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Eco-friendly galvanising plant built in Finland

Construction on Aurajoki’s new hot-dip galvanisation plant, one it says is the most eco-friendly such plant in Europe, began in May 2023.

Aurajoki

Aurajoki has taken delivery of a new hot-dip galvanising plant in Lieto, Southwest Finland – one it says is the most environmentally friendly in Europe.

Commissioned on 1 July, the plant will utilise new technologies to enable what the operator described as a significant reduction in water, energy and raw material consumption compared with conventional hot-dip galvanising plants.

The plant has a total footprint of roughly 85 000 cubic metres, including 6 200 gross square metres for production and office facilities.

The construction had begun only a year earlier with a particular emphasis on waste sorting: the on-site sorting rate was 88 per cent, with 61 per cent of the materials recycled and 99 per cent utilised. During the most labour-intensive phase of construction, the headcount at the site peaked at roughly a hundred.

“SRV has handled the construction in an exemplary manner. Meeting the schedule was of utmost importance to us, and despite the tight schedule, the factory was completed exactly on time. The quality of construction and site arrangements during the building phase have also been top-notch,” said Ralf Sohlström, CEO of Aurajoki.

A lifecycle target of 50 years has been set for the plant’s structural components and networks, and 25 years for the technical systems.

“The collaborative contract model enabled a swift transition from the development phase to the implementation phase,” added Jukka Aaltonen, regional director at SRV. “It has been a pleasure to implement a modern galvanising plant built with lifecycle wisdom, considering energy efficiency and diverse future usage needs.”

By: Aleksi Teivainen
07.08.2024