The company is expecting to produce 250 000 tons of the light metal this year. The combined output of the two smelters is 300 000 tons annually. In March, production stood at around 80 percent of capacity. “Ramp-up to full capacity started at the beginning of 2010 as a response to increasing demand from the downstream aluminium industry, specifically the automotive industry”, board member Martin Iffert told Reuters.

Germany has five aluminium smelters. Along with numerous other producers, Trimet scaled back its production in early 2009 as the global recession led to a reduced demand for industrial metals. For this year, most experts are forecasting a double-digit recovery in demand for aluminium.