Five new Hydro extrusion plants achieve ASI certification

The aluminium extrusion operations at Nenzing (Austria), Toulouse (France), Rackwitz and Uphusen (Germany), along with the aluminium tubing operation in Lichtervelde (Belgium), have joined the growing Hydro family of plants that are certified to the ASI Performance Standard for responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium.

Hydro now has 20 plants certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), spanning the value-chain from bauxite mining and alumina refining, via primary aluminium production and remelting, to rolled products and extruded solutions.

Important for business

“ASI certification is part of our strategy, and we will continue following up. It’s because consumers want sustainable materials from companies that do business the right way – and this is what Hydro is all about,” says Executive Vice President Egil Hogna, who is responsible for Hydro’s Extruded Solutions business area.

To qualify for ASI Performance Standard certification, a plant must comply with 109 specific environmental, social and governance requirements, verified by a third-party auditor, in this case DNV-GL.

“To be able to source and produce responsibly in every aspect is important to Hydro. To be able to document these abilities with a formal certificate is also a strategic benefit toward customers,” Egil Hogna adds.

More to come

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative is a global, multi-stakeholder, non-profit standards setting and certification organization. It works toward responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium following an entire value chain approach.

Last November, Hydro Hoogezand in the Netherlands became the first extruder in the world to earn certification against the ASI Performance Standard. Hydro Bellenberg, Germany, and Hydro Lichtervelde, Belgium, joined them this past April.

Today’s addition of the organizations in Nenzing, Toulouse, Rackwitz, Uphusen and Lichtervelde Precision Tubing clearly demonstrates Hydro’s commitment to ASI, and Extruded Solutions assures that a large additional number of plants are currently in process to certify their operations, too.

Broad effort

In Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Paragominas and Hydro Alunorte are certified both according to the ASI’s Performance Standard and ASI's Chain of Custody standard (CoC).

In Primary Metal, Hydro's remelter Clervaux in Luxembourg and the primary aluminum plants Sunndal, Karmøy, Årdal and Høyanger in Norway are certified both according to the Performance Standard and the Chain of Custody standard.

In Rolled Products, Hydro’s operations in Grevenbroich, Hamburg, Neuss and the joint venture Alunorf are certified against both the Performance Standard and the ASI Chain of Custody Standard, meaning that these plants can deliver ASI certified aluminium to customers.

Hydro has the largest number of ASI certified plants in the aluminium industry, and the longest unbroken chain of ASI certifications, from mining through refining and primary aluminum production to fabrication of end products.

Facts: New Hydro extrusion plants with ASI certification

• Nenzing, Austria (extrusion): Hydro employs about 450 people at Nenzing. Three extrusion presses and multiple fabrication capabilities. Has been in operation for close to 50 years.
• Lichtervelde, Belgium (tubing): Lichtervelde has been manufacturing welded aluminium tubes for more than 60 years. Also operates an aluminium remelter.
• Toulouse, France (extrusion): Dedicated to the manufacture of aluminium profiles used in sustainable building systems, primarily for the Technal brand.
• Rackwitz, Germany (extrusion): Operates two extrusion presses and offers fabrication capabilities and has an automated surface treatment facility.
• Uphusen, Germany (extrusion): Runs two extrusion presses in addition to a fully automatized anodizing line.