The new hardening equipment at HAP’s extrusion plant at Raufoss was installed during the summer.The oven is 19 metres long and 5 metres wide. The installation and commissioning work took about three weeks.

Hydro Aluminium Profiler has invested over NOK 22 million in new hardening equipment at the extrusion plants in Raufoss and Magnor. The installation and commissioning was completed in three weeks during the vacation period in July. The new equipment at Raufoss makes it possible to run the plant’s three presses at full capacity including the large S70 press for extrusions up to 520 mm wide which will for the most part replace the capacity at Karmøy.

“Our new hardening equipment is unique in the respect that it can cope with practically all alloys from the 6060 to the 7000 series,” explains Webjørn Remen, plant manager of HAP’s extrusion plant at Raufoss. “In conjunction with the restructuring work the staff at Raufoss has been increased by 75 to cope with continual operation at full capacity.”

Investments have also been made at Magnor in new hardening equipment. Two old ovens were replaced by new ones to increase the capacity and make production more efficient.

“On top of that we make considerable energy savings,” says Svein Helge Høydal, production manager at the Magnor plant. “The two new ovens here use two million kilowatt/hours of electricity less during a year, enough to supply 100 houses!”

The restructuring work caused by the closure of HAP’s Karmøy extrusion plant which involves the transfer of its capacity to the sister plants at Raufoss and Magnor is expected to be completed by March 2012.