60-day reboot: How Novelis and ABB restored a flooded Swiss auto aluminium plant

Stock image for referential purposes only

Restoration of the flood-affected plant of Novelis located in Sierre, Switzerland, by the Swedish-Swiss technology firm ABB, is an example of industrial resilience. Operations at the Swiss plant were restored within 60 days after sustaining severe weather damage from a flood, threatening the plant’s automotive aluminium supply chains.

Novelis’ Sierra plant faces the flood

Torrential rainfall and melting snow led to major flooding across the Sierre district in western Switzerland in June 2024. As a result, the Sierre plant or the integrated aluminium production facility of Novelis, processing over 200,000 tonnes of aluminium annually and supplying high-quality aluminium sheet products to automotive manufacturers, was severely affected by the floodwaters.

Hence, with the primary infrastructure submerged and production halted, concerns loomed large over potential disruptions to the global automotive supply chains, thereby making rapid restoration an imperative.

Explore our comprehensive report on the aluminium extrusion sector - The World of Aluminium Extrusions – Industry Forecast to 2032

According to Novelis plant management, critical systems powering the facility had been underwater for weeks, requiring immediate intervention.

Serge Gaudin, Plant Manager at Novelis, noted, "Our entire plant had been submerged for weeks, and mud and water had compromised the critical systems which power our operations. Minimising downtime and restoring production as rapidly as possible was vital to maintain our standing as a trusted partner to our customers.”

ABB offers aid as “an extension of Novelis's operations”

Post the flooding, Angeles Fernandez, Local Division Manager for Electrification Service in ABB Switzerland, immediately contacted the division managing electrical infrastructure at the Sierre industrial site, AluInfra Services SA.

ABB assembled engineering and technical specialists from multiple European locations to accelerate the recovery process. Once emergency authorities declared the facility safe, ABB teams carried out damage assessments across substations, electrical systems, and production equipment compromised by water and mud.

Regarding the repair procedure, Stefan Kumm, Senior Project Manager at ABB’s Process Automation division, mentioned, “Our first task was triage, determining what could be salvaged and what needed replacing.”

Two teams worked simultaneously on cleaning, testing, replacing and recommissioning damaged electrical systems and substations. Replacement parts were also fast-tracked across borders to reduce delays.

“The sheer scale of the challenge became clear when we saw the mud-covered switchgear in the substations as well as the 160-tonne main motor and hundreds of submerged control systems. Time was critical and every second counted,” Kumm continued.

Basic power operations were restored within approximately one month, while substations were re-energised by September, enabling production lines, including the hot rolling and cold mill units, to resume operations ahead of initial expectations.

The recovery effort also involved experts from ABB’s Process Automation division, who supported assessments of damaged motors, switchgear and control systems across the plant. The collaboration between ABB, Novelis and AluInfra helped reduce the impact on automotive customers and maintain continuity within the aluminium supply chain.

Two years since the event, the Sierre restoration project continues to be viewed as an instance of rapid infrastructure recovery, thereby solidifying the partnership among Novelis, AluInfra and ABB. Gaudin noted, “The speed of the response was critical for us.”

He added, “ABB's teams minimised the impact on our customers and ensured we could maintain our position in the supply chain during a very challenging period.” As extreme weather events continue to affect manufacturing operations across Europe, the Sierre example highlights restorative efficiency.

Discover the current market insights from industry's leading voices in our e-magazine ALuminium LeaderSpeak 2026