– We have chosen to go beyond what is required in our reporting. For us, reporting is not just an obligation, but a tool for identifying areas for development and measuring our progress, says CEO Marko Orpana.

Concrete actions to reduce emissions

The report brings together Mäkelä Alu’s key sustainability actions and results. We have significantly reduced our carbon dioxide emissions over the long term and continued to invest in energy efficiency, electrification of production and renewable energy over the years.

– Our climate work is primarily based on reducing our own emissions. We continuously develop our production to be more energy efficient and utilise solutions that help us reduce emissions across the entire value chain. In addition, we improve material efficiency as part of the overall approach, says Sustainability Director Päivi Venesoja.

People at the centre

Personnel play a key role in our sustainability work. We invest in wellbeing at work, safety and competence development.

– A skilled and motivated workforce is the foundation of our operations. We have developed, for example, supervisory work and invested in wellbeing at work, which is reflected in improved employee satisfaction results, says HR Manager Jenni Hautakangas.

Read the sustainability report

The 2025 sustainability report has been prepared in line with the VSME reporting framework and, where applicable, key ESRS requirements.

A summary version of the report has also been published, providing the key content in an easy-to-read format.

Read the summary
Download the full report

Artikkeli Sustainability report 2025 published julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

– The heat recovery and pump system replaces the use of liquefied gas in the pre-treatment processes of both coating lines. The waste heat is collected from the foundry’s cooling water basin. This water is generated when castings are cooled with water, explains Tomi Pilbacka, Development Manager.

The foundry produces Mäkelä Alu’s own recycled billet by casting recycled aluminium. The idea of capturing heat from the cooling water originated nearly ten years ago.

– Together with the equipment supplier, we explored different possibilities for utilising process waste heat, and this was identified as one of the most promising targets, says Reijo Seppälä, Project Manager.

The system replaces liquefied gas

With the new system in place, the thermal energy recovered from the foundry is used to heat the pre-treatment water in both coating lines and the horizontal coating line. Before powder coating, the aluminium profiles are washed – previously, this process water was heated with liquefied gas.

– Once the new system is fully operational, we’ll be able to eliminate the use of liquefied gas in these heating needs, Pilbacka states.

Since cooling water is only generated when casting is in progress, the system includes an electric backup boiler that operates with clean electricity.

Container solution allows mobility

The equipment was installed in a separate container that was preassembled at the factory. On site, piping and electrical work was carried out by local contractors.

– This solution is cost-efficient and, if needed, movable. Commissioning is still ongoing, but the system will be fully up and running shortly, Seppälä says.

The equipment supplier was the Finnish company Calefa, specialised in heat pump solutions, and the project was also carried out in cooperation with local piping and electrical companies.

The solution will result in a reduction of 290 tonnes of CO₂ emissions already this year. The investment is valued at approximately €360,000 and will bring substantial energy savings by eliminating liquefied gas usage.

The foundry heat recovery project is part of a larger investment programme aimed at reducing CO₂ emissions from our own production. The project received energy investment support (RRF) from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.

Artikkeli Foundry’s waste heat used for heating paintshops julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

Investments in energy efficiency and emissions reduction

We made significant investments to improve energy efficiency and replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. For example, at Press Line 3, we replaced liquefied gas-powered billet heating equipment with modern electric solutions, reducing our CO₂ emissions by 900 tonnes per year.

At our Luoma-aho foundry, we introduced a heat recovery system that enables process water in our paint shops to be heated without liquefied gas. A similar project was implemented at our Voikkaa unit, where replacing natural gas in process water heating reduces emissions by 204 tonnes per year.

Award-winning sustainability efforts

The renewal of the energy system at our anodising plant received both national and international recognition. We were awarded the Energy Genius of the Year 2024 by the Energiavirasto (Energy Authority), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and Motiva (a state-owned company specialising in sustainable development), in recognition of our responsible energy use.

We also won the Net-Zero Industries Award in the Outstanding Projects category, highlighting our innovation in reducing industrial carbon emissions.

“We have achieved permanent improvements that are reflected in both emission figures and daily operations. The fact that our work has gained international recognition is a sign of true success,” says Päivi Venesoja, EHSQ Manager at Mäkelä Alu.

People at the centre

People are at the heart of our sustainability work. We have invested in strengthening our safety culture, supporting employee wellbeing, and encouraging continuous learning. We have also supported local sports clubs, helping to promote regional wellbeing.

Our 2024 employee satisfaction survey showed improvement in all key areas.

“In recent years, we have especially focused on developing supervisor work and the training provided to support it. It’s great to see that these efforts are now being reflected in our employee satisfaction results,” says Jenni Hautakangas, HR Manager.

Moving forward together

Sustainability is not just a collection of individual actions – it is a shared goal for our entire work community.

“Responsibility is part of our everyday work. It has been truly rewarding to see how we, as a team, have committed to our shared goals and successfully taken concrete steps to achieve them,” says CEO Marko Orpana.

These actions are part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and continuous development. We are proud of what we have accomplished and we will continue working toward an even more sustainable future.

Read our 2024 Responsibility Report on Issuu.
You can download the report here: Mäkelä Alu Oy Responsibility Report 2024.

The report is also available in our Material bank.

Artikkeli The year of action 2024: our responsibility report is now published julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

The Net-Zero Industries Award is an international competition that recognises and honours significant innovations in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in industry. The competition highlights individuals and projects that are revolutionising energy-intensive industries and making substantial contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Outstanding Projects category sought initiatives that transform industry, challenge prevailing practices, and set new standards for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

We are extremely proud that our work towards carbon neutrality is being recognised internationally in this way.

Details about the award-winning project

Over a four-year period, we completely renewed the energy system of our anodising plant. The results have exceeded our expectations: exceptional energy efficiency and 100% carbon neutrality just one small step away! We provided more detailed information about the project in an article published last autumn, which you can find here: Our anodising plant takes a big step towards carbon neutrality.

“We’ve managed to reduce the plant’s annual liquefied gas consumption of approximately 300 tonnes to less than a tenth of that. At the same time, the plant’s CO2 emissions have decreased dramatically – by about 700 tonnes per year – and the plant’s operational reliability has improved,” says Tomi Pilbacka, Development Director at Mäkelä Alu.

Gas consumption has been reduced to such a low level that switching to biogas will be possible within a few years. Once this transition is made, the energy system of the anodising plant will become completely carbon neutral.

The project was implemented in collaboration with Finnish technology companies, with local partners and our own staff playing a major role in its execution. The expertise gained from this project has already enabled us to identify numerous new opportunities to reduce emissions in our production. Since then, other energy efficiency projects have also been carried out, including at the Voikkaa paint shop and the Luoma-aho foundry.

In the main photo: personnel from our anodising plant.

Artikkeli A significant international award for our anodising plant julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

Our emissions limit values are set by an environmental permit granted by the Regional State Administrative Agency.

“An environmental impact assessment was carried out for the permit. The assessment also took into account the expansion of activities and increase in capacity. Of course, as our capacity increases, we use more energy, raw materials, and water,” says Päivi Venesoja, EHSQ Manager.

Emissions are reported on a regular basis

Environmental permits require quarterly monitoring and reporting of all emissions.

“Once a quarter, we report certain parameters of the water entering and leaving our wastewater treatment plant, among other things. These parameters include chemical oxygen demand, the concentration of solids, phosphorus, nickel and aluminium, and pH values. Reporting is made to the ELY Centre, which is the supervisory environmental authority,” says Päivi Venesoja.

The data are obtained from a wastewater analysis carried out by an external operator. Analysis samples are taken by an automatic collector once a month. Samples are collected for 24 hours so that the obtained value is as realistic as possible.

A wider range of emissions are reported annually.

“Although there is no reporting obligation, we monitor things like the amount of waste powder coating per coated metre, CO₂ emissions from our gate to the customer’s gate, and the amount of reclaimed waste recovered from the total amount of waste during a certain period,” continues Päivi.

Wastewater treatment

The wastewater treatment plant process is very efficient, and its operation is continuously monitored by automatic operating monitoring systems.

“As far as wastewater is concerned, we have nothing to worry about because we are well below the limit values. For example, the amount of solids per litre should not exceed 50 milligrams, and last year we had an average of 20 milligrams,” says Päivi Venesoja.

The purified wastewater that meets the limit values is eventually discharged into the nearby Mikinpuro stream.

The final analysis is carried out on the water system.

“We have five water system observation points where an external operator collects samples. There are lots of observation points, not just ours. Over the past 15 years, there have been no major fluctuations in the samples or any other alarming findings,” says Päivi.

Less frequent reporting in Voikkaa

The activities of our Voikkaa plant are not subject to an environmental permit. However, the plant does use materials such as solvents.

“We have therefore had to register our activities in the environmental protection information system. We annually report water and energy consumption plus solvent quantities to the local ELY Centre. The wastewater from our Voikkaa plant is channelled to the Kuusankoski business cluster for joint wastewater treatment. However, we are interested in our own activities, so we regularly carry out a comprehensive analysis of our wastewater. The analysis is compared to the previous year’s data,” says Päivi.

Emissions into the air

Emissions into the air are monitored at our anodizing plant, powder-coating paint shops, extrusion lines, and foundry.

“We measure all consumption: the use of liquefied gas and fuel, carbon dioxide and particulate emissions, nitrogen oxides and hydrochloric acid, while ammonia, nickel compounds and cobalt are also monitored in the anodizing process. We use the latest air emission measurement equipment to find values such as how many milligrams of a heavy metal or hydrochloric acid are released into the air per hour,” says Päivi Venesoja.

The measured values are used to calculate average hourly emissions, and these are compared with figures from previous years.

“Emissions can be reduced by using newer technology. For example, renewing the energy system at our anodizing plant has significantly contributed to the reduction of carbon dioxide and particulate emissions,” she continues.

Mäkelä Alu is also part of the Seinäjoki region’s bioindicator research, in which we voluntarily participate by covering the costs of a measurement point.

“We have also signed an energy efficiency agreement. By participating in the agreement, we are committing ourselves to increasing energy efficiency in all our activities. The agreement also obliges us to report all energy consumption and measures to reduce energy consumption.”

Emissions into the soil

Over the course of the year, we produce a total of about 2,000 tonnes of different waste. A significant part of this waste is reused. Only 1.75% of total waste was sent to landfill in 2023.

“Different forms of waste can be converted into energy, and this is what it is usually used for. Getting rid of hazardous or otherwise difficult to dispose of waste is expensive. We have therefore carried out investigations, surveys and experiments on how to utilise waste that is difficult to dispose of. Our efforts have resulted in some test projects on things like the utilisation of sediment and spent lye resulting from wastewater treatment,” says Päivi.

Carbon dioxide emissions continue to decrease

We have been carrying out our own emissions calculations since 2005. We have been able to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by 51%, even though our operations have increased.

“Our calculations cover all forms of energy: electricity, liquefied and natural gases, all transport by contract carriers, transport within the factory area, and our own forklifts. These are calculated in tonnes produced per quarter,” says Päivi Venesoja.

“We have once again calculated emissions this year as we switched to zero-emission electricity at Voikkaa. All our forklifts have been replaced with biodiesel-powered forklifts this year. However, along with the renewal of the energy system at our anodizing plant, the heat recovery system installed in Voikkaa this year has also had a major impact on the current year’s emission reductions,” she continues.

Artikkeli The ABC of responsibility – The environment julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

For us, responsible business means caring for people, the community and the environment.

“This is nothing new for us, the company has been operating in the same way throughout its history. In recent years we have just started to communicate more about these issues. At the same time, we strive to communicate our way of working. We want to present and report facts and figures as fully as possible, even though we are not yet legally required to do so. Responsibility also means communicating as transparently as possible,” says Päivi Venesoja, EHSQ Manager.

“Our environmental work is guided by our key objectives, which are to produce the world’s lowest-emission aluminium profiles and to be carbon neutral in our own production and internal logistics by 2025. The targets are tough, but so are we,” she adds.

Prosperity, people and the environment

Local prosperity, environmental friendliness and the wellbeing and safety of our employees are important values for us, both strategically and in practice. We are also guided by a number of external requirements, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

“We have identified four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as our own. These are Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities and Climate Action. For each goal, we have also looked at our own objectives in relation to that topic. For example, we want to create profitable, long-term business growth, enabling local and regional employment and an equal, balanced life,” says Managing Director Marko Orpana.

“Responsibility for people and the region weighs more heavily on the family business than maximising profits every quarter or financial year. In the long term, we want to be a profitable and growing player, and we are working to ensure that we can continue to provide jobs and livelihoods,” he adds.

“In the People section of the report, we present, among other things, figures related to employee satisfaction and safety at work, and we invest in the continuous development of personnel skills,” says Jenni Hautakangas, Human Resources Manager.

In addition to personnel and environmental issues, our Corporate Responsibility Report contains information about our general key figures, operations, governance and decision-making.

Read the report

Artikkeli Our Corporate Responsibility Report 2023 has been published julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

“On extrusion line 3 (P3), the billets are currently heated in a LPG furnace, which has an energy efficiency of around 40 %. We are now renewing the entire upstream end of the P3 line. We will replace the existing equipment with modern, electrically powered technology, which will reduce annual consumption of LPG by about 320 tonnes and CO2 emissions by 960 tonnes,” says Development Director Tomi Pilbacka, who is in charge of the renovation project.

Electrification will improve the energy efficiency of the process to around 70–80 %. The energy demand for billet heating is almost halved, resulting in significant savings in energy procurement.

Careful planning

The renovation project has been planned for two years by a team of around five people, including our production facility staff.

“It is important that projects are taken forward in close cooperation with those who will use the equipment in their daily operations.”

The contract with the equipment supplier, Extrutec Gmbh from Germany, was signed in mid-November.

“We are already familiar with this company as a supplier of equipment for the P4 line. Extrutec has a long experience as a manufacturer of preheating equipment. In recent years, they have invested heavily in the development of electric billet heating systems in particular,” says Pilbacka.

Modernisation brings many benefits

The new equipment will consist of a combination of an electric resistance furnace and an induction furnace. The project will also include replacing the billet handling table and the billet saw.

“The new equipment will allow for more accurate billet temperature and a larger temperature difference in the billet, which is expected to improve the line’s hourly output. The output improvement will enable a higher production volume to be manufactured on the P3 line each year,” Tomi Pilbacka continues.

The cost of the project is estimated at around 3 million EUR and includes the construction of a new transformer station. The project has been granted RFF investment aid, which accounts for 27% of the total value of the investment. RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) is part of the European Union’s NextGenerationEU funding, which is awarded to, among other things, green transition projects. The funding is granted by the Finnish Ministry of Labor and the Economy (TEM).

Fully operational in about a year

In practice, the upgrades will be implemented between 1 December 2024 and 15 January 2025. The P3 extrusion line will be out of service throughout December 2024. Testing of the new equipment is scheduled to start in early January 2025. The line is expected to be put into three-shift operation by mid-January 2025.

“A similar project is also planned for the P2 line in 2025–2026. We will test the P3 line solution in practice for some time before taking a final decision on the equipment for the P2 line,” says Pilbacka.

The modernisation of the P3 line is part of a wider investment programme, with which Mäkelä Alu aims to reduce CO2 emissions in its own production by around 40 %.

In the main photo of the article, from right to left, Tomi Pilbacka, Mäkelä Alu’s production manager Tero Suomalainen, and development engineer Jan Rintala and project manager Reijo Seppälä.

Artikkeli Production line modernisation reduces CO2 emissions by 960 tonnes julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

A responsible and modern aluminium extrusion plant nestled amongst Finnish forests – this is Mäkelä Alu. In this article, we explain what measures we have taken to be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Our customers across Europe appreciate our services, which bring valuable cost benefits to their processes.

We have invested in sustainable production and environmentally friendly solutions for years. Our production will be completely carbon neutral by the end of 2025. To this end, we recently launched a development project worth approximately EUR 10 million to reduce emissions, increase energy efficiency, and combat climate change.

Phasing out LPG is a significant step

In the project, the most significant reduction in emissions will be achieved by replacing our LPG process heating appliances with electric ones. Electrification and the renewable energy sub-projects will require major changes to our factory’s internal electrical network.

“We will significantly reduce the use of LPG by electrifying production and increasing heat recovery. With these measures, we can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,800 tonnes per year, which is about 40 per cent of our current emissions from production,” says Development Director Tomi Pilbacka.

LPG is currently used in applications such as billet heating on our two extrusion lines. These heating systems will be replaced by new technology that can use renewable electricity as energy. One of our three extrusion lines already uses electric billet heating.

“With heat recovery and heat pumps, we can eliminate the use of LPG, especially in our surface treatment lines and in the heating of buildings. In addition, we intend to build a 1 MWh electricity storage facility in the Alajärvi plant area,” Pilbacka continues.

Carbon-neutral anodizing will soon become a reality

This autumn, we can start talking about carbon-neutral anodizing, as we have completely renovated our anodizing plant’s energy system. The renovation was carried out in stages and the resulting system is completely unique; there is nothing exactly like it anywhere else in the world.

“In the first phase, we implemented a waste heat recovery solution with a heat pump system. Previously, the process was heated by a steam centre powered by LPG and cooled by electric coolers. First, we started utilising the heat generated in the anodizing tanks. With heat recovery, we were able to cool the tanks at the same time. With the above-mentioned solution, we were able to replace part of the heating produced by the steam centre with electricity,” Tomi Pilbacka explains.

In the second phase of the energy renovation, the heat pump system and heat recovery were expanded so that gas could be almost completely phased out from heat production.

“In addition to the heat pump, electric and gas boilers were also purchased. A gas-fired gas boiler is needed as a backup and as an additional source of heat in freezing weather, but otherwise all heating is produced by a heat pump and an electric boiler. The new gas boiler is also equipped to transition to using biogas. Our goal is to stop using LPG altogether,” he continues.

In anodizing, we also recover heat from wastewater. The plant’s heat recovery saves up to 1,800 megawatt-hours of energy per year.

Aluminium billets from recycled AluPure

More and more of our customers are monitoring the emissions and environmental impact of their production. Due to a new, environmentally conscious approach, interest in recycled aluminium has also increased. To respond to these needs, we offer our customers AluPure aluminium billets produced in our own foundry, which consist of 100% recycled aluminium. We have been producing recycled aluminium for a long time, as many of our customers look for the lowest possible primary percentage. Selecting aluminium profiles made from recycled aluminium billets allows you to reduce the carbon footprint of the final product.

The emissions of AluPure are very low, only 2.01 tn CO₂e/t. The carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) describes the climate impact of human-produced greenhouse gases. The measurement unit used (tn CO₂e/t) illustrates how many carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes are produced when a thousand kilogrammes of product are manufactured. By comparison, the average emissions of primary aluminium produced in Europe are 6.7 tn CO₂e/t.

“The figures show that the choice of aluminium profile manufacturer can have a great impact on the climate and the environment. By choosing AluPure, you are making a choice for the environment and the climate,” says Päivi Venesoja, Mäkelä Alu’s EHSQ Manager.

Ecolabelled AluPure

Mäkelä Alu has completed an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for profiles made from both recycled AluPure and primary aluminium.

“An Environmental Product Declaration is a standardised, reliable way to present a life-cycle analysis of a product or service. An EPD is an independently verified and certified document that provides clear and comparable information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle,” says Päivi Venesoja.

AluPure also bears the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. Ympäristömerkintä Suomi Oy has approved the use of window profiles made from Mäkelä Alu’s recycled aluminium in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled buildings in accordance with the building requirement O25 (“Windows and outer doors of non-renewable materials”).

The label is an official ecolabel used in the Nordic countries, which means that the product or service meets the environmental criteria set for the label.

Quality partner for aluminium profile production

In addition to our environmental efforts, we also act responsibly by taking good care of our employees and being a reliable partner for our customers and suppliers. Mäkelä Alu’s AluServices® concept, a customer-oriented solution developed based on customer needs, aims to ensure that customers get the aluminium profiles they need as easily as possible and exactly when they need them.

The traditional method of buying large quantities of raw materials for storage as cheaply as possible ties up capital, takes up space, and hinders business growth and development. These are things that Mäkelä Alu’s customers do not have to worry about when purchasing aluminium profiles.

“This type of operating model does not meet current needs, and it does not allow us to respond to individual orders, especially those that contain profiles in customised colours,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Export Manager Janne Lager.

Our goal is not always to sell the product at the lowest price, but to offer the most cost-effective solution for the customer. After all, the final price is not solely determined by the price of raw materials, but by the efficiency of the entire production process.

“That is where our customised service packages bring added value. The overall benefits should be assessed by looking at the process as a whole, not just by focusing on the time of purchase,” says Lager.

Artikkeli Responsible and environmentally friendly aluminium profile production julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

“We have been able to reduce the plant’s annual consumption of around 300 tonnes of LPG to less than a tenth. At the same time, the plant’s CO2 emissions have also dropped dramatically: by around 800 tonnes per year, and the plant’s operational reliability has improved,” says Tomi Pilbacka, Development Director at Mäkelä Alu.

“With this annual emissions reduction, each of our 280 employees would drive about 20,000 kilometres per year in an internal combustion engine car,” adds Päivi Venesoja, EHSQ Manager at Mäkelä Alu.

Aiming to phase out LPG

LPG consumption has been pushed down to the point where it will be possible to switch from gas energy to biogas within one to two years. With the switch to biogas, the anodizing plant’s energy system will become completely carbon neutral.

“The plant’s energy consumption per tonne produced has fallen by around 40%. In addition to the reduction in gas use, energy efficiency has also improved significantly. Improved efficiency means that this investment, which cost around EUR 1.1 million, will pay for itself in six to seven years,” Pilbacka continues.

The project has received funding from Business Finland.

The technical implementation of the new energy system is based on a system built around heat pumps and heat recovery.

“The project was carried out in cooperation with Finnish technology companies, and our local partners and staff have played a major role in the project. Thanks to the knowledge generated by the project, we have already identified many new areas for reducing emissions from our production. Together with a network of partners, we have launched a new energy efficiency project at our Voikkaa powder-coating paint shop, and planning is already well underway for further projects,” Pilbacka says.

Low carbon footprint anodizing

We are now able to offer our customers anodizing of aluminium profiles with a very low carbon footprint.

“Environmental issues and the pursuit of carbon-neutral production are important themes for us. Our efforts to enhance energy efficiency in anodizing processes is a concrete demonstration of this,” says Päivi Venesoja.

We have invested in sustainable production and environmentally friendly solutions for years – and the work continues! Our production will be completely carbon neutral by the end of 2025.

“In addition to the energy efficiency project that has just started in Voikkaa, we have similar projects coming up in Luoma-aho. We will reach our goal by electrifying new production sites and increasing heat recovery,” Venesoja says.

Artikkeli Our anodizing plant has taken a big step towards carbon neutrality julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

In the project, we seek to significantly reduce the use of liquid gas by electrifying production, investing in our own electricity production and storage, and increasing the recovery of waste heat.

“With these measures, we can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,800 tons per year, which is about 40 percent of our current emissions from production,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Development Director Tomi Pilbacka.

The project received significant government funding

We have received energy investment aid (RRF) for our project from the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The energy investment aid covers about 30 percent of the entire project costs: 2.85 million euros. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment granted a total of 100 million euros in investment aid to six clean energy projects. We are very happy that Mäkelä Alu’s project made the cut.

“We are one of the six companies that received aid in the first round. In its own great way, this tells us that we are doing important things, on a significant scale, and that we are leading the way towards a sustainable future at national level,” says Petri Mäkelä, Chairman of the Board.

The planning phase of the project has been coordinated by our Development Director Tomi Pilbacka and EHSQ Manager Päivi Venesoja.

“We are in a good place to start implementing the plan that will lead to a net-zero emissions Mäkelä Alu. It will not be an easy task, but we are determined to succeed,” says Petri Mäkelä.

A large project consisting of several sub-projects

The development project consists of eight sub-projects. The sub-projects are strongly related to each other and are planned to be completed by June 2026.

“In the project, the most significant reduction in emissions will be achieved by replacing our LPG process heating appliances with electric ones. Electrification and the renewable energy sub-projects require major changes to our factory’s internal electrical network,” says Tomi Pilbacka.

Currently, LPG is used for billet heating on our two extrusion lines. These will now be replaced with induction technology, where renewable electricity can be used as energy. One of our lines already uses induction.

We will build a waste heat recovery system for both of our production facilities, the Luoma-aho plant in Alajärvi and the Voikkaa plant in Kouvola. In addition, we will improve the combustion process of our foundry’s melting furnace by renewing the burners and their control system. These measures will significantly reduce our gas consumption and nitrogen oxide emissions. Later on, the new system will allow us to use hydrogen or locally produced biogas as an energy source. One of the sub-projects also involves strengthening our electrical infrastructure and the construction of a new 20 kV switching station.

A lot has already been accomplished

Mäkelä Alu’s work to promote carbon neutrality does not by any means start with this project, it extends much further and a lot has already been accomplished. For example, we have already implemented a waste heat recovery system at our anodizing plant, and we have developed AluPure®, an environmentally friendly billet made entirely from our foundry’s own recycled aluminium.

“Our customers are constantly more interested in energy consumption, the forms of energy used, and emissions. Therefore, we are glad to be able to offer our customers aluminium profiles that are produced in the most sustainable and environmentally friendly way possible. The emissions generated by the profile manufacturer affect the carbon footprint of our customers’ products. By choosing Mäkelä Alu as your profile supplier, you are also making a choice that is better for the environment,” says Päivi Venesoja.

Artikkeli We launched a 10 million euros development project to achieve our carbon neutrality goal julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.