ABC Aluminum Solutions is continuing its growth trajectory. The company broke ground on a major expansion project at its extrusion plant in Tijuana, Mexico. This investment project will enable the company to expand capacity and better serve its customer base, as well as hire 50 additional employees.
The project includes the construction of a 16,995 sq m building on a 4.2 acres, which is 85% complete. The new building will house three new state-of-the-art extrusion presses — a 7, 8, and 12 inch — and associated equipment. The largest of the three presses will be able to accommodate shapes up to a 12 inch diameter/cross-section and will be able to extrude 6 million lbs per month — believed to be the third of its size in Mexico.
The new presses were installed in March and are expected to commence production in June. This will increase production by 37.8 %, increasing capacity from 15.72 million lbs per month to 25 million lbs.
In addition, the investment includes various other projects. The site will house an 8,000 sq m building on 2 acres, which will be used for warehousing extrusion billet. This will allow for efficient transfer of billet to the extrusion presses at the plant — including those housed in Building M (where the three new presses are being installed) and Building 3 (where a new extrusion press was installed in 2019).
A new aluminum anodizing line will also be installed at the facility. This new line is expected to have a similar design and capacity to the $6 million, 24 tank anodizing line that ABC installed a few years ago. The new line will include a sophisticated automation control system capable of controlling and monitoring the entire finishing operation. The anodizing line will need to be monitored by just one or two specialists, with additional employees only needed for the loading and unloading of the extruded profiles.
Further investments include a new water storage tank to supply the entire plant (with a reserve capacity for the company’s firefighting system) and an electrical substation directly linked to the main electrical grid that will enable ABC to control, manage, and regulate consistent power and protect against outages or variations in current.
“This is an exciting stage of growth for ABC,” said Wadih Kuri, president and CEO of ABC. “It combines our ability to offer more rapid turnaround times, and in the case of the 12 inch press, new and needed capabilities, with greater self-sufficiency, thus mitigating risks of water or electricity interruptions, flow rates and outages.”
Commitment to Sustainability
The complete investment project has been designed to minimize ABC’s carbon footprint and to maximize efficiency. This is in line with ABC’s core policy regarding the protection of the environment and maximizing sustainability at every turn. It is also in compliance with the principles and policies embodied in ABC’s Super Green Aluminum campaign.
The campaign includes five main principles that are aimed at achieving a high level of sustainability and minimum carbon footprint. These core principles include:
- Initiative: ABC stated that it is taking the lead and investing in processes that are placing the company among those most committed to sustainability even before the requirement for official regulation.
- Improvement: It is always possible to do things better, in a more efficient, scalable, and environmentally friendly way. ABC noted that it is on this path of improvement and is actively investing and developing new ways to achieve greater goals.
- Commitment: ABC plans to prove its environmental commitment by making the necessary investments, training personnel, and adapting its facilities to meet the global challenges of sustainability.
- Determination: ABC aims to meet and exceed the needs of customers, challenging markets, and growing competition. The company believes that these actions and investments reflect a solid vision for the future.
- Coherence: ABC’s vision of growth is focused on growing opportunities and recognition in parallel with contributing to the development of the environment and the global goals of sustainability.
In order to take its Super Green Aluminum campaign even further, the company has recently issued two additional environmental initiatives. First, the company is commissioning a Swiss firm of internationally recognized consultants, who are experts in undertaking detailed environmental analysis, to develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will record the carbon footprint of every facet of ABC’s operations.
Second, the company has initiated an internally generated action to recycle inputs used in every stage of production, such as water used in the extrusion process. This is in addition to the company’s aluminum recycling operation, which came online in 2021, which is capable of recycling all aluminum scrap produced at the plant.
“ABC’s policy has always been to invest in technologies that are the most advanced, which minimize waste and pollution, and bring the impact of our manufacturing upon the environment to the least amount possible,” stated Kuri. “Now, we are underpinning all these commitments and endeavors with a new ABC Super Green Aluminum campaign. I greatly appreciate everyone throughout the company playing their part in this important undertaking, guaranteeing that we deliver on our responsibility to do everything humanly possible to have a positive societal impact, and achieve a more sustainable and greener world!”