Company engineers have created a number of unique patented solutions, which have got no analogues in world practice. In particular, one such solution was the combined casting, rolling and extrusion process (CREP), intended to produce electrical wire rod and welding wire. The industrial CREP unit developed by RUSAL designers has passed all implementation stages at the Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter, and is now fully operational. The excellent results demonstrated by the line became the basis for commercialising CREP and launching it onto foreign markets under the patented ExtruForm brand.
For this project, RUSAL partnered up with Germany's SMS Group, which purchased a licence for commercial production of the industrial equipment. The ExtruForm line allows for a six-fold reduction in the production cycle compared to the traditional wire rod production method. Such a result was achieved by excluding four consecutive stages from the process compared to traditional technology. In addition, when using the ExtruForm unit, operating costs are reduced by 25%.
The combined rolling and extrusion process technology was presented at several specialised international exhibitions and received the highest ratings from experts in the aluminium industry.