Metals

Aurubis finalizes Metallo acquisition

Aurubis AG, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has completed its purchase of Metallo Group from investment firm TowerBrook Capital Partners. The transaction closed May 29, and June 1 marked the start of Aurubis’ consolidation of Metallo. The purchase price was 380 million euros, or $431 million. Aurubis says the Metallo name, which is well-established in the recycling sector, will be retained.

Photo: Metallo

With the Metallo acquisition, the Aurubis Group, a leading global provider and recycler of copper and other nonferrous metals, is gaining a second location in Belgium that is in Beerse, with about 450 employees, in addition to its existing location in Olen, Belgium. It also is gaining a location in Berango, Spain, in the province of Biscay, which employs about 90 people.

The European Union competition authorities issued approval of the acquisition May 4.

Roland Harings, Aurubis AG executive board chairman, says in a video released to all the company’s employees June 2, “We will integrate the Metallo production sites to form an optimized production network of our plants in Hamburg, Pirdop [Bularia], Lünen [Germany] and Olen together with Beerse and Berango. This will lead to more than 1 million tons of recycling capacity for secondary material.”

Harings adds, “This acquisition represents an important step in the implementation of our multimetal strategy. Our stated goal is to become one of the most efficient and sustainable smelter networks in the world.”

Dirk Vandenberghe, CEO and director of Metallo, says, “As part of Aurubis, we want to continue processing all of the input materials into valuable products, making an important sustainability contribution as one company.”

“The Metallo-Aurubis merger is not just a very positive move for the two companies, it is great news for the recycling industry and Europe,” says Patrick Verschelde, chairman of the board of directors of Metallo. “The add-ons of Metallo technologies and expertise to those of Aurubis will allow the expanded Aurubis Group to treat even more complex materials in order to return to the value chain base metals which are very much in demand in Europe.”

Constellium signs supply contract with Airbus

Paris-based Constellium SE has announced that it has signed a multiyear contract with Airbus. The new 10-year agreement supports “all Airbus programs,” according to Constellium.

Constellium says the agreement calls for it to supply Airbus “with a broad range of advanced aluminum rolled and extruded products, including wing skin panels, sheets for fuselage panels and rectangular and premachined plates for structural components. The firm says it also will continue to supply aluminum-lithium alloys and other products and services.

“This agreement strengthens the long-standing partnership between Constellium and Airbus and further demonstrates the leadership role that Constellium holds in the market for advanced aluminum products and solutions,” says Jean-Marc Germain, CEO of Constellium. “We look forward to working with Airbus to continue growing our relationship through our comprehensive product development, manufacturing, supply chain and recycling capabilities.”

Constellium says it will supply Airbus with products from its plants in Issoire and Montreuil-Juigné, France, and Ravenswood, West Virginia.