Goldcasting Podcast

About Goldcasting Podcast

Learn how to make money in the foundry industry. Listen to the discussions of Staffan Zetterström and Fabian Niklas. Also enjoy the stories of our Guests. goldcasting.substack.com (https://goldcasting.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Staffan Zetterström & Fabian Niklas

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Sept 2023

Latest episode

1 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

79 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Oct 2026

   GN 79 - A 5'000 Year Old Industry needs a New Sales Strategy

   For decades, many foundries did not really need a sales strategy. Get listed on the automotive supplier portals, wait for the RFQs, calculate the part, and compete for the nomination. As long as the volumes were there, the system worked. But the market has changed. Automotive volumes are under pressure, international competition is growing, supply chains are shifting, and foundries increasingly need to find business outside their traditional customer base. The problem is that many technically excellent foundries are almost invisible to the people who could become their next customers. As Thomas puts it: if you are not visible, you don’t exist. In Gold Nugget 79, Fabian Niklas talks with Thomas Fritsch, founder and editor-in-chief of Foundry-Planet, who has spent more than 25 years travelling through the international foundry industry, visiting foundries, suppliers, trade fairs and markets around the world. The conversation is not about whether casting has a future. Castings will still be needed for mobility, energy infrastructure, machinery, trains, agriculture, aircraft, data centers and entirely new applications such as humanoid robots. The much more important questions are: Where will these castings be produced? What will be cast? And who will get the orders? And answering those questions requires the foundry industry to rethink how it sells. Key Topics: * The Foundry Industry is Changing, not Disappearing * Waiting for the Next Automotive RFQ is no Longer Enough * Technical Excellence is Worth Little if Nobody Knows About It * Stop Saying you are an “Innovative Solutions Provider” * Customers don’t Buy Machine Catalogs. They Buy Solutions. * How to Turn Engineering Achievements into Stories * Find the Specialty You Want to Be Known For “The question is, where will we cast in the future? What will we cast? And who will get the orders?” A 5’000-year-old industry does not need to abandon what made it successful. But it does need to change how it finds the next generation of customers. Watch or listen to Gold Nugget 79 with Thomas Fritsch and Fabian Niklas to hear why visibility, specialization, and industrial storytelling are becoming part of the sales process for modern foundries. Thank you for listening. I’ll see you in the next episode, where I’ll continue to bring you the latest insights and updates from the casting world. Don’t forget to ask questions, leave comments, or suggest topics for future episodes. See you in the Podcast, Fabian Do you want to support Goldcasting? If you enjoy the Goldcasting Podcast episodes, articles, shorts, and content, you can support the channel with €10 per month or a 100€ per year. Your support helps me keep producing independent content, talk to interesting people across the foundry industry, and share these insights with everyone. Support Goldcasting: €10/month or 100€/year Get full access to Goldcasting 🏆 at goldcasting.substack.com/subscribe (https://goldcasting.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   3 Sept 2026

   GN 78 - Humanoid Robots and the Future of Manufacturing

   Humanoid robots are no longer only a futuristic idea or a trade show spectacle. For manufacturing, they raise a practical question: where can a flexible, human-form robot solve problems that are too variable, too expensive, or too difficult to automate with conventional industrial robots? In Gold Nugget 78 of the Goldcasting Podcast, Fabian Niklas speaks with Dr. Wilberth Solano, Senior Materials Engineer at Humanoid. Wilberth explains what makes a robot “humanoid,” why industrial applications are likely to come before home applications, and how AI is changing robotics from scripted motion into physical action. The conversation also looks closely at the hardware side of humanoid robots: actuators, grippers, cables, batteries, thermal management, lightweight structures, stiffness, durability, and material selection. For foundries and die casting suppliers, the episode is especially relevant because humanoid robots could become a new high-volume application area once the technology moves from prototypes into industrial scale. This is not a hype conversation about robots replacing people. It is a grounded look at where humanoid robots may fit in factories, what still needs to be solved, and why casting technology could play an important role in the future of robot manufacturing. Key Topics: * What Makes a Robot Humanoid * Industrial Robots vs. Humanoid Robots * Why Manufacturing Comes First * AI as the Brain of the Robot * Physical AI and Vision-Language-Action Models * The Hardware Challenges Behind Humanoid Robots * Why Castings Will Matter * A New Opportunity for Foundries “We have now had eight years of decline in the automotive industry. Why don't you start working with an industry that is growing?” Watch or listen to the full episode to understand how humanoid robots change manufacturing, where the technology still faces real engineering limits, and why the foundry industry should pay attention before the designs are already fixed. Thank you for listening. I’ll see you in the next episode, where I’ll continue to bring you the latest insights and updates from the casting world. Don’t forget to ask questions, write comments, or make suggestions for future episodes. See you in the Podcast, Fabian Do you want to support Goldcasting? If you enjoy the Goldcasting Podcast episodes, articles, shorts, and content, you can support the channel with €10 per month or a 100€ per year. Your support helps me keep producing independent content, talk to interesting people across the foundry industry, and make these insights available to everyone. Support Goldcasting: €10/month or 100€/year Get full access to Goldcasting 🏆 at goldcasting.substack.com/subscribe (https://goldcasting.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   6 Aug 2026

   GN 77 - The biggest Trends from the China Diecasting 2026

   Everybody says China is fast. But what does that actually mean when you stand on the show floor at China Diecasting 2026 and look at the technologies, materials, machines, and supplier strategies developing in real time? In this Gold Nugget, Fabian Niklas takes listeners directly into the exhibition halls in Shanghai to understand why the Chinese die casting market moves at a pace that many European and North American companies struggle to compare with. Instead of one studio guest, this episode brings together perspectives from across the industry: Moritz Weidt from Magma, Günther Prunner from voestalpine, Danny Wu from Bole, Colin from Regal Metal, Michael Cinelli from Bühler, Rene Hordijk from Frech, and Adisak Banpot from Thailand Die-Casting Association. The conversation moves beyond the usual headline of gigacasting. Magnesium, thixomolding, semi-solid processing, tool steel requirements, alloy development, battery trays, production efficiency, and cost pressure all come into focus. What emerges is not a simple story of one trend replacing another, but a view into an ecosystem where companies invest early, test quickly, and push technologies into industrial application at remarkable speed. This is a grounded trade fair episode about what China Diecasting 2026 reveals for foundries, die casters, OEMs, toolmakers, simulation providers, alloy suppliers, and anyone trying to understand where the industry may be heading next. Key Topics: * China’s speed is not just a cliché * Gigacasting is already becoming an established topic * Magnesium becomes one of the strongest show-floor signals * Thixomolding and semi-solid magnesium move into the spotlight * Tool steel requirements change with larger and different castings * Alloy development is becoming part of the competitive picture * Efficiency is the next phase of megacasting * The China Diecasting 2026 trend picture is broader than one technology “What we see here is outstanding and is definitely not comparable with the rest of the world from my point of view.” Günther Prunner, voestalpine, 00:11:26 Watch or listen to this episode to hear what Fabian found on the floor at China Diecasting 2026 — from magnesium and thixomolding to the next phase of gigacasting, tool steels, alloys, and the production efficiency challenges shaping the industry. Thank you for listening. I’ll see you in the next episode, where I’ll continue to bring you the latest insights and updates from the casting world. Don’t forget to ask questions, write comments, or make suggestions for future episodes. See you in the Podcast, Fabian No time for every Goldcasting episode? We launched the Goldcasting Executive Briefing: a paid newsletter with the key strategic takeaways from Goldcasting in a shorter, sharper format. It is built for foundry leaders, suppliers, and industry professionals who want to understand what the latest conversations mean for their business, margins, customers, and future strategy, but lack the time to listen to all the episodes. It is also the best way to support Goldcasting. Subscription price: 29€/month or 290€/year Get full access to Goldcasting 🏆 at goldcasting.substack.com/subscribe (https://goldcasting.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

Who has been a guest on Goldcasting Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Chris Sleath
• Scott Meyer
• Lindsay Bao
• Dr Jerry Sun
• Dr Horst Bramann

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

157,278

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

36

Social presence

0

YouTube

82

Engagement

60

Contact Goldcasting Podcast

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Goldcasting Podcast