Aluminium Casthouse Technologies, which makes pioneering products for improving aluminium manufacturing quality, has scooped an award for its successful import-export model at a national business event.
Aluminium Casthouse Technologies (ACT) won Best Import-Export Company of the Year at BizX 2026, hosted by TV presenter and sports anchor Kirsty Gallacher and attended by over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the UK and EMEA.
The company, which manufactures its products in Canada and China, won over judges for keeping global stock deliveries of its eco-friendly fluxes and other casthouse solutions moving swiftly and efficiently in a volatile political climate, further hampered by severe tariffs on imports to the US.
By having stock available at short notice at warehouses across the world and developing new markets away from the US, ACT has not only weathered the storm, but has seen business grow in the past year.
Director John Courtenay, a former technical director at Foseco Aluminium, said: “The US tariffs did create difficulties for suppliers like us.
“However, what it did do is force us to shift our focus toward markets that are not subject to such harsh restrictions, Brazil, South America and the Far East, which resulted in significant growth for us.
“Additionally, our import-export model meant we have had effective measures in place to counter freight issues such as the problems in the Strait of Hormuz, with global stocking facilities to limit the effect of volatility.
“We’re always looking to update our import-export model to make it work better for our customers and we are thrilled to win this award.”
ACT’s mission is to reduce waste and poor quality material in aluminium casthouses and ensure better quality finished products across the board.
With customers including some of the biggest groups in the aluminium industry, who make everything from high tensile alloys for EV and aerospace to foil and canbody stock, ACT’s products include new Refinal HAL F7 flux for removing very fine oxides in the melt, bone ash-free Casiflux launder coatings and the BatchPilot furnace weight measurement system for preventing aborted casts.
Every product is developed by the company’s expert professionals in aluminium technology and complementary disciplines, many of whom have worked for some of the biggest names in aluminium production.
To stay at the forefront of innovation, ACT also works closely with revered research institutions including BCAST at Brunel University London.