Hans Van de Water named Managing Director of Aurubis Olen and Aurubis Beerse/Berango

Hans Van de Water will succeed Dirk Vandenberghe as Managing Director of Aurubis Olen and Aurubis Beerse/Berango. As of September 16, he will assume responsibility as Managing Director for the two Belgian Aurubis plants in Olen and Beerse and the Spanish site in Berango. The sites belong to the Aurubis Group, a leading global provider of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers worldwide.

COO Multimetal Recycling Inge Hofkens explained: “Hans has the required set of leadership skills, combined with the necessary background with large multinational companies. That in combination with over 15 years’ experience in Research & Development, Engineering, Operations and Supply Chain convinced us that he is the right leader to further drive synergies among the sites in Olen, Beerse and Berango as well as the entire Aurubis smelter network. He will also continue to advance the important growth projects in Olen and Beerse.” Dirk Vandenberghe will ensure a smooth transition and hand-over of responsibilities. Following the transfer, he will stay on at Aurubis until June 2026 with the responsibility for large capex projects at the three sites and support the business network.

Hans Van de Water (40) graduated with a Masters in Applied Chemical Engineering — Process Chemistry from Karel De Grote Hogeschool in Antwerp. He spent most of his career working for Thermo Fisher Scientific, a US technology company and a leading global supplier of scientific applications, where he was appointed Managing Director in 2019.

Aurubis offers what I am looking for in an organization: a financially strong company growing sustainably with important investments for a successful future, as well as strong local roots combined with the economies of scale of an international group

, Van de Water said.

As a high-performance metal recycling site in the Aurubis smelter network, the Aurubis Olen plant processes blister copper and multimetal recycling materials. The Olen plant employs 700 people and produces copper cathodes via electrolytic refining as well as Aurubis Rod, Foxrod, and Bars and Profiles. The Beerse plant also operates a copper tankhouse and processes complex recycling materials, ranging from the most complex residues to higher-grade scrap types – and produces metals, metal products, and minerals from them. Aurubis Beerse has 500 employees. With about 90 employees, Aurubis Berango focusses on complex and low-grade recycling materials to produce products such as black copper and solder.