Matalco greenfield facility EPCM service

Ramboll provided engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services to Matalco – North America’s largest independent producer of remelt aluminum billet for the extrusion and forging industries – for a new $80 million remelt and casting facility in central Wisconsin. The greenfield facility can produce 250 million pounds of 6000-series alloyed billet per year, enabling Matalco to meet the demand from specialty alloy aluminum billet markets and the automotive industry.

In addition, Ramboll provided support in the form of cost scheduling, vendor coordination and construction startup oversight. A key aspect of the planning process involved obtaining air permits for operation. By commencing these efforts in parallel with early design and procurement activities, Ramboll was able to facilitate timely environmental agency approvals.

Employing the latest equipment and technology

The 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is capable of recycling and remelting a variety of raw materials, utilizing environmentally sound manufacturing processes, and employing the latest equipment and technology. The plant’s process equipment includes:

• 115,000-pound capacity rectangular tilting dry hearth melt furnace
• 115,000-pound capacity tilting holding furnace
• Casting unit with casting cylinder capacity of 112,000 pounds per drop per cast
• Three batch homogenizing furnaces
• Two batch cooling furnaces
• Billet band saw
• 33,000-pound capacity rotary furnace to process dross
• Two-chamber 60,000-pound capacity sow dryer to preheat ingots and sows before charging

The facility also includes scrap receiving/handling and charging/skimming machines for melting, casting, log handling and storage. In addition to the major process equipment areas, the facility includes an administration building, maintenance, warehouse and scale with scale house, along with support systems, including cooling towers, water treatment building, baghouses, and rail spur and rail car unloading platform.

Circularity and environmental stewardship

Due to aluminum’s infinite recyclability, aluminum can help to build the circular economy. Matalco’s entire process of taking in scrap, melting it down, and creating new billets for re-distribution into the supply chain is a clear demonstration of supporting this circular economy.

Like all Matalco facilities, the Wisconsin plant is designed with maximum efficiency and sustainability in mind. Its furnaces are efficient, producing virtually no waste. Excess furnace heat is captured and recycled – and controls are in place to ensure that air emissions are maintained below governmental reporting thresholds. Also key to the facility’s production process is the filtering and recycling of water, ensuring contamination is avoided to the surrounding water tables.

“Ramboll fully understood the success criteria of the project and worked proactively to achieve the goals.” – Robert Roscetti, Vice President Corporate Development, Matalco.