Aludium today 4 English

Aludium Magazine December 2016 | Issue 04

Tailor-made surfaces and formability made in Alicante Transparency is our driver for continuous improvement Safety part of our DNA

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Index Dec 2016 | Issue 04

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Welcome

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Interview with Manuel Ruano

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ERP system successfully installed

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Guaranteeing the future of aluminium production in Alicante

10 Tailor-made surfaces and formability,

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made by Aludium Alicante

14 Transparency is our driver for continuous improvement!

16 Meet Marcelino Hernández Cola

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Son of metal rocks Alicante

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Running is also a process

20 Our stand at Aluminium 2016 21 Safety Week & local news

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- Alicante

- Amorebieta

- Castelsarrasin

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17 Colophon Editorial staff: Elsy Aelvoet, Maite Etxeita Gorritxategi, Bob Van Cauwenberghe, Dan Smith Contributors: Arnaud de Weert, Manuel Ruano, Guillermo Rey-Ardid L­ atorre, Salvador Marcilla Gomis, Alberto Ruiz, Marcelino Hernández Cola, Katalin Larrakoetxea Angoitia, José María Corbeto Botella, Paul Langelaan.

Your opinion counts!

Please email your suggestions or comments to: elsy.aelvoet@aludium.com

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Welcome to our Plant in Alicante

Dear colleagues With this edition of Aludium Today we are celebrating two years since Aludium’s inception. From the outset, Aludium’s management team and

staff have had a clear vision: to create a standalone business which is a major player in the European and international aluminium markets.

In this issue you will read about some of the latest steps we have taken towards achieving this ambition.

Chief amongst these has been the implementation of our own ERP system. Thanks to the dedication of our SPRINT team, Aludium now has an information technology system which meets the needs of our business, our customers, and our employees.

A key reason for Aludium’s success over the past two years has been the level of investment provided by our partner Atlas Holdings. This support has enabled us to launch new initiatives such as Aludium Transportation, and install state-of-the-art equipment including our new annealing furnace in Alicante and new rotary furnace in Amorebieta. And there is more to come.

Safety has been an integral part of Aludium’s DNA since the company was formed. In October 2016, we held our first Safety Week across the company to highlight the importance of safety to our long-term prosperity. The event gave Aludium the opportunity to involve staff, management, local authorities, and our communities. We also invited local industrial companies to come into our plants and assess our safety performance. The entire week was hugely beneficial to Aludium’s goal of creating a safe working environment and will be repeated annually.

This edition of Aludium Today has a special focus on our mill in Alicante. The mill is one of the top three bright mills in the world, and has unique capabilities to create the tailor-made surfaces our customers require. These capabilities ensure Aludium Alicante’s output is highly regarded in the closures, cosmetic packaging, and interior trim markets, among others.

During November, Aludium will participate in one of the world’s most important tradeshows for our industry: Aluminium 2016. This is the first time Aludium will have a stand at the show in Düsseldorf (Germany). One of the highlights of the booth will be the large (three-metre high) samples of Aludium’s key products including Decorandum® and Texturandum®.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and staff for their support over the past two years. I look forward to working with you to make Aludium the best and safest aluminium supplier in the world. I’d also like to wish you all a happy festive season, and a very prosperous and successful 2017.

Arnaud de Weert, Chief Executive Officer

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COO

Manuel Ruano Aludium Today spoke with COO Manuel Ruano to find out how the business is performing almost two years after coming into existence. production is well ahead of our figures for the same period of last year. We’re also recovering more metal during our internal processes and introducing that back into the production cycle. This effectively reduces our costs as we don’t need to buy-in raw aluminium.

I must pay special attention to the performance of Aludium Alicante this year. In May, the mill achieved its best production rate on record, and in June Alicante recovered more metal than ever before. These are great results.

AT: What have been the stand-out achievements so far this year?

Aludium Today (AT): You’ve just hosted Aludium’s first Safety Week. How is the business doing in terms of safety?

Manuel Ruano (MR): Aludium is performing very well – much better than other companies in the same kind of industry. The first nine months of 2016 have been very good, our Total Recordable Rate (TRR) of incidents is around 1.1 – very low.

“We want safety to be a part of our DNA”

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decided to involve all employees and other stakeholders such as local authorities, the media, and the communities where our facilities are located. We wanted to inform them about the efforts we are making to keep our people and plants safe. You can find out more about what happened during Safety Week on page 21-23.

AT: It’s almost two years since Aludium was formed, how are you progressing towards making the business independent?

While these figures are very good, we need to reduce them even further. That’s why we introduced Safety Week. We want safety to be a part of our DNA, something that we think about every time we start a new task. It’s critically important to do this if we want everyone to go home safe and healthy at the end of the working day.

MR: With the implementation of our new ERP system in July, we are almost there.

Last year we achieved the separation of payroll, logistics, and procurement. In 2016 we’ve added IT services, statutory accounting, and credit collection to that list. A few more tweaks to IT and we will achieve our goal of being completely independent within two years of starting the company – it’s an impressive achievement and one that could not be have happened without the dedication of Aludium’s people.

AT: Where did the idea for Safety Week originate?

AT: How are the mills performing in terms of production?

MR: Earlier this year management took the decision to organise Safety Week annually in our plants. At the time we

MR: In the first six months of this year we have achieved some remarkable figures.

Productivity is up at all three mills and

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MR: We’ve had strong growth in most of the sectors Aludium serves. In Distribution we are growing at around eight percent, significantly higher than the market average which is one percent.

Thanks to our high service levels and excellent products, we are also expanding in other sectors.

We do have some capacity bottlenecks which are affecting the volume of material we can supply to markets such as Specialties and Construction. However, the investments we are making in our mills will limit most of these constraints by 2017.

AT: What are the projections for 2017?

MR: Generally very good. None of our major customers have announced plans to grow next year, but we still have a lot of potential customers who are yet to discover the Aludium difference. We’ve recently signed a large order with a major player in the construction sector. Our excellent service and quality products are a big advantage for them. We’re also working to qualify our products with several new customers in the food can, industrial, and specialities markets. And exports should also grow, particularly for our bright and closure products.

COO

AT: Where are the constraints internally, and what are you doing about them?

MR: Our main constraint is hot mill capacity. In 2016 that was around 230,000 tonnes per year. During 2017 capacity will grow by 20 percent to 280,000 tonnes thanks to our investment programme. Aludium also has an ambitious investment programme planned for 2017. If all projects are approved, we will be investing almost €25 million during 2017 in new and revamped facilities. That’s more than double the €11.9 million invested during 2016.

AT: Can you share some of these projects with us?

MR: The Board has already approved investments in the Alicante levelling line and Amorebieta annealing furnace for 2017. There are a lot more investments planned but they are yet to be formally approved.

AT: What investments have been realised in 2016?

MR: One of the most important is the new rotary furnace in Amorebieta. This investment allows us to re-melt all kinds of low cost scrap including lacquered or oily metal. It will increase our cast house capacity by 15,000 tonnes per year.

Another major addition during 2016 has been the new annealing furnace in Alicante. This gas-heated furnace will allow us to increase our annealing capacity by six coils a day. Annealing takes place in an inert nitrogen atmosphere, which has very positive benefits with respect to quality.

In Castelsarrasin we’ve replaced an old cut-to-length line. Not only will the new line increase capacity by 2,500 tonnes annually, it will also ensure the quality of Aludium’s products for the automotive interiors market. We’re keeping the old line as a backup as part of our long-term goal to build redundancy into our processes.

AT: You’ve recently mentioned that Aludium is investing in excellence.

Can you explain this concept?

MR: We don’t just want Aludium to be a producer of metal – we also want to excel in its production and focus on certain sectors. Aludium was very fortunate to

“We will launch a new Centre of Excellence in cast house and rolling processes during 2017” start with one of the world’s leading research centres into aluminium as part of our business – Cindal R&D. But we need to grow our knowledge.

That’s why we formed Aludium Transportation this year. A part of Cindal R&D, Aludium Transportation will help us to understand where aluminium can be utilised in vehicles to achieve the weight savings OEMs need to achieve vehicle emission targets. It’s not a totally new area for us, but Aludium Transportation allows us to make this important sector a focus.

On the production side, we will launch a new Centre of Excellence in cast house and rolling processes during 2017. The goal here is to build on our existing expertise in surfaces and product configuration. During 2018 we plan to look at excellence in continuous improvement.

Technology and Capex. Raoul has extensive experience, having been a Customer Assistant and Service Manager at Novelis for the past year, and an Engineering Manager at Alcoa for seven years prior to that. Raoul has also worked in Luxembourg and France as a Maintenance and Production manager for Novelis. Raoul’s wealth of experience means he will bring a lot to this role.

AT: From the investments and centres of excellence I sense a certain optimism about the future…

MR: Absolutely. The people who lead Aludium, and our main investor Atlas Holdings, are very prudent. We would not be taking these steps if weren’t very optimistic for the future of Aludium. Atlas Holdings have expressed a great deal of faith in Aludium. Thanks to their support, the future of Aludium looks very bright indeed. ■

To lead this project we recently appointed Raoul Aubry as Manager of Cast House

Aludium sponsors 31st Metal Bulletin conference Aludium was proud to sponsor Metal Bulletin’s 31st International Aluminium Conference held in Madrid from 27 to 29 September. Attended by over 200 companies active in the aluminium sector, the conference gave delegates the chance to discuss issues affecting all parts of the industry’s supply chain.

Manuel Ruano, COO of Aludium, gave a well-received speech about the principles of Lean Manufacturing and their application at Aludium. This systematic methodology aims to eliminate waste at every step of the aluminium production process to reduce production time and costs.

During his speech Manuel outlined how continuous improvement, automation, and supplier relationships are used as tools to drive Lean Manufacturing at Aludium.

On the first day of the conference, Aludium hosted more than 25 conference delegates for a plant tour of the Alicante mill. Visiting delegates were very impressed with Aludium’s facilities and the way lean manufacturing is being implemented at the mill. ■

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SPRINT

The SPRINT workroom was a hive of activity during Go-Live

ERP system successfully installed

The implementation of Aludium’s new ERP system from IFS was an important step on our journey to become an independent company. Although there were some start-up issues, the installation went well for a project of this size and complexity. All three factories are now utilising the new system. We spoke with Paul Langelaan, Director of the SPRINT project, to find out how the implementation went and his plans for the future.

Aludium Today (AT): Why was SPRINT necessary?

Paul Langelaan (PL): SPRINT, and the implementation of the ERP system from IFS was required to ensure Aludium becomes an independent company, and to prepare for our future growth.

AT: What happened at Go-Live?

(PL): There were some very exciting moments after we shut down our legacy systems on 1 July. After we closed the legacy systems, we had two main goals: to get the factories running again on the new system; and to continue shipments to customers.

Starting-up the factories proved to be the easier part. We ran into some issues, as expected. However, we had the project team on hand to support our operations people and the issues were quickly resolved. Just a few days after the change, the mills were running again as expected and using the new system.

Shipments proved to be more difficult.

There were no huge issues getting the material delivered to customers, but we did have some issues with documentation such as quality certificates, packing lists, and invoices. These issues are now resolved.

AT: What has been the impact on Aludium’s employees?

PL: Throughout the organisation, Aludium’s people have had to adapt to the new system. Obviously our business didn’t

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suddenly change on 1 July, but overnight every single computer screen looked different. Data still had to be entered, but in a completely different way and reports also looked different. These are big changes and require different thinking.

Even the best training can only prepare users to a certain extent. We’ve also had intensive support available to users after the changeover to answer any questions.

Getting the new system up and running took a tremendous effort from everyone at Aludium. We are very grateful to our employees who have put in the work required to make the change a success and overcome the obstacles.

Many of them have literally been working day and night to help their colleagues and ensure our operations and deliveries could continue.

AT: What has the experience been like for Aludium’s customers?

PL: Our customers have certainly noticed the change. Unfortunately Aludium’s performance did not live up to their (or our) expectations in the first two months.

Since Go-Live we have resolved many issues and now we are almost back to our expected service levels for product deliveries and documentation.

It has also taken longer than planned to bring the customer portal up to speed. We went live with the portal in October, but not all functionality is there yet. However, we are continuously improving content and performance.

AT: What are the next steps for the system?

PL: Aludium has ambitious plans to further develop the ERP system. It is one of the cornerstones of our future growth, and process and performance improvement plans. But before we start on improvements, there is still transition work to do. This requires us to rollout the new system to the cast house and plant maintenance. We also need to finalise some parts of the system’s functionality to support our sales, purchasing, and finance departments.

All Aludium employees have gone through a big change and a steep learning curve over the past 12 months.

While the hardest part is certainly behind us, we still have work to do in the first half of 2017. This is not the end of the programme, it is just the start of continuous improvement. ■

Main issues solved since Go-Live: • I nterfaces with production machines stabilised • Shipping efficiency improved • Electronic data interface implemented to support slab purchasing • Invoicing and other customer documentation corrected • Reports developed • Consignment stock invoiced • User training and support improved.

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the future

Guaranteeing of aluminium production in Alicante

Alberto Ruiz has been the Plant Manager of Aludium’s Alicante mill since 2012. Aludium Today spoke with Alberto to find out how the mill has evolved and what Aludium has planned for it in the future.

Meet Alberto Ruiz Alberto Ruiz was born in Valencia, but moved to Alicante in 2007 where he still lives with his family. After receiving a degree in chemical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in 1999, Alberto was awarded an MBA from the Escuela de Administracion de Empresas (EAE Business School) in 2015.

For the first eight years of his career, Alberto worked in quality and project management at SVS Systems, a leading supplier to the automotive industry. He took up the position of Quality Manager for Alcoa Alicante in 2007. By June 2012 he had been appointed Plant Director for the Alicante mill. ■

AT: How is Aludium Alicante organised?

Alberto Ruiz (AR): We have a very flat organisational structure with just four levels from top to bottom.

Manufacturing is the heart and soul of our plant. Since 2008, manufacturing has been responsible for the achievement of customer expectations at the shop-floor level.

As manufacturing takes ownership of the customer, all other departments act as our support. After all, the money Aludium generates comes from the products we make and deliver.

AT: How has the Alicante plant evolved over the years?

AR: The biggest change has been the evolution of the business from being part of a global company to becoming a standalone company (Aludium). We are now focused in the markets we do well

Pharmaceutical packaging is a new area for Aludium

and on serving the customers in the best way.

AT: How has Aludium Alicante evolved since it became part of Aludium?

AR: Alicante has focussed on Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence. In fact, if we hadn’t been concentrating on these areas we would not have survived the crisis back in 2011. That also made us much more customer oriented and flexible. We are listening to the voice of the customer at all levels of the business now –another good thing to come out of that difficult time. The Operational Excellence projects launched then have helped us to improve operations and quality, reduce costs, and to improve production lead times.

Of course we need to continuously improve our performance to take the next steps. With the support of Atlas and our experienced management team, we have started to invest in new equipment again. We are exploring new markets and continue to improve our quality and delivery performance. This creates a very positive atmosphere in the plant.

The enthusiasm and motivation of our people is ensuring that we are now beating our own records in terms of production volume and quality!

AT: Which market sectors does Alicante serve?

AR: Together with Aludium Castelsarrasin, our Alicante mill is one of the leading producers of bright aluminium in the world. This is top quality aluminium which is used to make products with very demanding shiny >

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Solar absorber (image courtesy Almeco)

we produce each year would go around the Earth almost four times.

surfaces and extraordinarily complex shapes.

adorn the interior trim panels of some premium German cars.

One of our key strengths is our expertise and knowhow in the optimisation of mechanical properties, surface quality, and the chemical composition of the aluminium. This enables us to meet the highest technical requirements. Together with our wide range of online monitoring and inspection systems, it also ensures our products meet the quality standards of our customers.

Aluminium that is found in solar boilers is also often made in our aluminium.

And did you know that we produce the perfect lightweight alternative to stainless steel? Called Decorandum®, this product range is increasingly being used for the interior decoration of buildings, in cars, and for domestic applications like doors of refrigerators.

Our aluminium can also be found in food cans, semi-rigid containers, printing plates, and heat exchangers.

As a result, Aludium’s bright products are used to make the very shiny covers of top brand perfumes such as Paco Rabanne. Or the closures on bottles of the world’s most famous whisky brands.

And even the decorative strips which

To give you an idea about the volumes, every year we roll enough aluminium to cover the equivalent of 45,000 football fields. The total length of the aluminium

AT: What about social responsibility at Aludium Alicante?

AR: We have very strict procedures in place to control our impact on the environment, the people who work at the mill, and our local community. That commitment has enabled us to obtain ISO 14001 (2005) certification for environmental care, and OHSAS 18001:2007 (2015) for safety and health management.

The plant also has procedures in place to ensure we manage our waste very carefully. We also monitor and certify all of our suppliers to ensure they operate to the same high standards.

AT: How has your personal leadership style evolved?

AR: I have learnt that we need to focus on creating an organisation in which employees feel empowered to take opportunities and make decisions.

Realistic bottom-up thinking, instead of a

A brief history of Aludium Alicante 1969

1959 First hot and cold rolling mills are ordered and installed.

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1985 Foundation of INESPAL (Industria Espanola del Aluminio, S.A.) which grouped together all aluminium businesses in Spain.

ENDASA (Empresa Nacional del Aluminio, S.A.) is founded with Alicante as part of the business.

1955

1961

1979

1988

Spanish industrialists builds an aluminium mill to create employment in the Alicante region. Known as Aliberico, the plant initially produced wire and extruded and rolled products.

After entering a joint venture with Alcan, the plant was renamed Alcan Ibérico.

Investments made in a second cold rolling mill, annealing furnaces, cut-to-length (CTL) line, levelling line, slitter, and a new hall for foil manufacture and conversion.

Installation of a bright mill marks a strategic decision to enter new markets.

Alcoa acquires INESPAL including Alicante.

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1992

Full revamp of the Alicante plant including new equipment (DELFIN project)

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Closures for wine and liquor bottles

top-down approach. I want all of our employees to add value for Aludium and themselves. And I am convinced that the lean manufacturing approach we introduced many years ago is helping us to realise this every day.

a lively and positive atmosphere within the team. Our people have faced tough times but they know they can come through it together. And they are highly motivated to take the opportunities Aludium has created.

How do I know? Every time I go into the factory, I notice that small things have been improved. This is only possible because our team believes in, and are taking care of their own future.

AT: Do you think the Aludium project is a success?

AR: Back in 2011, we launched special projects to support the company and create our own future. Now we have market support, new opportunities, and a full production schedule. We are also fully supported by Atlas which allows us to invest in projects which support our customers. It is still early days but I believe we have turned things around.

We’ve gone from a situation in 2011 where we faced the prospect of having to lay people off temporarily, to 2016 where we’ve welcomed more than 60 new employees to our plants.

AT: How has the formation of Aludium affected the Alicante mill?

AR: The team went through a very tough period before Atlas Holdings took over and launched Aludium. During that period we asked a lot from everybody.

But we succeeded in keeping our complete team together. By keeping that wealth of experience onboard, we ensured that Aludium started off as a mature organisation.

Now, with the support of Atlas and in combination with our direct way of communicating and managing, we have

AT: Are you still looking for new people?

AR: We are now working on a programme to create promotion

opportunities for the talented people we have. But we’re also interested in hearing from people who are pro-active, customer oriented, and not afraid to take ownership and responsibility.

AT: What are the future challenges for Aludium in Alicante?

AR: We need to become the best producer of aluminium in every market we supply, and we must be ready to meet the needs of our very demanding customers who are challenging us every day. Because that is the only way we can guarantee our survival in a very competitive global market.

And to be honest, I am convinced that we are on the right track.

AT: What makes you smile at work?

AR: I’m happy if I, and every single employee, has worked to the best of their abilities. I want everybody to be motivated to do well for Aludium. ■

2007

2015

Bright mill revamped.

Strategic decision taken to leave the foil stock market.

Aludium, owned by Atlas Holdings, acquires Alcoa’s assets in Alicante, Amorebieta, and Castelsarrasin (France).

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2016

Quality systems upgraded. Mill receives ISO TS 16949 certification enabling it to supply automotive customers. Rolling mills are upgraded and the continuous annealing machine is revamped.

New annealing furnace installed.

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Tailor-made surfaces and formability, made by Aludium Alicante Aludium is a vertically integrated aluminium producer operating specialised plants in Alicante, Amorebieta, and Castelsarrasin. As part of this system, Aludium Alicante is closely integrated with Aludium Amorebieta.

Amorebieta supplies Alicante with coils, tailor-made alloys, and dimensions which are optimised to meet the technical requirements of our customers. While Amorebieta produces the coils (in the right alloy and dimensions), Alicante processes them into coils, slit coils, and sheets with different surface finishes.

Unique position Aludium Alicante is fortunate to have our Cindal R&D centre onsite. Across Aludium, Cindal helps us to develop the alloys and surface treatments our customers require. It allows Aludium to adapt our products and processes so we get the most out of aluminium.

Mechanical properties and surface quality are critical to many of the applications for which Aludium Alicante supplies metal. Alicante has developed its experience over the past decades thanks to the high level skills of its

Cut-to-length line

people and the implementation of state-of-the-art processes and equipment.

Working in close collaboration with our Cindal R&D centre, we are continuously working to: • Improve elongation, which makes our aluminium optimal for deep drawing (among others) • By avoiding earring we optimise the production processes of our customers • Treat the surfaces to improve lacquering and printing in the processes of our customers

Amorebieta • Cast house • Hot mill • Cold mill • Finishing

Alicante • Cold mill • Bright mill • Finishing

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Castelsarrasin • Bright mill • Finishing

Alicante Cindal • R&D

• Develop new surfaces with the right topography for all kinds of applications • Innovate by creating new surfaces which limit the need for manual labour at our customers, making them more competitive.

Integrated manufacturing processes Alicante offers an integrated manufacturing process to ensure the highest quality. For example, cold rolling is supported with additional in-line operations such as annealing and trimming. Once the correct thickness is achieved through cold rolling, the metal can immediately undergo operations such as tension levelling, surface cleaning, pre-treatment, embossing, cutting, and final annealing.

All of these operations can be combined to create the final strip shape, finish, required dimensions, and quality. Aludium utilises the latest technology in each step. By combining multiple technologies, the competitive advantages to the customer are increased with respect to quality and cost.

Rolling mills Aludium Alicante utilises three cold rolling mills to manufacture our products at high speed, but with great precision. They

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Cold rolling mill

Chrome-free aluminium Investments are planned in Alicante’s continuous heat treatment and surface finishing lines to improve the chrome application process. This will enable Aludium to produce food can-grade aluminium which is free of chromium VI (Cr6+). It will ensure we comply with European Union regulations which will ban the use of Cr6+ from 2017. ■

include a breakdown mill (output gauge 0.6 to 5 mm), an intermediate mill (output gauge 0.2 to 1.99 mm), and a finishing mill (output gauge 0.03 to 0.5 mm).

Each mill is equipped with the most advanced and proven control systems. For example, we operate a spacer gauge control (SGC®) system to automatically achieve narrow strip thickness tolerances, and an automatic flatness control (AFC) for narrow tolerances at higher rolling speeds. During the rolling process we continuously monitor and clean the rolling lubricant so it can be reused in our closed loop system.

Grinding shop

Finishing lines Our finishing equipment includes four slitters, a cut-to-length (CTL) line, and a bright mill. Additional special equipment has been installed to distinguish Alicante from conventional aluminium mills. This includes a continuous heat treatment and surface finishing line, tension levelling system, trimming line, and surface finishing line.

Bright mill and grinding shop Alicante’s duo bright mill offers edge trimming, interleaving capabilities, and excellent flatness and gauge control.

The mill includes an inspection system which enables us to produce aluminium

with high reflectivity and which is free of surface defects.

Different surfaces can be achieved with polishing and grinding processes that are performed in-house in the grinding shop. This is where Alicante’s know-how and surface experts make the difference, efficiently producing brighter and more consistent finishes.

Aludium Alicante is one of the top three bright mills in the world when it comes to quality and the wide range of different surfaces available. The surfaces are preferred by Aludium’s anodising and coating customers and are utilised >

Aludium Alicante’s bright mill

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“Alicante is one of the top three bright mills in the world when it comes to quality and the wide range of different surfaces available” Tension and levelling line

in lighting, decorative architectural applications, and for interior and exterior trim on premium vehicles.

Continuous heat treatment and surface finishing line Aludium Alicante is global leader in the production of aluminium sheets for closures. At the heart of our operation is a continuous heat treatment (annealing) and surface finishing line for aluminium strip.

Continuous annealing maintains the uniform properties of the aluminium over the entire length and width of a strip. It ensures superior behaviour of the aluminium in elongation and deep drawability steps.

Rolled strips pass through a tension leveller to ensure that the product is perfectly flat. At the same time they are cleaned by removing grease and oil from the surface. If requested, additional treatments can be used to improve lacquering and drawing in our customers’ processes.

The strip is protected by a film and cut to length. It is then stacked and packed so that it can be handled efficiently by our customers.

Tension levelling, trimming, and surface finishing line Our tension levelling, trimming, and surface finishing line enables Aludium

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Alicante to deliver aluminium with clean surfaces and exceptional flatness. The final material meets the highest requirements of markets such as lithography.

Products are inspected using a built-in artificial vision system and X-gauge measuring control. This enables Aludium to certify that each coil has same the appearance, meets the customer’s dimension requirements, and is free of defects that might adversely impact its final use.

Short term plans: 2016/2017 Aludium Alicante has implemented a capital expenditure programme to increase our organic growth in specialty products. In 2016 and 2017 we will install an additional furnace and revamp several key lines and machines including: • Electrical controls of the tension levelling, trimming, and surface finishing line.

• Installation of a new cutting head and coil tension unit to improve cutting quality and the surface properties of our high-end aluminium products.

Strategic plan 2018 to 2019 : maximum capacity utilisation Aludium’s Strategic Plan for 2018-2019 envisions additional investments to support our strategy of growing in selective markets. To increase capacity at Alicante, Aludium plans to install:

• A new engine on the breakdown mill to increase torque and cold rolling speed.

• A new grinding machine to improve grinding quality, productivity, and reduce costs.

• An additional annealing furnace (including coil car) with the same specifications as the furnace that was installed in September 2016.

To become one of the market leaders in high-end aluminium, we need to master a complex production process. That process includes different steps in rolling, annealing, tensioning and levelling, slitting, and cutting.

Thanks to our vertical integration and in-house Cindal R&D centre we are able to: • Understand the applications and the processes of our customers • Define technical specifications to meet their requirements • Melt and process the right aluminium, tailor made to the needs of our customers.

That’s what we call co-engineering with tailor-made surfaces and formability.

The unique value proposition of our mill in Alicante. ■

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ALUDIUM ALICANTE IN FIGURES

85,000 tonnes PRODUCTION CAPACITY

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square metres

TOTAL AREA OF THE ALICANTE FACILITY

300,000 square metres

29

AVERAGE DAILY TRUCK MOVEMENTS

PRODUCTION AREA

324 TOTAL EMPLOYEES INCLUDING CINDAL R&D

€million 178

300

• L ean manufacturing (four levels) and short supply chain.

million

SURFACE AREA OF ROLLED MATERIAL PRODUCED, EQUIVALENT TO 45,000 FOOTBALL PITCHES

720 150,000

million kW hours

AVERAGE ENERGY CONSUMPTION – EQUIVALENT TO HALF THE ELECTRICITY CONSUMED

BY THE CITY OF ALICANTE

• H igh-tech rolled surfaces and excellent end-product formability suitable for closures, brights, and cosmetic packaging.

• C o-engineering to create tailor-made surfaces and formability for customers.

square metres SALES FOR 2015

Strengths of Aludium Alicante

kilometres LENGTH OF ALL ROLLED ALUMINIUM PRODUCED IN ALICANTE – ENOUGH TO GO AROUND THE WORLD ALMOST FOUR TIMES

• P rocess and production management on a daily basis.

• Autonomous maintenance programmes.

• H ighly motivated workforce oriented towards achieving cost efficiency.

A dedicated system is used to track cost saving initiatives.

• M anufacturing costs reduced by 10% over the past five years (taking into account inflation).

• H igh level of customer service. We listen to the customer and hear their voice at the shop floor level.

• E xcellent on time in full (OTIF) delivery rate (currently above 90%).

• Claims reduced by 60% since 2008.

• C ontinuous improvement projects running daily.

• Excellent logistics.

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Lean Manufacturing

Transparency

is our driver for continuous improvement!

Aludium’s COO Manuel Ruano recalls that when he asked Alberto Ruiz Guillot to join us in 2007 to help to improve quality and performance at Alicante, he had little idea how bad the 2008 crisis would become. “It quickly became clear just how critical quality would be to the factory’s survival,” notes Manuel. “That’s why the Board gave the Alicante lead team their full backing to implement lean manufacturing quality improvements at the plant.”

Information from across the plant is centralised in the daily meeting room

The implementation of the Process Management System using the principles of lean manufacturing was continued and reinforced. Lean is centred on highlighting what adds value and is well known for its focus on reduction of waste as the driver of a process of continuous improvement.

No compromise on safety: the foundation of good business Quality, performance and especially safety are only possible when everyone is working closely together as part of a learning organisation. To make sure we didn’t lose any of the experience gained since the factory began operation,

6 years of Lean Manufacturing in Alicante 2010 55

2016 39 Inventory from raw material to finished good in days

6 - 7 weeks Order lead time

50% – 2 weeks 50% – 5 weeks

4-5

2-3 Flexibility: jobs per employee

#4

#6

process engineers, maintenance, quality control and, to keep our number one priority at the centre of discussions, safety staff were involved alongside operators in defining the KPIs to monitor for each machine on dashboards.

Nothing happened overnight: workshops were organised by machine and only once the exercise was over for one machine would it start for another. But operators really got on board this bottom-up process as soon as they began to see results and they are enthusiastic about continuing to refine the parameters they use.

At machine level, the information on the daily dashboards was fine-tuned and standardised to become as useful a tool as possible for every operator. The displays let them understand quickly what is underway and if there are any problems, whether actions need to be taken to solve them and, if so, by whom and when.

Organisation layers in a location

20 initiatives /employee

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3 M€ / year Continuous improvement per year

Every day at 11 a.m., the management team meets the morning-shift-managers of the main equipment in the daily

Lean Manufacturing

Machine dashboards give operators a complete overview

“Now we can always see where we are, especially when coming on a new shift.”

Since 2013, a “Listen to the Customer’s Voice” approach has been encouraged through several workshops while the information desks for all main equipment tools let operators discover the kind of products manufactured by our customers and what criteria are critical for their quality. Every order is also identified so all operators in production know for which customer they are working.

meeting room. This can be considered as the heart of the plant where the most important information of the different dashboards is presented, offering a complete overview of the actual situation of all KPIs. The team assesses the status of each machine, goes over plans for the future such as major maintenance, and discusses what is needed to reach targets and how it can best be achieved.

Every customer should feel that we are actively anticipating their problems and challenges, and that we are all on the same team. We need to do things right the first time, continuously improve our knowledge and come up with interesting solutions for our customers. And this needs to happen every day.

And what are the results of all these efforts? Overall performance has increased 25% and claims have been reduced by over 60% in the last five years, while the unplanned scrap rate has nearly halved since 2011. Though Alberto is satisfied that all targets have been reached for the last three years, he is aware that there is a permanent need to improve performance to meet the ever growing demands of customers. But he is convinced that we have the tools, know-how and especially the experienced teams we need to make it happen.

CUSTOMERS

Owning the future through transparency The information doesn’t just flow one way. Management is sharing a wide range of figures and data so all employees know how operations are measuring up to customer expectations by achieving the KPIs important to them and meeting deadlines. We feel this is the only way our employees can take full ownership of our customers and their products and take responsibility for how Alicante will keep delivering the quality products they want.

The next step will be the integration of all this information, procedures and workflows into the new ERP System, called Sprint.

SHAREHOLDERS

EMPLOYEES Transparency Engagement Commitment Deployment

We are also working closely with the plant in Castelsarrasin, which is introducing the same methodology. ■

Operators keep this bottom-up process alive

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Alicante Works Council

Meet Marcelino Hernández Cola, President of the Aludium Alicante Works Council Marcelino Hernández Cola has worked at Aludium Alicante for over 41 years. Since 2000 Marcelino has served on the plant’s Works Council, becoming its President in 2011. Aludium Today spoke with Marcelino about the evolution of the mill, and his hopes for the future.

(AT): In which departments have you worked?

MHC: I started in the extrusion maintenance department as an apprentice. After that I carried out pirometry works at Cindal. I then returned to the shop floor as a Quality Control officer before becoming an analyst in the laboratory where I still work today.

Aludium Today (AT): How long have you worked for the company?

Marcelino Hernández Cola (MHC): I have worked here for 41 years. I am actually a second generation aluminium worker, my father also worked at the company for approximately 25 years. I accepted the job offer after obtaining my professional diploma in electricity. At the time it was necessary to have professional training to get a job at the company. When I started, there were 1,850 employees at the Alicante plant.

During my early years at the plant we went from Endasa to Inespal, both public companies. After the sector was privatised, Alcoa acquired the business.

Since 1 January 2015 we have been a part of Aludium.

Over this time, I have witnessed the gradual reduction of the workforce. That reduction has come from labour-force adjustment plans, the floods of 1982 which closed the plant for more than a year, and the last economic crisis that closed departments. Unfortunately, we have also had two fatalities since I joined the company: my maintenance colleague Papí; and recently our colleague from the Works Council and member of the CCOO Union, María del Carmen Martínez Sansano.

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With Aludium’s commitment to quality and customer service, this department is one of the essential pillars of the business. It enables us to reach our goals for our customers. It is a job that satisfies my work expectations because I can provide added value to our production processes.

(AT): How did you begin in the Union?

MHC: Since I started at the company I have always been concerned about the workforce. That’s why I decided to join the CCOO union.

In 2000, I become a representative of the Works Council, carrying out activities in several areas. This included evaluating jobs or monitoring the productivity bonus.

For many years I have also collaborated with the union outside of the company. In this role I have carried out training and participated in the governing body of the union.

In 2011, I was asked by my CCOO union colleagues to become President of the Works Council. I accepted thanks to their absolute support. Today I combine all this work with my job as an analyst.

(AT): What changes have you noticed since Alicante became a part of Aludium?

MHC: The last years with Alcoa were very hard. We had to close departments, and consequently reduce jobs. We had temporary layoffs, salary reductions, and a number of other cost-saving initiatives.

That created a negative atmosphere in the plant for many years.

On the union side, we were aware that the plant’s situation was caused by the world economic crisis. Because of that we reached some agreements with management to put the mill in a better position in the market. It was a very bad period both for the unions and for the workforce, but due to those agreements we are now in a much better situation.

Since Atlas bought the three plants that today form Aludium, we have noticed a commitment to safety that is equal or better than the one we had from Alcoa.

And we must highlight the level of investments that Aludium is carrying out. Not only in maintenance, but also in facilities such as the new annealing furnace which will solve the process bottleneck that we had.

They are also investing in Cindal with the Transportation Centre for automotive products and the development of new aluminium products. The company is also conducting a viability study to see if they can reopen the cast house at Alicante. As the president of the Works Council, this project excites me a lot.

With its flat hierarchical structure, Aludium is also more dynamic when it

Colleague SP

Hijo del metal José María is now rocking on to his third album

“We reached some agreements with management to put the mill in a better position in the market. ”

comes to solving problems and meeting the demands of our customers. As a result, our portfolio has grown since the sale.

(AT): What do you expect from Aludium?

MHC: I hope they will continue to maintain the current level of investment, or even increase it in the future. I also hope they will decide to reopen the cast house in Alicante. That will enable us to be more competitive in the market and less dependent on primary metal. It would create new jobs, which is always the basic demand of the unions. But we realise that if we want the investment to be cost-effective, there has to be a viable scrap market and economic prices.

I also hope that the company continues to open new markets with new products and customers. I would like them to maintain our research capabilities so we can continue to develop aluminium products, and continue improving the business as a result.

Right now we are negotiating the collective agreement for the Alicante plant. I hope that Aludium will appreciate the efforts that employees made in the difficult times to ensure the plant is in the position we are in today and that will result in a good agreement for everyone.

In conclusion, I hope that Aludium will continue to invest in the plant and the employees of Alicante, because we won’t let them down. ■

TLIGHT

Son of metal rocks Alicante When José María Corbeto Botella spoke with Aludium Today he sadly didn’t have his guitar, though the 42-year-old musician is rarely seen without it elsewhere in his home town of Alicante.

He has been with the company since 2003, working first in the Cast House, then in the Rolling area before moving recently to the loading area.

Aludium Today (AT): So what do you enjoy most about your job?

José María Corbeto Botella (JCB): Being in the loading area makes it easier for me to juggle the music and my personal life with my work, but the best is my colleagues. I remember that when I was working in the Cast House, despite the heat and all the personal equipment we had to put on every day, there was always one colleague smiling and telling a joke.

AT: Are there any colleagues you’d like to mention in particular?

JCB: Abel Granja, because he is a person that is very involved in his work and he has gone far due to his effort

“What makes me really happy is the connection with the audience.”

and involvement. I would like to thank the Social Fund of the factory of Alicante that helps me to invest in what I love, the music.

AT: You’re a famous musician in Alicante. What sort of music do you play? Who are your influences?

JCB: I play rock, I am a rock songwriter, though you’ll find a mixed style, both hard rock and romantic songs in my albums. I am inspired by Joaquin Sabina, Fito y los Fitipaldis, but also Extremoduro, Juan Perro… I am a fan of many musicians, but I really value those who can defend their songs with a guitar and a voice, such as Sabina, Rosendo…

AT: What instruments do you play?

JCB: I play many instruments. I began studying piano, but I realized that I loved playing the drums and in a group. I sing and play the guitar, but what I like most is being the songwriter of the group. When you have good songs it doesn’t matter which instrument you play. >

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Colleague SP

TLIGHT

AT: When did you start playing music? Were you in other bands before?

JCB: I started when I was 6. I saw my father playing the organ and I used to sit down to play all the songs I heard on TV. I started at the conservatory when I was 8 and by 11, I was jumping over the school fence to run off to play music. I played with many others before Corbeto, my current group, and I founded some of them.

AT: Do you write songs with anyone else?

JCB: No, I compose and write all the songs myself, music and lyrics.

AT: What are your plans for the future?

JCB: My next step as an artist is to promote my second album, called “Luna de Plata” (“Silver moon”). Part of the third album, “Hijos del metal” (“Sons of metal”), is also ready. The songs are about the sensations and experiences of working in metals.

AT: Which have been your most successful concerts?

JCB: Last year I was the supporting artist of the famous band “Mojinos Escozios” at the first anniversary of the Indian motorcycle dealer in Alicante and I sold lots of albums. Another big concert was to promote “Presunto Inocente” - my first album. That was held at Las Cigarreras.

It’s a very big hall and difficult to fill, but in the end we managed, thanks to people’s support and social media. I even made a profit of €20!

AT: What makes you happy in your music?

JCB: I write songs to make people think, but my greatest satisfaction is seeing

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them enjoying themselves. I love playing music, but what makes me really happy is the connection with the audience.

AT: And would you like to promote your music in Aludium Today?

AT: Tell us about the album you recorded.

JCB: Of course! And it’s easy: just search for “Corbeto Botella” and you’ll find my songs on YouTube. ■

JCB: It was a curious experience. I was recording it alone, playing all the instruments: guitars, drums, bass, etc.

The producer is a great guitar player so I asked him if he could also play on the album. Perhaps the album is a little bit swamped with guitars, but it was amazing. I recorded my second album with my group and that was a great experience too.

AT: How do you organize your time to rehearse?

JCB: To be honest, it’s quite difficult, as we need to adapt depending on when people are available. We usually rehearse two or three times a week for two to three hours in the evening. Of course, I’m still humming the tunes when I arrive at work in the morning and I’m dealing with the first job of my day: logging the coils that have arrived the evening before. But I need all my breath when I start unloading the trucks that arrive during the morning!

“Ríete Luna de plata, de tu soledad, mis lágrimas renacen junto a esta canción, regalo mi alma, sin peros ni condición, por eso ahora puedo descansar en paz...”

“Laugh silver moon, at your loneliness, my tears reborn together with this song, I give you my soul, with no buts and no conditions, that’s why I can rest in peace now...”

His first album might be called Presunto inocente, but José María is certainly guilty of rocking with intent

Titel

Running is also a process Aludium Today caught up with marathon runner Katalin Larrakoetxea Angoitia, a Process Engineer at Amorebieta.

The 26-year-old chemical engineer joined the company in 2013 and now the Zeanuri native lives in Bilbao.

Staying cool at the Hot Mill

Aludium Today (AT): So what does your job involve?

Katalin Larrakoetxea Angoitia (KLA): The Hot Mill area at Amorebieta takes slabs from external suppliers through to supplying coils to the Alicante and Amorebieta cold rolling mills – it’s like a “mini factory” inside the plant! I focus mainly on improving processes, quality control, filter and emulsion control and spotting potential issues that could affect our equipment or products.

I am taking advantage of the new IT system we implemented in July to understand the interrelationships of my area with other teams better and ensure that all systems and procedures are properly maintained or even improved so we can be certain of achieving the target of 300,000 MT production per year – the HM300MIL project.

AT: You moved between the 3 plants. What did you like the most at Amo, Ali & Castel?

KLA: I started in Aludium as an intern at Amorebieta. After one year, I was asked to stand in for a Cold Mill process engineer at Alicante for 9 months. I was then involved in the installation of a new annealing furnace at Castel. This means I

now know all the Aludium plants from the inside. I got experience in managing a mill, and with the furnace project, picked up know-how in administrative, safety and environment areas. What I like most at Amorebieta is working on such an amazing machine as the Hot Mill. And I feel really lucky to be involved in the implementation of Sprint, our new ERP system.

AT: What do you like the most in your job?

“You have to work hard to achieve your targets.”

KLA: I am learning a lot on the new ERP project. Working with many departments at the same time enables me to see the plant and the company from different points of view. And in relation to my colleagues, I have no words… They are great professionals and the working atmosphere is very good, which helps to achieve our targets.

AT: We know that you are an athlete. What is your specialty?

When we were working round the clock for several days during the Go-Live of the new IT system and some people on the shop floor asked if we were living here…

Perhaps they thought it was like Big Brother!

AT: What are you planning for the future?

AT: Are there any colleagues you’d like to mention in particular?

KLA: I would like to give recognition to Cristina Barturen for everything she has taught me since I joined the company and of course I have to thank Cristina, Juan, Dani, Raquel, Olga, Mariola… and everyone else on the “trip” implementing the new ERP system SPRINT. I don’t want to forget anybody!

Warm hugs to celebrate finishing the Bilbao Night Marathon

KLA: So far I have just done halfmarathons: the last two races were the Bilbao Night Marathon and the Half Marathon of Santa Pola, where we met a number of Aludium employees. But maybe I’ll try new experiences… I just run for fun, in a group, with friends.

KLA: This year I would like to run the Bilbao Night Marathon again, and improve the time I did last year. My target is to run at least two half marathons per year and see if I can improve my stamina to finally go for a full marathon.

AT: What do you get out of running that your colleagues might find useful?

KLA: Seeing how people encourage you during the race is great. Running teaches you that the sacrifice is worth it, that you have to work very hard to achieve your targets. But it’s not over when you cross the finish line: you have to continue training and preparing the next one… and the support of the people around you is essential. ■

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Exhibition

A few pictures of our stand at Aluminium 2016 in Düsseldorf

For the first, Aludium has participated in the largest European tradeshow dedicated to the aluminium industry: Aluminium 2016. Held in Düsseldorf (Germany) every two years, the show brings together over 1,000 exhibitors from more than 50 countries.

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Aludium was present at the show with a large booth which put our specialty products in the spotlight. These included Decorandum® and Texturandum®, as well as alloys featuring our Fini Brillant finish.

The complete Aludium sales and R&D teams were on hand to explain our offer to some of the show’s 27,000 visitors. Many existing and potential customers visited the booth to find out how Aludium, and our Cindal R&D centre, can help them to introduce their next range of lightweight and durable aluminium products. ■

Safety Week

Care is our licence to operate When Aludium was established in January 2015, we committed to protecting the health and safety of all our people. As part of this commitment, Aludium has established an annual Safety Week to draw attention to this important issue. This year, Aludium celebrated the first edition of Safety Week from 17 to 21 October across the company.

Safety Week 2016 began with a presentation by Arnaud de Weert, CEO of Aludium. As head of the company, Arnaud believes it is critical that management take responsibility for safety at all times, not just during Safety Week. Aludium Today spoke with Arnaud de Weert and Manuel Ruano to find out why safety is such a critical issue for the management team.

Aludium Today (AT): You often say that safety is a part of Aludium’s DNA. Where does this come from?

Arnaud de Weert (AW): When we first established Aludium we stressed that Aludium’s people were our most important asset. Keeping them safe, and ensuring they return home to their

families at the end of each day is our key priority. But it’s not just employees, we also want to keep our local communities safe as well.

Workplace safety is also the number one priority for our major investor, Atlas Holdings. Atlas has an objective to achieve world-class safety performance across all of its businesses. One of the Atlas partners made the trip from the US to Spain specifically to show support for Safety Week.

AT: Where did the idea for Safety Week come from?

Manuel Ruano (MR): The Aludium management team decided that Safety Week was a good way to remind people

of this commitment, and a good way to improve our safety performance. It will be an annual event for the company, but that doesn’t mean safety takes a back seat during the rest of the year. Safety is at the heart of everything we do, every single day.

AT: How does Aludium perform with respect to safety?

MR: We estimate that our safety performance is around ten times better than the industry average. In Alicante alone we have held over 3,100 hours of training in safety and security as part of our Human Performance programme. All plants in the group also hold OHSAS 18001:2007 certification – one of the highest international standards for safety.

AT: What is Aludium doing to improve safety?

AW: We have implemented worldleading standards and best practices in safety across the business. And we promote that safety culture every single day. We’ve invested more than €1.35 million since Aludium was formed in 2015, and we’ve appointed Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) officers at every plant. >

Plant supervisors explained Aludium’s procedures and process at every stage

Each observer was issued with a notebook where they could note safety issues

Safety inspections - a chance to learn Aludium’s first annual Safety Week was held across all plants from 17 to 21 October 2016. The week of activities gave Aludium’s employees a chance to focus on creating a safer work environment for everyone.

A key part of the week were the visits by other manufacturing businesses to Aludium’s mills in Alicante and Amorebieta. Designed as safety inspections, the visits gave Aludium the chance to identify safety issues which are not obvious to us due to familiarity with our equipment and processes.

In Alicante, four separate groups toured the mill, noting their safety observations as they went. Participants represented local businesses including Actiu, Asepeyo, Elecnor, Extrusax, Famosa, FEMPA, Ford, Fundiciones Balaguer, Helados Alacant, Jintemn, Mecanicas Jijonencas, Rolser, and SRG. Visitors to Amorebieta included representatives from Arania, Gerdau, IFPRL, Olarra, Schneider Electric, and Vicinay Sestao.

In total 91 observations were made in Alicante, and 85 in Amorebieta. All of the observations are being analysed and

preventative actions will be prioritised and implemented over the coming year.

During Safety Week 2017 we plan to report back to the outside observers and the show the progress we have made on each item.

Aludium would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our visitors for their dedication to the task. In recognition, Aludium has undertaken to send representatives to the safety events these businesses will run in the coming year. ■

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Safety Week

Each day we also remind ourselves of the six safety fundamentals: 1. Follow safe work practices at all times 2. Ensure that your conditions are controlled 3. Make sure all safeguards are in place 4. Adhere to all safety procedures 5. Maintain the work environment 6. Stop work when you recognise a risky situation.

That helps us to ensure a good outcome in the event of a real emergency.

The second reason is that we don’t have all the safety answers. By asking other manufacturing companies to come and look at our operations, we can learn from their best safety practices and experience.

We also hope that they look at Aludium’s safety procedures and see one or two

things that they will copy back in their facilities. Safety is a two-way street and we are always learning.

To ensure we can continue to learn from this year’s Safety Week, we’ve launched a webpage which highlights the activities and findings for each mill. Enter the link http://aludium.com/safety-week-2016/ to find out what happened during Safety Week. ■

The Alicante firefighting team demonstrated their capabilities in an impressive display

AT: Does safety influence the bottom line?

AW: It does, absolutely. But we know from empirical evidence that the effect is a positive one. Every euro we invest in safety pays us back time and time again.

Safety also helps us grow. If we didn’t operate safely people would not want to work with us, the communities in which we operate would stop supporting us, and our customers would disappear.

There is no Aludium without safety as the top priority.

AT: Why did you involve external organisations in Safety Week?

MR: There are two main reasons. The first is that safety doesn’t stop at the plant boundary. When an incident happens, we need to involve emergency services such the fire brigade and ambulance. We also need to alert the local authorities in case there is a severe issue which represents a danger to the wider community. Inviting those organisations to Safety Week is one way to test how we work together.

Involving local authorities During Safety Week 2016, a number of local authorities and representatives from the media were invited to Aludium’s facilities. During the visit Aludium highlighted our safety achievements and investments.

Demonstrations and exercises were also held to underline our capabilities in the event of an incident.

In Castelsarrasin, two groups received training in first aid and the use of a defibrillator. Guidance was also given on the actions to be taken when an unconscious victim is found. Both Alicante and Amorebieta plants put on spectacular demonstrations of their onsite firefighting equipment and techniques.

Remembering María del Carmen In October 2015, Aludium lost one of our valued employees in Alicante, María del Carmen Martínez Sansano. During his opening remarks, Arnaud de Weert dedicated Safety Week to María’s memory. He also urged everyone to think of her each time we are tempted to take a risk, so that we might learn something from this tragic event.

José Manuel Pascual Pastor, who worked with María on the CCOO union, also made a very emotional speech in memory of his colleague. After the opening of Safety Week in Alicante, all employees and speakers went to the place where the accident occurred. Flowers were laid and a minute of silence was observed.

The event was a very emotional moment for everyone involved. ■ After the opening of Safety Week in Alicante, management and staff observed a minute’s silence for María Carmen

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Local news

During Safety Week Rubén Tejero was recognised for his commitment and involvement in Alicante’s emergency fire brigade team

Alicante’s new annealing furnace was inaugurated by the city’s mayor, Gabriel Echávarri

Jaime Bonache and Francisco Pérez received awards for their work to relocate the laboratory in the workshop

Awards presented to Alicante staff during Safety Week New annealing furnace officially launched in Alicante

Also recognised were Jaime Bonache and Francisco Pérez for their efforts to relocate the workshop laboratory. The laboratory was moved to improve the process flow.

The project was achieved in a very tight timeframe. The new laboratory is of an extremely high standard and has improved Alicante’s processes significantly. At the time he undertook this project, Jaime was working with Aludium as an intern. ■

The new furnace can hold a batch of three coils, each with a weight of 13.5 tonnes.

Two batches of coils can be annealed each day. Installation of the furnace will increase Alicante’s annual annealing capacity to more than 5,500 tonnes. Powered by natural gas, the state-of-the-art furnace will reduce Aludium’s energy costs and environmental footprint. ■

Correct use of a defibrillator was demonstrated during Safety Week in Castelsarrasin

Amorebieta

Across the company, presentations were also given to employees to highlight various safety issues. They covered topics ranging from the risks of transporting and handling of chemicals, to the procedures and regulations designed to prevent accidents on the work floor. ■

Aludium’s new annealing furnace in Alicante was officially inaugurated during a ceremony on 20 October. Attending the event were Alicante’s mayor Gabriel Echávarri, and Cristina Morenom the city’s Director of Labour and Social Welfare.

Alicante

Alicante

Rubén Tejero received special recognition for his commitment and involvement with the Aludium Alicante emergency fire brigade team. Rubén has led the brigade team through several training sessions and real-life practical tests to create a professional team who are able to respond quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency.

Rotary furnace goes into operation at Amorebieta Cast House On 30 September 2016, Aludium Amorebieta melted the first batch of aluminium in its new rotary furnace. Work to install the new furnace and accompanying fume-treatment system began on 13 June.

The works also involved creating new workshops for the maintenance team and the installation of cages to store the scrap to be melted.

The rotary furnace can process all types of low-cost aluminium scrap, including oily and painted metal. It will increase the capacity of the Amorebieta cast house to over 15,000 tonnes annually and reduce Aludium’s dependence on external aluminium supplies. ■

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Amorebieta

Alicante

Castelsarrasin

Cindal R & D

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