BENTELER accelerates sustainable production with expansion of Raufoss casthouse

Raufoss, December 08, 2025. BENTELER has completed a comprehensive modernization of its casthouse at the Raufoss Industrial Park. The expanded production facilities were officially opened at an inauguration ceremony attended by representatives from BENTELER’s management team, employees, and partners from the industrial park and supply chain. With this investment, the company is increasing the share of recycled aluminum used at its Norwegian site from around 30% to approximately 40%, with a target of 50% by 2030. At the same time, the modernization reduces CO₂ emissions across the production process. This reinforces BENTELER’s commitment to more sustainable automotive production and supports OEMs in meeting their climate goals.

“The modernization of our casthouse is a decisive step towards greater sustainability and innovation. It enables us to meet our customers’ requirements for higher recycling quotas and lower CO₂ emissions, while strengthening our position as a leading provider of sustainable automotive solutions,” says Per Dale, Plant Manager at BENTELER Automotive Raufoss AS (BAR).

Driving circular economy and lower CO₂ in automotive manufacturing

The modernization is part of the “BAR Green” project launched in 2023, which focuses on aligning production with the principles of the circular economy. In addition to recycling production scrap from its own production processes, such as extrusion waste, BENTELER is increasing the amount of external scrap as well as post-consumer scrap – aluminum that has already been used in finished products. This significantly increases the share of recycled content and reduces the CO₂ footprint of the products.

To enable these processes, the plant’s infrastructure and energy efficiency have been extensively upgraded. Key measures include the construction of a new warehouse – expanding storage capacity for external scrap and finished products – upgraded burner systems, and the installation of a new dust filter. BENTELER also utilizes residual process energy to heat the floor of the new warehouse and dry raw materials. Surplus heat from the melting furnaces is fed into the industrial park’s district heating network.

BENTELER Automotive Raufoss AS is part of the BENTELER Automotive Components division. The plant features an in-house casthouse, three extrusion presses, forming lines, and state-of-the-art finishing lines. Around 450 people are employed at the site, which supplies nearly all major European car manufacturers with premium aluminum components such as bumper systems and suspension parts. These products meet the strictest quality standards and now offer an even lower CO₂ footprint.