Foundry alloys that guarantee quality

(Feb. 4, 2002) "With the attainment of the new quality standard ISO/TS 16949, we can now document for our customers that appropriate process systems are now in place. Achieving a quality certificate from Det Norske Veritas is something we have looked forward to for some time," says Liv Tvenge from Hydro Aluminium.

As quality manager of the foundry alloy product department, she is aware that the process that has resulted in quality certification must be continued throughout the whole product area. The challenge will be to maintain focus on further development, in competition with other activities. Almost 90 people are engaged in the value chain, mainly from the casthouse in Årdal, Norway.

QUALITY: Foundry alloys ready to be shipped from Hydro Aluminium Årdal in Norway. (Photo: Atle Johnsen)

"The most important change in relation to the ISO 9001 standard is the strong focus on continuous improvement and quality planning," says Tvenge, who expects customers in the automotive industry to appreciate the fact that Hydro as supplier has attained this new certification. "The automotive industry has also had great expectations to our attainment of ISO/TS 16949, which covers processes and documentation."

About 75 per cent of all aluminium components used in cars today are cast aluminium products. Of Hydro's foundry alloy production, about 90 per cent goes to the automotive industry in the form of wheels and various chassis parts. In addition to supplies from Årdal, Hydro customers are also supplied with foundry alloys from the part-owned Slovakian company Slovalco, that intends to attain quality certification in 2003.

In time, foundry alloys will also be produced in significant quantities at Hydro's new metal plant at Sunndalsøra in Norway. Marketing and sales will be handled by Hydro Aluminium's sales offices in Düsseldorf, Paris, London and Milan, the largest customers in the automotive industry being located in Germany, France and Italy.

"We are the first among primary foundry alloy suppliers in Europe to be certified according to the automotive industry's quality standard ISO/TS 16949. This is a fantastic achievement, considering the short period of time we had available and all the other prioritized tasks we had to deal with at the same time.

We have proven that we have a competent and capable organization, and that we have established a solid foundation for the further development of the foundry alloy area," says product manager, Odd Vorren, who would like to thank everyone for all their great efforts.