“Our primary focus is to support the development of new market opportunities and help local companies make effective uses of aluminium through design optimization,” Francois Racine, CEO of AluQuébec

Francois Racine has been the chief executive officer of AluQuébec, Québec’s aluminium cluster, since February 2021. He manages the organisation’s operations and ensures the cluster’s outreach throughout Québec’s aluminium ecosystem.

Previously, from 2012 to 2020, Mr. Racine was president and administrator at Alcoa Innovation. He was also director of business development within Alcoa Aluminium’s Global strategy team from 2017 to 2020. In that position, he led an annual planification process and executed key strategic initiatives for the multinational company. Also, within that same organisation, Mr. Racine was director of business development at Alcoa Canada from 2011 to 2017. His role was to identify and support implementing cost-reducing initiatives and value-creating projects in Alcoa plants in Canada.

Before joining Alcoa as a permanent employee, Mr. Racine was a consultant in business development for Aluminerie Alouette and Alcoa Canada. He also worked for the Société générale de financement from 2001 to 2006 as a portfolio manager and was an administrator for six companies whose annual turnovers varied between 5 and $100M. He began his career among SMEs for 15 years, during which he was a chief officer for three companies.

AL Circle: Can you please take us through the growth of aluminium demand and consumption in Central Canada, particularly Quebec, post-COVID recovery? What is your projection for 2023?

Francois Racine: Aluminium demand in Canada followed the North American and global trend post-Covid when demand became robust, and the shortage of skilled workers recovered with a long lead time. At the beginning of 2023, we witnessed a slowdown resulting from a decrease in consumers' spending capacity caused by heavy inflation rates. However, now the market gradually appears to have stabilised, with raw material purchases coming back to the pre-Covid level.

AL Circle: What role is AluQuebec playing in incorporating sustainability in the Quebec aluminium industry?

Francois Racine: AluQuebec plays a pivotal role in supporting the growth of the aluminium industry in Quebec. Our primary focus is to support the development of new market opportunities and help our local companies make effective uses of aluminium through design optimisation. In terms of sustainability, we promote the use of aluminium as a way to decarbonise our world, using low-carbon aluminium made from renewable energies or through recycling and also by promoting the lower total cost of ownership of aluminium products compared with other materials that are widely in use. Aluminium lasts longer and requires very little maintenance in most applications. Finally, we are very active in promoting sustainability through strong ESG values.

AL Circle: Which end-user sector among packaging, building & construction, and transportation is contributing the highest to aluminium consumption in Quebec this year?

Francois Racine: Good question, but it's hard to say. In Quebec, transportation and building & construction are our two most significant markets. Quebec is home to many commercial and public transportation products manufacturers using more and more aluminium. We also see a strong growth in the usage of aluminium in public buildings, as encouraged by our government. We also have a significant production of electrical cables for high voltage electricity transportation.

AL Circle: How much revenue growth is Canada witnessing annually in line with the hike in export volume of aluminium products to the United States?

Francois Racine: I do not have this information. The Aluminium Association of Canada is much more active in the trade discussions and issues regarding our primary aluminium production and exportation. Having said that, the US is definitively the biggest market for Canadian primary aluminium production, and that has been the case ever since we started making aluminium. I find no reason to see this change.

AL Circle: What technological advancements have recently happened in the Quebec aluminium industry? How is digitalisation shaping up the metal sector?

Francois Racine: On the primary aluminium side, Elysis is definitively getting a lot of attention and has generated a lot of expectations in terms of eliminating the CO2 emissions from the smelting operations.

The whole industry has embarked on a transition towards digitalisation and automation to improve workers’ safety and productivity and also solve the labour shortage expected for many years.

AL Circle: What is the growth rate of recycled aluminium consumption in North America amid a growing awareness of circular economy? Is AluQuebec taking initiative in promoting a circular economy?

Francois Racine: I do not have a specific number, but the use of recycled aluminium is definitively growing. From a global perspective, about 28% of the aluminium consumed today is made from recycling, and this is estimated to reach more than 33% by 2030. The large primary producers are getting into that market as the strategic values show that companies involved in recycling are getting more attention from the investment community. AluQuebec has a committee dedicated to recycling, aimed at improving recycling rates and generating more local investments in the production of secondary aluminium.

AL Circle: According to you, which industrial sector will drive the global aluminium demand in 2024?

Francois Racine: I believe automotive (body panels and extrusions) and packaging will drive the growth of aluminium industry in 2024. Automotive is supported by the growth of EVs using more sheets and extrusions, and packaging is driven by the global desire to find more sustainable alternatives to plastic or glass. Aluminium is absolutely the better choice, but we need to continue to promote the importance of recycling to consumers.