Alro: Over USD 16 M invested in H1 to increase competitiveness, operational efficiency

Alro, the largest aluminium producer in Continental Europe (excluding Russia and the Scandinavian Peninsula), has completed over USD 16 million investments in both the primary and processed aluminium divisions in the first six months of 2017, a press release informs. Earlier this year, the company has launched over 20 investment projects, totalling nearly USD 41 million, to increase the operational efficiency and the high value added products.

“At Alro, we have a long-term development program that we are pursuing with very good results both at products portfolio and quality, as well as at operational levels, and the investments we started help us to strengthen our global position”, said Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of Alro S.A.

According to him, from an operational point of view, the new equipment will support Alro’s program to expand the range of products with high value added, specific to automotive and aerospace industries, but will also have a direct impact on specific consumption, increasing the company’s energy efficiency. Moreover, Alro will increase the quantities of recycled metal, which will have positive effects on the environment.

Slatina-based company has acquired state-of-the-art technology equipment from leading manufacturers in the metallurgical industry, such as Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche, Fata S.P.A., Danieli Centro Combustion, Otto Junker, Wagstaff and Altek. Thus, Alro will develop new capacities for heat-treating aluminium alloy sheets, flattening of slabs smaller than 20 mm, as well as the homogenization of the slabs. In addition, the aluminium producer will modernize the cold strip mill no. 2. This way, Alro will increase its production capacity for high technology aluminium plates used in the aerospace and automotive industries and in the same time will expand its customer portfolio.

Moreover, Alro invests in installing an aluminium slag processing capacity and upgrading the existing ovens, thus increasing the amount of metal that can be reused in the production process. In addition to reducing specific consumption, this investment also has a positive impact on the environment, reducing the amount of aluminium waste resulting from the technological process. The new equipment will optimize the waste recycling process at Eco-Recycling Facility and will increase the company’s energy efficiency.

The investment program will allow Alro to expand its clients’ portfolio in industries using high-quality processed aluminium.

In the first six months of 2017, Alro Group reported a net profit of RON 187 million. The adjusted net profit was RON 219 million in H1 2017, and the Group’s turnover increased by 14.5 percent, reaching RON 1.4 billion, from RON 1.2 billion in H1 2016.