WICONA, a pioneer in low-carbon and circular aluminum window, door, and facade systems, proudly announces a significant investment in its Atessa, Italy remelt plant. This development will enable the plant to produce post-consumer recycled aluminum, CIRCAL 75R, marking a substantial advancement in WICONA’s circularity journey.
Circularity Milestones and Future Goals.
Since 2018, WICONA has made Significant progress in reducing the carbon footprint of its products by emphasizing the use of low-carbon recycled materials. It all started with one project using CIRCAL 75R. Six years later, using recycled end-of-life aluminum has become standard for all their main product ranges, rather than a service for specific customer requests.
WICONA's dedication to circularity extends beyond increasing the production of recycled aluminum. They are committed to driving decarbonization in the building and construction sector by promoting ‘urban mining’ – transforming old buildings into new structures. This circularity approach has been in development for several years.
Their strategy includes forming robust partnerships with customers and suppliers to ensure a closed-loop system. This approach facilitates the responsible collection and transformation of aluminium window, door, and facade components, thereby minimizing waste and maximizing resource efficiency within the construction industry.
Impact and Future Plans.
By prioritizing the use of end-of-life recycled materials, WICONA is making a significant contribution to waste reduction and fostering a more circular economy. "We have achieved a major milestone," says Henri Gomez, Senior Vice President. " Through close collaboration with our customers to collect old aluminium frames and with our suppliers to transform end-of-life waste into new recycled material, I am proud to say that we can now recover and recycle nearly 100% of the used aluminum window, door and facade (excluding glazing). Urban mining is the future of the building and construction sector and the only way to truly drive its decarbonization."
The next phase involves increasing the number of collection and recycling points across Europe to further enhance the recovery of materials from renovation projects. "Our main challenge is the distance between renovation projects and our sorting and recycling facilities. With existing plants in Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, and the UK, we lacked a strategic location to effectively reach Italy and its neighboring countries, which have a growing demand for renovation. Consequently, our €14.8 million investment in Atessa, Italy, will not only increase our CIRCAL production capacity by 20 000 tonnes but also expand our geographical reach, allowing us to serve most regions across Europe," concludes Henri Gomez.
