Flooded Aurubis plant back in business

A year after floods ravaged Aurubis’ Stolberg facility in Germany, operations are virtually back to normal, the company has announced.

The plant was under water on 14 July 2021 as a result of severe weather in the North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate region, halting production.  Employees were evacuated in time and no-one was injured at Stolberg, one of the leading European manufacturers of semi-finished products using copper and copper alloys.

The clean-up operations took five months and most production facilities, excluding two large units that had to be replaced, were cleaned, repaired and restarted. The first products were delivered to customers in November and the final production line resumed in June. The final step to be completed is the renovation of the administrative offices and social areas.

‘The rapid reconstruction of the plant is a great success and proof of the solidarity in our company,’  says Aurubis ceo Roland Harings. ‘Stolberg was and is a company with a future in the Aurubis family because our metals and products are more important than ever for the energy transition.’

Benjamin Cappi, md of Aurubis Stolberg since 1 April, experienced the flood as a member of the management team. ‘We received a great deal of strong support from our sister plants, customers, helpful companies, and a multitude of volunteers. We managed this reconstruction together; everyone at the plant contributed. Our sincere thanks therefore go to everyone involved.’

Disaster management guidelines have been reviewed and revised following the flood. The company is calling on policymakers and the government to take more extensive measures to prevent the extreme consequences of storms such as the one in 2021.