Norway’s Norsk Hydro plans to invest more than $1bn in new extrusion presses in the US and Austria to meet growing demand from transportation and other industries.
In the US, Hydro will fund $48.3mn for a new 3,000mt 12-inch indirect aluminum extrusion press at its Cressona, Pennsylvania site. Hydro aims to have the press operational by late 2023. This plant had also commissioned a 10-inch press in 2019. The exact annual capacity has not been disclosed.
At the company’s Nenzing plant in Austria, the manufacturer will invest €45mn ($53.2mn) to increase extrusions output more than 30pc or around 13,000mt per from its current annual production capacity of 44,000mt. This expansion is also intended for completion in spring 2023 and is likely to create new jobs for the local community.
Hydro has invested considerably in its Extrusions division in 2021 since it is currently the most profit-making. The firm has also expanded its secondary extrusion billet capacity in the US and Germany to maintain adequate feedstock. In Q2 2021, Hydro sold 342,000mt of aluminum extrusion products, up 52pc from 224,000mt in the same period last year.
(€1= $1.18)