Hydro adds a third aluminium extrusion press at its manufacturing facility in Rackwitz. The EUR 11 million investments will double the plant's extrusion capacity by 12,000 tonnes annually and generate 40 new jobs. The development of Hydro's aluminium recycling facility in Rackwitz, which will add 25,000 tonnes of forging stock through increased amounts of post-consumer, end-of-life scrap, was officially started two months ago. The recycling facility is the nearest neighbour to the extrusion business.
“This investment allows us to expand our fabrication area and improve the service level for our customers even more with better delivery times and availability of supply. It’s a great opportunity for us, confirming our outstanding performance, the location itself and our unique culture here in Rackwitz,” said Matthias Hellmann, who manages the extrusion plant for Hydro’s Extrusion Europe business unit.
The investment in the new extrusion press reflects the second usage of the press after being purchased from a rival business. Customers in the building and construction, transportation, and general engineering industries will utilise its output.
It is one of four facilities in the company's DACH division that caters to extrusion clients in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. One facility is in Austria, while three are in Germany. They now run nine extrusion presses, and two more will soon be added. One will be in Austria's Nenzing and the other in Rackwitz. Both extruded aluminium solutions and fabrication services are provided by each site. Both the Chain of Custody Standard and the Performance Standard of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative have been granted certification to all four.
The new press's smaller carbon footprint is the main distinction between it and Rackwitz's previous two presses. The ovens are also expected to consume 20 per cent less energy than others. Additionally, an energy-saving device is used in the press's ingot heating oven. The continuous furnace's waste gas is used to heat water, which is subsequently dumped on the ingot. Extrusion operations are anticipated to commence around the end of 2023 when the project's development phase starts later this year.
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