Leussink Joins Omega Sinto Foundry Machinery at AFI 2026

Leussink will be at AFI 2026, the Australian Foundry Institute’s 60th Annual National Conference, standing alongside Andy Pickering, Sales Director at Omega Sinto Foundry Machinery Ltd, to talk foundry sand technology with the people who run Australia’s foundries.

The conference runs from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 October 2026 at the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise in Queensland, and it draws foundry operators, engineers, and suppliers from across the country for three days of technical seminars.

As Australia and New Zealand’s exclusive distributor of Omega Sinto foundry machinery, we see this as more than a date in the industry calendar. It’s a chance to sit down with the foundries we already work with, and the ones we haven’t met yet, and talk through the sand reclamation, moulding, and transportation problems that keep coming up on-site.

Attending AFI 2026, or simply keeping an eye on where foundry sand technology is heading? Our foundry team can talk you through our complete foundry solutions any time, conference or not.

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Why We Support the Australian Foundry Industry

Leussink’s involvement in AFI comes down to one person: Stuart Ward, our sales and marketing manager, who has spent almost 30 years working with the international foundry industry.

Stuart joined Leussink in 2021 and moved quickly. He approached Omega Sinto directly about representing their equipment in Australia and New Zealand after learning their local business manager was retiring. That approach led to Leussink’s appointment as Omega Sinto’s exclusive Australian and New Zealand distributor in 2022, and it’s shaped how we think about the foundry sector ever since.

Stuart puts the case for backing Australian foundries plainly: “Without a domestic foundry sector, Australia would become dangerously dependent on offshore suppliers for mission-critical components, exposing supply chains to geopolitical disruption, shipping delays and price volatility.”

He points to the same supply shocks that reshaped how most Australian manufacturers think about sovereign capability, and to the metallurgists, pattern makers, and tradespeople a domestic foundry industry keeps employed and keeps training. It’s this thinking, not just a distribution agreement, that keeps Leussink at events like AFI year after year.

What Andy Pickering Will Present at AFI 2026

Technical Paper: Sand Reclamation Techniques, Minimising Waste, and Saving Energy

Andy’s technical paper looks at how foundries can get more out of primary sand reclamation (now standard practice both in Australia and globally) while managing pollution control, energy use, and cost. He’ll walk through how to control and get the most from an existing primary reclamation system – including the effect of loss on ignition when using organic binders – before weighing up two paths for foundries chasing higher reclamation levels.

Thermal reclamation trades energy cost against heat recovery potential. Secondary attrition can lift reclamation rates further while also improving sand grain angularity. He’ll set out the cost and technical trade-offs of each across different binder systems.

Andy presents his technical paper on Friday, October 9 at 3:40pm.

Keynote: 40 Years in the Foundry Industry, What Lies Ahead?

Andy’s keynote draws on more than four decades in the foundry industry to look at where global casting demand is heading and what that means for Australian foundries specifically. He frames the outlook around three pressures: people, power, and process.

On people, Andy addresses the skilled worker shortage foundries are already feeling, and what it takes to attract and retain the next generation of foundry tradespeople. On power, he covers how rising energy costs are forcing structural changes in production and accelerating the move to energy-efficient technology. On process, he looks at the shift toward inorganic binders, the growing use of artificial sand, and how automation and artificial intelligence are being built into foundry operations to lift efficiency, safety, and quality.

Hear Andy’s keynote speech on Saturday, October 10 at 9:00am.

The Foundry Capabilities We’ll Be Talking About

Foundry sand reclamation is only one part of the conversation. Andy and our own Leussink foundry team will be available during breakout sessions to talk through the full Omega Sinto range we supply and support across Australia and New Zealand, including:

• USR secondary attrition systems for higher-level sand reclamation
• Thermal reclamation plants, including heat recovery
• Foundry moulding systems
• Flood coat systems
• Sand transportation systems

Every one of these sits within our foundry equipment range, and every installation comes with the modification, spare parts, and on-site support Leussink is known for.

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Meet Andy and Stuart at AFI 2026

If you’re heading to Surfers Paradise for the AFI conference 2026, look out for Andy and Stuart at the breakout and social sessions and be sure to catch both of Andy’s seminars. If you’ve not signed up yet, register your place today before the conference sells out.

Can’t make the trip? Contact our foundry team any time to discuss your foundry needs.

Speak to Our Foundry Team