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CASSOPOLIS — A local company has expanded its footprint in Cassopolis.

Dozens of Community members, partners, and friends gathered at the Midwest Energy and Communications SMART Park in Cassopolis Wednesday as Hydro, a state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant, celebrated the expansion and relocation of its technology center from Zeeland to Cassopolis.

The expanded technology center houses Research and Development experts and strengthens Hydro’s capabilities to deliver aluminum products to its customers in automotive, transportation, consumer products and building systems.

Right next to the technology center stands the state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant which Hydro opened in November last year.

“Our technical resources have been instrumental in our success and growth in the United States for many years. Having this best-in-class technology center next to our newest recycling plant in Cassopolis will strengthen our ability to deliver on our future growth plans at Cassopolis and throughout the U.S.,” said Duncan Pitchford, President of Hydro Aluminum Metals USA.

With the technology center located in Cassopolis, Hydro can continue to meet the growing demand for low-carbon aluminum products in the U.S. with appropriate technical resources. Enhanced technology, closer to business and operations

The technology center has a state-of-the-art laboratory with capability for advanced testing of mechanical properties, corrosion and metallurgical investigations, and has an updated design to improve process flow and safety conditions for employees.

“The decision by Hydro to invest in their research and development facility here really cements what they told us when they first started looking at Cassopolis, which is they want to be a community partner,” said Cassopolis Village Manager Emilie LaGrow. “They want to be a leader in this industry, they want to create sustainability, not just within the aluminum sector, but within the community that they’re in and this is proof positive of that. I’m thrilled that under the leadership of President David Johnson here in the village and his vision for and belief that if we invest in ourselves, others will invest in us. This is really that coming to fruition and creating long-term sustainability and opportunities for our residents.”

The technology center and the recycling plant are connected by sharing the same administration building, fostering closer collaboration between operators, engineers, technical and R&D personnel. This will not only benefit Cassopolis, but also Hydro’s recycling plants in Henderson, KY and Commerce, TX.

As part of Hydro’s global network of laboratories and Research & Development centers, the Hydro Aluminum Technology Center in Michigan provides performance testing data to support Hydro’s production facilities and customers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in offering “high performance” aluminum products into demanding end markets such as automotive.

The customer support network also includes in-house research scientists in Karmøy and Sunndalsøra, Norway, and university partners in the U.S. and Europe.

“Being part of Hydro’s global R&D network is crucial for our work. We run year-long performance testing of our aluminum products to demonstrate compliance with the standards of leading automakers,” said Dr. Stig Tjøtta, Head of Technology for Hydro Aluminium Metal. “Additionally, using the knowledge we have gained over decades in serving for example the automotive industry, we can use models that accurately predict the performance of aluminum products in new structural or crash management applications.” 

Accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, HATC serves as the only testing laboratory in the Hydro system capable of providing third-party certified testing for strength, corrosion resistance, and other aspects of aluminum performance. In addition to HATC, Hydro also operates a technology center in Troy, Michigan supporting Hydro’s extrusion plants throughout North America.

With the Cassopolis recycling plant reaching full capacity, Hydro now has the ability to produce more than 2.2 billion pounds of recycling-based aluminum billet each year in the U.S. Recycling scrap aluminum requires only 5 percent of the energy used to produce primary aluminum, saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hydro can also produce alloy containing at least 75 percent post-consumer scrap and the lowest carbon footprint in the aluminum industry. Cassopolis also utilizes Hycast’s proprietary LPC casting technology to enhance capabilities toward this end market.

LaGrow thanked Johnson, the village council and staff for their efforts to revitalize Cassopolis and drive more business to the area.

“I’m so proud of all the work from the entire team at Village Hall,” she said. “President Johnson, his leadership of the council, to have the foresight that we needed to invest and to see that brought to fruition is so exciting. It’s a proud moment; I can’t wait to see where we’re standing next year. Every year, I can’t imagine where we’re going to go from here and we continue to have the opportunity to imagine more for ourselves and I love that for this community and it’s exciting. At the end of the day, this is the greatest job ever.”