Zmag America is promoting a family of permanent-magnet systems for aluminum casthouses as producers seek to use more recycled metal without sacrificing melt quality, recovery or productivity. Its equipment addresses three related tasks: stirring molten aluminum in furnaces, pumping and circulating metal, and submerging lightweight scrap and machining chips so they can be remelted efficiently.
The operating problem is familiar to secondary aluminum producers. Post-consumer scrap, machining chips and other low-density materials are difficult to charge into conventional melting furnaces, and keeping temperature and alloy composition uniform across the bath is critical to meeting specifications. Circulation and stirring equipment must move metal and transfer heat while limiting downtime and metal loss.
Conventional mechanical pumps use immersed rotating parts that can degrade through contact with molten aluminum, dross and refractory debris. Zmag’s approach is built on its patented zPMC, or Zmag Permanent Magnetic Circuit. Instead of a conventional electromagnetic stirring arrangement, the system 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 an immersed mechanical impeller.
MagStir for furnace homogenization
MagStir is a non-contact stirring system for melting and holding furnaces. According to Zmag, it is available in configurations for furnaces with capacities from 15 to 200 metric tons and uses the permanent magnetic circuit to support homogenization of temperature and alloy composition. Because it does not put a mechanical stirring component into the melt, it offers casthouses a way to improve circulation without adding moving parts to the molten-metal environment.
The technology has been used outside the United States. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters installed MagStir in a casting furnace and later extended it to additional furnaces. A 2017 technical case study examined those installations and reported improved temperature control during furnace preparation. Rio Tinto-operated Boyne Smelters in Queensland, Australia, fitted a MagStir unit to a casthouse furnace in 2019.
MagPump and the TST trial
MagPump extends the magnetic approach to pumping and circulation. It is designed to fit a standard pump well without furnace modification. Unlike a conventional mechanical pump, it has no physical impeller, and Zmag markets it as a nearly hands-free option with no consumable parts and minimal downtime.
TST Inc.’s TANDEM Division in Fontana, California, examined MagPump in a seven-week trial. The unit replaced an existing mechanical pump in a furnace used for aluminum production. The findings described smooth operation and reduced disturbance of the molten-metal surface, while TST plant management reported that the system avoided the splashing seen with conventional pumping as the furnace metal level dropped during draining. The technology was also 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.
Typhoon targets low-density scrap
Typhoon is aimed at scrap submergence and chip melting. The system introduces lightweight aluminum scrap and machining chips below the bath surface rather than letting them remain on top. Its magnetic circuit creates a vortex-like motion that draws material into the melt, supporting heat exchange and recovery during remelting.
At Neuman Aluminium’s Marktl facility in Austria, Typhoon was included in a furnace modernization project intended to expand processing of low-density post-consumer scrap. The targeted material included lightweight fractions with a bulk density of about 375 kg/m³, which had presented challenges for conventional charging and melting. Neuman set a target of processing one metric ton per hour while continuing to melt solid charge in the same furnace. According to the published technical account, Typhoon processed almost twice the planned scrap quantity within the expected time without disrupting normal furnace operations. The company also reported low operator involvement and no negative effect on melt or finished-product quality.
Typhoon operates at 5–15 kW, including its air-cooling blower, and can submerge up to five metric tons per hour of machining chips, according to that account. Its vortex intensity can be adjusted, allowing it to maintain molten-metal movement when scrap or alloying material is not being charged.
Adoption and competition
Zmag faces established suppliers. ABB provides its AL-EMS electromagnetic stirring system for aluminum melting, holding and alloying furnaces, with more than 430 installations reported. In April 2026, ABB announced a further order from Arconic for a fifth stirrer at its Hungarian casthouse. Presezzi Extrusion Group offers the L.E.C. Stirrer through its Melting Technology division, while Pyrotek supplies electromagnetic pump systems and its LOTUSS scrap-submergence technology. Rockwell Automation works in adjacent furnace and ladle-shop controls, not permanent-magnet stirring.
In an August 2025 interview, Zmag America President Eishin Takahashi identified limited familiarity with the technology as a barrier in the United States. He said aluminum producers globally tend to be conservative and prefer equipment and processes they already know. As casthouses take on more challenging recycled feedstock, however, Zmag is arguing that managing molten-metal movement without conventional immersed mechanical parts could become a more relevant consideration.