A Brief History of VS GUSS
VS Guss AG produces the highest quality of small malleable and gray iron castings. Which, according to many of our customers (including some that produce malleable iron themselves), is the reason why VS has such a significant market share in North America and Europe.VS Guss AG was formerly known as "Vereinigte Schlusselfabriken GmbH," which translates as "United Key Factories." The merger of two independent, privately held malleable iron foundries around the turn of the twentieth century established this name. VS was originally the market leader for skeleton keys and fine lock components for door hardware and fine furniture. "VS" was an industry standard from the late eighteen hundreds throughout much of the last century.
The critical ingredient in VS' recipe is the use of the finest natural bonded sand, harvested at VS-owned dried up river bed sections of the Rhine river. This sand allows VS to produce castings with exceptional detail and a smooth surface, for which we are universally known.
The introduction of vertical molding equipment leads to the capacity to produce several million keys daily, allowing "VS" virtually covering the entire world market demand for skeleton keys.
With the introduction and popularization of zinc die castings, VS had to establish additional industrial sectors and found its market in the hardware and machine industries, which includes a significant percentage of the commercially available malleable iron demand in North America. By continuing its determination for the highest in quality standards, service, and productivity at fair pricing, VS is now one of the three largest independent suppliers of malleable iron castings in North America.