Sheffield Forgemasters' unique casting capabilities have secured a German order contract with a value in excess of €2m.

The company beat international competition, including organisations in Asia, to win the multi-million euro order from Schuler Pressen GmbH  to manufacture components for the construction of a screw press.

The 300 tonne table and 288 tonne headpiece will be completed on site at Sheffield Forgemasters' (SFIL) Brightside Lane base before being shipped.

Michael Holloway, senior sales manager at SFIL, said: "SFIL has a long standing working relationship with Müller Weingarten AG, which in 2011 merged with Schuler Pressen GmbH & Co. KG into Schuler Pressen GmbH.

"We have worked on similar projects in the past with this client, however these pieces are much heavier, and they will be finished completely in-house.

"Sheffield Forgemasters is one of the few facilities in the UK with the physical capacity to finish machine the components."

"In addition, Forgemasters' foundry is also the only one in Europe which can produce castings of this size and weight.

"Schuler Pressen will use these components to construct a screw press which will then be used in the manufacture of automotive parts."

The contract is due for completion by September 2013.

SFIL has a long history of providing complex components for use in the construction of presses.

In 2005, the company made history with the casting of a forging press traverse for SMS Meer, on behalf of Austrian company Böhler Schmiedetechnik GmbH & Co, which weighed 340 tonnes and was the largest steel casting made in Europe.

In 2007, a £2.5m contract with Müller Weingarten AG, now Schuler Pressen GmbH, required SFIL to cast components for the largest counterblow hammer in the world, with a total combined weight of 400 tonnes.