European aluminium foundry Gerd Röders GmbH plans to operate 24-hour shifts for three weeks to survive in gas crisis

Gerd Röders, managing director of G.A.Röders GmbH & Co KG, expertise in manufacturing aluminium die-castings from various alloys for high-quality parts, is unwillingly preparing for the temporary shutdown of foundry to survive Europe’s growing gas crunch. Röders hopes 24-hour shifts for three consecutive weeks, followed by a week shutdown, will enable the 200-year-old plant to maintain output while cutting gas bill, which has doubled since 2021 to 12.3 million euros.

According to him, this plan will be a cost saving for them as it will lower the expense of gas needed to fire up the oven every morning, even if it means paying staff more to work night shifts.

Survival for G.A.Röders GmbH and Germany’s 600 other foundries, most of which are small-to-medium enterprises with less than 250 staffs will mean cost cuts and tough talks with customers.

"We're laying out our prices to customers and telling them they have to pay more," 59-year-old Röders told Reuters as workers prepared the plant for the first week of rest. "We can't deliver parts if we invest and don't earn anything back."

G.A.Röders GmbH operates plants in Germany and Czech Republic, with total 500 employees. It serves automakers like Volkswagen and Continental, airline manufacturers, and medical technology firms with their ability to produce corrosion-resistant die-casting that is suitable for welding and bonding. 

Röders said he had always been frugal on energy as it consumes the second-largest share of expenditure after staff. This he learnt from his father who would turn off office computers at night and switch off the lights during lunch breaks, added Röders.

But the situation is unprecedented now. The price of the front-month Dutch TTF gas contract, the benchmark for Europe, has almost tripled since last year due to the slowdown of Russian gas supply.

Germany’s energy regulator pleads businesses, government and consumers to reduce gas intake and asks the biggest firms to submit their emergency plans to cut usage further in the winter.