Romanian aluminium company Alro SA announced last week that it plans to invest €100 million (US$118 million) in improvements to its aluminium-smelting operations aimed at boosting energy efficiency and reducing specific consumption.
The plan, dubbed the “Green Factory” concept, consists of implementing existing environmentally-responsible technologies that still allow the profitable production of aluminium. Alro says that such improvements will aid the plant in achieving its goal of zero waste and zero emissions.
The project in question is one part of a larger campaign by the firm to invest over US$190 million through 2021 in improvements to its operations, over half of which are targeted at enhancing its overall energy efficiency. Alro has spent over US$16 million this year to date on projects in both primary aluminium production and downstream aluminium operations.
Alro was founded in 1963 and is based in Slatina, Romania. The firm, a subsidiary of Vimetco N.V., has an installed capacity of 265,000 metric tons per year, making it one of the largest producers in Central and Eastern Europe. Over 80 percent of Alro’s production is sold internationally, both throughout the European Union and in the United States. The firm has a market capitalization of roughly US$420 million and has been listed on the Bucharest stock exchange for two decades.