminar programme

https://almedalsveckan.info/rg/almedalsveckan/evenemang-almedalsveckan/2026/7738