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Constellium Nuef-Brisach
1.
2.
3. of industrial
excellence
text by
Tristan Gaston-Breton
translation
Suzanne Bréant
S.E.T.S (Summer English Translation Services)
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5. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
3
FOREWORD
1967-2017: half a century after its creation, the Neuf-Brisach plant is continuing to
develop in a manner that would make its founders proud. Its design was based on
three watchwords: Europe, excellence, and automotive. European ambition was a
determining factor in the decision to build the plant in Europe’s heartland in the
town of Neuf-Brisach, in the Alsace region of eastern France. The goal of
technological excellence was to meet the demands generated by the post-war
economic boom: mass production, innovation and quality. It is important to
remember that global consumption of aluminium grew by 8% per year between
1950 and 1975, and that production rocketed from 1.5 to 14 million tonnes! In
France, one company dominated the sector: Pechiney. It was both the oldest in
the world and one of the most innovative. In that same year, 1967, it inaugurated
two facilities that still underpin Constellium’s value today: the Neuf-Brisach plant
and the research center in Voreppe, which has now become C-TEC. As for the
automotive sector, one of the emblematic markets of the rapidly changing society
of the 1960s, not until some forty years later did it adopt aluminium as a material
for body in white and closures at such a large scale. It was packaging, another
flourishing sector at that time, that drove development of the plant, and is still its
main market.
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6. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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Today, Neuf-Brisach is capable of delivering 450,000 tonnes of rolled products to
exacting customers, particularly in two markets where competition is fierce: food
and beverage cans and the automotive sector. Its latest major investment in 2016
boosted its capacity by 100,000 tonnes of automotive body sheet in a sector that
is now booming.
The road has not always been smooth, however, and the Neuf-Brisach plant owes
the success it enjoys today to the perseverance, imagination and rigor of all the
men and women who have contributed to its history. And, first and foremost, to its
ability to constantly reinvent itself. Anticipating the transformations taking place in
society as a whole, the plant has installed recycling facilities that have significantly
improved its economic performance while meeting the requirements of
sustainability.
This small book tells of these battles, relates the key events that have punctuated
the history of the plant and pays tribute to the men and women who have shared
this extraordinary industrial adventure. For me, it is an opportunity to express
heartfelt thanks on behalf of Constellium to all the men and women who have
contributed to its success both in the past and today, starting with the employees
of Neuf-Brisach, whether they work in the production shops, in maintenance, in
the engineering or in the administration and sales departments. My gratitude also
goes to the customers who have placed their trust in us and continue to do so, as
well as to all the plant’s partners.
Jean-Marc Germain
Chief Executive Officer
Constellium Group
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7. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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A SHARED ANNIVERSARY
As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Neuf-Brisach, a flourishing site with a
fine future ahead of it, it is impossible not to think about all the men and women
who came before us and contributed to its history. Its founders identified the
needs to come and designed an industrial facility that was destined to last. A small
group of pioneers from the engineering department at the plant in Issoire arrived
in 1965 to oversee construction and hire the first locals (as far back as 1961!) to
organize and start up production in 1967. They paved the way, and all our
employees, at all levels and in all the professions represented at the site, have
strived tirelessly to ensure its success ever since.
Through this book I invite you to discover this fine plant, which adapts constantly
to meet the exacting requirements of its customers. Read about its facilities, main
production stages and markets, as well as the key dates that have punctuated its
history and built its culture. Find out what lies behind the site’s longevity: a
commitment to excellence, adaptability, tenacity and an ability to call itself into
question, qualities that serve it well both during the good times and when facing
challenges.
We are proud of our history and happy to share it with you.
Ludovic Piquier
Constellium Neuf-Brisach Site Director
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11. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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A large plant geared towards international markets
780,000 m2
, of which 200,000 under cover, nearly 1500 employees and a
production capacity boosted to 450,000 tonnes per year since the new finishing
line for the automotive market was commissioned in 2016: welcome to the Neuf-
Brisach aluminium plant, one of the largest production facilities in Constellium.
Founded in 1967, the plant stands on the banks of the river Rhine on the outskirts
of the town of Neuf-Brisach in Alsace (eastern France). With most of its employees
living locally it is perfectly integrated into its environment in Europe’s industrial
heartland, where it operates in direct contact with the world’s biggest consumers
of aluminium, including automakers and automotive suppliers, beverage and food
cans manufacturers and the building industry. The plant’s international purpose
was confirmed right from the start, and the choice of location has been amply
justified ever since. Today, 75% of the products manufactured at Neuf-Brisach are
exported to Europe, Asia, North and South America and Africa.
The history of Neuf-Brisach is one of
continuous improvement, modernization
and expansion with a view to increasing its
production capabilities. The plant is
constantly growing.
Olivier Lach, Engineering Department Director
“
”
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13. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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Once upon a time: an industrial vision...
The story of the site begins with an industrial vision that dates back to the late
1950s but that would not to come to complete fruition until several decades later,
due to the vagaries of the markets.
Neuf-Brisach was originally designed on an assumption of strong future growth in
demand for automotive body sheet, but development was slower than expected
and it had to wait until the 2000s to gain a solid foothold in this market. Not until
then was the production target set by the plant’s “founding fathers” back in 1967
finally achieved: 400,000 tonnes of rolled products per year.
In the intervening years and to provide work for its state-of-the-art facilities, the
site had to reinvent itself very quickly and establish a firm position on another
market, which would grow on a scale that nobody had imagined: canstock.
Demonstrating remarkable adaptability and responsiveness, Neuf-Brisach
achieved this goal in the early 1980s.
The organization of production and the outlets for the plant’s products reflect this
eventful history. Built in 1967 for large, continuous production runs, it remained
faithful to that initial choice. Its main original feature is that it incorporates all
stages in the manufacture of aluminium coils and sheets: recycling, casting, hot
and cold rolling, automotive finishing and coating.
The Neuf-Brisach plant has always taken change
in its stride. It is capable of calling itself into
question. Its entire history proves it.
Laurette Zaeh-Petit, Communication Manager
Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products
“
”
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Food cans - for food preservation - are still mainly made of steel, with the exception
of high-end products and small containers such as those used for pet food. These
are markets on which Constellium has gained a strong position.
Neuf-Brisach has a major asset when it comes to meeting the needs of can
manufacturers. “The plant’s key strength is that it is capable of producing
aluminium of a constant quality in very large quantities. Beverage can
manufacturers need to produce rapidly and continually. So the metal they use
must be homogeneous and completely free of even the tiniest variation. Very few
suppliers can do that”, Hervé Vichery stresses. Innovation therefore plays a key
role in this process, to find the best possible matches between metal and tools.
But it also comes into play in the development of special alloys, such as the one
developed for aluminium bottles and aerosols marketed under the Aeral®
brand.
Automotive sector
The automotive sector is currently the plant’s second biggest market. Following
the inauguration of a second automotive finishing line in 2016, the automotive
body sheet market accounts for an annual volume of 150,000 tonnes.
The very rapid pace of growth in the automotive market is the salient feature of the
past ten years, and 2007-2008 is the period when the plant became actively
involved in this market. It has indeed always worked for the automotive sector,
supplying automakers and automotive Tier 1 with parts to make body in white and
closures components as well as heat-exchangers, as far back as 1967. But a whole
Twenty years ago half of Europe’s beverage
cans were made of aluminium. Now the
proportion is more than 90%.
Hervé Vichery, Head of Canstock Technical Customer Services
Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products
“
”
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18. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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marked a milestone. We completely refurbished the finishing line that had been
installed in 1966 and installed a chemical conversion process, enabling us to go
up-market in line with the German carmakers’ needs.” The site’s location just
across the river Rhine is a further advantage, simplifying and speeding up
deliveries to their factories.
Just under a decade later, the automotive market has exceeded all expectations.
“We are on the verge of a major transformation: the sector is making ever greater
use of aluminium, opening up enormous prospects for development. The
European market is likely to grow three-fold and the American market ten-fold”,
explains Ludovic Piquier, who became Plant Director in 2014 having himself come
from the automotive industry. “Aluminium offers the best trade-off between price
and weight,” Catherine Athènes continues. “Most of the growth has been driven
by the closure components: doors, hood and trunk, which can be made of
aluminium without changing the vehicle’s structure. That made the transition to
aluminium a lot easier.”
The Neuf-Brisach plant now has a reputation as a center of excellence in the
automotive sector, largely thanks to the new finishing line commissioned in 2016.
“This line is a high-performance, integrated facility that complies with the ever
more stringent standards coming into force in the automotive industry. It has
enabled us to triple our output of automotive body sheet”, Ludovic Piquier
stresses. But Neuf-Brisach is not merely a center of excellence for the carmakers
to which it delivers its products; it has also acquired this status for the other units
across Constellium. Technicians and operators from Neuf-Brisach are sent on
assignments all over the world to share their technical expertise during the start-
up of new automotive facilities. “In both human and technical terms, Neuf-Brisach
is a true benchmark for the automotive sector”, reckons Céline Steiner, a hot
rolling supervisor who spent several months at the Constellium UACJ plant in
Bowling Green, USA.
Meeting the specific needs of manufacturers
Drawing on this expertise, Neuf-Brisach has built a solid relationship of trust with
its carmaker customers. And this has had a major consequence: “We are no
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20. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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Pride in a job well done
Round the clock and seven days per week, nearly 1500 employees contribute to
producing the coils and sheets to be delivered to beverage can manufacturers,
carmakers and other customers. Neuf-Brisach is something of an exception when
it comes to employment. “The plant’s workforce has grown constantly since 1967.
It escaped the crises that shook the steel industry, for instance”, Human Resources
Director Thierry Carré rightly stresses.
The high level of professionalism - another key feature - stems from the lengthy
training courses completed mainly on the shop floor. It takes at least two years to
train a casthouse, rolling mill or slitter operator. “These professions are learned
directly on the line or in the shop, and not in the classroom. So people take great
pride in their jobs. They really feel they have been entrusted with very special
skills.” As a result, staff turnover is also very low.
With growing momentum in the automotive sector, the plant holds a winning hand.
“The men and women of Neuf-Brisach form the backbone of a real industrial
culture based on in-depth knowledge of their products”, Ludovic Piquier stresses.
“Because of the standards it has to meet, the automotive industry requires us to
make products of impeccable quality and deliver them on time. The plant is ideally
placed to carry out this mission.”
The folk on the lines are passionately committed.
They take great pride in their jobs. The people
here want to share their expertise.
Thierry Carré, Human Resources Director
“
”
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23. TOUR OF THE PLANT
IN SIX STAGES
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24. The six stages of the process
Overview of the Neuf-Brisach plant
1
2
3
4
5
6
1. Recycling
2. Casthouse
3. Hot rolling
4. Cold rolling
5. Automotive finishing
6. Packaging finishing
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An essential plant...
Technically speaking, the history of the Neuf-Brisach plant does not begin in
1967... In actual fact it dates back to 1959. In that year the managers of Cegédur,
France’s leading aluminium processing company and a joint subsidiary of
Pechiney and the Compagnie Générale d’Electricité, decided to build a new rolling
plant in France. The reason for this investment was the strong growth on the
market: between 1950 and 1958, annual aluminium consumption in France soared
from 70,000 to nearly 200,000 tonnes and everything indicated that the trend was
set to continue. Aerospace, building construction, packaging, automaking: the
many applications of aluminium covered entire sectors of the economy. And the
potential outlets had broadened considerably since the signature of the Treaty of
Rome in 1957, which gave rise to the European Economic Community and
instigated the process of abolishing customs duties between member states. Up to
then most of Cegédur’s customers had been French, but from then on they were
European. Demand was rocketing and new international markets were opening up,
so there were at least two good reasons to build a new production plant...
But there was also a third reason: the Cegédur plant in Issoire, central France, had
reached saturation point. Having been commissioned in 1947, it was struggling
badly to keep up with the increase in demand in the aerospace sector, its flagship
market. Conquering new markets seemed inconceivable. To make matters worse,
the Issoire plant did not have the facilities to produce thin sheet – less than 3 mm
thick – which was needed to satisfy new requirements. Yet Cegédur’s managers
1959
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And the winner is... Neuf-Brisach!
Once the managers of Cegédur had made their decision to build a new plant, they
spent several months debating the best location for it. Dunkirk on the north coast
was considered for a while, but eventually ruled out due to the climate, which was
too damp to be suitable for the equipment. Another town considered was
Noguères near Lacq, in the south-west, where Pechiney had just launched a new
aluminium production plant, but the area was considered too remote. In the end
they opted for the Alsace plain near the river Rhine in the east - a logical choice,
given the emergence of the new Europe. From the heart of the Common Market,
the plant would easily be able to export its products to other countries. Not to
mention the fact that Cegédur had not at that stage ruled out building the plant in
partnership with Belgian or German industrialists, which meant choosing a site
that was not too far away. At first, the port area of Strasbourg ticked all the boxes.
But it was eventually abandoned, since the land was available for rent and not for
purchase. That was a sizeable handicap for Cegédur’s managers, who were intent
on acquiring land freehold.
In the end they opted for another port area, that of Colmar-Neuf-Brisach. This was
a wise choice – from a geographical standpoint first of all. “Most of Europe’s
industrial facilities lie within a 500-kilometre radius around Neuf-Brisach, and all
of Europe’s major ports lie within a 650-kilometre radius”, was the explanation
given at Cegédur, while also emphasizing another key asset of the area: its
proximity to the European markets and, further afield, potential for attaining “big
export” business. Indeed, from its location on the banks of the Rhine, the plant
would have direct access to the main ports on the North Sea such as Rotterdam
1961
1961
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Did you say Neuf-Brisach?
“The site chosen to build the plant lay mostly in the district of Biesheim, with
a small part in that of Kunheim. Neuf-Brisach, four kilometers from Biesheim,
is a well-known, attractive small town that was created by Louis XIV and
fortified by Vauban when Alsace was annexed to the Kingdom of France. It
also happened to be the only place with a post office, hence the initial choice
of name - ‘Usine de Neuf-Brisach’ - in 1960” (Rhenalu, L’usine Neuf-Brisach,
IHA 1995).
and Antwerp, and be connected to the German, Swiss and Italian road and railway
networks. This would significantly reduce logistics costs and greatly simplify
shipping. Another - and by no means insignificant – advantage was that the site
would have access to all the energy needed to operate its large industrial facilities,
since Neuf-Brisach lay just a few hundred meters away from Vogelgrun dam and
hydropower plant, one of the eight such plants lying between Basel and
Strasbourg. In fact, Cegédur could not have dreamt of a more perfect site.
In October 1961, nearly two years after the first layout studies and following
signature of an agreement with the Colmar-Neuf-Brisach public port authority,
Cegédur acquired 244 hectares of land straddling the districts of Biesheim and
Kunheim. But that was just the first stage, and much remained to be done before
the new plant would become a reality.
1961
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And that was difficult for the French to accept. The two parties had also been unable
to reach agreement regarding leadership of the future plant.
By late 1962, the matter was finally settled: the Rhenalu plant in Neuf-Brisach
would have a European vocation but be built by the French, VAW having decided
to build its own plant with Canadian firm Alcan in Norf, in the Ruhr. Cegédur would
shoulder the burden of the “major European plant” it was about to build on the
banks of the Rhine by itself. Neuf-Brisach’s international ambitions were sketched
out in the late 1950s, but bringing them to fruition would turn out to be a gradual
process which today makes Constellium one of the world’s leading manufacturers
of semi-finished aluminium products.
Special issue of the Pechiney newsletter
dedicated to the plant, October 1966 - Coll. IHA
1962
1959 1961 1967 1970 1976 1983 1989 1992 1996 2006 2016
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64. 6262
1967 : The process:
Handling coils
prior to rolling
Preparing coils
for rolling
Static coil annealing
furnace
Preparing coils for the
annealing furnace
4 4
4 44
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A new market: canstock...
1970
During 1970, hot rolling mill L2 and the first duplex furnace in the casthouse - FD1 -
were brought into service. The production line was now complete. Metal slabs from
the casthouse, between 200 and 500 mm thick, were hot-rolled into 3 to 9 mm strips.
On leaving the hot rolling mill these strips, known as “blanks”, were coiled before
being cold-rolled to a thickness between 0.3 and 0.2 mm. The metal then moved on
to the finishing installations where the coils were cut up or slit before undergoing heat
or surface treatments and being packaged and shipped. At Neuf-Brisach, the future
was looking brighter…
Major changes were underway at the site, however. Even though they were barely
perceptible in 1970 they were all too real and would increase in significance as the
decade went on. They concerned the outlets for the plant which, it should be recalled,
was originally designed in expectation of strong growth in the automotive body sheet
market. Yet, three years after the facilities were brought into service, the fact had to
be faced: the “aluminium car” was not catching on among manufacturers. The reason
Roger Schaedelin, who arrived at the site in 1969,
recalls the start-up of the hot rolling mill:
L2 was pretty intimidating, mainly because of the noise. It was
a huge gamble to start up a machine like that without properly
qualified staff who had merely done a short training course.
In any case, the machine was one of a kind and nobody
really knew how to operate it.
”
“
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Another leap forward...
1989
“We need to increase our rolling capacity from 280,000 to 360,000 tonnes!” In
1989, the 1300 employees of Neuf-Brisach rose to a new challenge: with NH1 barely
completed, production was to be boosted by a further 30%. This ambitious objective
entailed further heavy investment: over 700 million francs in total. Logically named
“NH2”, this major program was to be rolled out between then and 1993.
The reason for this new expansion was the transformation taking place in canstock,
the site’s principal market. An emerging trend in the beverage and food can market
was to use thinner coils, thus generating substantial savings for beverage can
makers. The steel manufacturers were quick to respond to this demand and adopted
a highly aggressive approach, developing steel foil coils that proved to be formidable
competitors for aluminium products. But that was not all! The products delivered to
can manufacturers were not just required to be lighter; their quality had to be
impeccable. One defect per million cans was the exacting standard the firms in the
sector were henceforth required to meet.
Increased competition, new technical challenges: these were the main reasons for
forging ahead with the NH2 program. This time the site’s intention was to
consolidate its position in the canstock segment and ensure reliable product quality.
Once again, the investments were on a scale commensurate with the challenges: a
casting furnace (FD5) with a melting capacity of 70 tonnes and a holding furnace
with a capacity of 45 tonnes were installed in the casthouse. The hot rolling shop
1989
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Fitting the fourth stand on the tandem
mill was a huge technical feat. We did it
without stopping the rolling mill: rolling
continued on three stands while the fourth
was being fitted. The fitting team did
extremely well. Joseph Enderlen
“
”Spot,the Pechiney group
magazine: 1991 article “Les
Cracks de Neuf-Brisach”
(the experts at Neuf-
Brisach) - Coll. IHA
1989
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Cost reductions and
first steps in the automotive sector
1996
At Neuf-Brisach it was nicknamed “NH3”, as a nod to its predecessors, but the
official name assigned to it by the Pechiney group was “Challenge”. This new
project was indeed a challenge: for the Neuf-Brisach plant, of course, but also for
all of Pechiney’s production units. It was launched in 1996, with some ambitious
targets: reducing costs by 20% in order to make the group as profitable as its
major global competitors, on account of the crisis that had been affecting the
aluminium sector since the early 1990s. For Pechiney, which had been privatized
in 1995, urgent measures were needed…
At Neuf-Brisach, it was not the first time the organization had been adapted in line
with market fluctuations. The departmentation implemented in 1975 had improved
business efficiency and prepared the teams to conquer the canstock markets. In
1984, working patterns were reformed with the introduction of continuous
production and 5x8 shifts in the shops. The aim was to make better use of the
industrial facilities, but the change had met with strong internal opposition.
Challenge would be less of a revolution than a series of shop-floor improvements
intended to gear the plant more closely to its customers and meet their needs
more effectively.
Behind these seemingly trivial changes, a major transformation was in fact in store
for the site. By the mid-1990s, the canstock market in which Neuf-Brisach had
become the undisputed specialist was continuing to progress but at a less
sustained pace. The plant therefore had to find some new outlets. In a surprising
throwback to the plant’s origins, the sector chosen was none other than the
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1996
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From Cegédur to Constellium: a few milestones
1943: Cegédur is created by a group of non-ferrous metal processing
companies. It builds the rolling plant in Issoire (Puy-de-Dôme) and
commissions it in 1947.
1962: Rhenalu is created by Cegédur to operate the future Neuf-Brisach plant.
1964: Cegédur is taken over by Pechiney.
1967: Tréfimétaux is acquired by Pechiney, which thus becomes Europe’s
leading aluminium processing company.
1971: Pechiney merges with Ugine Kuhlmann to form Pechiney Ugine
Kuhlmann (PUK), France’s largest private group with more than
100,000 employees.
1982: PUK is nationalized, and renamed Pechiney in 1984.
1987: Cegédur becomes Pechiney Rhenalu.
1995: Pechiney is privatized.
2003: Pechiney is acquired by Canadian group Alcan.
2007: Alcan is acquired by Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto.The Neuf-Brisach
plant and the activities of the former Pechiney become an integral part of this
new specialized Rio Tinto subsidiary: Alcan Engineered Products (Alcan EP).
2011: Rio Tinto sells 61% of Alcan EP to the Apollo Management investment
fund and to the French sovereign wealth fund (FSI), now BPI (Banque
Publique d’Investissement). In the process, Alcan EP is renamed Constellium.
2013: Constellium shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Aluminium and the automotive sector:
a sustainable alliance
2016
“Constellium makes one of the biggest investments in its history”; “Constellium
invests massively in France”... in October 2016, the local and national French
press gave extensive coverage to a special event. A few days earlier, the Neuf-
Brisach plant had inaugurated a new automotive finishing line - its second – in
order to meet the increasing demand for its aluminium auto body sheet products.
240 meters in length, the new installation boosted production capacity by
100,000 tonnes per year and represented an investment of 180 million euros. A
huge sum that speaks volumes about the stakes involved…
With this integrated facility, Constellium Neuf-Brisach made itself battle-ready to
seize growth opportunities in the European and global automotive body sheet
market and to meet the particularly exacting standards of carmakers. The
automotive market started opening up to aluminium products in the late 1990s at
the instigation of German luxury saloon car manufacturers, and truly reached
cruising speed two decades later. Some experts, who have no hesitation in
speaking of a “new Eldorado”, believe demand for aluminium automotive body sheet
in Europe could even rise to 700,000 tonnes by 2020, from just 230,000 tonnes
in 2012. And this is no figment of their imagination: aluminium is more expensive
than steel, but the additional cost can easily be absorbed over the complete
product life cycle, through both recycling and energy savings. Weighing much less
than steel, which is used for most body in white components, “white metal” makes
vehicles significantly lighter and thus more fuel-efficient, thereby improving their
2016
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Nearly 50 years after its inauguration, the Neuf-Brisach site is thus on the point of
fulfilling its original purpose. Opened in 1967 to supply European carmakers with
aluminium products, it now holds all the cards – the people, the expertise, the
industrial facilities and the experience – and has become a leading global supplier
to the automotive industry. Somewhat hampered at the outset by the vagaries of
its markets, the plant built a successful position on the canstock market, which
remains its key outlet, rolling out a series of structural investments in order to do
so. With automotive applications on one side and canstock on the other, the
“boom in coils” is not set to end any time soon at Neuf-Brisach!
2016
Neuf-Brisach operates on two major markets:
canstock, which represents the biggest
volumes, and the automotive sector.
The latter has grown rapidly over the past few
years. The new finishing line keeps in step
with this expansion and provides the plant
with a flexible production facility that is ideally
placed to drive our growth in the automotive
body sheet market.
Ludovic Piquier, Constellium Neuf-Brisach Site Director
“
”
1959 1961 1962 1967 1970 1976 1983 1989 1992 1996 2006
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97. ConstelliumNeuf-Brisach
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Foreword, Jean-Marc Germain, Chief Executive Officer
Constellium Group ..................................................................................................... 3
A shared anniversary, Ludovic Piquier, Constellium Neuf-Brisach Site Director... 5
A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING FACILITY............................................................. 7
A large plant geared towards international markets ................................................. 9
Once upon a time: an industrial vision... .................................................................. 11
A plant and its markets ............................................................................................. 12
Pride in a job well done ............................................................................................ 18
TOUR OF THE PLANT IN SIX STAGES ......................................................... 21
1. Recycling ............................................................................................................... 23
2. Casthouse ............................................................................................................. 27
3. Hot rolling .............................................................................................................. 31
4. Cold rolling............................................................................................................. 35
5. Automotive finishing ............................................................................................. 39
6. Packaging finishing ............................................................................................... 43
THE PLANT IN 12 KEY DATES ....................................................................... 47
The plant before the plant: origins of the Neuf-Brisach site (1959-1967)
1959. An essential plant… ....................................................................................... 49
1961. And the winner is... Neuf-Brisach! .................................................................. 53
1962. Rhenalu’s European ambitions ...................................................................... 57
Birth and expansion of a plant (1967 to the present)
1967. A major plant is born... ................................................................................... 61
1970. A new market: canstock... ............................................................................. 69
1976. All change at Neuf-Brisach! ............................................................................ 71
1983. Canstock keeps its promises! ........................................................................ 73
1989. Another leap forward... .................................................................................. 77
1992. The early days of recycling ............................................................................. 81
1996. Cost reductions and first steps in the automotive sector ............................ 83
2006. An investment boom! ..................................................................................... 87
2016. Aluminium and the automotive sector: a sustainable alliance ..................... 91
Table of contents
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