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Innovative solutions boost Hydro metal supplies
 MEETING PLACE: The 10th GIFA international foundry trade fair attracted a lot of visitors at the opening day in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 16 June. (Photo: Messe Duesseldorf) |
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(June 17, 2003) E-business on Hydro Aluminium Metal Product's e-portal has exploded in 2003. During April, call-offs passed 100,000 tonnes, a tripling of e-business from the second half of 2002.
Technical and commercial services, combined with product and alloy development, have contributed to the growth in aluminium and magnesium casthouse products, even under the current weak economic conditions, Hydro Aluminium said in a press release in connection with its press seminar at the GIFA foundry trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Tuesday.
Hydro Aluminium is stepping up its offers in both aluminium and magnesium casthouse products.
"We will bring in new capacities to strengthen our position further as a leading supplier by creating tailored value-added solutions for metal products markets," says Svein Richard Brandtzæg, president of Hydro Aluminium Metal Products.
A new casting centre at Hydro Aluminium Sunndal in Norway will come on stream during the coming autumn. This will boost primary foundry alloy capacity by 78,000 tonnes to more than 230,000 tonnes. Hydro Magnesium will double its recycling capacity to 15,000 tonnes from its magnesium return plant in Bottrop, Germany, by September 2004, bringing the total magnesium recycling capacity to about 70,000 tonnes.
 STRONGER: "We will strengthen our position as a leading supplier," says Svein Richard Brandtzæg, head of Hydro Aluminium Metal Products. |
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Hydro Aluminium and its customers are leading in innovation in the aluminium industry. One new sign of this is that the business activities on Hydro Aluminium Metal Product’s e-portal have literally exploded in 2003.
From the e-portal’s start in 2002, activity reached 13,000 tonnes requested metal per month during the second half year of 2002. In April this year, the amount of requested metal exceeded 30,000 tonnes and so during April 2003, call-offs reached 100,000 tonnes. More than 700 users in more than 150 companies are using the portal, now available in five languages. The e-portal offers a wide range of value adding services, making it simpler for small and medium sized companies to run their businesses more efficiently.
The recycling and remelting of aluminium only requires 5 per cent of the energy that goes into primary aluminium production. Hydro Aluminium is also stepping up its activities in both aluminium and magnesium recycling. The total aluminium recycling and remelting capacity in Hydro Aluminium balances our primary aluminium capacity, while magnesium recycling capacity in North America, Europe and Asia exceeds our primary magnesium capacity. Hydro Magnesium is a global provider of magnesium solutions, and increasing demand in the automotive industry for magnesium die-cast applications is the driving force behind this capacity increase.
More information from Hydro Aluminium's GIFA press kit (DOC files for Word):
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