“2020 will be a year of transition during which producers are likely to behave prudently, looking for productivity gains and decisions based on long term investment strategies” - Louis Bouchard, P. Eng. Executive President, STAS Inc

STAS Inc. is a Canadian company specialised in the development, fabrication and commercialisation of process equipment for the global aluminium industry. Aluminium producers that can benefit from STAS technologies range from primary smelters to secondary foundries to aluminium mills and extruders. In the past 30 years, STAS has achieved the world leadership in supplying equipment and improving aluminium productivity and quality.

Let us now hear out from the company’s P.Eng. Executive President, Louis Bouchard, who has shared his projection for the aluminium industry of 2020. He believes this year will be an important year for aluminium equipment supplier. He also thinks leadership and innovation-driven production in the Gulf (GCC) is likely to continue this year as energy resources are still present there amidst stable demand. To know more about his opinion, continue reading the interview.

AlCircle: As a world leading equipment supplier in the aluminium industry, do you think the continuous development in smelting and casting technology will further ramp up metal production in 2020?

Louis Bouchard: Over the past few months, we could observe some interesting fluctuations on the global aluminium, which brought both confusion and pessimism. I believe 2020 will be a year of transition during which producers are likely to behave prudently, looking for productivity gains and decisions based on long term investment strategies.

If global production goes uphill as expected and technical improvements continue to answer that demand with stronger and more long-lasting machines to guarantee long-term vision, then Yes, I do believe 2020 will be an important year for a supplier like us as there are so many developments taking place all over the world.

AlCircle: What new invention in the aluminium technology do you expect in 2020?

Louis Bouchard: New inventions are coming every month or so and it is always a challenge to keep up with the innovation pace, yet I believe the most important inventions are those allowing users to achieve higher performance while keeping costs down – whatever the sector is.

For us at STAS, artificial intelligence and advanced 3D vision systems are two key areas of great potential.  STAS is making important efforts to integrate these tools in its equipment units, or maybe I should say it the other way around that we are adapting our equipment to these technological advancements, so we are flexible and ready for the future.

Customers are looking for higher performance, self-learning, self-trained machines, less workforce…overall more progress and productivity.  As concrete examples, I can name i.e. anode butt, anode stub and clad inspection i.e. advanced and intelligent measuring systems, all of which are market-ready and extremely solid, game-changing technologies.

AlCircle: Could you please brief us on the performance of STAS in 2019 and what is your projection for 2020?

Louis Bouchard: We have undergone probably one of our busiest years in our 30-year history. In terms of important projects, we consolidated our presence in the Gulf region with the commissioning of the last equipment units at ALBA Line 6, which for us was a real success.

We have launched a major transformation in 2018 and have really started to implement changes last year. To name a few, we’ve kicked off a complete LEAN manufacturing strategy throughout our whole organization, we streamlined our internal business processes and are pursuing an active Merger and Acquisition strategy. In May, we consolidated the acquisition of the French company Sermas which now complements our product portfolio with milling machines, saws of large dimensions and cathode sealing equipment, among other top-notch technologies.  STAS- SERMAS is now under the guidance of one single management team, and our integration is progressing every day. Last year, we acquired sow and ingot casting technologies from the Australian supplier o.d.t. engineering and are currently delivering one major project in Europe with such equipment. Sermas was our second acquisition in two consecutive years.

All in all, it has been a very busy year and it looks like 2020 will be similar.

AlCircle: Which country ex-China do you expect to lead the aluminium production growth in 2020?

Louis Bouchard: I do not think any producing region should be underestimated in 2020.  Leadership and innovation-driven production in the Gulf (GCC) is likely to continue as energy resources are still present amidst stable demand.  Meanwhile, Russia is ramping up with new valued added products and the probable opening of the Taishet smelter.  Recycling is doing well in Europe and the USA, an avenue of growth which we shall all watch, as the change is already underway (the upcoming end plastic bottles which will be replaced by aluminium cans paves the way for new investments in the sector).

Production in Canada, with hydro-powered aluminium smelters, is likely to remain stable. The Norwegians are also keeping an edge in terms of new products and innovation from electrolysis to casting. There is also India which branded as the next aluminium Eldorado. Despite some structural challenges, I believe we should keep an eye on it as an extremely promising market.

All in all, we see a clear market diversification – which has proven to be positive for STAS historically as we are globally active on different markets and things can change quickly.

The next five years alone will add a further 4.1 million tonnes in value-added production, a 5.2 % increase in proportion of global primary cast house output. The trend is clear that producers will continue to chase better profits by moving up the value chain, but where to focus on is a more complicated question.

AlCircle: What progress do you foresee in the implementation of Industry 4.0 in the aluminium industry and what will be its impact?

Louis Bouchard: Quality control, process understanding, more critical feedback, machine to machine communication, role optimization. Thanks to these changes, people will be able to focus on more crucial and challenging roles, while repetitive ones will be left to machines. I believe machines and humans complement each other, the former does not necessarily replace the latter.

AlCircle: Out of all the services you provide right from technology and equipment supply to inspection and commissioning, which will be your key focus area in 2020?

Louis Bouchard: I believe there is an ever-growing need for intelligent, human-free, data-driven technologies

Besides, the importance of the service branch will be of utmost importance as customers expect their suppliers to be partners who will bring expertise and knowledge to ensure production objectives are reached. At STAS and Sermas, next to turn-key projects in the cast house area, we are putting the emphasis on Clad inspection, Slab inspection system and data collection, processing, predictive maintenance on many of our existing machines.

AlCircle: Do you plan to upgrade any of your equipment technologies in the upcoming year?

Louis Bouchard: As I was saying, most of our machines are ‘’upgrade- ready’ meaning we designed them to be able to perform upgrades on them as we are conscious that the capacity to innovate is the key to success and longevity. We are now working on adding 4.0 features on most of our technologies, such as software applications allowing for real-time data collection and processing, 3D vision systems, automation tools and the like. Besides, we at STAS believe that machine to machine communication will soon become a key requirement for producers. Of course, important challenges such as security, confidentiality and cost reduction remain more important than ever before, yet we are getting closer to what was still science-fiction only a few years ago in terms of industrial intelligence. Our main added-value at STAS is our ability to integrate technological solutions into our process equipment which is highly strategic because it touches and transforms liquid aluminium. We will continue to do so, quicker and better.

Also, there is a demand to replace graphite for instance –which is a consumable on some of our machines. Rare of those who will take the risks of provoking a breakthrough, and many will wait for others to do it.  We do a lot of the R&D work ourselves and are ready to take some of the risk, but we are also very much open to cooperating with other influential players like us to further push our limits. One thing is sure is that with all these technologies evolving rapidly we are continuously Improving ourselves.