apt Products GmbH in Eckental has been successfully restructured by the means of an insolvency plan, laying the foundation for its future direction. More than 50% of jobs at the site have been secured through this. In December 2020, the company filed for insolvency with self-administration at the relevant district court of Düsseldorf. The proceedings were dropped with effect from 30 June 2021.

apt Products GmbH specialises in the production of complex aluminium components and parts at the Eckental site. The products are particularly used as components in commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks. “At our production site in Eckental, we have predominantly focussed on the production of components for the transport industry,” explains Thomas Boddenberg, CEO of the apt Group. “Here, we have specialised in the manufacturing of luggage compartment flaps for buses and welded assemblies for doors and bodywork elements,” he continues.

After a customer reduced their orders last year due to coronavirus, the company was hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic shortly afterwards. From March/April 2020, large coach manufacturers significantly reduced their orders in light of the global decline in the tourism sector.

apt then filed for insolvency with self-administration for the Eckental site. “Together with restructuring experts, our shareholders and the management, we put together a plan to create the foundation for the future direction of apt Products GmbH,” Boddenberg reports. This plan was accepted by the creditors in May 2021 and the self-administration proceedings were repealed by the district court of Düsseldorf with effect from 30 June 2021. With the successful restructuring, apt has succeeded in securing 56 of the 106 jobs at the site.

“In addition to financing of the insolvency proceedings by our shareholder, collaboration with the commercial vehicle manufacturers was another key element in the success of the restructuring,” says Boddenberg. “apt Products’ key customers supported us throughout the restructuring phase, and we look forward to continue working together.”

The apt Group is one of the leading company groups in the European aluminium industry. It produces, machines and sells aluminium profiles and products for the construction, transport, automotive and industry sectors. Here, the group, with its four production sites, is divided into the apt Extrusions and apt Products (further processing) divisions. It covers the entire value chain – from development, recycling, extrusion, further mechanical processing and surface finishing (anodising and powder coating) through to assembly and logistics. With around 1,000 employees, it generates a turnover of approx. 250 million euros a year.

apt Products GmbH, Eckental

Thomas Boddenberg, CEO apt Group

The apt Group continues to invest in state-of-the-art technology and adds a machining centre to its production plant in Roermond (NL). In this way, aluminium profiles can be further processed by milling, drilling and sawing them to customer specifications on site.

At the beginning of 2020, apt Extrusions B.V. put a new Computer Numerical Control (CNC) fabrication centre into operation in Roermond, the Netherlands. On-site extruded aluminium profiles – either mill finished or in an anodized version – are further processed according to customer specifications by computer-controlled programs in a consistent, reproducible quality.

First of all, profiles with a maximum cross-section of 200 x 150 mm pass the milling unit behind the automatic feeder. It consists of four milling motors, which are mounted on a turntable and can rotate around an axis of 360°. The motors are controlled separately so that they can mill out any desired shape independently of each other. If necessary, they can also drill holes and special threaded holes. Behind the milling unit there is a saw module that cuts the profiles to the desired length. A variable cut angle between 45° negative up to 45° positive can be achieved. “The finished profile can have a length of up to four meters,” says Alex Verbeek, Process Engineer apt Extrusions B.V. “An extension to up to five meters is possible upon customer request.” The finished profiles are automatically transferred to the unloading table. After a quality control the profiles can then be prepared for logistics.

“We have successfully expanded our customer offering by investing in the machining centre,” reports Astrid Kurvers, Sales Manager apt Extrusions B.V. “The clear advantage is that our customers now receive their finished aluminium product from a single source – we transport the profile directly from our extrusion press or anodising line to the machining centre. This leads to shorter delivery times, a contact person for the customer and a quality control for the final aluminium component”.

apt Extrusions B.V. celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Since its foundation, the company continually developed. Most recently, investments were made at the site in its fabrication competence. In 2017, a modern MPS saw was acquired and in 2018 a spindle saw was purchased to supplement the existing sawing systems. Those are characterised by achieving very tight production tolerances.

Exactly on the 22^nd of October, 1969, the former Euramax Extrusions was founded in Mijnheerkens (NL)  – reason enough to look back at the eventful history of the company:

The company belonged to the European branch of the American Alumax Inc., which was then managed by the joint venture between Amax and Mitsui in 1974. The name Euramax is a combination of “Europe” and “Amax”.

At that time, the Euramax extrusion companies were organisationally part of Kawneer Inc., which combined extrusion and anodising plants. In addition, Kawneer already had an organisational structure in Europe, so that the Roermond site was selected for the first Euramax plant.

In the mid-1980s the company planned a new office building and a factory in the new Roerstreek industrial area. In 1986 Euramax moved into the new premises and developed into a renowned supplier of extruded mill-finished, anodised and coated aluminium profiles. These are mainly used in construction- and building products (architectural systems, shower cubicles, sun protection).

In 1994 Alumax decided to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. The name was changed to Alumax Extrusions B.V. In 1998 Alcoa takes over Alumax worldwide. From then on, the Roermond-based company was called Alcoa Roermond Extrusions and operating with the official name Alcoa Nederland B.V.

In the following years, Alcoa let go of several locations. In this way, the Roermond site found its way to apt: via the former sales manager, deputy managing director and later European president of Alumax, Frans Kurvers. He joined apt in 1999 as a shareholder and managing director.

On the 1^st of April 2004 at 6 o clock a.m., Frans Kurvers held the keys for the production plant in his hands. All employees were solemnly involved in the renaming to apt Kurvers B.V. Since then, investments have been made in the location. In 2005 the office wing was rebuilt and completely renovated. In the same year, a cooling system was installed for the anodising plant. In 2006 the P27 extrusion press was launched, and in 2007/early 2008 the state of the art P25 press was inaugurated.

The name was changed again in 2017 to apt Extrusions B.V.

In the recent past, apt Extrusions B.V. has continued to invest heavily to increase its business. An MPS saw was purchased in 2017 and a spindle saw in 2018. A processing machine will be installed in November of this year and further investments are planned for the future.

When apt took over the company in 2004, the plant in Roermond produced 11,000 tonnes of extruded aluminium profiles every year. This capacity has since been increased many times over. apt Extrusions B.V.’s customers include renowned companies from the automotive, construction and industrial sectors in Benelux, Germany, Scandinavia and Great Britain. With the vision Essential parts. Essential partners. and the planned further growth, the company sees itself excellently positioned for the future.

Bernd Schäfer, CEO of apt Group, was interviewed in the current edition of the Aluminium-Praxis, published on 03 August 2018. The magazine reports about the strategic direction of the company.

Please find the complete German interview with the title “apt: Latest Technology for Highest Quality Requirements” here (pdf).