Romanian aluminium smelter Alro S.A. commissioned a US$11 million addition to its Eco Recycling Facility in Slatina this week.

The new equipment includes a pair of double-chamber furnaces, a holding furnace, and a dedicated fume collection and treatment plant.

Alro opened the first stage of its Eco Recycling Facility a decade ago with a single double-chamber furnace, an induction furnace, a holding furnace, and a fume collection and treatment plant. The project is intended to reduce Alro’s dependency on electric power supply and increase the firm’s value-added production.

Marian NĂSTASE, Chairman of Alro Board of Directors, said in a press release that the new equipment is part of the firm’s wider goal of cutting carbon emissions.

“While the very challenging business environment forced us to adapt our development plans to maintain our position on the international market, one strategic direction remained unchanged, namely our commitment to increase efficiency and reduce overall consumption, and the investment in the Eco Recycling Facility supports these plans. We are determined to continue our efforts to diversify our products portfolio, increase efficiency and reduce environmental footprint.”

Alro says it plans to boost its total recycling capacity by around 60 thousand metric tons per annum by the end of the year. Ultimately it hopes to reach a total aluminium recycling capacity of 100 thousand metric tons per annum of recycled aluminium solid scrap.

Alro was founded in 1963 and is based in Slatina, Romania. The firm, a subsidiary of Vimetco N.V., is managed by Russian investor Vitaliy Machitski and has an installed capacity of 265,000 metric tons per year, making it one of the largest producers in Central and Eastern Europe outside of Russia and Scandinavia. It also produces 35 thousand metric tons per annum of recycled aluminium and churns out 335 thousand metric tons per annum of cast aluminium.