Founders’ ICME Award Report: EICF Conference 2026, Seville
As this year’s Founders’ ICME Award recipient, Torran Hockley, Product Engineer at PCC Airfoils – AETC Ltd (Leeds, UK), was sponsored to attend the 2026 European Investment Casters’ Federation (EICF) Conference in Seville. Torran shares his experience of the event below:
“I travelled to Seville on 8 May to attend the 2026 EICF (European Investment Casters’ Federation) Conference, arriving early to explore the city and relax at the hotel before the event began. The conference officially opened on Sunday with a welcome reception featuring speeches, refreshments, and excellent networking opportunities. The evening provided a chance to meet fellow delegates and engage with a wide range of suppliers exhibiting at the event. It was a highly valuable start to the conference, allowing me to establish relationships with several industry contacts that I continued to develop over the following days. As the sole representative from PCC, I made a conscious effort to engage with as many attendees as possible throughout the conference.
Monday marked the start of the technical sessions, which were both informative and highly relevant to operations at AETC. Two presentations that were of particular interest were “Advancement of Selected Methods for Directional Solidification Control in Single-Crystal Nickel Superalloy Castings” and “Tool-Less Manufacturing in Investment Casting: Quality Analysis of MAR M247 LC Turbine Blades Using Additively Manufactured Ceramic Cores and Wax Patterns.” Both sessions provided valuable insight into current developments in casting technology and process control. The day concluded with the gala dinner, which offered another excellent opportunity for networking while enjoying the outstanding food and entertainment that was on offer.
Tuesday, the final day of the conference, featured the remaining technical presentations. I found both “Simulation-Driven Investment Casting Using ProCAST: DOE, Optimization, and Robustness Evaluation for Porosity Reduction” and “The Role of People, Skills & Knowledge in the Growth of European Microfusioni Aerospaziali Spa” particularly insightful. These presentations addressed challenges that are highly relevant to casting facilities supplying gas turbine components, especially in light of the unprecedented growth currently being experienced across the market.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me in this professional development opportunity, particularly the Cast Metals Federation and the Founders’ Charities for making my attendance possible. I would also like to acknowledge the Institute of Cast Metals Engineers, the European Investment Casters’ Federation, and AETC Ltd. for their support.
The conference provided an invaluable opportunity to meet both commercial and technical professionals from across the industry, expand my professional network, and gain exposure to emerging technologies and industry trends. I have already identified several potential opportunities for AETC that I am actively exploring. In addition, the experience has strengthened my professional profile and helped me further establish myself within the industry.”