Photo: SMS group GmbHExlabesa, a multinational company specialising in the production of extruded aluminum profiles, has awarded a contract to
SMS group GmbH for the supply of a 71MN front-loading short-stroke extrusion press.
Once operational, the company will have 27 extrusion lines at its disposal including five ‘state of the art’ SMS extrusion presses at its nine production facilities. The new press will be installed at the company’s Padron site in Spain and come on stream at the beginning of 2024.
Francisco Quintá, founder of Exlabesa, said: “Lighter and, at the same time, safe structural designs, low-fuel consumption, and reduced emissions for sustainable mobility, are today’s drivers for using high-strength aluminum profiles. With our new, large extrusion press, we intend to double our production output for large profiles and secure the future of the plant. Furthermore, we will be able to offer new profile cross-sections and widths that were not possible before and strengthen our position as the market leader in the European aluminum industry.”
The new extrusion press will be used mainly for the production of profiles for the growing electromobility market. Furthermore, the company plans to produce extruded profiles up to 620mm wide, for truck superstructures as well as profiles intended for railway carriage manufacturing. The investment will also enable Exlabesa Building Systems division to produce unique architectural solutions, enabling it to target the most demanding bespoke façade projects. Billets with a diameter of 406mm and a maximum length of 1,800mm, that are manufactured in-house, will be utilised.
Exlabesa produces the aluminum billets required for this in its own recycling plant, using equipment supplied by Austria-based
Hertwich Engineering, also an SMS group company.
The front-loader press will be built based on the latest SMS group design. The control will be identical to that implemented in equipment already supplied and thanks to the EcoDraulic concept, a reduction in energy consumption of up to 10% will be achieved. The system, with its intelligent, demand-oriented start/stop control function, switches off all hydraulic pumps that are not required during the extrusion process.
Hans-Uwe Rode, senior sales manager — extrusion presses at
SMS group, concluded: “We are proud to support Exlabesa on their expansion course. Through the consistent use of optimised plant technology and the expansion of its portfolio to include Spain’s largest extrusion press, the company is growing into one of Europe’s leading extrusion press plants.”
SMS Group will be exhibiting at
ALUMINIUM 2022 taking place in Düsseldorf from 27-29 September (Hall 5, Stand A34).