2012

Keeping cool while the sun shines

A new energy-efficient building research test center in Qatar will investigate how Hydro's aluminium building solutions will perform in the climate extremes of the Middle East..

International cooperation on aluminium in Qatar

A new cooperation strengthens research on aluminium in Qatar and establishes ties across borders.

Capital Markets Day 2012: Creating a global leader

Hydro focused its Capital Markets Day 2012 on the improvement efforts being made throughout the company, aiming to create a global leader in aluminium. Hydro is expecting world aluminium demand outside China of 2-4% in 2013 and solid global long-term growth of 4-6% annually over the next 10 years.

Karmøy metal plant named 'Lean Company of the Year'

Hydro's aluminium plant at Karmøy, Norway, has won this year's "Lean Company of the Year" award, given annually by the organization Lean Forum Norway.

Hydro completes expansion project in China

Hydro has doubled the size of its aluminium tubing plant and opened the doors of its new same-site extrusion facility in China. The extension is aimed toward meeting local demand for industry-leading products and solutions in the largest downstream aluminium market in the world.

Aluminium prominent at ZERO conference

Aluminium for zero-emission cars and ships was on display at the international ZERO Conference in Oslo this week, co-sponsored by Hydro.

ARABAL 2012 – Middle East meeting point for aluminium industry

Hydro will have a strong presence at ARABAL 2012, the most important gathering for the Middle East aluminium industry, set for November 20-22 in Doha, Qatar.

Hydro raises price for standard rolled aluminium products

Costs for the fabrication of rolled aluminium products have been rising continuously in recent months. Hydro will raise the price for strip and sheet in the General Engineering product area with effect for all deliveries from January 1, 2013.

Søral secures power for continued operation

Sør-Norge Aluminium (Søral) primary aluminium plant in Norway has signed electricity contracts with Agder Energi, Lyse, Statkraft and Hydro for the long-term annual supply of up to 2.6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in Norway over an eight-year period, starting in 2013.

Third quarter 2012: Results hit by lower prices

Hydro's underlying earnings before financial items and tax fell to NOK 8 million in the third quarter from NOK 549 million in the previous quarter. Low realized alumina and aluminium prices weighed heavily on underlying results for Hydro's upstream operations for the quarter while cost improvement programs proceeded with full force to meet the challenging market situation.

Hydro wins sustainability prize for aluminium sheet

Hydro received the "ÖKO-GLOBE Award 2012" sustainability prize in a ceremony Wednesday in Cologne, Germany.

Hydro supporting Amnesty International Norway

Hydro is supporting Amnesty International Norway by contributing NOK 1 million and encouraging employees to help out in an upcoming television and door-to-door fundraising campaign in Norway.

Hydro and Orkla to form the world's leading aluminium solutions provider

Norsk Hydro ASA and Orkla ASA have agreed to combine their respective profiles, building systems and tubing business, creating the world's leading aluminium solutions provider. The new combined company, to be named Sapa, will be a 50/50 joint venture owned by Hydro and Orkla.

Invitation to press conference and conference call

Hydro and Orkla have agreed to combine their extruded aluminium business, creating the world’s leading aluminium solutions provider.

Hydro and "Aluminium 2012": We are there!

Hydro's many aluminium applications and capabilities are on display at "Aluminium 2012" in Düsseldorf on October 9-11.

Hydro signs letter of intent with University of Oslo on rain forest research

Hydro and the University of Oslo plan to create a research program connected to Hydro's mining operations in Brazil. The aim is to generate knowledge that can strengthen Hydro's ability to preserve the natural biodiversity of the areas where the company mines bauxite.

Amnesty: ‘Responsibility doesn’t stop at the factory door’

Amnesty International Norway representatives and Hydro's President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg led a human rights workshop for Hydro employees in Oslo this week.

Hydro signs long-term contract with Alloc

Hydro's Profiler unit has signed a long-term agreement with Alloc, one of the leading manufacturers of laminate flooring in Europe. The five-year deal is for the supply of more than 75 million extruded aluminium locking clips that enable the flooring to be connected without the use of glue.

Hydro agrees to sell Taiwan remelter

Hydro has entered into a binding agreement to sell its aluminium remelt plant in Taiwan to Ting Sin Metal Co. Ltd. The transaction is expected to close during October.

Pedro José Rodrigues new board member in Hydro

The Corporate Assembly in Norsk Hydro ASA today approved Pedro José Rodrigues as a new member of the company's Board of Directors.

Hydro again on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index

Hydro has again been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

Hydro changes raw material sourcing for German rolling mills

Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA has decided to increase in-house primary metal sourcing, replacing less cost-efficient remelting of cold metal as a source for its Neuss-Grevenbroich rolling mills.

Ornago employees lend hand to quake victims

Three months ago, an earthquake shook the lives of thousands in the Italian region of Emilia. Hydro employees at the extrusion plant in Ornago – some 150 kilometers away – have responded by donating food, clothes and money to the victims.

Exemption from ICMS tax on fuel oil in Alunorte

The State of Pará in Brazil has decided that, effective from September 10, 2012, ICMS tax will again be collected from the fuel oil distributors, exempting Hydro's alumina refinery Alunorte from the ICMS tax.

Rewarding summer internship in Hydro

Hydro’s summer internship has been a very rewarding experience, say Kristin Langeland Ervik, Endre Kure and Kai Espramer, who participated in the program with 13 other students from Norwegian universities. The students were posted to Årdal, Porsgrunn and Vækerø.

Remelt operations to cease in Årdal

Hydro is stopping the use of cold metal as the base for aluminum products at its plant in Årdal, Norway, while continuing with finished products based on primary production. One of the two casthouses in Årdal will be closed.

Tito Bothelo Martins Junior leaving Hydro board

Tito Bothelo Martins Junior, who recently left Vale S.A to pursue a position outside the Vale-group, has resigned from the Board of Directors of Norsk Hydro ASA with immediate effect.

Hydro to close Monett extrusion plant, add operations in Phoenix

Hydro is making adjustments to the structure of its aluminum extrusion network in the United States. The company has today announced that it will cease extrusion operations at its facility in Missouri, and that it will bring new fabrication activities to its plant in Arizona.

Hydro agrees to sell Portuguese extrusion plant

Hydro has entered into a binding agreement to sell its extrusion plant in Portugal to Bavaria Industriekapital AG. The transaction is expected to close on August 31.

Second quarter 2012: Weak markets and results, improvement ambitions stepped up

Hydro's underlying earnings before financial items and tax amounted to NOK 549 million in the second quarter, compared with NOK 557 million in the previous quarter. The weak quarterly results reflect low aluminium prices and a challenging macro-economic environment, while ambitious improvement programs helped reducing operating costs, contributing positively in the quarter.

Job market to assist Kurri Kurri employees find new careers

Hydro arranged a job market Thursday to help the 300-plus employees at the Kurri Kurri metal plant with life after closure.

War memorial opening draws a crowd in London

The RAF Bomber Command Association Memorial in London was inaugurated recently in London, featuring interior roof panels of aluminium recovered from a World War II bomber. Hydro donated remelting and fabrication services to the historic project.

Hydro resolves environmental matter at Florida plant

Hydro Aluminum North America, Inc. has resolved claims by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of alleged noncompliance with certain regulatory and permit-based requirements at the company’s extrusion and remelt facility in St. Augustine, Florida.

Hydro presents Powerhouse at Rio+20

Aluminium in energy-efficient buildings and Hydro’s Powerhouse project were on the agenda when world leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro this week to discuss how social and economic development and the environment.

Hydro helps keep an eye on deforestation

As part of Brazil’s “Green Municipalities” program, Hydro is joining a project that will monitor deforestation throughout the Amazon region.

Norsk Hydro: Successful placement of new bond

Reference is made to the notification sent June 14, 2012 regarding a potential new bond issue by Norsk Hydro ASA.

Norsk Hydro is considering issuing a bond in the Norwegian bond market

Norsk Hydro ASA is considering issuing a bond in the Norwegian bond market with maturity July 2019.

Full throttle in low emission rally

Hydro's President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg will drive a hydrogen-powered car on Friday in the ZERO Rally – a race for vehicles with low or no emissions. Board member and union leader Billy Fredagsvik will have the role of navigator when the head of Hydro puts the pedal to the metal on the Lånkebanen race track outside Trondheim in Norway.

Hydro’s alumina refinery in Brazil sued over 2009 spill

A spill at Hydro’s majority-owned Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil in 2009 has resulted in a series of new claims in a local small-claims court. The spill, where water with red mud and bauxite residue overflowed the drainage channels around a deposit, occurred two years before Hydro acquired a majority stake in the world’s largest alumina refinery.

Changes to Hydro's Corporate Management Board

Norsk Hydro ASA will change the structure and composition of its Corporate Management Board, effective August 15, to reflect the company's strategic agenda.

Hydro to unveil complete aluminium tubing solution at Intersolar

At Intersolar Europe, Hydro is going to unveil its complete aluminium tubing solution for the solar thermal industry, in addition to all-aluminium solar absorbers produced by several of its customers.

Hydro will close the Kurri Kurri aluminium plant

Norsk Hydro ASA has decided to close its Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in Australia. The decision follows a consultation process with the local employees.

Hydro units in Brazil honored for their use of local suppliers

The CAP alumina project, the Albras aluminium smelter and the Alunorte alumina refinery were recognized for their support and use of local suppliers at the "Prêmio Redes de Desenvolvimento 2011" awards ceremony in Belém in Pará, Brazil, last week.

Two new board members in Hydro

The Corporate Assembly in Norsk Hydro ASA on Friday approved two new members of the company's Board of Directors, Dag Mejdell and Victoire de Margerie.

Hydro is considering full curtailment of the Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in Australia

After curtailing one of three pot lines at its Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in January, Norsk Hydro ASA is initiating consultation with the plant's workforce with a view to curtailing the remaining operations.

Primary insiders purchase shares under Long Term Incentive program

Following approval by Norsk Hydro ASA's Annual General Meeting in 2010, the Board of Directors established a Long Term Incentive (LTI) in the form of a remuneration of 30 percent and 25 percent of annual base salary for the President and CEO and the other members of the Corporate Management Board.

Magical meeting with young environmental heroes

The winners of the environmental competition Tea Light Hunt were greeted on Friday by local school musicians, three managers on a field trip and a magician who turned tea lights into frying pans, when they visited Hydro's recycling facility in Holmestrand. It was a magical experience for young and old.

Meeting customer diversity atop Hydro's HVACR agenda

President and CEO purchases shares

President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg has on May 9, 2012 purchased 4,000 shares in Hydro at NOK 24.80.

Annual General Meeting approves dividend of NOK 0.75 per share

The Annual General Meeting of Norsk Hydro ASA today adopted all the items as proposed on the agenda, including the proposal to distribute a dividend of NOK 0.75 per share.

Sale of shares to employees

Norsk Hydro ASA`s employees have purchased shares under a general arrangement offered to the employees of Norsk Hydro ASA each year.

First quarter 2012: Lower aluminium prices, strong Energy result

Hydro's underlying earnings before financial items and tax amounted to NOK 557 million in the first quarter, down from NOK 1,133 million in the previous quarter. Lower realized aluminium prices and continued weak markets, in particular for European extrusion operations, weighed down underlying results. Hydro's Energy business posted solid results along with power production at record levels.

Crash testing for safer and lighter cars

Hydro, carmakers and leading scientists are cooperating in finding new, safer and light weight solutions for the cars of tomorrow. In Trondheim, Norway, new profiles are put to the ultimate test. View a video of what happens to an aluminium profile when hit with 1,500 kg at 30 km/h!

'We will challenge the world’s waste of energy'

At a conference in Trondheim, Norway, Hydro President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg challenged the traditional thinking that aluminium production is negative for the environment.

Researchers receive first “Hydro Green Aluminium Award”

Two leading researchers at SINTEF and NTNU were given the inaugural “Hydro Green Aluminium Award” for their groundbreaking work in energy-efficiency in the heating of aluminium billet in the production of profiles in extrusion plants.

Winners named in Tea Light Hunt

Three pupils from Søroya in Finnmark, Norway have been named national champions in the environmental campaign Tea Light Hunt. Over the last six months, schoolchildren across the country have competed to see who could collect the most used aluminium tea lights for recycling.

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2012

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Norsk Hydro ASA will be held at the company's head office at Vækerø, Drammensveien 260, 0283 Oslo, on Tuesday May 8, 2012 at 4 p.m.

Hydro's Matt Aboud elected to Aluminum Association’s Board of Directors

Matt Aboud, vice president and managing director of Hydro's Metal Markets business in the U.S., will join the Board of Directors of the Aluminum Association, an organization that works globally to promote aluminium as a sustainable and recyclable material.

100 years ago the "Titanic" shipwreck gave Sam Eyde a bright idea

Like so many others, Hydro's first President Sam Eyde wanted to be on the maiden voyage of the passenger ship "Titanic" in April 1912. Eyde had a ticket, but he was delayed in Paris. Only a few days after the sinking of the "Titanic", Eyde presented a concrete plan for monitoring dangerous icebergs in the North Atlantic.

Meet us at METEF

Hydro is making its mark at the Metef aluminium trade fair at the Veronafiere exhibition center in Verona, Italy, April 18-21.

Finish line for Tea Light Hunt: Aluminium recycling a hit with kids

Schoolchildren throughout Norway have delivered 11 million used aluminium tea light cups in a nationwide recycling campaign.

Aluminium in HVAC at Milan trade show

Hydro will be at Mostra Convegno Expocomfort 2012 in Milan March 27-30 to show manufacturers how to replace copper with aluminium in their industrial heat exchange applications. Visit Hydro's Precision Tubing website with the link in the right-hand column for more.

Hydro’s annual reporting for 2011

“Short-term challenges – long-term opportunities” is an important message in Hydro’s annual reporting for 2011, released today.

Hydro provides aluminium support structures for largest CPV solar plant in Latin America

A precision-extruded aluminium framing system manufactured by Hydro has been installed at a 500-kilowatt electric generation facility in Durango, Mexico, the largest concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar facility in Latin America.

Fire in Qatalum seawater cooling tower

A fire occurred in Qatalum seawater cooling tower on March 17. No one was injured during the incident and aluminium production has not been affected.

On to Milan to continue copper-substitution work

CAP alumina project postponed

Companhia de Alumina do Para’s (CAP) Board of Directors has decided to postpone the construction of a new alumina refinery in Barcarena, Brazil.

Undeli: Challenging year ahead for bauxite and alumina

"In the short term, the bauxite and alumina industry has a challenge. We are suffering from low profitability, Johnny Undeli, head of Bauxite & Alumina told a gathering at the Metal Bulletin Bauxite and Alumina Conference in Miami last week.

Hydro's Schneider next TMS chief

Wolfgang Schneider, a leading research & development executive in Hydro, will become the 56th president of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society at the TMS 2012 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, March 11-15.

Hydro's Brandtzæg inspired by future architects

"It is incredibly inspiring to see so many talented architecture students working to solve one of the major climate change challenges: energy waste in buildings. You are the architects of the future," said Hydro CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg on Thursday when he met the architecture students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO).

Architecture students to create energy-positive building façades

On Monday a four-day workshop was kicked off for architecture students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). Students will create physical models that show how the façade can contribute to creating buildings that produce more energy than they consume.

E-car in Paris with aluminium sheet from Hydro

Aluminium sheet from Hydro is making electric vehicles lighter. The proof is in France, where electric "Bluecars" are spinning through the boulevards of Paris.

Fourth quarter 2011: Lower sales and prices, solid production performance

Hydro's underlying earnings before financial items and tax amounted to NOK 1,133 million in the fourth quarter, down from NOK 1,646 million in the previous quarter. Lower aluminium prices, seasonal decline in demand and weaker markets weighed down underlying results for the quarter.

Hydro Alunorte employee dies following accident

Zacarias Monteiro de Araújo Neto died on February 13. The 26-year-old Alunorte employee had been hospitalized in São Paulo following an accident on the job. He had a partner and a young daughter.

Energy-efficient buildings on tap for Norwegian Minister visiting India

Energy-efficient buildings were on the agenda when the Norwegian Minister of Government, Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, Rigmor Aasrud, visited Hydro’s headquarters in Bangalore, India, on Wednesday.

Aluminium HVAC agreement with Turkish Konveyör

Hydro's aluminium tubing plant in Denmark and the Turkish company Konveyör have signed a cooperation agreement designed to support customers and make easier their replacement of copper tubing with aluminium in heating, ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning applications.

Hydro's fourth quarter results affected by impairments

Norsk Hydro ASA will write down the value of certain fixed assets by approximately NOK 1.3 billion, affecting its fourth-quarter 2011 results. The impairments are a result of a weakening in certain markets and low prices, in combination with raw material and currency pressures. Hydro continues to implement significant corrective measures to address the challenges in the affected businesses.

Hydro featured in auto campaign

Employees from Hydro's extrusion operations in the U.S. are helping profile the use of aluminium in automobiles. This first segment in the "Jobs From Autos" campaign by the Auto Alliance features Matthew Holbrook, a production manager in Hydro's plant in St. Augustine, Florida.

Tea Light Hunt a great success in Norway

The environmental campaign Tea Light Hunt is a big hit. Over 23,000 school children from all over Norway have collected more than four million used tea light cups for recycling – and they are not finished yet! Tea Light Hunt hopes to raise awareness about the recycling of aluminium.

Hydro Green Aluminium Award

Students, researchers and others can compete for a $35,000 prize in the Hydro Green Metal Award for improving the climate footprint of aluminium production.

Hydro curtails production in Kurri Kurri, Australia

Norsk Hydro ASA has decided to curtail one of three production lines at its Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in Australia. The decision follows a consultation process with the local employees.

Corporate European Works Council agreement signed

Hydro has signed a new corporate agreement with the main unions regarding the European Works Council (EWC).

Hydro is considering to curtail production in Kurri Kurri, Australia

Norsk Hydro ASA is considering curtailing production at its Kurri Kurri aluminium plant in Australia. A consultation process has started with the local employees.

Hydro divests non-strategic stake in Ascent Solar

Norsk Hydro ASA has agreed to divest its non-strategic 20.5% stake in the US solar company Ascent Solar to TFG Radiant Investment Group Ltd for a cash consideration of USD 4 million (NOK 24 million).