New horizons Alcomet

neW horizons

Alcomet AD is one of the leading manufacturers of rolled and extruded aluminium products in the Balkans and the only one of its kind in Bulgaria to house the production of both types of processing. Benefiting from nearly 35 years of experience in the field of non-ferrous metallurgy, Alcomet offers a large variety of foils, sheets, strips and profiles and, in response to growing demand, plans to double production capacity next year. Romana Moares reports.

mr Fikret Ince, owner of Alcomet AD

Founded in 1981, today Alcomet AD is the leading Bulgarian producer of aluminium rolled and extruded products. Over the past 35 years the company has successfully evolved into one of the major aluminium producers in the Balkans and has gained recognition as a reliable partner in both foreign and domestic markets. Its product range includes aluminium foils, sheets, strips and profiles. Over 95 per cent of the total volume is marketed abroad, mainly in the countries of the European Union.

The company’s only plant is located in the north-eastern part of Bulgaria, on 370,000m2 premises in the town of Shumen, about 100km from the Bulgarian port of Varna. As a result of a large-scale investment programme, Alcomet spent €75 million in upgrading its production facilities, increasing its output nearly four times over the last 10 years. Now the company can boast modern production equipment, integrated management systems, precise inspection devices as well as highly qualified staff – all factors that have contributed to its considerable growth.

“The company has achieved very good financial performance in the last few years and managed to establish itself as a trusted supplier to major customers. Today, capacity is 95 per cent utilised and we need to expand,” says Fikret Ince, the company’s owner and chairman of the Supervisory board. He added that, for this reason, a decision was made in 2016 to considerably extend the production capacity to accommodate new orders and, just as importantly, to expand to new markets outside Europe.

Doubling production capacity

Alcomet’s investment in expanding its capacity and increasing production efficiency is worth over €40 million and will include purchasing state-of-the-art technology. As a result of the investment, the current production premises will be extended by an additional 18,800m2. New technology will include a cold rolling mill and extrusion press delivered by a leading German manufacturer, SMS group. This will allow Alcomet to diversify its product range and enhance the product quality.

“The construction has been under way and we have ordered the equipment. Then there will be the installation stage and testing prior to commissioning, which should be achieved at the end of 2018. It is worthwhile mentioning that the investment is financed by our own source and by bank loan, without using any financial support from EU funds,” remarks Mr Ince. “Our target industries after implementation of the investment programme are the automotive and packaging sectors. The new capacity will also help us to target the USA and North Africa market.”

He confirms that Alcomet has always been dedicated to improving the quality and efficiency of its metal processing and keeping its production equipment in line with the latest technological standards and market requirements. “As part of our ongoing efforts to provide better service to our customers, we continue to enhance our extrusion capabilities by adding new lines to our portfolio. Our newest acquisition is a state-of-the-art 5-axis CNC machining centre, supplied by leading German manufacturer Elumatec. The SB151 FLEXIUM is capable of performing even the most complex drilling, tapping, thread milling, routing, sawing and notching operations. Designed for economical and efficient machining of aluminium profiles, it guarantees the highest quality and precision in profile processing.”

meeting the challenge

It is important to point out that environmental protection and sustainability have always been high on the company’s priority list. All investments in the modernisation and expansion have invariably been accompanied by the installation of modern purification facilities. The technical and technological solutions employed are of the highest standard and greatly improve the purity of air emissions and the quality of water used in production. The company has developed a number of programmes to manage production waste, the greater part of which are also utilised by other industry sectors.

“As a major producer in the region, we do care greatly for the people and the environment,” confirms Mr Ince. “We have a lot of social responsible programmes in place to support not only our employees but also the community. Also, our corporate strategy includes an efficient use of natural resources as one of its key elements. Through recycling we manage not only to preserve natural resources but also to achieve energy savings, thus reducing our carbon footprint. We recycle 100 per cent of our internal production scrap and purchase a major part of the aluminium scrap generated in Bulgaria.”

Over the next few years, the company will be busy implementing and consolidating its new capacity. While Europe is currently the major market for Alcomet, with Germany consuming 25 per cent of its exports, the company is ready to progress further afield. n