THE STORY OF E-MAX
E-MAX was founded in 1996 by three entrepreneurs and grew into a European producer of circular aluminium, with its own foundry in Kerkrade and extrusion sites in Belgium and Germany. Our product X-ECO has a carbon footprint of 2.03 tCO₂e per tonne of aluminium, independently verified by DNV. Below you can read how we got there in thirty years.
FROM EXTRUSION COMPANY TO ALUMINIUM GROUP WITH ITS OWN FOUNDRY
In 1996, three entrepreneurs started pursuing their dream: a company of their own, specialising in aluminium extrusion, E-MAX Sustainable Aluminium. Production started in 1997. Ten employees supplied two customers with a 2,500 tonne extrusion press. Thanks to the growing customer base, a second 3,500 tonne press came into operation in 2000.
In 2001, entrepreneur Jos Vaessen took over E-MAX. The machinery was expanded and the workforce grew to 40 employees. E-MAX then served around 200 customers in Belgium and the Netherlands. From 2002, we expanded our sales area to Germany, Austria and France, working with subcontractors. In 2005, we opened a new logistics centre with an automatic packaging unit. Turnover was then approximately € 80 million.
In 2007, we took over the aluminium foundry of Alcoa in Kerkrade. This gave us a stable supply of raw materials and started the cooperation between foundry and extrusion. In 2008, we also began supplying Russia. In 2009, we expanded our machinery with new packaging units, sawing machines and an automatic die storage system, and invested in the foundry.
In 2010, the cooperation between the extrusion department in Dilsen and the foundry was complete. From then on, E-MAX was a fully fledged aluminium group. In the same year, we launched the X-ECO alloys, circular aluminium alloys based on recycled aluminium. This followed three years of research with research institutions. In 2011, we took over Alex, an aluminium extrusion company in Gullegem (Belgium) with modern infrastructure. Its location close to the French border gives access to the French market and complements our activities.
In 2017, we took over the aluminium extrusion company of BOAL in Wevelgem (Belgium) and integrated it into the E-MAX Group. Machine capacity grew to 60,000 tonnes per year and the workforce to 400 employees. The acquisition strengthened our position in France. In the years before and after, we invested heavily in the foundry and in our own generation of solar and wind energy.
In July 2023, Constellium SE signed a binding agreement with E-MAX for the sale of three extrusion facilities in Landau, Crailsheim and Burg in Germany. The transaction was completed on 30 September 2023. As a result, E-MAX grew to approximately 800 employees and an annual turnover of around € 500 million. With a total extrusion capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, E-MAX can process its own X-ECO casting capacity of 80,000 tonnes entirely in-house.
Want to know more about our current locations or about X-ECO? View our production locations or read more about X-ECO.
