Trimet Aluminium SE started up operation of a new rotary furnace for remelting aluminum scrap at its Gelsenkirchen recycling plant in Germany. The ceremony was attended by Philipp Schlüter, chairman of the executive board, Jens Meinecke, plant manager, and the employees of the facility.
“Around 90% of the aluminum in circulation is recycled, and the total quantity of recycled light metal continues to increase as a result of increasing demand,” said Schlüter. “So it is only logical for us to consistently invest in expanding our capacities and modernizing our plants.”
Capable of processing a variety of scrap grades, the furnace has a capacity of around 40 tons. It replaces two of the three existing systems, significantly increasing remelting capacity at the site. The furnace has a self-controlling burner system that switches between oxygen and air during the production of the fuel mixture, depending on requirements. This not only significantly reduces energy consumption, it also increases the proportion of recycled metal. In addition, the furnace is equipped with intelligent charging technology, which enables faster filling and can process larger quantities of material per smelting process.
Along with the furnace installation, the infrastructure and exhaust system of the secondary smelter were modernized and expanded. “The employees have put their heart and soul into the planning and remodeling with a great deal of flexibility,” said Meinecke. “We are proud of this, because only in this way could everything be carried out smoothly without interrupting operations. At the same time, we are all happy that we can now concentrate fully on remelting aluminum scrap into high-quality products.”
Trimet operates three recycling facilities in Germany — Gelsenkirchen, Harzgerode, and Essen. The company is in the process of investing several million euros in the modernization of its recycling plants, with the aim of ensuring productivity, saving resources, and protecting the environment.
The Gelsenkirchen plant produces standard alloys and customer-specific special alloys from recycled aluminum. Most of the scrap comes from customers in the region. The aluminum recycled is often delivered to them for further processing in vehicle construction applications or in the electrical and machine-building industry. The plant has around 100 employees.