Seven deployments at one iron foundry
Someone who knows the plant needs no briefing
Initial situation
An iron foundry in the Upper Palatinate awards its refractory work through a materials supplier. Since January 2023 the fitters have come from SBS. By January 2026 it had become seven deployments: two inductor changes, plus repairs and ongoing refractory work. On six of the seven occasions, one single man travelled out.
Scope of services
- Inductor change
- Induction furnace
- Refractory repair
- Repeat customer
- Effort-based billing
Project data
The task
An inductor change is not a date you postpone: the furnace is down and the foundry is waiting for it
The deployments are small — one to four days. Send a new crew each time and half of it goes on briefing
The order comes through a supplier, the work happens at the foundry. Two parties have to be satisfied, and only one of them is standing next to you at the furnace
Small, recurring jobs only pay off if travel out and back does not eat the margin
The SBS approach
The same crew across three years. Someone who has seen the furnace open five times knows where the lining tends to open up — and starts there.
Six of the seven deployments ran with one fitter. That only works if the preparation is right and nobody on site still has to explain what is needed.
Billing was almost entirely by effort. At this size, negotiating a fixed price costs more than it brings in.
The commercial line runs through the supplier, the agreement at the furnace runs directly. Both in parallel, without either side having to ask twice.
Measurable results
The key figures of the “Seven deployments at one iron foundry” project
Similar references
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