Thierry Breton (EU Commissioner for Internal Trade) visits Aurubis Olen

Olen | Friday, April 22, 2022

From left to right: Marie-Christine von Hahn (VP Corporate External Affairs Aurubis Group), Guy Thiran (Director General Eurometaux), Inge Hofkens (Managing Director Aurubis Olen), Thierry Breton (European Commissioner for Internal Trade), Heiko Arnold (COO Aurubis Group), Lucia Caudet (Deputy Head of Cabinet for Mr. Thierry Breton), Matthias Miedreich (CEO Umicore), Stefaan De Rynck (Head of Representation of EC in Belgium)

On Thursday April 21^st, Heiko Arnold (COO Aurubis Group) and Inge Hofkens (Managing Director Aurubis Olen) had the honor of welcoming Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for Internal Market, in Olen.

The commissioner’s visit to the plants of Aurubis and Umicore in Olen is related to a landmark study by Eurometaux (European Metals Association) and Belgian University KU Leuven which will be released on April, 25.

Thierry Breton is welcomed in Olen by Inge Hofkens and Heiko Arnold

EU Commissioner Breton visits the Aurubis production site in Olen

A visit to the Aurubis Olen scrap yard

Breton is introduced to a variety of recycling materials

A glance at the casting wheel

COO Arnold discusses the operational challenges in copper production

Thierry Breton reflects on the visit during the press briefing

Heiko Arnold emphasizes the readiness of Aurubis for the Green Deal

From left to right: Matthias Miedreich, Thierry Breton, Heiko Arnold

During the visit, Commissioner Breton discussed with the companies’ management challenges related to raw materials in the new geopolitical era: securing the metals needs of Europe’s accelerated energy transition; enabling new EU investment into improving Europe’s metals self-sufficiency; and positioning the EU as a sustainability and innovation leader in metals supply for clean energy.

"Our metals are crucial for the energy transition. It is our ambition to become a partner and to help reach the EU Green Deal goals by 2050." (Heiko Arnold, COO Aurubis Group)

After the visit, Thierry Breton (European Commissioner for Internal Market), Heiko Arnold (COO Aurubis) and Mathias Miedreich (CEO Umicore) provided some brief press statements. You can watch the recording here.

From left to right: Matthias Miedreich (CEO Umicore), Thierry Breton (EU Commissioner for Internal Trade), Heiko Arnold (COO Aurubis Group)