Albras, a company that belongs to Hydro and Nippon Amazon Aluminum Co, started last week the process of resuming production of Line 1, with the distribution of the first furnace in the area. The action takes place on schedule, after the electrical failure that occurred in March of this year, which resulted in the fire of a transformer and the shutdown of 240 furnaces, which represents 25% of the unit's productive capacity.

Approximately 120 own and contracted professionals are involved in the process of remodeling and departure of furnaces. The basis of the work is the planning, following the principles of Hydro's management system, AMBS (Aluminum Metal Business System), which allows a systematic monitoring of critical activities, daily routine management and indicators. Of the 240 participants, 133 are already prepared and ready for reclosing, while another 107 are still in the reform phase. Line 1 is expected to be operating at normal capacity during 2020.

"A reform of the line can be seen positively in several ways. For the business it is important, as it is essential that Albras start producing again quickly to make metal available on the market again. Another way to see is the emotional one. The employees can see that there is a plan in progress and they feel part of it”, says João Batista Menezes, president of Albras.

Purposefully, the furnace chosen to start the section resumption is also the first to start operating at the factory in 1985, starting the company, which in July 2020 completes 35 years of operation. Completing the representativeness of the moment, process technician Benedito Zacarias participated in all stages of the work, as well as 34 years ago, on the day that Albras' operation started. "This moment has a sentimental value because history has been repeated. Seeing Reduction I back is a great emotion. Today our moment is different, we have a consolidated structure, we have much more solid values and principles that helped us to get here", he says.

Albras has a total production capacity of 460,000 tons per year. Hydro owns 51% of Albras, while the remaining 49% belongs to Nippon Amazon Aluminum Co. Ltd.