Norsk Hydro to shut 200,000 T aluminium output by 2009
Date: 17-Feb-03
Country: NORWAY
A spokesman said more than 50,000 tonnes per year of capacity using the outdated Soederberg technology would be closed at Aardal and over 20,000 tonnes at Hoeyanger by the end of 2006, with a further 120,000 tonnes to be shut at Karmoey by end-2009.
He said the lifetime of the Soederberg line at the Karmoey plant could be extended to 2009 because environmental technology at that plant would keep total emissions within the allowed limits.
Norsk Hydro is the world's third biggest aluminium group and Europe's biggest, with a global primary aluminium capacity of about 1.4 million tonnes per year. The company also has other kinds of aluminium production at those plants, and spokesman Thomas Knutzen said it did not plan to close down operations other than those using the Soederberg technology.
The production lines using the outmoded technology employ about 600 workers out of a total of about 3,050 at the three units, and Knutzen said the company was currently in talks with unions on the uncertain future of those jobs. Knutzen said there had been no decision yet on whether to invest in replacing that capacity, but that current conditions were not favourable to reinvesting.
"Under the present conditions, we see it very unlikely that there will be new capacity investments in Norway - or Europe," Knutzen said. "But there is no decision not to build and there is no decision to modernise."
He said the closures would affect only part of the production at the three plants, as other production used more modern technology that complies with environmental regulations.
The Hoeyanger plant has total production capacity of 73,000 tonnes per year, Aardal capacity of just over 200,000 tonnes, and Karmoey 267,000 tonnes.
"In none of these locations are we talking about complete closure," Knutzen said "Hydro will remain in all of these communities.".
Norsk Hydro became Europe's biggest aluminium producer by acquiring VAW from German energy group E.ON (EONG.DE) in 2002.
