Managing complexity at full speed Becoming the preferred supplier Achieving Aludium 4.0
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Aludium Magazine June 2017 | Issue 05
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Welcome
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Achieving Aludium 4.0
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Becoming the preferred supplier for our customers
10 Amorebieta: Managing complexity at full speed! June 2017 | Issue 05
15 Meet Juan José Salas 16 Juan Carlos Rives Sempere 17
Creating the next generation of customer service
Local news - Amorebieta
18 Local news - Alicante Colophon Editorial staff: Elsy Aelvoet, Maite Etxeita Gorritxategi, Bob Van Cauwenberghe, Dan Smith Contributors: Arnaud de Weert, Manuel Ruano, Kenneth Keiffer, Pedro Escudero, José A. Baeza Díaz, Igor Cacho Marin, Alfonso Martinez Zarraga, Brigitte Darmigny, Agathe Tranchand Pagazaurtundua, Juan José Salas, Juan Carlos Rives Sempere.
Your opinion counts! Please email your suggestions or comments to: elsy.aelvoet@aludium.com
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- Castelsarrasin
Supporting tomorrow’s innovators
Dear colleagues, This edition of Aludium Today takes an in-depth look at Aludium Amorebieta. Nearly all the metal Aludium produces passes through this mill, putting it truly at the heart of our operations.
Since becoming part of the Aludium family, Amorebieta has undergone a major transformation. New melting capacity is decreasing our reliance on primary aluminium and clean scrap, and enabling us to close the recycling loop with our customers. Even post-consumer aluminium can be melted in our new rotary furnace. The changes we have made in Amorebieta are helping Aludium to improve our competitive position. Aludium recently announced our support for a team of students from the University of Valencia. They won a design award for the world-famous Hyperloop transportation project and Aludium will be assisting them with material and technical support. For the next two years, Aludium will also be one of the major sponsors of the team of the Engineering School of Bilbao, belonging to the University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV), in the Formula Student project. These sponsorships help us to keep in touch with fast-moving trends, particularly in the mobility sector. At Aludium we also aim to be part of the communities in which we operate. That means helping out where we can make a difference. We’re very proud that our employees recently took the initiative to organise the first Aludium Charity Race at Alicante. Over four tonnes of food was donated, ensuring that a lot of families in our local areas will receive help. As we look back on the first half of 2017 we can be very pleased with our results. Now it’s time to look forward to continuing on our path to growth and becoming the best 300,000 tonne mill in Europe.
Arnaud de Weert, Aludium CEO
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Putting our people and customers first to create a business of the future Achieving Aludium 4.0 Since Aludium was formed in January 2015, the business has gone through a complete transformation. Production has grown dramatically, from 145,000 tonnes in 2014 to a projected 229,000 tonnes in 2017. And we’re on track to reach our annual production target of 300,000 tonnes. management team, and plant managers a chance to meet face to face. They are organised at a different plant each quarter. As part of the QBR, team members visit the plant to evaluate changes and ongoing work. Employees who have done something extraordinary since the last QBR at the plant are recognised with a certificate or presentation.
Key to Aludium’s success is our people. Without exception, we consider every employee as a partner in the business. That ranks them among our most important stakeholders. Because every employee is a partner - that also makes them a sales person for Aludium. But it’s not about selling products or maintaining customer relationships, it’s about providing the best service possible. By getting that right we ensure that the relationships that we have with our customers grow and prosper on both sides of the relationship.
To further increase the knowledge of employees about the business, we have invited members of the Aludium Works Council to stand alongside our sales and R&D staff at Aluminium Interiors 2017. It will help them to understand that we have a lot of competitors and that we are not working on an island.
Transparency at all times
One thing you won’t find at Aludium are a lot of consultants. We want dedicated people in place who can feel the heartbeat of our customers.
Keeping employees engaged requires transparency, in both bad and good times. We communicate with them in a very consistent way to ensure transparency is maintained. Each week employees are updated about what is happening in the plant, customer orders, and the most important KPIs. Every month there is also a meeting between the plant manager and employees to discuss the company’s profit and loss figures and targets. Quarterly Business Reporting (QBR) meetings are also held which give myself, Arnaud de Weert (CEO), the senior
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Twice a year we also publish Aludium Today. While customers also receive the magazine, the primary audience is Aludium’s employees. It’s helping to build a strong community between our employees who are spread across three mills and sales offices around Europe.
Today
Customer centric approach
That approach starts at the top. In the first few months after Aludium was formed, some of our existing customers expressed concerns about the change. Together with Arnaud, I visited many customers to personally bring them one simple but powerful message: Aludium is still a reliable partner for your business and here to help. Thanks to our full order book and growing business, we know that our customers
believe in us and that they appreciate our personal approach. But we also know that we need go further. That’s where Aludium 4.0 comes in. We’re trying to work smarter, as well as harder, to anticipate customer needs. Aludium has started working with an artificial intelligence company which is teaching us how to analyse every piece of data we collect. It’s helped us to understand our internal processes, and to examine patterns and behaviours. By measuring the business in this way, we can define new ways of improving our production processes and workflows, and our service offer to customers. Aludium’s strategic customers already appreciate our short lead time concept. That enables us to deliver them a very wide portfolio of products with just a two- to three-week lead time. This is a significant reduction on our standard eight-week lead time. While many of our competitors offer short lead times, they are often only available at specific times of the year. At Aludium, we understand the pressures our major customers face and we offer our short lead time concept consistently. Our short lead times are also very reliable - on average over 90 percent of our short lead time orders are delivered on time and in full (OTIF). But that is not enough for me. With the flexibility we now have in our system and the investments we have planned, I want to be able to deliver a broader portfolio of products to these customers with the same short lead times. This will help them to tailor their supply chains and is another indication of the service level Aludium wants to aim for.
COO
Aludium is working with students from the University of Valencia to realise a prototype of their Hyperloop pod design. Read more about the Hyperloop project: http://aludium.com/hyperloop
You can read more about this in the interview with Pedro Escudero on page 6.
Investing in the people and trends of the future To ensure the future of our business, Aludium is actively keeping track of the latest trends. We’re working with some very inspiring people and investing in projects that will create a better future for society. One of the most inspiring groups of people we are working with are a team of students from the University of Valencia. The team recently won a design award for the Hyperloop project - an ambitious passenger and freight transportation technology which is as fast as aircraft but low cost and sustainable. For the next two years, Aludium will also be one of the major sponsors of the team of the Engineering School of Bilbao, belonging to the University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV) in the Formula Student project. Formula Student sees teams of university students from around the world develop new engineering solutions which can be applied to mobility solutions of the future.
Our involvement in these projects expresses Aludium’s confidence in aluminium as a material for the future. By being a part of them, we ensure that we keep up with trends that are evolving at very high speed. Together with our short decision-making chain and our R&D capabilities, these projects will help ensure the success of Aludium in the future.
Achieving operational excellence By the end of 2017 we aim to have produced 229,000 tonnes of rolled aluminium in a year. That will be a record for the three mills which are part of Aludium, but still below our theoretical annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes with the assets we already have. To reach this target we need to remove a few bottlenecks, but without investing in new equipment or facilities. We will achieve the goal by updating our existing equipment to ensure it meets today’s technology standards. With these investments, and the experience of our employees, we should be able to become the best 300,000 tonne mill in Europe.
The Bizkaia Formula Student team benefit from a two-year sponsorship deal with Aludium Read more about the Formula Student project: http://aludium.com/ formula-student/
The three major bottlenecks we are working on are: • Hot mill: several operational excellence projects are ongoing. One of the major works is the revamping of the hot mill’s electronics which should be completed by the summer of this year. The investments we are making will increase our hot mill capacity by 20% compared to 2015. • Annealing capacity: In 2016 Aludium installed a new annealing furnace in Alicante. A new furnace was also installed in Amorebieta during the first quarter of 2017. • Finishing lines: Investments to revamp and update the tension and levelling lines in Alicante and Amorebieta will increase output by around 30%.
Closing the loop on post-consumer recycling for smaller companies During 2016, Aludium Amorebieta installed a new rotary furnace which can melt dirty scrap. While this strategic investment will increase capacity, its major benefit will be to significantly reduce Aludium’s dependence on primary aluminium and clean scrap. The rotary furnace also allows us to close the recycling loop, particularly with our smaller customers. These companies might only produce 50 to 100 tonnes of dirty scrap annually. But it is not financially feasible for them to invest in scrap compacting technology. We are investing in recycling, but we also want to invest in our service. Aludium is working with these customers to find the most cost-effective and sustainable method to recycle this scrap in our rotary furnace. It’s another example of how Aludium is putting the customer centrestage and increasing the sustainability of our industry. ■
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Becoming the preferred supplier for our customers Pedro Escudero was plant manager of Aludium’s Alicante mill for five years, before becoming plant manager at Amorebieta in 2012. Aludium Today spoke with Pedro to find out how the plant has evolved, which markets are most important for its products, and the challenges of managing such a diverse facility.
Meet Pedro Escudero Pedro was born and raised in Murcia. He is married and lives with his wife and two children in Bilbao. Pedro gained a degree in chemistry from the University of Murcia. He then completed a Master of Engineering degree at the University of Barcelona and studied at the IESE Management School. For the first years of his career, he worked at Proctor & Gamble and Société Bic. In October 2004, Pedro started to work for Alcoa in Barcelona. In 2007 Pedro was appointed plant manager of the Alicante mill - a position he held until becoming plant manager of Amorebieta in 2012. In his spare time, Pedro enjoys reading thrillers. Holidays are normally spent with his family at their house on the coast near Barcelona. There he spends his time relaxing, climbing, and golfing with good friends. ■
Aludium Today (AT): Take us through a plant manager’s typical day… Pedro Escudero (PE): There is no typical day in Amorebieta! The only thing I do consistently is to check the hot mill production and shipment data early in the morning - before I even get to Amorebieta. After that, the party starts! Some days it includes scheduled activities such as meetings about projects or reporting to the wider organisation. Other days we have customer visits or working sessions with different teams. There is a daily management meeting just before lunch, and we have weekly and monthly updates between the Amorebieta team and the customer teams - we have a big focus on open communication. AT: How do you manage such a complex business? PE: We are convinced that the only way we can survive - particularly in a
1962 As part of the Spanish Development Plan, Eduardo K.L. Earle establishes two businesses producing rolled and extruded aluminium in Amorebieta.
1956 Eduardo K.L. Earle starts a business transforming aluminium and other metals in Leioa (Basque Region).
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global industry like ours - is to be extremely customer-oriented which can react immediately to the needs of our customers. That requires us to deliver material quickly - in small volumes where necessary, and to be reliable in terms of both quality and support. AT: How is Aludium Amorebieta organised? PE: Our organisation is based on the manufacturing process, and that allows us to put the customer first. We have three major manufacturing units: the cast house, hot and cold mills, and the finishing units. All other departments support and help these units to deliver and meet customer expectations on service and quality. AT: Tell us about SMART manufacturing and how that affects improvements at Aludium Amorebieta… PE: At Aludium we take a practical approach to continuous improvement which has a strong focus on the needs of
1985 INESPAL (Industria Espanola del Aluminio, S.A.) is formed, grouping together all aluminium businesses in Spain, including Amorebieta.
1998 Alcoa acquires INESPAL, including Amorebieta.
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The Pechiney Group takes control of the EARLE Amorebieta plant. At the same time, it acquires the rolled aluminium business of Sabiñanigo (Huesca), known as Aluminio Español, and Aluminio Transformación of La Coruña, a company from Galicia. Aluminio de Galicia S.A. is formed.
Aluminio de Galicia invests in a new cold rolling mill and an annealing furnace.
The €180 million DELFIN project starts a full revamp of the Amorebieta plant. Work includes the installation of new hot and cold rolling mills, automatic storage facilities, new finishing lines (including packaging), and a new casting furnace.
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Amorebieta’s hot mill control room gives operators a complete overview
our customers. We need to find a SMART balance between capacity, investments, quality, and reactivity to customers. That doesn’t mean we need to add capacity - we just need to be the best-performing 300,000-tonne mill in Europe using the equipment we have. That’s why we are continuously looking for smart ways to improve our existing equipment. AT: You’ve mentioned putting the customer first a few times - how important is this for Aludium? PE: It’s an absolute priority. We want to be a real partner for our customers. We want to work closely with them and make them successful. After all, their success is our success. That’s why we offer services such as co-engineering.
By working closely with a customer we get to understand the challenges they face and how we can add value. AT: How has Aludium Amorebieta evolved over the years? PE: The change to becoming part of a standalone business - Aludium - has been the biggest change we have experienced. It has required a real culture change from all of us. We have had to learn how to operate as a standalone business, and how to take care of our customers in the markets that we serve. AT: Has the change to Aludium affected the business? PE: As we have focussed on the markets where our value proposition is strongest,
we have seen an increase in demand. This has required us to achieve a level of production that is unprecedented in our history. High demand has led to changes in the way we work. We must focus on small details to ensure everything flows as expected. Our continuous improvement culture helps us to keep improving our performance, and to be more open to the needs of our customers. Becoming the preferred supplier, particularly for our strategic customers, has become our daily motivation. Atlas Holdings has invested a lot into Aludium, particularly in Amorebieta. Investments in critical equipment have >
A brief history of Aludium Amorebieta 2016
2009
Rotary furnace installed in the cast house, enabling Amorebieta to melt painted and treated (dirty) scrap aluminium for the first time. In-house melting capacity is increased significantly.
The plant receives ISO TS 16949 certification, enabling it to supply automotive customers.
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2017
Aludium, owned by Atlas Holdings, acquires Alcoa’s assets in Alicante, Amorebieta, and Castelsarrasin (France).
New annealing furnace installed. Electrical and electronic installations on the hot mill revamped.
2010 Finishing mill is revamped. Today
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production not seen before thanks to our continuous improvement activities, and the financial support from Atlas Holdings to make the changes we need.
Daily production meetings align the teams
helped us to remove bottlenecks in our production process, and to open our supply chain to a different type of feedstock. It’s helped us to become a faster and more flexible organisation, and meet market expectations. AT: How is Aludium’s vision affected by its major investor - Atlas Holdings? PE: Atlas Holdings, and our management team, have a truly industrial vision for Aludium. We have a very flat structure and the management and Atlas teams are very accessible - it has cut our decision making time dramatically. As Aludium we try to understand what is driving our customers and what challenges they face. Atlas Holdings does the same for Aludium. They have supported our investment programme, and there are even more investments planned. It is enabling our business, communities, and families to flourish.
AT: Which markets does Aludium Amorebieta serve? PE: We serve four main markets directly: architecture, distribution, foil stock, and industrial. Indirectly we serve all Aludium markets as we supply all of the metal needed by Aludium’s plants in Alicante and Castelsarrasin. AT: Which markets are growing the fastest? PE: Aludium Amorebieta is already the leading European producer of aluminium for architecture and distribution. Industrial is a growing market for us. We’ve gained 15 new customers in this sector alone over the past two years. Overall, we have experienced doubledigit growth for the past three years and 2017 will be similar. This requires us to analyse our manufacturing processes, identify bottlenecks, and increase capacity. We are achieving levels of
Investments (M€) 25 21 20 17,5 15
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AT: What is the biggest challenge ahead for Aludium Amorebieta? PE: When we came together as Aludium, we implemented a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. That was a huge challenge, and one that took a lot of effort. But it was worth it. Now we need to focus on improving the level of service we offer customers and become the preferred supplier of aluminium in our chosen markets. This is a real challenge, particularly as we are increasing our portfolio of alloys and finishes, and growing the two-week lead time concept at the same time. The short lead time has been very well received by customers. AT: How many products does Aludium Amorebieta produce? PE: When you take into account individual product combinations such as alloys, thickness, width, and surface treatment - we manage about 14,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). It sounds a lot, but we have systems in place which allow us to produce and deliver extremely quickly, even in small batches. We need to improve our performance and that is the focus of our ongoing continuous improvement actions. AT: You mentioned increasing the product portfolio, what innovative products is Amorebieta making now? PE: We have introduced new alloys including 5005 (general quality), 5083,
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AT: What happens if the market doesn’t grow as fast as you anticipate? PE: We have organised our manufacturing so that we can quickly react to market trends - either increasing, or declining. Key ways we achieve this are through a high level of flexibility with our associates, and the use of external partners for non-core operations.
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Aludium’s new rotary furnace in action
and others. We’ve also increased the thickness range we can produce. We can now go up to nine millimetres. AT: What about process changes? PE: The new rotary furnace came onstream in late 2016. That’s allowing us to produce alloys using what is known in the trade as ‘dirty scrap’. That’s just scrap that has had a life - it’s been used, painted, or treated in another way. With the new rotary furnace, we can now recycle this material for the first time. That gives us access to a wider scrap market than ever before. It’s improved our casting capacity and our flexibility to produce different alloys. AT: Does Cindal add value for Amorebieta? PE: Cindal’s knowledge of aluminium is key for us. Their support is really important when we are developing a new alloy, qualifying new suppliers, or improving our manufacturing processes. As all metal for Aludium’s plants passes through Amorebieta, we are also involved in the development of new products at Alicante and Castelsarrasin. That includes Decorandum®, Texturandum™, automotive alloys, food stock… if Aludium makes it, Amorebieta is involved.
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Finished sheets are inspected for quality
AT: Can you give us one or two examples where Cindal has helped the Amorebieta team? PE: Of course! There are many! It feels strange if there is a week when we have no-one from Cindal at Amorebieta - they are involved in so many of our projects. One of the most recent was the start-up of the new rotary furnace. Staff from Cindal were an integral part of the team that checked whether the chemistry of the alloys we produced matched European standards, and that the scrap suppliers were qualified. The Cindal team is now involved in the start-up of our new annealing furnace. They are leading the qualification process and checking the thermal processes of the furnace. We recently introduced the 5083 alloy which requires our hot rolling mill to work at maximum capability. Members from the Cindal team are working with the hot mill team to design a sustainable rolling process for this alloy.
safety of our team. These are fundamental principles across Aludium. Amorebieta is ISO 14001-certified for environmental care, and we hold OHAS 18001 certification for safety and health management. Any new investment is checked to make sure it is future-proof. For example, there is new environmental legislation expected in Europe over the next few years. We have already anticipated this in our improvements. AT: What motivates your approach to human resources? PE: I strongly believe that most people like to do the best job they can. And that they feel good when their contribution to the business is clear. My strategy is to be transparent about the business situation, and maintain clear communication with everyone. I’m not afraid to ask people to perform outside their comfort zone. I believe it helps to develop them, and ensure they grow professionally. Their contribution to the business improves as a result. ■
AT: What environmental and safety certifications does Aludium Amorebieta hold? PE: We have very strict procedures to minimise our impact on the environment, and on the health and
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Amorebieta:
Managing complexity at full speed! Aludium Amorebieta was established in 1962 in Spain’s northern Basque region. Located 27 kilometres from the region’s capital Bilbao, the plant is today at the heart of Aludium’s operations. As well as being a supplier of premium alloys to the building and construction, distribution, and industrial markets, Aludium Amorebieta also produces high-quality aluminium which is finished at our plants in Castelsarrasin (France) and Alicante (Spain).
melting technologies in-house. That makes it very easy for us to choose the most efficient and flexible way to produce alloys.” Although the mill has been in operation for over 50 years, Aludium Amorebieta operates state-of-the-art equipment including: • Finishing lines • One hot and two cold rolling mills • New rotary furnace (2016) • New annealing furnace (2017)
Melting technology The new rotary furnace came onstream in late 2016 and has increased Aludium Amorebieta’s capacity by 30,000 tonnes annually. “The rotary furnace can melt dirty scrap - scrap aluminium which has been treated or painted,” explains Plant Manager, Pedro Escudero. “Compared to clean scrap, dirty scrap is more readily available. Thanks to environmental improvements which were carried out at the same time as the installation of the rotary furnace, fume emissions from the paints are captured.” Further investments are being realised in Amorebieta. One of the latest is a new annealing furnace which came onstream in February this year. New investments are planned in the cast house to re-use more dirty scrap. Pedro Escudero notes that the intention of these investments is not to increase capacity: “We want to maintain our output at around 300,000 tonnes. The new investments will simply ensure that Aludium has a range of aluminium
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Aludium’s melting capabilities allow Amorebieta to produce anything from one to six slabs of an alloy in the same batch. This has significant advantages as Pedro Escudero explains: “By having furnaces of different sizes and all melting technologies on one site, we can produce slabs in the most flexible way. It also makes us less dependent on other slab producers and makes our entire supply chain much less dependent on clean scrap.”
Investments in equipment and people Since Aludium Amorebieta was acquired by Atlas Holdings in January 2015, more than €23 million has been allocated to investments.
Cast house Amorebieta’s cast house can produce 120,000 tonnes of slabs annually in 3xxx, 5xxx and 8xxx alloys. The casting house recycles internal scrap from Aludium’s three rolling mills together with clean and painted scrap from our customers or the European scrap market. The main facilities in the cast house include: • Casting group 2: A furnace and 12-tonne holder with a degasser and ceramic-foam filter. This group can cast one slab per drop with a maximum width of 1600 mm.
• Casting group 3: A furnace and 19-tonne holder with a degasser and ceramic-foam filter. This group can cast two slabs per drop with a maximum width of 1600 mm. • Casting group 4. A furnace of 48 tonnes, a rotary furnace of 40 tonnes, and a holder with a capacity of 56-tonnes. The group includes a degasser and ceramic-foam filter. It can cast five slabs per drop with a maximum width of 1770 mm. A saw, to cut slab heads and tails, ensures the slabs are the right length for hot rolling.
Rolling mills Aludium Amorebieta has one hot mill and two cold rolling mills. Hot Mill All Aludium products are processed though at Amorebieta’s hot mill. It transforms the slabs into coils that will be cold rolled down to the final gauge in the Alicante, Castelsarrasin, or Amorebieta cold mills. The Amorebieta hot mill can process slabs with a maximum width of 1770 mm. It transforms them into coils with a thickness of between 4 and 10 mm. The hot rolling area also includes: A scalper that is used to create a good slab surface. The scalper mills a layer of metal from top and bottom faces of the slab.
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Aludium’s flexible melting capabilities allow us to produce one to six coils in the same batch
Three preheating furnaces which can process 21 slabs. The thermal parameters can be tailored to ensure the metal has the right properties to meet the customer’s requirements. Cold Mills Amorebieta operates two cold mills. The first rolling passes are done in the roughing mill. It can process coils with a maximum entry thickness of 10 mm down to the required thickness. This can be as low as one millimetre. In the next step, the coils are rolled in the high-speed finishing mill. This mill can process coils up to 4 mm thick and achieve a minimum exit gauge of 0.20 mm. Both mills utilise brand-new equipment to control flatness and thickness.
Annealing furnaces
Finishing lines Amorebieta has five finishing lines including: • A trimmer to process foil products, bright coils for Castelsarrasin, and coils for internal use which need intermediate edge trimming. The trimmer has a thickness range from 0.15 to 1.5 mm. • A tension levelling line, mainly for paint stock and distribution customers. It has a thickness range of 0.2 to 2 mm and can process coils up to 1500 mm wide. • A slitter dedicated to products destined for paint stock, automotive, and industrial applications. It can make up to 15 cuts from one coil with a maximum exit width of 1760 mm. • Two cut-to-length lines with levelling capabilities. These lines can produce sheets and shates with a thickness between 0.6 and 6.0 mm, and a maximum length of 6 metres.
“Total investments in Amorebieta is more than €23 million since it was acquired by Atlas Holdings” Short and medium term plans Aludium Amorebieta is implementing an ambitious investment plan focused on key areas. In the cast house, Aludium has invested in a new rotary furnace. Other ambitious investments in the cast house are currently being investigated. They will help Aludium to become more independent when it comes to metal >
To provide our products with the right mechanical characteristics, Amorebieta operates ten annealing furnaces. Seven are heated with gas while the other three are heated electrically. All have an inert atmosphere and can treat up to three coils at the same time.
One of the two cold mills at Aludium Amorebieta
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Ferrari World (Dubai): one of the many prestigious projects supplied by Aludium customer Euramax
supply, and stabilise the cost of metal over the long-term. Rolling is another area of focus for investment. Several revamping projects, such as the new control system in the hot mill, will help Aludium Amorebieta to achieve a hot mill rolling capacity of 300,000 tonnes annually. The installation of a new annealing furnace will reduce bottlenecks and increase capacity by more than 16,000 tonnes. That will enable Amorebieta to finish around 500 tonnes of product per day.
Transparancy and safety But it’s not just infrastructure. Atlas Holdings has also invested in Aludium’s people, creating almost 50 new jobs (an increase of nine percent) in Amorebieta since 2014. Both the sales and support teams are highly trained in Aludium’s products and production. Staff constantly refresh their knowledge so that they can immediately provide a reliable response to customer enquiries during the initial
contact. Like all Aludium plants, Amorebieta has its own internal newsletter ‘Amorebieta 7 Días’ (Amorebieta 7 Days). Published weekly, the newsletter keeps everyone at the plant informed about topics such as clients, production targets, and scheduled maintenance. As Plant Manager, Pedro Escudero has his own column where he presents information about topics such as objectives, projects, and quality issues. “It’s a great way to keep our people informed about what is happening at their mill. Amorebieta people are very proud of their own mill,” says Pedro
Escudero. “And when we see our products utilised in some of the world’s most famous building and construction projects - that’s the icing on the cake!” Safety is another area where Aludium is investing in its people. “We thought that we were doing well before we became a part of Aludium,” notes Pedro Escudero. “Atlas Holdings, our major shareholder, puts a lot of focus on this area. With their support and encouragement, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our safety performance. It’s having a very positive effect!”
Unparalleled technical and customer support Aludium Amorebieta’s main customers are in the building and construction, distribution, and industrial sectors. The mill also supplies material for automotive interiors. Building and construction is the largest market and Aludium Amorebieta supplies facade and roofing alloys to many major European and international coil coaters. “Our aim is to be their supplier of choice and we do that by supplying high quality products and providing industry leading customer service,” says Pedro Escudero. “Jack Flipsen, Director Customer Service and S&OP, has already mentioned our short lead time concept and Aludium’s excellent reliability. Coil coaters can rely on us, we will never let them down. That’s the real measure of service and why customers choose us.”
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Technical support is another area where Aludium makes a real difference. “Whether they need specific mechanical or chemical characteristics, particular surface treatments or finishes, or want to solve a problem in their production process, experts from Aludium’s Cindal R&D centre are available to assist. To have this level of expertise in-house is quite exceptional,” notes Pedro Escudero. Aludium also demonstrates extreme flexibility whenever there is a problem with one of our products as Pedro Escudero explains: “We send one of our product leaders to help them identify the problem. And if we find it is related to the Aludium product, we will replace them as quickly as possible. If you’re working with a supplier from Asia for example, that level of highly qualified and reactive support is impossible to find.”
“Coil coaters can rely on us, we will never let them down” Thanks to its capabilities, Aludium Amorebieta is also able to show extreme flexibility when it comes to supplying material. “If a customer needs 150 tonnes of a certain alloy with a specific finish in two weeks - we will make it happen,” says Pedro Escudero. “If they need more material than was foreseen in their initial forecast - we will do everything we can to supply them with the volume they need. Even in Europe it is hard to find an aluminium supplier who will make that level of effort.” ■
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Employment in Amorebieta
Safety
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Indirect employment
Total recordable rate (TRR) of accidents across Aludium per 200,000 hours of work
Complex analysis improves reactivity Amorebieta already offers Aludium’s strategic customers very short lead times on a wide portfolio of our products. But the new melting capacity and investments being made at Aludium Amorebieta will give the mill extra flexibility. “Aludium’s goal is to offer our strategic customers two-week lead times on a broader range of our products,” notes Jack Flipsen, Aludium’s Director of Customer Service and Supply Chain. “Many of our competitors can only offer this service during quiet times at their mills, but Aludium already provides short lead times throughout the year.” Aludium’s ability to meet the needs of its strategic customers relies on a complex analysis of market trends and forecasts which are matched against historical data. “That allows us to react very quickly to the needs of our strategic customers,” says Jack Flipsen. “I must stress - we do not plan to become a wholesaler with this approach and we can’t offer it to everyone. It’s simply a way of ensuring that we offer an unmatchable level of service.”
Distribution and niche industrial markets growing The second largest market for alloys from Aludium Amorebieta is distributors, including stock holders and service centres. Distributors choose Aludium for our reactivity and a wide portfolio of alloys including 1050, 5005, 5251, and 5754. “Stock holders and service centres also appreciate our short lead times and the
efforts we are making to improve our reactivity,” notes Pedro Escudero. “We aim to optimise their supply chain and reduce the need for them to store large volumes of material.” Strong growth in demand for Amorebieta’s products is coming from niche sectors in the industrial market. Existing applications for Aludium’s alloys are in heat shields for vehicles, gas tanks, and firefighting trucks. Aludium’s products are increasingly being used to create the casings of hand-held devices, ladders, scaffolding, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications.
Applications for aluminium in transport growing Growth is also coming from the transport sector as Pedro Escudero explains: “There is an increasing use of aluminium in transportation as OEMS seek ways to reduce the weight of their vehicles, thereby improving their environmental performance. Potential applications for alloys from Amorebieta include lightweight panels for train and bus interiors, and the nonstructural components of vehicles. Aludium Transportation - a part of Cindal R&D - is dedicated to finding more applications for our products in mobility.” With this in mind, Aludium has recently entered into a number of partnerships which will examine the use of aluminium in mobility solutions. In July 2016, Aludium became a member of the ACICAE Basque Automotive Cluster. The Cluster is working with the Automotive Intelligence Center (AIC) to improve the competitiveness of
aluminium in the automotive sector and explore new markets.
Working SMART is part of our DNA As part of Aludium’s SMART project (see page 6) Aludium Amorebieta has implemented a continuous improvement project to update its equipment and processes in a smart way. “Our goal is to keep our equipment up-to-date and make it ready for the future at the same time,” says Pedro Escudero. “But even we were surprised by what could be achieved.” One project that was recently realised was another reduction in the ‘between coil time’ on our rolling mills. This is the short interval between one coil being finished, and the start of the rolling operation on the next coil. “By reducing the interval between the two coils by just two seconds we saved 54 minutes a day. That allows us to process more coils each day,” notes Pedro Escudero. “Needless to say, the decision to invest in this improvement was made very quickly!” Another improvement which will be made is the revamping of the electronic and electrical installations on the hot rolling mill. Scheduled to be carried out in April and May 2017, the changes will improve reliability and lead to further capacity improvements. With its happy customers, ongoing investment programme, and highly motivated and skilled staff, Aludium Amorebieta is sure to remain the beating heart of Aludium for many decades to come. ■
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Plant in the SP
TLIGHT
190,000 square metres TOTAL AREA OF THE AMOREBIETA FACILITY
40
AVERAGE DAILY TRUCK MOVEMENTS
ALUDIUM AMOREBIETA IN FIGURES
250,000 tonnes PRODUCTION CAPACITY
70,000 square metres PRODUCTION AREA
Strengths of Aludium Amorebieta
587
• H igh-tech rolled surfaces and excellent end-product formability suitable for building and construction, distribution, automotive, and industrial • C o-engineering capabilities to create tailor-made surfaces and formability • S MART manufacturing and short lead times, coupled with excellent logistics • D aily process and production management and continuous improvement
TOTAL EMPLOYEES (END 2016)
€299 million
• M otivated workforce oriented towards tracking and improving quality and efficiency • H igh level of customer service - we hear the customer’s voice on the shop floor • E xcellent on time in full (OTIF) delivery rate (above 90%) with claims reduced by 25% since 2008. • Aludium Amorebieta holds the following certifications: • ISO 9001: Quality management • ISO 50001: Energy management • ISO 14001: Environmental management • ISO TS16949: Continual improvement • OHSAS 18801: Occupational health and safety.
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142.56
million square metres ROLLED SURFACE AREA OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCED IN AMOREBIETA – EQUIVALENT
SALES 2016
TO COVERING 22,000 FOOTBALL FIELDS
110,520 287 kilometres million
kilowatt hours
AVERAGE ENERGY CONSUMPTION. THAT’S MORE THAN DOUBLE THE ELECTRICITY CONSUMED BY THE CITY OF AMOREBIETA ANNUALLY
LENGTH OF ALL ROLLED ALUMINIUM PRODUCED IN AMOREBIETA – ENOUGH TO GO AROUND THE EARTH 2.7 TIMES
Colleague SP
TLIGHT
A major part of Juanjo’s job is to take delivery of the scrap used in Amorebieta’s new rotary furnace
are receiving now is completely new to us. We have had to learn how to identify and classify it to obtain the best performance from the rotary furnace.
Meet Juan José Salas Juan José Salas is the Metal Supply Coordinator for Aludium Amorebieta. As well as being a passionate photographer, Juanjo and his family support ACOBI, an NGO which gives disadvantaged children a chance to have a normal summer vacation. Aludium Today (AT): Tell us a little bit about yourself… Juan José Salas (JJS): I’m 56 years old and live in Amorebieta. I am married and have two children.
AT: When did you start working for Aludium? JJS: I started at Amorebieta in 1979 when I was just 18 years of age. Today I work in the cast house where I am the Metal Supply Coordinator. I am responsible for the reception and classification of raw materials, together with a colleague. We unload, analyse, and classify the scrap before entering the information into the IT system. Our furnace operators use this information to prepare the loads.
AT: What is the biggest challenge in your work today? JJS: We are adapting to the requirements of the new rotary furnace. The dirty scrap we
AT: If you could give a reward to just one of your colleagues, who would it be and why? JJS: Today it would be my colleague Trini del Moral. I really appreciate her very strong commitment. Some years ago I worked with Felipe Fernández in the maintenance department. I found this very inspiring because I learnt a lot from him. I am very grateful for that.
AT: You are a member of an NGO that takes care of disadvantaged children during the summer. How did you get involved in this, and why? JJS: During the Balkans war my wife discovered that there were NGOs searching for people who could take in families. A colleague told me about an NGO that wanted families to take in Belarusian children during the summer. The NGO is ACOBI, and in 1999 we began to take care of a Belarusian boy. He stayed with us for nine summers altogether. Since then our family has continued to support ACOBI.
AT: What types of activities do you do with them when they are here?
AT: What have you learnt from these children? JJS: The main thing I have learnt is to be more generous. We live in abundance, but we don’t value it. It is incredible how the children thank you for every single thing you give them. They have nothing, so even the smallest thing is amazing for them. I like making them happy and making sure they get some time in a healthy atmosphere. They enjoy getting to know another way of life, trying different food, and discovering other cultures.
AT: We also heard that you are a very good photographer. Where does this hobby come from? JJS: It comes from my fondness for the mountains. I started to take pictures when I went to the mountains to collect mushrooms. Now, instead of walking and taking mushrooms, I take pictures of the landscapes and mushrooms! When I won a prize in a photo contest in Amorebieta, my interest increased. Now I am a member of a photography group called Uztargi klik. We organize trips, courses, and other events.
AT: What type of pictures do you take? JJS: I like macro photography and landscapes. I usually take pictures once or twice a week, usually on the weekend. But when I go on vacation, I spend all the time that I can taking pictures. ■
JJS: The NGO organises different activities such as mountain trips, visits to the fire station, or the zoo. And we take them to the beach and the swimming pool. The first year we went on holiday to a hotel, and it was an incredible experience for our Belarusian boy. One of Juanjo’s passions is taking photographs of the mountains and mushrooms in northern Spain
Juanjo recently won an award for his photography
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Colleague SP
TLIGHT
Juan Carlos Rives Sempere In each issue of Aludium Today we introduce a member of Aludium. In this edition we meet Juan Carlos Rives Sempere, a maintenance engineer at Aludium Alicante who has an unbeatable passion for triathlon. Aludium Today (AT): Tell us a little about your life…
AT: We know that you are an athlete. What is your specialty?
Juan Carlos Rives Sempere (JCRS): I live in Elche, a city about 25 kilometres inland from Alicante. I am 40 years old and married with two children. In 2008 I graduated from UMH ( Universidad Miguel Hernandez, Elche) with a degree in telecommunications engineering.
JCRS: My specialty is the triathlon. Out of the three disciplines (cycling, swimming, and running) I enjoy running the most. That’s why I also compete in marathons.
AT: When did you start at Aludium and what do you do? JCRS: I joined the Alicante plant in May 2002 and work in the Maintenance department. Each day is different. If there are no breakdowns our days can be quiet. But when there is a problem with one of the machines we must be ready to fix it quickly to minimise any disruptions.
AT: What do you like the most about working at Aludium? JCRS: I love my job. The thing I like most about working at Aludium is the atmosphere. We have a very strong team spirit and good relationship between the team members.
AT: If you could reward just one of your colleagues, who would it be? JCRS: Many of my colleagues deserve rewards - each for very different reasons. I can’t pick just one…
For the past seven years, I have been a member of the local Elche Triathlon Club. During the year we organise different events. One of my favourites is in spring. We ride from Elche to Sierra Espuña - just over 100 kilometres away. We have lunch together there and then ride back to Elche - it’s a very enjoyable day.
Juan Carlos is an avid competitor in triathlons, marathons, and ironmen events
achieved my personal-best marathon time. • Vitoria Ironman. This race takes place in very beautiful surroundings and I have good memories of the event. Twenty club members participated.
AT: What are your future sporting plans?
In August we organise another bike tour called La Sellada. That finishes at the swimming pool in Sella which is about 50 kilometres from Alicante. Although it is a shorter distance, the ride is often quite hard due to the heat.
JCRS: I usually plan to do at least one ironman event per year. As part of the training for that I always include some 10-kilometre and marathon races, and half distance triathlons. I just try to improve my time in each race.
AT: Which are the most important races for you?
AT: How do you organise time to train?
JCRS: Some of the most important events for me have been: • Triathlon Arenales. This is a halfironman race and was the first time I had taken part in an ironman competition. • Berlin Marathon. I have very good memories of this race, it was where I
JCRS: First of all, I decide which events I want to compete in, and then I prepare a 24- to 26-week training timetable. In winter I train very early in the morning, while in summer I train in the evening.
AT: Are there things that matter in your sport that you find useful in your job? JCRS: I think that this sport teaches you that the effort is worth it, that all the work you have done always has a reward. It’s the same at work. You need to work hard to achieve your goals.
AT: What makes you smile when you’re training? Juan Carlos Rives Sempere has been employed as a maintenance engineer at Aludium Alicante since 2002
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JCRS: I love running through the countryside. I am lucky because the countryside starts just 300-metres from my home. Contact with nature gives me freedom, and it helps me to get away from my worries. Doing sport is what makes me smile. ■
CFO
Creating the next generation of customer service Meet Kenneth Keiffer Kenneth lives in New Hampshire (USA) with his wife and two sons. As managing director of Argus Management Corporation, Kenneth regularly advises companies and investors who are dealing with complex financial, operational, and strategic issues. His personal motto is ‘never give up on integrity - always look to improve. ■
However, there is much more that the ERP system can do. In the next phase, Aludium wants to take full advantage of the information and insights that the IFS system can provide. Overseeing this task is Kenneth Keiffer who is acting as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Aludium. Appointed on an interim basis in December 2016, Kenneth is the managing director of Argus Management Corporation. Argus
One of Aludium’s major achievements during 2016 was the successful implementation of the company’s own enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Supplied by Swedish software specialists IFS, the new ERP system has enabled Aludium to become a fully independent company. specialises in helping companies to become fully independent after acquisition. Argus regularly works with Atlas Holdings, the major shareholder in Aludium.
Continuous improvement opportunities Kenneth and his team have already started working with IFS to maximise the functionality of Aludium’s ERP system: “Our goal is to make full use of the data that the system collects. This will allow the Aludium management team to make better business decisions.” The changes will also improve planning and scheduling explains Kenneth: “Information technology and financial systems will be mapped and reorganised to take advantage of the data provided by the IFS software. In turn, that will give Aludium the opportunity to continuously improve all of its internal business processes. By the end of 2017,
I expect the benefits will be seen throughout Aludium.”
Tangible benefits for customers Once internal processes are optimised and aligned with the ERP system, Aludium will be able to offer customers the best customer service of any European aluminium manufacturer. “That level of premium service should become tangible to customers during 2018,” notes Kenneth. At the same time, Kenneth is also helping with the search for a permanent CFO for Aludium: “We’ve identified some very talented people and we’ll be talking to over the coming months. I’ll be here during the transition process so there will be no disruptions on our path to becoming the best aluminium company in Europe.” ■
Local news
(From left to right): Jesús Barranco, Javier Rodríguez, Segundo Cardero, Laurentzi Irusta and Carlos Pescador receiving their award from Manuel Ruano
Kenneth L. Keiffer, presents the award to Jose Ramos
Amorebieta
Igor Dorronsoro receives his award from Arnaud de Weert
On 17 and 18 January, Aludium’s Quarterly Business Review (QBR) meeting was held in Amorebieta. All Directors participated in the meeting which reviewed the results from 2016 and discussed the 2017 forecast. At the end of the meeting, QBR participants visited the Amorebieta plant where they undertook a safety evaluation in groups.
At the end of the meeting, 7 employees from Amorebieta received awards for their special efforts to improve health and safety and productivity. The awards were presented by Arnaud de Weert (CEO), Manuel Ruano (President and COO), and Kenneth L. Keiffer (CFO). Carlos Pescador, Javier Rodriguez, Jesus Barranco, Laurentzi Irusta, and Segundo
Cardero were recognised for their work to eliminate or control safety and health risks. Igor Dorronsoro and Jose Ramos received an award for the development of an IT tool which can control the scrap loads to be melted in Amorebieta’s new rotary furnace. ■
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Local news
Alicante charity race sends 4 tonnes of food to local foodbank Over 4 tonnes of food was donated to the Alicante Food Bank to help disadvantaged people in the local community
The five-kilometre Solidarity Walk proved to be the most popular
Manuel Ruano (COO of Aludium) and Alberto Ruiz (Alicante Plant Director) organised the first Aludium Charity Race on 1 April 2017. Each participant donated a kilogram of food. Those donations were doubled by El Corte InglĂŠs, a famous department store chain in Spain, and quadrupled by Aludium. In total, 4.4 tonnes of food were donated to the local Alicante Food Bank.
Alicante
The mountain bike and running races were hotly contested
During the event, participants had the chance to take part in a 16-kilometre mountain bike race, an 8-kilometre running race, or a 5-kilometre Solidarity Walk. The Mayor of Alicante presented trophies to the winners of all three events. In addition to the Mayor of Alicante, the first Aludium Charity Race was attended by the Alicante Sports Councillor, and directors and representatives from the CCOO and UGT unions, the Federation of Metal Businesses in Alicante (FEMPA), social security organisation ASEPEYO, and the Alicante Food Bank. â–
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Local news
Alicante
On 1 January, Alicante commissioned 16 new electric forklifts and a basket elevator which have replaced existing diesel equipment. The new forklifts were purchased to increase safety and reduce emissions from Aludium’s operations. Their improved load capacity will also reduce the number of forklift movements required per day.
Safety first The safety features of the new forklifts include alternating checklists which must be completed by the operator before the vehicle can be started. Air conditioning is also included in the vehicles to ensure that operators keep the doors of the forklift closed at all times, reducing the risk that they will fall out. The forklifts are also shorter than the existing models. As they can manoeuvre in a smaller area, the shorter forklifts minimise the risk of a collision with a pedestrian, or damaging parts of the building. Each vehicle is also tracked with a wi-fi controller. When an incident occurs, the exact route of the forklift can be traced
The new forklifts and basket elevator ready for deployment at Aludium Alicante
to identify why the incident occurred and how preventative action can be taken to ensure it does not reoccur. Other health and safety advantages of the electric forklifts include: • A powerful blue light which shines both forwards and backwards to alert pedestrians. • A rigid safety belt which is impossible to sit on. If the seatbelt is not closed, the forklift will not start. • Ergonomic and comfortable seating for the driver. • An automatically adjustable fork which can widened or narrowed without manual intervention. • Maximum speed of eight kilometres per hour which is reduced automatically when the forklift turns.
The forks can be adjusted automatically, ensuring the operator does not need to leave the vehicle to make adjustments
Reductions in emissions and diesel particulates On the environmental side, the new forklifts will reduce carbon emissions at Aludium Alicante by 250 tonnes per year. They will also eliminate diesel fumes from the plant which has a positive impact on the working conditions. The use of an electric powertrain will help Aludium to meet regulations on the production of food-grade aluminium. ■
Castelsarrasin Castelsarrasin goes the extra step The production team in Castelsarrasin recently proved that they could exceed customer expectations when a last-minute order arrived. The emergency order was processed quickly and delivered on time to the customer. The extra effort of the production team was appreciated by the customer, and recognised by management in a recent presentation.
The Castelsarrasin production team were recognised for their adaptability and flexibility
The Aludium management team have asked all mills to align their physical production environment to the high
The Castelsarrasin maintenance team have implemented a comprehensive programme to bring the mill up to standard.
standing of the brand. Aludium Castelsarrasin produces a range of products which are destined for the luxury sector, and this must be reflected by the working environment.
Castelsarrasin has undergone a transformation to reflect the high standards of the Aludium brand
Works have included creating a polishing zone for grinding processes, and repainting equipment and the shop floor. An open space was created in the office area to accelerate communication between logistic, quality, production, and process personnel. ■
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“Working together for a better, brighter future�
ACR II Aluminium Group cooperatief U.A. Prof J.H. Bavincklaan 2-4 1183 AT Amstelveen The Netherlands +31 20 7237 218 www.aludium.com
Aludium Amorebieta Barrio Ibarguren s/n E-48340 Amorebieta, Vizcaya Spain +34 944 887 500
Aludium Alicante Avda. de Elche, 109 E-03008 Alicante Spain +34 965 989 500
Aludium Castelsarrasin 294 chemin de Lavalette 82100 Castelsarrasin France + 33 5 63 32 80 00
Cindal R & D Avda. de Elche, 109 E-03008 Alicante Spain +34 679 518 645