Vantaal Aluminium
Mid-cap aluminium producer, two smelters and a rolling mill
- Engagement
- 20 weeks
- Office
- Austin
- Lead partner
- Tomasz Okafor
The challenge
Vantaal's scrap rate had drifted up for three quarters while energy contracts rolled into a volatile market. The board wanted one program, not ten initiatives, and a number it could audit.
What we did
Two weeks of shift-level measurement traced the scrap to three sources: furnace practice on alloy changes, a maintenance calendar that kept slipping, and dross handling nobody owned. Tomasz Okafor's team priced each gap and closed all but the maintenance calendar in the first eight weeks.
The energy team renegotiated the supply contracts with a stated volatility plan: hedge ratios, demand response participation, and a load-shedding sequence agreed with production before winter.
The outcome
Scrap fell by two-fifths within two quarters and held for a full year after the engagement closed. Energy per tonne fell 9 percent, and the cold winter passed without an unplanned curtailment.
Scrap rate −3.2%
Energy per tonne −53 kWh
Unplanned curtailment hours −27 h/quarter
Bars are scaled per metric against its own maximum. Direction of improvement: Scrap rate, Energy per tonne, Unplanned curtailment hours — lower is better.
| Metric | Before | After | Change | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrap rate | 8.1 % | 4.9 % | −3.2% | Lower is better |
| Energy per tonne | 615 kWh | 562 kWh | −53 kWh | Lower is better |
| Unplanned curtailment hours | 31 h/quarter | 4 h/quarter | −27 h/quarter | Lower is better |
Expertise behind this program
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