Germany-based Aurubis has selected Augusta Corporate Park as the site for a $340 million metal recycling and smelting facility.
The investment will open up more than 100 jobs at the facility that will begin construction in 2022 with operations projected to begin in early 2024. The company reportedly will begin hiring in the summer of 2022, according to a press release.
The facility will occupy 150 acres at the Corporate Park, located at 4760 Mike Padgett Hwy. A Starbucks facility is already operating there and just weeks ago, the plastics recycling company PureCycle announced a $400 million investment with a new facility coming there as well. That plant is slated to be fully operational by the end of 2022.
MORE: PureCycle Technologies Brings Plastic Recycling to Augusta
“They started the decision process with about 100 sites nation-wide across the United States,” said Cal Wray, director of the Augusta Economic Development Authority. “We actually had our first contact with Aurubis one year ago today, so we have asked them hundreds of questions and they’ve asked us hundreds as well. They were evaluating us, but we were also evaluating them to see if they were a good fit for Augusta.”
Aurubis representative Meino Hauschildt said Augusta stood out as a site with multiple advantages.
“The selected site in Augusta has many advantages, such as close proximity to suppliers, availability of skilled workers, a stable supply of utilities, a favorable infrastructure with the port of Savannah in close proximity, strong support of the local committees as well as options for possible expansions, among others,” Hauschildt said. “The state of Georgia and Augusta-Richmond County strongly encourage job creation, not just materially, but concretely through political support when settling in, through training programs for the employees and through assistance in obtaining the permits necessary for the construction and operation.”
[adrotate banner=”51″]
Hauschildt also detailed exactly what their facility will be designed to do, using a top-blown rotary converter, or TBRC, for smelting. The Augusta plant will boast unique features like hosting the only local secondary smelter for complex recycling materials, a flexible process with a broad portfolio of products for suppliers looking to buy from them and a state-of-the-art sampling and lab technology.
Wray said the company will be recycling many copper-related materials from circuit boards to construction materials, and the smelting facility will create 99% pure copper blocks for re-use.
The plant is being planned in accordance with the latest environmental standards, according to Hauschildt. All water will be cleaned, cooled, and reused.
Wray also said that in a visit to the Aurubis headquarters in Hamburg, he was impressed by the technology and the fact that there was no smell emanating from the facility. Wray said that if you didn’t know you were on an industrial site, there’d be no way of knowing, environmentally speaking.
Sustainability and environmentally-conscious operations are a hallmark of Aurubis’ brand, and Hauschildt said that will continue in Augusta.
“Sustainability plays an important role in all of our activities,” Hauschildt said. “Aurubis is already an industry leader in energy efficiency and environmental protection. Aurubis’ objective is for its production to be carbon-neutral well before 2050. The recycling plant will work energy-efficiently and CO2-efficiently but won’t be fully CO2-free. The exact figures will depend on the feed material and the actual energy input. The plant’s dust and air emissions will be low and remain at the best available techniques (BAT) standard.
Hauschildt said that in addition to actual facility operators, the company will be hiring for several other types of jobs when the facility’s development progresses.
“Besides skilled workers in production, the recycling plant will have all of the usual company functions, including a commercial department, planning and logistics, finance and controlling, HR, occupational safety and environment,” Hauschildt said. “Typically, many more jobs arise with subcontractors and in the local economy. More details on specific qualifications will be defined during the hiring process.”
Wray said that Aurubis is a perfect tenant for Augusta and the Augusta Corporate Park.
“They are one of the largest copper producers in the world,” Wray said. “We’re talking about a 50- to 100-year or more investment. They’re an environmentally-friendly company trying to do what’s best not only for their product but for the environment, too.”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
