The company has 65 employees and is located in Ti.ice-Chrást, close to Prague in Czech Republic. Its business will be fully integrated into Hydro from January 4, 2006.

The business is acquired by the newly established Hydro Aluminium Prague s. r. o., an expansion of Hydro Aluminium Komponenten, Austria. The management and owners of Alulift will continue in management positions in the new Hydro company.

"The new business will provide a further bridgehead for expansion of sales into eastern Europe and will add technical competence", said Christian Bilgeri, head of Extrusion North. "This is very good supplement to our new extrusion press in Poland. We are convinced that Hydro is the ideal home for our business and we are proud to be part of a 100-year old company with Norwegian roots." said Raimund Bastian on behalf of the sellers.

In November Hydro commissioned a new extrusion press in its plant in Chrzanow, Poland.

The Hydro expansion in the Czech Republic is a further step in building Hydro's position in the fast growing, new, EU member states.

Hydro is a Fortune 500 energy and aluminum supplier founded in 1905, with 36,000 employees in nearly 40 countries. We are a leading offshore producer of oil and gas, the world’s third-largest integrated aluminum supplier and a pioneer in renewable energy and energy-efficient solutions. As we look forward to our next 100 years, we celebrate a century of creating value by strengthening the viability of the customers and communities we serve.

Author: Corporate Communications