NEW INVESTMENTS IN EASTERN EUROPE FOR ALU-PRO

The constant increase in demand for insulating glass has recently given a strong impulse to research that is focused on improving production, optimizing product performance and entering new markets. This is the case in Eastern Europe as well, which has been posting significant economic growth rates over recent years. We spoke with Marco Del Bianco, CEO of Alu-Pro, a leading manufacturer of aluminum profiles and very committed to new technologies with the Danish company and Rolltech, about these new markets also in relation to the presence of Vetrim, an important production and distribution center, in Poland.

Vetrim recently decided to launch a new production line for aluminum profiles. When was it completed? Is it already operating at full capacity?

Alu-Pro decided to install a new profile production line in its Vetrim branch in Poland, in September last year. The operation was completed in April this year and the new unit is already working at full capacity.

A large-scale investment of this kind will definitely bring high returns on production capacity: can you quantify these?

This new line produces about 100,000 m of profiles a day in 3 shifts and therefore, for 2007, we plan to produce 20 million more meters of profiles than in 2006.

Is this increased production capacity the result of a spontaneous increase in demand or was the decision based on market growth forecasts for eastern Europe?

The increased production capacity in Poland is due to the rising demand for our products in all of eastern Europe, especially in the former Soviet Union. As far as logistics are concerned, our customers obviously prefer to pick up the materials in Poland instead of Italy and this gives us a competitive edge.

Is the new production line only an additional line or does it also feature some significant technological innovations?

Technological innovation never stops in our production lines: each new line that we install is always a small technological improvement in terms of productivity and efficiency.

In your opinion, will other measures be required in the short term to provide a prompt response to shifting market trends?

I hope that new investments will be necessary in the short term! Apart from the joke, current production capacity is very high, but in any case, should the need arise, our reaction times are very fast.

Alu-Pro has also recently upgraded its own production units: what did this involve?

Alu-Pro made some major investments in its new facility in Noale this year: two new profile production lines, two automatic packaging lines and a new cutting line for aluminum coils were installed. All this new machinery will enable us to continue to be more competitive and most importantly to satisfy all our customer needs.

Alu-Pro, within the Glass Alliance, is a reference point for the production of aluminum profiles: has the recent increase in European and worldwide demand generated any special developments in the technology of this product or will it do so in the future?

Over the years Alu-Pro has become more focused on the production aluminum spacer bars for insulating glass. In fact, at our Noale facility, we have decided to concentrate only on this kind of production in order to be more in the forefront with new technologies. We at Alu-Pro are now concentrated on improving the quality of our products and on expanding our product range in order to sell on the few markets where we are still not present.
Another important fact is that at our Rolltech facility in Denmark we perform ongoing research into more technologically advanced profiles: we have already received very good feedback with our stainless steel profiles and I can anticipate that we will be presenting our new warm edge profile with truly exceptional performance features at Vitrum in Milan.