Novelis opens recycling expansion
Novelis, the world’s largest producer of rolled aluminium, has officially opened its €14 million recycling centre expansion at Aluminium Norf (Alunorf) in Neuss, Germany.
Hannelore Kraft, Prime Minister of North Rhine – Westphalia, officially opened the new facility at a ceremony attended by company representatives, customers and local officials. The event marked the commissioning of the twin-chamber melting furnace and processing plant designed to recycle 50,000 metric tons of aluminium scrap per year to feed the rolling mills of Alunorf. The plant, which is a joint venture of Novelis and Hydro Aluminium, is the world’s largest aluminium rolling complex with 2,170 employees.
The new Novelis recycling centre will process aluminium manufacturing scrap from Novelis’ customers across Europe as well as from its own facilities. It is the second phase of a recycling expansion project at Alunorf that began in 2009 with the construction of a similar recycling facility funded by the joint venture partner, Hydro. With today’s commissioning of this most recent expansion, the combined capacity of the plant’s integrated recycling operations is 100,000 metric tons per year.
“Today’s event marks another important milestone in Novelis’ ongoing commitment to recycling and sustainable manufacturing,” said Tadeu Nardocci, senior vice president of Novelis and president of Novelis Europe. “This new facility brings benefits for the environment, our customers, our employees and the economy of the region. It also helps ensure a steady source of metal for our rolling operations here at Norf, while reducing our carbon footprint and that of our customers. Investments such as this one are a key component of our global commitment to increasing recycled metal input to 80% by 2020.”
