System in operation after more than a year of construction

The new 40MN extrusion line has been in operation since early summer. With the new plant, the growing interest in larger products can be served in the future and new and extraordinary possibilities for innovative and complex products will be created. With the 10-inch MEGA press, the Austrian location has taken an important step towards more sustainability and efficiency through the combination of innovative technologies, intelligent process optimization and automatic logistics solutions. The capacity of the aluminum specialist has increased by more than 30% as a result of the factory expansion. A significant step for a plant that already processes up to 44,000 tons of aluminum per year and employs a team of around 500 people.

Innovation & Efficiency

The new extrusion line on the ground floor is one of the most modern plants in Europe and is particularly characterized by innovative technologies. The plant was specially developed to enable resource-saving production and innovative products. On the upper floor of the extension, additional offices and a new learning center will also be expanded by 3,800 m². The direct, automated connection of the presses to further processing steps on the upper floor enables the fastest throughput times for customer orders. Automated transport routes are kept short and efficient and the aluminum profiles are transported to the next step in the value chain without manual intervention or truck transport. An important step in order to continue to act as a full-service supplier and to further expand these competencies. Safety and ergonomics also play a central role - they are working on driverless transport systems and would like to take the intralogistics in the plant to a new level.

Sustainability

As a pioneer in sustainability, Hydro Nenzing has been making a name for itself for many years and, for example, has been using electricity exclusively from renewable energies since 2022. With the new system concept, attention was paid to waste heat utilization and energy reduction, the highlight here being the ZPE (Zero Pulling Energy) permanent magnet furnaces. This innovative technology enables energy savings of 40% compared to previous induction heating technology and precise temperature profiles.

Thanks to sophisticated equipment for the cooling and transport processes, the reusable process scrap can be kept to a minimum. The chips produced by the new cold saw are pressed in the existing central briquetting plant and can therefore be efficiently remelted into new aluminium.

The new in-house billet store not only reduces internal transport thanks to the new efficient process, but also enables the billets to be stored in a weather- and temperature-protected manner. The innovative hall air conditioning of the new building uses groundwater. The waste heat from the systems is used for hall heating and raw material preheating. This cooling system is the most economical way of cooling buildings and processes.

The systems for the cooling process set new standards. The multi-flexible profile cooling enables a countless variety of setting options that can be easily adapted and set to the profile cross-section through simulations. This system is the first of its kind within Hydro and not only creates new possibilities in terms of feasibility and quality improvement, but is also extremely energy-saving.

Managing Director Manfred Rotschne is particularly proud of the new juwel at the plant: "With the new extrusion line, the expansion of our mechanical processing, new office space and the new learning and training center, we are setting an important strategic milestone. Not only do we want to lead the next generation of the aluminum industry, we also want to take responsibility for our environment. With our MEGA project, we have perfectly combined our strategic cornerstones.”

More pictures and insights are available here .