In today’s News from Abroad installment, we highlight a new €13 million (that’s $14.9 million US) melting furnace which can recycle 7,000 tons of aluminum waste annually, an oxygen enrichment system for a European steelmaker’s billet reheating furnace, and a new bell annealer facility for copper.
Heat Treat Today partners with two international publications to deliver the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience – manufacturers with in-house heat treat. Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication, primarily serves the English-speaking globe, and heat-processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbH publication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets.
A €13 Million Dollar Recycling Furnace For Aluminum

Source: Furnaces International
“Aluminium Dunkerque has inaugurated a melting furnace dedicated to aluminium recycling. It said its furnace 8 will allow it to recycle 7,000 tonnes of aluminium waste each year and to produce an additional 20,000 tonnes of metal with a low carbon footprint. This represents a 10% reduction in CO₂ emissions per tonne of ingots produced, i.e. 25,000 tonnes of CO₂ avoided each year, and 96 GWh of electricity consumption avoided. The furnace also created an additional eight jobs. Furnace 8 is part of a broader approach to reindustrialisation and the reduction of imports of high-carbon aluminium. Guillaume de Goÿs, CEO of Aluminium Dunkerque, said: “Each year, France still exports nearly 500,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap that could be processed domestically. “By enabling on-site processing, Aluminium Dunkerque strengthens national sovereignty in critical metals while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
READ MORE: Aluminium Dunkerque inaugurates €13 million recycling furnace at furnaces-international.com
Oxygen Enrichment System For Billet Reheating Furnace

Source: Furnaces International
“Fives has completed its first PREMIX oxygen enrichment project on an existing billet reheating furnace at SN Maia Siderurgia Nacional in Maia, Portugal. This marks a milestone in its efforts to optimise furnace performance and improve energy efficiency. SN Maia Siderurgia Nacional, the largest rebar production plant of the MEGASA Group – a European steelmaker, was looking to install a new oxygen system to reduce natural gas consumption, having the possibility to produce oxygen on site at a lower cost. The project was entrusted to Fives Steel Spain, which had previously modified the combustion system of the same furnace. The company developed a new technology called Premix, which injects additional oxygen into the combustion air duct upstream of the burners. Oxygen levels were increased to 25% with around 6% fuel savings, exceeding initial energy efficiency expectations.”
READ MORE: Steel group entrusts Fives with furnace oxygen system at furnaces-international.com
New Bell Annealer Facility For Copper Alloy

“Poongsan Corporation invests in an additional EBNER HICON/H2® bell annealer facility for bright annealing of copper and copper-alloy strip coils. The new facility comprises 2 heating bells, 4 HICON/H2® workbases and 2 cooling bells including necessary auxiliary equipment and a Visual Furnaces 6® Process Control System. With this facility the capacity will be increased, and it will be available for production in 2026. Poongsan Corporation is a world known quality producer and, among others, supplies their high-end products to the automotive, electronic and coin industry.”
READ MORE: Poongsan Corporation order HICON/H2® bell annealer facility for capacity increase at prozesswaerme.net