“At STAS, we sustain our company in a fiercely competitive industry by believing in our people, who in turn ensure our performance exceeds all competitors’,” Louis Bouchard, P. Eng. and Executive President at STAS

AlCircle team visited Québec Aluminium Cluster on invitation of Quebec’s Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation in the last part of 2017. AlCircle Content Head Beethika Biswas visited the office and plant of STAS at Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada, one of the world leading equipment manufacturers and suppliers for the aluminium industry and a trusted associate of AlCircle as well as Jiwanram Group. She spoke to Louis Bouchard, P. Eng. and Executive President at STAS, and discussed about STAS’ current domestic and international operations and future strategies in the aluminium sector.

An excerpt from the interview:

AlCircle: Tell us in brief about your company history and present structure.

Mr Bouchard: STAS Inc. is a Canada based; family-owned company specialized in the development, fabrication and commercialisation of process equipment for the aluminium industry. We are a world leader in providing various equipment to improve productivity and the quality of molten aluminium. Aluminium producers that can benefit from such technologies are found throughout the spectrum of aluminium value chain, ranging from primary smelter plants down to secondary smelters and including rolling mills and aluminium extruders as well. We have been in business for 30 years and have clients on all continents, with a network of well-known agents around the globe. Solidly anchored regionally, most of STAS’ sales activities are managed from our head office in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, in the ‘Saguenay Aluminium Valley’ region, where about 3,000,000 tonnes of aluminium per year are produced by the world’s most technologically advanced plants.  Historically, the region has been developed around the aluminium industry (former Alcan, now Rio Tinto) thanks to its territory being a huge hydrographic basin and thus making electricity production affordable.

STAS employs more than 160 persons, including a technical team – made up of more than 70 engineers and technicians – with a broad expertise in processes and engineering. Truly global, our business has grown a lot in the recent years thanks to successful projects and partnerships with key aluminium producers in Russia, the Middle East, India, Asia and elsewhere.   We have five main departments: Engineering, Production, Sales & Marketing, Development and Innovation and Corporate Affairs, managed by directors who are overseen by a General Manager who directly reports to me.

AlCircle content head Beethika Biswas with STAS team: From left to right; Dominic Vézina, Marketing Manager, STAS, Alain Huot, General Manager, STAS, Charles Boisvert, Advisor in international affairs, Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation(on the picture but external); Louis Bouchard, Executive President, STAS, Florent Gougerot, Sales and Marketing Director, STAS. 

AlCircle:  STAS has been an equipment manufacturer for the global aluminium industry for 30 years now. What are the foundations for such long-term stability in a volatile metal industry?

Mr Bouchard: At STAS, we sustain our company in a fiercely competitive industry by believing in our people, who in turn ensure our performance exceeds all competitors’. STAS is a family company on several levels. We are family owned, but we share a common sense of family among our employees as well. It is common to find fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters working within our plants and offices.

STAS is more than a business. There is a shared sense of history and legacy that drives every employee to build upon the successes of those who have come before us. Sure, we each work to make a living. But, our commitment goes beyond the paycheck. To us, STAS also means pride in a job well done, a sense of heritage and the desire to build upon our rich history.

Our success also depends on our customers’ success, just as the success of our suppliers, communities and shareholders depends on us. By building worth for our customers, we build worth for all our stakeholders.

AlCircle:  Tell us in brief about your product range in the smelting, molten metal handling and Casthouse segments?

Mr Bouchard: Smelter technologies include the STARProbe, the Pot Ramming Machine, fume hoods to reduce HF emissions, anode positioning systems, anode stub inspection systems and anode butt inspection systems, most of which are fully connected (4.0 industry).

Molten metal handling technologies include crucible cleaners, siphon tube cleaners and crucible preheating systems.

To comply with end product specifications, molten aluminium must be first treated to remove impurities. For this to happen, the metal must go through various refining processes, for which STAS has a specialized equipment. Our Casthouse technologies include the ACD (Aluminium Compact Degasser), the AIR (Aluminium In-line Refiner), the RFI (Rotary Flux Injector), the IGDC (Inert Gas Dross Cooler), the TAC (Treatment of Aluminium in Crucible), the ACS (Automatic Crucible Skimmer), the BSI 3D (Billet Surface Inspection) as well as molten metal filtration systems. We are also recognized for our ability to design and fabricate custom-made equipment for our customers whatever their needs are.

AlCircle:  How do STAS’s engineering and automation services benefit the aluminium industry?

Mr Bouchard: Our engineering and automation team ranks amongst the most experienced in all fields (mechanical, electrical, automation, industrial) and is made up of about fifty professionals with a recognized expertise in many fields from the start-up of single machines to the programming standards in major projects. We deliver feasibility studies, design/detail/installation engineering, project management, safety and ergonomic reviews, design of custom-made equipment, R&D in new technologies, etc.

Through operational perfection, we relentlessly focus on the full range of details –from how we make and deliver our products to how customers use them. Our customers not only appreciate our technological knowledge; they see a true added value in deep expertise in process control associated to it. That drive for optimum efficiency allows us to maximize our production using a minimum amount of resources. It also allows us to provide safe, engaging and modern equipment for our customers.

AlCircle:  How do STAS products help in quality control and cost reduction in aluminium smelting and casting industries?

Mr Bouchard: In many possible ways, yet one very up-to-date key word is automation, a feature available in many of our products allowing aluminium producers to generate lower operating and maintenance costs through computer programming and process control.

For instance, our most recent technology, the Billet Surface Inspection 3D, is designed to inspect defaults that may appear on the surface of billets - often invisible to the human eye - such as scratches and oxide patches, using 3D laser technology. It operates automatically in a consistent and precise manner and can be programmed according to customer needs and alloys. A similar feature – a robot - can be found in our TAC equipment – Treatment of aluminum in crucible – which injects aluminium fluoride directly into the molten aluminium to effectively remove sodium and other alkalis from it without the use of chlorine gas.  Dross is removed with an automatic skimming machine integrated to the TAC station, without operator intervention and with a built-in camera to record skimming quality of each crucible. With more than 40 units installed worldwide, the benefits of using a robot are many: no metal spillage on the sow, consistency/reliability of the skimming practice, sampling done after skimming and without any risk, safety of operators working close to the machine, lower maintenance costs, etc. Again, creating value for our customer is a guiding principle at STAS and everything we do is linked to it in a way or another.

AlCircle:  How has been your experience in operating from Quebec, Canada? Tell us in brief about your domestic market.

Mr Bouchard: Quebec is a long time global hub for aluminium production, and most of it takes place here in the Saguenay region. When we started, we served Alcan / Rio Tinto which has several plants here and which for many years represented a major part of our annuals sales and with whom we developed our first equipment. Nowadays, aluminium producers in the Province of Quebec are many and our technology proudly operates in all plants.  Having this solid customer base in our own country continuously allowed us to expand and diversify our business in a credible way in other parts of the world, while staying active and strong here.

AlCircle:  Despite having the headquarters in faraway Québec, Canada; STAS has clients in Russia, India, North America, and Middle East. How have you managed to form such a trusted client base globally?

Mr Bouchard: Although large and complex, the aluminium industry is a small world and people get to know each other quite well and quickly through participation to conferences, seminars and also via specialized literature. When technology delivers results in terms of financial savings and metal quality, people talk and the words on benefits quickly spread. This summarizes a bit how STAS grew these last years and how we have been able to commercialize our technology in the most diversified places in the world where aluminium is produced and cast.  We are recognized for what we do and recognition is appreciated.  

AlCircle:  STAS has a dependable network of well-known associates around the globe to manage their sales operations. Tell us something about your association with Jiwanram Group, the pioneer to bring STAS technology to India?

Mr Bouchard: Our relationship with the Jiwanram Group spans two decades and is based on confidence and openness, and includes strategic discussions at senior management levels down to day to day operational interactions.  Thanks to their competent team of professionals based everywhere in India as well as a profound knowledge of the complex and growing Indian aluminium industry, we have been able to break into the market and win important turnkey projects.  Our combined forces – their knowledge and contacts and our top of the range technology and expertise - can be very beneficial for producers to reach new world standards of quality. Jiwanram’s impressive logistical assets have always been very helpful for STAS in the past and we do remain very optimistic about what the future can offer in terms of common business opportunities in this fascinating country. We would not be where we are without their commitment to success and steady assistance.

AlCircle:  Have unfair competitions threatened your business in recent times? What are the strengths that give STAS and edge over its competitors?

Mr Bouchard: Surely the aluminium sector in 2018 is not the same as the one it used to 30 years ago when we started doing business. New actors and emerging markets bring more complexity to the equation and the ones who will be most successful are those who will be able to adapt to the many changes and challenges the industry is facing. Yes, competition is fierce, yet STAS never stopped to believe in delivering the highest quality standards of the industry, and for which customers have been increasingly demanding for them to meet the quality requirements of their end customers.

Our products are innovative and integrate our knowledge, new technologies and new industry practices all of which create added value, performance and safety as well as environmental protection. Having said that, we never rest on our laurels and everyone here works very hard to exceed expectations and drive innovation, which is a guiding principle at STAS. We aim for nothing but the best.

Disclaimer: “The information presented herein is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The views and opinions shared in the interview section of www.alcircle.com are unique to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of www.alcircle.com."

For any inquiries please contact marketing@stas.com