Alteo intends to combine purity of alumina and water

2019-04-16

Apr. 15, 2019 - "The Gardanne plant develops and sells all over the world aluminas that we all use, unknowingly, in our daily lives. It is by relying on the high technicality and the added value of its products, on its capacity to innovate and on a constant taking into account of the industrial ecology that Alteo knew how to sustain and develop its activity ", declares Frédéric Ramé, President of Alteo. A statement that supports the FO Secretary of the CHSCT (Committee for Health, Safety and Working Conditions) Christine Girodengo: "We have just inaugurated a new production unit of alumina" high purity "and put into operation our new wastewater treatment plant by C02 injection. Two facilities that aim, for one to ensure the industrial development of Alteo and, for the other, to support Alteo in an approach of innovation to ensure its sustainable growth.

Frédéric Ramé, President of Alteo and Roger Meï, Mayor of Gardanne cut the inaugural ribbon of 2 new units of the plant alongside notably Jean-Luc Chauvin President of the CCIMP, Green MP François-Michel Lambert and Didier Réaul, president of the Parc des Calanques (Photo by Robert Terzian)

ETI (independent mid-sized company) based in Gardanne for 125 years, Alteo is the world's leading producer of specialty aluminas. "We are proud to be working in this factory which, with the inauguration of a new" high purity "alumina production facility, once again demonstrates its innovation capacity and global expertise in advanced aluminas", Christine Girodengo advance. Representing an investment of € 1.5m, this unit will allow Alteo to approach new and growing markets such as microelectronics, particularly in Asia but potentially all over the world. Developed by R & D teams, this unit that has just started will have a capacity of over 1,000 tons per year. Alteo confirms its regional roots in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. In addition to participating in the development of its activities, this workshop allows Alteo to attract new talent by recruiting qualified local staff. Four new positions will be needed to operate this new production unit. Christine Girodengo recalls the progress made since 2012 and the sale of the plant by Rio Tinto to an American holding company. "We were then 250 employees. We have just passed the 500 mark in November and I am not talking about the 100 temporary workers we call on and the indirect jobs we generate on the Grand Port of Marseille. In 2018, Alteo used more than 200 subcontractors in the regions and made € 72 million in purchases. ". Also highlights that the company has sales offices and storage sites around the world, "and relies on a grinding workshop in Taiwan and a new one being built in Korea. And to support the rapid evolution of demand in India, Alteo wanted to strengthen its commercial presence and support the development of its customers by creating in late 2018 a new subsidiary in Mumbai: Alteo India Aluminas Private Ltd. In addition, there is talk of accelerating the penetration of its products in the market of battery separators in China and has thus partnered with the Chinese group Ginet, with the aim of positioning its new range of ultra-thin products.

"This industrial development," continues the unionist, "is combined with our environmental efforts, an issue we all appreciate." Admits that the presence of many authorities during the inauguration of the two facilities "has done the greatest good to all staff. More often than not, our detractors have the floor, we were able to express ourselves, highlight the efforts made and the progress we have made. " After more than a year of work, Alteo has indeed inaugurated its brand new water treatment plant by C02 injection. This process, unique in the world in the alumina sector, represented an investment of nearly € 7 million. This facility, built in partnership with Air Liquide and co-financed by the Rhône Méditerranée Corse Water Agency, marks the culmination of more than two years of research. This innovative technology consists in injecting carbon dioxide into the effluent to be treated in order to reduce the pH and transform the dissolved metals into a solid form. the required quality standards for pH and metal concentrations in liquid discharges are achieved. In addition, this solution consumes about 6,000 tons of CO2 per year and avoids emitting them into the atmosphere. "This system also allows us to produce bauxaline that can be used especially for soil remediation," says Christine Girodengo who adds: "The water we reject is clean and bauxaline can become a wealth. The Marseille Provence CCI is committed to helping us develop a circular economy around this product. In parallel, Alteo is continuing its efforts on the last two parameters in derogation - the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the biological oxygen demand (BOD5) - and is preparing to launch an industrial biological treatment unit. "Our detractors have pushed us to move forward but now we would like them to see progress," concludes the unionist.