Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: aluminium

  • ALRO extended with three years a revolving syndicated credit facility

    ALRO extended with three years a revolving syndicated credit facility

    ALRO Slatina extended until 2023, two syndicated credit facilities cumulating USD 150 million, under the coordination of EximBank.

    The banks syndicate included Unicredit Bank, OTP Bank Romania, EximBank, ING Bank Bucharest Branch, Raiffeisen Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo Romania, CEC Bank, Banca Transilvania, Garanti Bank and the International Bank for Economic Cooperation.

    The credit line aims to sustain ALRO’s strategy to develop products portfolio with high and very high value-added products for sophisticated industries.

    This year, ALRO managed to ensure the business continuity in safe and profitable conditions, while implementing an anti-crisis programme that showed good results and allowed the company to remain competitive on the EU and international markets and keep all production sites operational.

  • ALUM is one of the beneficiaries of EUR 8.8 million granted by the EC

    ALUM is one of the beneficiaries of EUR 8.8 million granted by the EC

    ALUM, the only calcined alumina producer in Romania, is one of the stakeholders of the ReActiv project, an initiative aiming to reduce waste and CO2 emissions by transforming bauxite residue, the main by-product of the alumina sector, into an active material suitable for developing new cement products, with low CO2 footprint.

    Coordinated by LafargeHolcim through its Research and Development Center, the project is part of the Horizon 2020 program for creating low carbon circular industries and received EUR 8.8 million grant from the European Commission.

    ReActiv focuses on transforming a currently unexploited industrial residue from the alumina sector Bauxite Residue, into active material for new sustainable cement products.

    In ReActiv project, ALUM participates as a stakeholder, providing appropriate samples of bauxite residue to be processed in the project, contributes to the feasibility studies and business plan development, especially in regards to potential technology deployment at cement plants.

    The project will be implemented starting end of 2020 or early 2021 and will be finalized in a four year period.

    The ReActiv project will deploy new technologies that will transform the bauxite residue in a re-active material for low CO2 cement production, to substitute 30% to 50% of clinker, the main component of cement. The process will provide much lower costs and will produce novel cement products with equal or better performances while reducing emissions related to production by at least 30%.

    Moreover, the ReActiv project’s objectives are to:

    • reduce with at least 30% the primary raw material use per tonne of cement;
    • cut-off waste generation by at least 25%;
    • provide significant energy savings and reductions in CO2 emissions;
    • establish the secure and sustainable provision of secondary resources at a total cost lower than existing solutions and to provide a sustainable method that can be replicated across industries.

    Furthermore, for the alumina producers, having the possibility of further usage of the bauxite residue and reintroducing it in other industries represents a significant step forward in terms of achieving a sustainable value chain.

    Moreover, this will relieve the ecosystems in the vicinity of alumina refineries from the stockpiling and costs associated with them, as well as developing a new business line, where its waste becomes a resource and, ultimately, a new innovative product.

  • The aluminium producer ALRO Slatina is celebrating its 55th anniversary

    The aluminium producer ALRO Slatina is celebrating its 55th anniversary

    ALRO S.A., one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers in Europe, measured by production capacity, is celebrating its 55th anniversary.

    Starting to operate in 1965, ALRO currently has two divisions, Primary and Processed Aluminium.

    After constantly investing in new technology, ALRO reached a production of 265,000 tonnes of electrolytic aluminium per annum, a Cast-House capacity of 325,000 tonnes per annum, while producing around 100,000 tonnes per year of flat-rolled products.

    The Company has invested more than USD 700 million since privatization in technology and environmental protection.

    At the time of its establishment, the Company had an electrolytic aluminium production of over 8,000 tonnes per annum and produced only aluminium ingots.

    Currently, the Company has a diversified product portfolio, and out of the total 2019 production, over 83,000 tonnes are represented by high value-added products for the more sophisticated industries, such as automotive and aerospace.

    Moreover, high value-added products used in the aerospace industry have increased by 40% in the last seven years, from over 27,000 tonnes in 2012 to over 38,000 tonnes in 2019.

    Investments in energy efficiency programs

    ALRO has constantly implemented energy efficiency programs and applied circular economy principles in its business and has increased the quantities of aluminium scrap recycled and re-melted, having an Eco-Recycling facility with a capacity of 35,000 tonnes which reintroduces the aluminium in the production circuit with an energy consumption about 95% lower compared to the primary technology (by electrolysis).

    Thus, the Company has accessed non-reimbursable funds for increasing the profitability and development of new products worth over RON 115 million, the projects being completed in 2019.

    Through investment and alignment programs to local and European regulations, the Company has reduced PFC emissions by more than 98% compared to 2002 and more than 39 times compared to 1990, and although it is one of the major consumers of electricity in Romania, ALRO has 99% energy efficiency for electrolysis technology due to investments done.

    Turnover over USD 600 million per year

    The Company’s turnover has stabilized in recent years at more than USD 600 million, although market, business conditions and the legislative environment have varied widely, and this performance has favoured the development of horizontal industry and services in the local community, as well as the decrease of the unemployment rate.

    With more than 4,000 employees, more than 20,000 jobs that indirectly depend on the aluminium industry’s and ALRO Group’s activity.

    Besides this, only ALRO’s contributions to the central and local budgets amounted in 2019 to almost RON 130 million (over USD 30 million).