Aluminium extruder and distributor Capral has spent the past two years developing an extruded aluminium offer with some of the lowest carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) in Australia.
As a major member of the aluminium extrusion and distribution market, Capral could’ve been forgiven if it rested on its laurels.
In 2021, the manufacturer chose to embark on a bold new venture as it sought to offer Australian manufacturers the lowest carbon extruded aluminium options it could.
Late last year, Capral released two new lower carbon aluminium options available for its locally extruded aluminium products that contain as little as a quarter of the global average of carbon.
The conceptualising and manufacturing of these unique products included intimate supply knowledge and the will to create sustainable products for the bus and coach industry.
“We’ve been working on sustainable options for the past two years,” Capral general manager of supply and industrial solutions Luke Hawkins told ABC. “We started getting traction with suppliers roughly a year ago.
“We’ve now released our products – we were so excited to launch the two lower carbon options in the back end of 2022.”
Hawkins says since its foundation in 1936, Capral has grown to become Australia’s largest aluminium extruder and rolled product distributor in the country.
In the bus and coach industry, Capral’s aluminium products are used to create bus frames, camp rails and electric products.
“Aluminium is fundamental to building quality buses,” Hawkins says. “Our rolled models are also our other key products alongside extrusion. We pride ourselves on being a major Australian distributor of aluminium keys, sheets, plates and coils.”
Capral’s offering to the bus and coach sector, as well as the wider Australian manufacturing industry, made a massive leap in 2021 when the idea for lower carbon aluminium extrusions first arose.
In late 2022, Capral launched its two lower carbon primary aluminium options in the LocAl® Green and LocAl® Super Green, which contained carbon emissions of eight kilograms and four kilograms per kilogram of aluminium respectively.
The global average for aluminium carbon emissions sits currently at around 16.8 kilograms per kilogram of aluminium.
To offer new products that contain amongst the lowest carbon available globally, Capral had to think laterally.
When Capral first began working on the LocAl® Green aluminium suite of products, it went looking for allies.
Hawkins says Capral first forged partnerships with industry bodies like the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) to understand more about the considerations for responsible aluminium procurement.
“The ASI is a globally recognised body that focuses on sustainable aluminium,” Hawkins says. “When we found out which accredited smelters produced the lowest carbon primary aluminium, we used the list as the primary source of the truth.”
Capral also launched several initiatives throughout its own manufacturing processes to find ways of becoming more sustainable, focusing on using renewable energy in its facilities and scouring waste.
By becoming a member of the ASI last year, Capral is now on the path to receiving further levels of certification in 2023. It’s a rich reward for Capral, who has spent the past two years focusing on the sustainable sourcing of its primary aluminium billet – used to create the diverse extrusions that Australian fabricators use to build buses and coaches.
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Hawkins says this education path provided Capral with the knowledge it needed to create the LocAl Green range.
“We achieved such low carbon in our LocAl Green range by changing supply sources,” Hawkins says. “We’re hopeful that these products will help the industry transition to these types of aluminium alternatives progressively as it becomes part of the fabric of buses and coaches going forward.
“For us, it’s a market leading initiative in the Australian context. The LocAl Green products are currently exclusive to Australian manufactured extrusion products and we’re hopeful of bringing more to market this year.”
When it comes to the bus and coach industry, the Capral LocAl green products provide a unique opportunity to create lighter and more sustainable zero-emissions vehicles.
“We’re excited to provide the opportunity for the bus and coach industry to have lower carbon aluminium products so that they can build more sustainable vehicles and differentiate themselves from competitors,” Hawkins says.
“It’s a chance for builders to create a unique feature to their operations which can be so important when it comes to securing contracts.”
Capral’s offering isn’t just limited to sustainable procurement – it’s also entered into a recycling solution that is unique in Australia and it is contracted to recycle 550 tonnes with an Australian smelter. The move is a huge step towards closing the loop on locally produced, extruded and recycled aluminium within Australia.
It’s a left-field option, but Hawkins says Capral’s latest aluminium range is proof that there are many ways for the bus and coach industry to become more sustainable.
By sourcing high quality local products for the integral build stage, manufacturers and operators can continue leading the way when it comes to the zero-emissions transition.
“From our perspective, the LocAl Green range allows the industry to source lower carbon material that’s also Australian manufactured and supports local industry in an exciting initiative,” Hawkins says. “We’re all looking for that cleaner future and these products are a first step forward in the local aluminium sector.
“Capral will continue to look for more sustainable options to offer the industry – we want to have more options for bus and coach members within the next year.”