From a Major Natural Disaster to a Fast Industrial Restart
Discover how Alps Group helped restart a globally important industrial site that was flooded up to 1.20 m
Context
In late June 2024, intense rainfall combined with snowmelt caused an unprecedented and devastating flooding of the Rhône River in Sierre, Valais. The residential area of Sous-Géronde, the industrial zone of Chippis, and the aluminium plants of Novelis and Constellium in Sierre were submerged. Electrical installations both underground and above ground were inundated. The material damage, estimated in the tens of millions of Swiss francs, impacted supply chains and led to the halt of automotive production lines.
Restarting operations safely, quickly, and with high quality was essential, as automotive manufacturers could not find equivalent products of the same standard anywhere else in the world.
Support for Electrical Component Replacement
Because full replacement of the affected installations could not be carried out immediately, Novelis, supported by a task force, sought trusted partners. The objectives were to replace key components, address obsolescence independently, and supply cabinets, enclosures, and on‑site support as rapidly as possible.
Achievements
Alps Group performed the following:
- Identified and labeled existing on‑site equipment to capture information not documented in schematics
- Studied devices that were no longer manufactured
- Modified the client’s electrical schematics and created new cabinets using EPLAN
- Manufactured electrical enclosures and cabinets
- Installed components into cabinets on site
Thanks to excellent organization, the site was able to restart its key installations by the end of September, just 3 months after the disaster, with work continuing even after restart operations began.