Aluminium

Industrial demand for aluminium has seen significant increases in the last decade due to its unique combination of properties such as lightness, strength, machineability and corrosion resistance. Its applications and popularity continue to grow across sectors such as automotive, packaging and construction. With extensive expertise across aluminium manufacturing processes from smelting to casting, hot rolling, cold rolling, extrusion and finishing, FEC can provide specialist advisory services for aluminium projects across the globe.

One of the main challenges facing aluminium producers today is cost effective production without compromising on quality and sustainability. We can help you improve existing operations and develop new projects across the industry covering:

  • Bauxite and alumina materials handling
  • Primary aluminium smelting
  • Secondary aluminium smelting
  • Ingot, billet and slab casting
  • Downstream aluminium casting processes including die casting, permanent mould casting and sand casting
  • Forging processes including open-die forging and closed-die forging
  • Bar and rod rolling
  • Plate and coil hot rolling
  • Cold rolling
  • Foil production
  • Extrusion including tubes, angles and sections production
  • Wire and cables production
  • Aluminium powder production
  • Aluminium scrap recycling.

Using our breadth of expertise from aluminium operations around the world, FEC can provide:

  • Operational audits and performance reviews to benchmark your operations against industry best practice and advice on practices which can help you improve yield, quality, productivity and reduce operating costs
  • Market studies to help you diversify your product range and identify the highest margin products you can produce with minimal or no additional investment using your existing assets
  • Metallurgical and operational advice to help you meet the necessary quality standards and accreditations to reach new customers and markets
  • Expertise in optimising potroom operations and minimising dust emissions through improved materials handling and logistics covering pot feeding systems, anode changing and handling vehicles and tapping cranes
  • Advice on upgrading brownfield open type alumina crane feeding operations to more environmentally friendly and efficient closed pot feeding systems
  • Expertise in improving casthouse operations and recovery of by-products such as dross and salt slags
  • Advice on new investments you are considering including developing business cases, preparing feasibility studies, estimating capital and operating costs for your new investment and preparing financial models to assess the projected economic viability of your planned investments
  • Technical and operational expertise for process selection and determining the most suitable process configuration for your new production facilities
  • Technical specifications for any new investments or upgrades you are considering and full support through tender management and procurement
  • Project management services for implementing your chosen projects.

Being an energy intensive process, primary aluminium smelting requires access to significant power capacity. With sustainability being an increasingly important consideration, access to low-cost, environmentally-friendly power can be an important factor in determining the success of a smelter operation. For greenfield smelter projects, FEC can help you define, develop and implement on-site power generation plant and associated utilities infrastructure.