Aluminium Dunkerque formally inaugurated

In the presence of the French Minister of Action and Public Accounts Gérald Darmanin, we formally welcomed Europe’s largest smelter, into the GFG fold on 24 January 2019.

Situated in Northern France and producing in excess of 285,000 tonnes of primary aluminium each year, the business employs 570 people and has an impressive list of international customers in the automotive and packaging industries.

GFG aims to make the 570-worker plant the hub of an extensive manufacturing supply chain providing materials and components for French industry, particularly the automotive sector.

In confirming this commitment, we became one of the first to respond to President Emmanuel Macron’s call during the high-profile ‘Choose France Summit’ for more inward investment into the country.

Sanjeev, who was among over 100 international company chiefs at the President’s summit in Versailles, also announced today that Liberty Wheels France, already a major customer of the Dunkerque smelter, has won it’s first major contract since the London-headquartered Alliance took over the plant in May last year.

From June, Liberty Wheels France will supply the specialist French micro-car manufacturer Ligier with up to around 40% of its annual requirement for alloy wheels. It is the first contract won since the Alliance acquired the facility, which is the only aluminium wheel manufacturer in France. The group has since implemented a turnaround plan to improve the plant’s efficiency and productivity.

The French Minister of Action and Public Accounts Gérald Darmanin and Sanjeev Gupta at the Aluminium Dunkerque inauguration

Speaking of the week’s events, Sanjeev Gupta said:

“In a week where I joined other business leaders from around the world in Paris to celebrate France’s attractiveness to foreign investors, I am delighted to be able show two positive examples of why GFG invested here.

“Firstly I am proud to welcome Liberty Aluminium Dunkerque to the GFG Alliance. Our aim is to make this site and the highly skilled women and men who work there, the cornerstone of our integrated industrial business in France. We will work with local management and staff to develop new products which create even more added-value to the aluminium produced there, both sustaining and creating high-value jobs.

“We welcome our new colleagues in the knowledge and with pride that they will continue to supply our wheel manufacturing business who are themselves turning their own fortunes around. Together Liberty Aluminium Dunkerque and Liberty Wheels France symbolise our integrated supply chain and business model in action. What we now have is a further French car manufacturer being supplied with wheels ‘made in France’ made out of aluminium from our smelter also ‘made in France’. This is the best reminder, if we ever needed one, of why we chose to invest in France”.