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Sometimes it takes a happy coincidence to help us make the right decision. That was certainly the case for Francesco Parise. “In 2011 my father Lino Parise, my brother Gionata Parise and I had the opportunity to buy an aluminium smelter from a bankrupt company. We grabbed the opportunity with both hands and that was the start of Aluphoenix. We were not new to the business, we all brought experience to the new venture – more than 50 years in my father’s case.”
With this experience and an instinct for customers and markets, Aluphoenix had a most successful start. “Production rose by 60% each year,” says Francesco Parise proudly. “We targeted export markets right from the beginning, focusing on the German-speaking markets of Austria, Switzerland and, of course, Germany. That was the most important stage in the company history. After a year and a half, we won our first foreign contracts. Last year, exports accounted for 33% of turnover.”
Today, Aluphoenix is known above all as a manufacturer of aluminium bars in Italy and neighbouring markets. “We are like a refinery,” explains Francesco Parise. “We produce high quality, high purity aluminium alloys for foundries. Another key factor is the fact that thanks to our qualified employers and technical capacities, we are able to produce alloys with special chemical and physical qualities.”
The main focus of Aluphoenix’s activities is the production of ingots weighing between 6.5 and 7.5 kg and with a thickness of 50 mm and length of 680 mm. The standard quantity is an ingot pallet, which the company offers in a range of forms. Aluphoenix’s strength here is its consistently high quality; typical of a product made in Italy.
“We have a very clean aluminium smelting process that produces very low amounts of gas or oxides,” stresses Francesco Parise. “The alloys are therefore easier to process and our customers generate less waste.”
Aluminium recycling does not just make commercial sense, it is also good for the environment, and Aluphoenix’s avowed mission. “Recycled aluminium requires only 5 to 10% of the energy required to produce primary aluminium,” explains Francesco Parise.
Aluphoenix adheres to the highest quality standards in all areas of production as the following certifications attest: ISO 9001 quality standard, ISO 14001 environmental standard and IATF 16945 standard for the automotive industry, which is Aluphoenix’s most important customer group, accounting for 70% of turnover.
We want to be the most important player with the highest metallurgical purity in Europe. Francesco PariseSales Director
Aluphoenix sees meeting the wishes of its customers as an integral part of its commitment to quality. “We are a company that is there to meet the needs of our customers. Our goals are coordinated with those of our customers and they are what we work towards,” says the Commercial Director. “We have always been extremely flexible right from the beginning and very responsive to the customers’ needs. Thanks to this flexibility, we can also serve customers who are not able to maintain product stocks. These customers do not place advance orders, they order products as and when they need them, and we deliver them accordingly. The entire production chain today is timed down to the last second. We have adapted our organization to suit and can react very quickly.”
In the last few years, Aluphoenix has worked to improve its alloys as well as renewing and updating its production equipment with the latest advances. On the first of September 2017, Aluphoenix moved to a new plant of 12.000 m² with annual capacities of 50.000 t, and installed inside the most cutting edge equipment in each step of the process. This is aimed at gaining a better performance of the raw material on the one hand and restricting the impact of the production activity on the environment on the other.
On its 12,000 m² company premises, of which 5,000 m² are built on, the Aluphoenix also has a laboratory in which it develops alloys and carries out quality testing. “We want to extend the laboratory and work together with customers to develop special alloys. This will allow us to approach the automotive industry directly. At the moment, their suppliers are our customers. Opening up new markets is another goal. We want to be an Industry 4.0 company and the most important player in Europe. Aluminium can be recycled ad infinitum and we are the ones to give aluminium new life.”