Paul Warton

Casthouse Expansion in Czech Republic Includes Heat Treating Processes

An Amsterdam-based producer of aluminum semi-products recently expanded its casthouse capacity with the purchase of a continuous homogenizing plant, including a helical ultrasonic testing station and billet saw for aluminum extrusion billets.

Paul Warton, president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures and Industry business unit

Constellium Extrusions, which customizes aluminum extrusions primarily for automotive and industrial applications, placed the order for the new furnace for its Dĕčín, Czech Republic, facility with Hertwich Engineering, an SMS group company. With this added capacity, the plant will broaden its product portfolio to include sections for Crash Management Systems and for new aluminum applications for hybrid and electric vehicles.  With a capacity of nine tons per hour, the new homogenizing furnace is considerably larger and more powerful than the plant for three tons per hour delivered in 2016. It is scheduled to go into operation in the first half of 2019.

The Dĕčín plant is part of the multinational Constellium network and is one of the leading manufacturers of aluminum extrusion products in Europe. The plant is particularly important as an integrated manufacturer and processor of hard and soft alloys as well as a supplier of extruded, partially drawn tubes, bars, seamless and non-seamless profiles. The increasing demand, especially from the automotive industry, has prompted Constellium to expand the Dĕčín plant in several investment stages.

The new homogenizing capacities are part of the current program, which is aimed at expanding extrusion capacity. For this purpose, a further extrusion plant including a casthouse is planned, for which Hertwich will supply the entire heat treatment in the form of a continuous homogenizing furnace.

 “As the auto industry increasingly turns to lightweight, high-strength aluminum, Constellium’s expansion in Decin will support rising demand for hard and soft alloy profiles and bars from automotive customers across Europe,” said Paul Warton, president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures and Industry business unit. “This new activity is expected to increase Decin’s total extrusion capacity to 96,000 metric tons per year.”

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Amsterdam Auto Aluminum Supplier Increases North American Footprint

An Amsterdam-based aluminum supplier recently announced the opening of its new automotive structures plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to supply aluminum crash management systems and structural components to automakers in Mexico.

Paul Warton, president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures and Industry

Constellium’s new facility in San Luis Potosí houses the latest technology for forming, machining, welding, and heat-treating aluminum automotive components, along with a state-of-the-art quality lab, in order to respond to the automotive industry’s expectation that “more than 5 million vehicles will be assembled annually in Mexico by 2020, making it one of the largest markets for automobile production,” according to company officials.

“It is an exciting day for Constellium as we expand our footprint in North America to better serve our customers and become part of the growing automotive industry in Mexico,” said Paul Warton, president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures and Industry business unit. “The San Luis Potosí plant is well-positioned to serve multiple customers, and to provide advanced aluminum solutions as the industry trend to electric vehicles gains momentum.”

The Governor of the State Juan Manuel Carreras López was present at the grand opening, along with the Secretary of Economic Development of the Government of the State, Gustavo Puente Orozco; the delegate of the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare Edgar Durón Puente; and Octavio Martínez Angulo, general director of the plant.

Last year Constellium opened a new plant in White, Georgia, to supply automakers in the southeast U.S., in addition to its existing location in Van Buren, Michigan. A new joint venture (Constellium-Can Art) plant near Windsor, Ontario, Canada, called Astrex, produces aluminum extrusions for Constellium’s automotive projects in North America.

 

 

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