Hydro continues to invest in the German market with the addition of a third aluminium extrusion press at its manufacturing plant in Rackwitz.
The EUR 11m investment will create 40 jobs and increase the plant’s extrusion capacity by 12,000 tpy.
The investment in the new extrusion press represents a second life for the press, which was acquired after previous use by a competing company. Its production will be used for customers in the building and construction, transport and general engineering market segments.
Investment expands fabrication area
“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,” says Matthias Hellmann, who manages the plant for Hydro’s extrusion business in Europe. Hydro employs around 250 people at the Rackwitz extrusion plant.
The plant is one of four in the company’s D-A-CH organization, which serves extrusion customers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Three of the plants are in Germany, one in Austria. They operate nine extrusion presses, with two more on the way. One will be in Rackwitz and the another in Nenzing, Austria.
All four plants are ASI-certified
Each plant offers fabrication services in addition to extruded aluminium solutions. All four are certified according to both the ASI Performance Standard and its Chain of Custody Standard.
Just some weeks ago, Hydro broke ground on the expansion of its recycling plant in Rackwitz, which will add 25,000 t of forge stock through higher volumes of post-consumer, end-of-life scrap. The recycling facility is the extrusion plant’s closest neighbour.
Energy saving unit and reduced CO2 footprint
The biggest difference between the new press and the other two presses in Rackwitz is its lower carbon footprint. The continuous aging oven will use 20 % less energy than the others.
In addition, the furnace for log heating is equipped with an energy-saving unit: the exhaust gases from the furnace are used to heat water, which then trickles onto the aluminium log, heating the metal.
The construction phase of the project will begin later this year, with extrusion operations expected to start toward the end of 2023.