Aluminum casthouses are under pressure to use more post-consumer recycled aluminum without sacrificing melt quality, recovery rates or production efficiency. The operational problem is concentrated in lightweight scrap, machining chips and other low-density materials that are difficult to feed into conventional melting furnaces. Efficient scrap feeding and submergence are therefore central, along with maintaining consistent temperature and chemical composition through the molten bath.
That combination puts attention on circulation and stirring equipment. It must move metal and support heat transfer while limiting process interruptions and excessive metal loss. Conventional mechanical pumps rely on immersed rotating components, which can deteriorate through contact with molten aluminum, dross accumulation and refractory debris. Zmag America, Ltd. is positioned in this specialized segment, developing magnetic engineering solutions for molten-metal circulation, furnace stirring and scrap recovery.
How the permanent-magnet approach differs
Zmag's technical foundation is the industrial application of magnets and magnetic circuits. Its history includes magnetic engineering and commercialization of eddy-current separation for recovering non-ferrous metals from mixed streams. The company later moved into molten-metal applications and developed its patented zPMC (Zmag Permanent Magnetic Circuit), which underpins equipment that stirs, circulates and submerges material.
The distinction from conventional electromagnetic systems is central. Instead of a conventional electromagnetic stirring arrangement, zPMC uses a permanent magnetic circuit to generate the field that moves the molten metal. Zmag describes the resulting movement as a virtual impeller, allowing circulation without conventional immersed mechanical impellers. This does not eliminate engineering constraints, but it changes where the active components sit relative to the melt. The company's product family applies that principle in three areas: furnace stirring, pumping and scrap submergence.
MagStir and MagPump: non-contact movement
MagStir is a non-contact stirring system for aluminum melting and holding furnaces. It uses the permanent magnetic circuit to create movement in the bath and support homogenization of temperature and alloy composition. Zmag offers configurations for furnaces from 15 to 200 metric tons. Because the operating principle removes the need for an immersed mechanical stirring component, the system is presented as an option for casthouses seeking better melt circulation without adding moving parts to the molten-metal environment.
The application record includes installations outside the United States. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters installed the technology in a casting furnace and later extended its use to additional furnaces. A 2017 technical case study examined those installations and reported improvements in temperature control during furnace preparation. A MagStir unit was also fitted to a Rio Tinto-operated Boyne Smelters casthouse furnace in Queensland, Australia, in 2019.
MagPump extends the same permanent-magnet approach to pumping and circulation. It is designed to fit a standard pump well without furnace modification. Unlike conventional mechanical pumps, it has no physical impeller and is marketed as a nearly hands-free alternative with no consumable parts and minimal downtime. At the TANDEM Division of TST Inc. in Fontana, California, a seven-week trial replaced an existing mechanical pump in a furnace used for aluminum production. The reported findings described smooth operation and reduced disturbance to the molten-metal surface. TST plant management also reported that the system avoided the splashing seen with conventional pumping arrangements as the furnace metal level fell during draining. The technology was presented at TMS 2023, where its use in side-well, multi-chamber furnaces was discussed, along with potential roles in gas injection and scrap submergence alongside metal circulation.
Typhoon targets low-density scrap
The third product, Typhoon, focuses on scrap submergence and chip melting. It is designed to introduce lightweight aluminum scrap and machining chips beneath the molten-metal surface rather than letting them remain at the top of the bath. Its magnetic circuit generates a vortex-like movement that draws material into the melt, supporting heat exchange and recovery during remelting.
Neuman Aluminium's Marktl facility in Austria provides a recent case. Neuman incorporated a Typhoon chip-submergence system into a furnace modernization project to expand its ability to process low-density post-consumer scrap. The targeted material included lightweight fractions with a bulk density of about 375 kg/m³, which had challenged conventional furnace charging and melting. Neuman set a target of processing one metric ton per hour while continuing to melt solid charge materials in the same furnace.
According to the published technical account, operating results exceeded the initial expectations: the Typhoon system processed almost twice the planned scrap quantity within the expected time without disrupting normal furnace operations. Neuman also reported low operator involvement and no negative impact on melt or finished-product quality. The same account says Typhoon operates at 5-15 kW, including its air-cooling blower, and can submerge up to five metric tons per hour of machining chips. Its vortex intensity can be adjusted to suit operating requirements, allowing it to maintain molten-metal movement when scrap or alloying material is not being charged.
A competitive but not uniform landscape
The market for aluminum furnace stirring, circulation and scrap-submergence equipment includes established suppliers, but their offerings are not all direct equivalents to Zmag's permanent-magnet technology. ABB supplies its AL-EMS electromagnetic stirring system for aluminum melting, holding and alloying furnaces and reports more than 430 installations. In April 2026, ABB announced a further order from Arconic for a fifth stirrer at its Hungarian casthouse, following earlier installations there.
Presezzi Extrusion Group, through its Melting Technology division and North American presence, also operates in furnace stirring. Its portfolio includes the L.E.C. (Low Energy Consumption) Stirrer for melting and holding furnaces, along with equipment for aluminum remelting and complete casthouse operations. Pyrotek has a broader casthouse equipment presence, including electromagnetic pump systems and LOTUSS (Low Turbulence Scrap Submergence). Its EMP systems use electromagnetic forces to circulate molten aluminum and support metal transfer and scrap charging, while LOTUSS uses a circulation pump and refractory well to submerge lightweight scrap. Pyrotek's UK operations include EMP Technologies Ltd., which is involved in the design, sale and installation of metal-melting and circulation systems incorporating electromagnetic pumps.
Rockwell Automation sits in an adjacent industrial-automation segment rather than offering a like-for-like permanent-magnet stirring product. Its aluminum-sector work includes furnace and ladle-shop control systems, as shown by its modernization project for Mozal Aluminium's casthouse operations.
What the evidence supports, and what it does not
The case material supports a practical claim: non-contact magnetic movement can address specific pain points in casthouses, especially surface disturbance and the handling of low-density scrap. The MagPump trial and the Neuman Typhoon installation are presented as operational evidence, while the MagStir installations point to temperature-control benefits during furnace preparation. The technologies also illustrate a broader design choice: removing immersed mechanical components from the melt can reduce exposure to deterioration, but it does not remove the need for robust furnace practice, proper scrap preparation or consistent operating control.
Adoption may still be constrained by familiarity. In an August 2025 interview, Eishin Takahashi, president of Zmag America, identified limited familiarity with the technology as a barrier in the United States. He observed that aluminum producers globally tend to be conservative and more comfortable with equipment and processes they already know. That point matters because permanent-magnet systems compete not only on performance but also on plant experience, integration and confidence in a different operating principle.
The competitive landscape reinforces the same conclusion. ABB, Presezzi and Pyrotek each offer established routes to stirring, circulation or scrap submergence, and some use electromagnetic rather than permanent-magnet fields. Zmag's differentiation is therefore specific rather than absolute. As aluminum producers incorporate more challenging recycled feedstock, the ability to manage molten-metal movement without conventional immersed mechanical components could become more relevant. The evidence presented here indicates why that possibility is being tested; it does not yet establish that permanent-magnet systems will displace established alternatives.