Almex to provide aluminium billet and slab casting technology and equipment to Western Extrusions

Almex USA Inc. has announced its selection as the technology and equipment provider for the future casthouse of Western Extrusions Corporation of Carrollton, Texas, USA. Western is one of the leading independent aluminum extruders in North America and its Carrollton facility among the largest in America at a single site.

Western Extrusions awarded Almex USA the order for a “Furnace to Finish” project scope for Western’s billet casting center. The supply scope includes two 110,000 lb capacity Ultra-Ultra-Low NOx and energy efficient Regenerative Combustion Melting Furnaces, Almex’s patented LARS® molten metal degassing and purification system, Almex’s MEGA™ DC casting machine, and the complete casting water management system, along with facility design and all other peripheral casting line equipment required to produce high quality extrusion billet.

The plant will be equipped with Almex’s latest generation of automation and control system, the CASTRIGHT® III, which integrates all process equipment to work seamlessly together and provides an array of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) features for plant shop supervisors, management, and Western’s Customers.

Western Extrusions’ finished product line, focused primarily on 6xxx series of aluminum alloys such as 6063, 6061, 6005A, will be made from the billets cast using in-process generated “turnaround” scrap and other purchased recyclable materials; further enforcing the company’s commitment to sustainability and environmental consciousness.

Detailed engineering and equipment fabrication are underway, and the new facility has targeted first billet production during the third quarter of 2020. To guarantee end-product quality and seamless commissioning, Almex - per its standard offering for all greenfield plants - will provide Western Extrusions personnel with comprehensive equipment, process, and technology training and support through the plant’s start of production. This all-inclusive approach towards plant knowledge-building is derived from Almex’s expertise in aerospace alloy markets, making the Western Extrusions casthouse project the beneficiary of quality management techniques and casting technologies to meet and exceed their billet demands. This project underlines Almex’s continuing commitment to the soft-alloy billet casting market, both in North America and around the world.