LINTHICUM, Md. - December 22, 2008 - Hydro Aluminum's Extrusion Americas unit earned approval from the St. Johns County (Fla.) Commissioners for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) variance for its manufacturing facility in St. Augustine, Fla. The approval corrects a zoning error made before Hydro acquired the property from VAW in 2002 and would allow Hydro to expand in the future should it decide to do so. The site encompasses 115 acres, 40 of which are currently in use, including a 334,000-square-foot manufacturing building.
A form of zoning common in Florida for establishing residential subdivisions and shopping centers, the PUD defines certain restrictions such as building height and density of land development that are designed to protect both businesses like Hydro and residential neighbors. The St. Johns County Commissioners approved the measure 4-0, ending an application process that took more than a year.
"This is an important decision for Hydro and everyone in St. Augustine. It allows Hydro to guarantee its customers that quality products and services will always be available," said Lynn Brown, vice president of sales and marketing. "It also assures our local neighbors that this facility will continue to be a cornerstone in this community well into the future, just as it has for the last 30 years."
Hydro is the largest industrial manufacturer in St. Johns County, currently employing 326 people. Its facility produces aluminum parts and products such as parts for wind chimes, laser printers and tent-framing systems, turbo chargers for cars, lawn furniture, parts for pick-up trucks, and main shafts for string trimmers and other garden equipment.
The facility's tube-making capabilities consist of five extrusion presses, computer controlled strengtheners and a variety of cutting saws. Machining and fabrication are done on 22 CNC work centers, including five turning centers and 17 vertical mills.
The facility also includes one of Hydro's five North American remelt units for recycling scrap aluminum. The system is an all-in-one melter/holder furnace that streamlines production and improves billet quality. It produces custom and commodity-type alloy billets.
About Hydro
Extrusion Americas is a unit of Norsk Hydro, a Fortune Global 500 supplier of aluminum and aluminum products. Based in Oslo, Norway, the company employs 25,000 in more than 30 countries and has activities on six continents. Hydro is the world's third-largest aluminum supplier, the largest single manufacturer of primary metal and extruded aluminum products in Europe, and a leader in delivering innovative light metal solutions to the automotive and building industries worldwide.
In North America, Hydro provides aluminum solutions including supply sourcing, extrusion, finishing and fabrication of components, as well as contract manufacturing services for a variety of industries.
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