The Talex casthouse, which started operating in February 2016, was built as a turnkey plant by Hertwich Engineering. After the (now completed) first expansion stage the annual output will be around 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of extrusion billets.
In the first expansion stage Talex set up two extrusion lines and a casthouse for extrusion billets. In addition to recycling scrap from the company’s own production and scrap from the co-operation partner Gulfex also molten metal from the adjacent smelter will be processed.
The material supplied by Hertwich includes a charging machine for scrap, featuring a charge weight of up to three tonnes, an Ecomelt-PR80 multi-chamber melting furnace, a casting furnace with a capacity of 30 tonnes, equipment for melt refining, a cooling water plant and a vertical casting machine, including Hycast GC (gas cushion) moulds. Hertwich’s supply scope also comprised a complete continuous homogenising line including an ultrasonic testing unit and a sawing and packing station.
The plant has been designed for the subsequent integration of a second casting furnace and a batch-type homogenising unit. With this equipment, the plant’s planned capacity and alloy variation will be reached in the final stage.