Aurajoki Oy Invests More Than €20 Million in the Most Environmentally Friendly Hot-Dip Galvanizing Plant in Europe
Aurajoki Oy is building a new and completely carbon-neutral hot-dip galvanizing plant in Lieto. The project is unique on a Finnish scale, as the facility will be the first of its kind in Northern Europe. Construction work will begin in May 2023, and the new facility is scheduled to start operating in July 2024. The total investment is more than 20 million euros, and the building will be built for Aurajoki Oy by SRV Rakennus Oy.
The construction of the new hot-dip galvanizing plant is a significant investment in utilizing the latest technology in the industry and a cleaner future. Thanks to the process technology used in the plant, it will consume significantly less zinc, energy and water than current hot-dip galvanizing plants. With the recycling used in the production process, the consumption of other raw materials is significantly reduced and waste is generated up to 70% less than at present. In the plant, the waste heat generated in the hot-dip galvanizing process will be utilized, producing approximately 1,200,000 kWh of district heating from it annually to be fed into the district heating network of the city of Lieto. In addition, a solar power system will be installed at a later date. Taking into account all environmental aspects, the new facility will become Europe’s environmentally friendly hot-dip galvanizing facility. Business Finland has granted the project investment support from the Investement Aid for Circular Economy program.
The project excellently supports Aurajoki Oy’s Sustainable Partner strategy, the starting point of which is to produce sustainable solutions for the company’s customers and to be a carbon-neutral company by 2024. The hot-dip galvanizing carried out in the plant on the customers’ products is in itself an environmentally friendly and economical way to protect steel against corrosion caused by environmental conditions. It provides very good and maintenance-free protection for steel structures for up to decades, reducing their life-cycle costs compared to painting, for example.
“The starting point of the project has been the utilization of the best available technology in the world,” comments Ralf Sohlström, CEO of Aurajoki Oy. “Aurajoki has been doing hot-dip galvanizing for 55 years, and by investing in the newest and most environmentally friendly hot-dip galvanizing technology, we are strengthening Aurajoki’s position as one of Northern Europe’s leading metal coating companies.”
Aurajoki Oy, founded in 1967, is a company specializing in metal surface treatment services and the manufacture of infrastructure steel structures, which is Finland’s leader in its field. The company’s turnover is around 30 million euros and the number of employees is 180. Aurajoki Oy’s factories are located in Aura, Turku, Pirkkala, Lievestuorei, Mikkeli and Saarijärvi. In addition, the company has a joint venture in Daugmale, Latvia.
Additional information:
Ralf Sohlström, CEO, Aurajoki Oy, tel. +358 40 770 2720, ralf.sohlstrom@aurajoki.fi
Mikko Mäkinen, Development Manager, Aurajoki Oy, tel. +358 40 844 8203, mikko.makinen@aurajoki.fi
