Elkem Aluminum acquires Russian contract

Norway's Elkem Aluminium has been chosen by Russian company UC RUSAL, one of the world's largest aluminium producers, to supply technology and know-how to their modernization programme.

Elkem Aluminium has developed and installed technology at their plant at Lista in Southern Norway that has reduced emission of greenhouse gases by 67% and increased productivity by 15%. Through the agreement, UC RUSAL will have full access to Elkem Aluminium's technological design, construction drawings, documentation and software. UC RUSAL technicians and operators will for a period of two years be visiting Elkem Aluminium Lista. The agreement has a value of about USD 20 million.

Elkem Aluminium has already sold the technology to US company Alcoa, and to Turkish ETI Alüminyum.

UC RUSAL is one of the world's largest aluminium companies, with 12.5% of the world's aluminium production and 100,000 employees. UC RUSAL has announced an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gases across the company's existing plants.

Elkem is a company in the Norwegian Orkla Group.

Orkla today has around 3,500 employees in Russia, and a total turnover of close to NOK1.5bn (€190m).

From the mid 1990s Orkla played a vital role for ten years as one of two owners of the Baltika Breweries in St. Petersburg through Baltic Beverages Holding.

The Orkla companies Borregaard and Elkem have for decades been engaged in Russia. Orkla has today two major companies in the Branded Consumer Goods area in Russia; Krupskaya and SladCo; both in chocolate and confectionery products.

In addition Jotun has a healthy business within Marine coatings, with a strong growth in protective coatings.