In October, Hatch’s AP60 project for Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) was named 2014 Project of the Year by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The PMI Professional Awards honour organisations and individuals whose passion, talent and expertise make the greatest contributions to the project-management profession. The award recognises a completed project that demonstrates exemplary application of project management principles and techniques. RTA’s AP60 Phase 1 demonstration plant in Jonquière, Québec, Canada, is the most technologically advanced aluminium smelter in the world, with an installed capacity of 60,000 t and the ability to produce 40% more aluminium per cell than the previous generation of AP technology.

AP60 Phase 1 is the first of its kind in the world. The greenfield aluminium plant 464 km northeast of Montréal, Canada, was designed to demonstrate RTA’s new proprietary AP60 smelting technology at industrial scale.

Hatch and its joint venture partner provided project management, EPCM, pre-commissioning, and commissioning services.

RTA project director Michel Charron said “Project management—it’s all about how good you are at detailing a plan, presenting a plan, executing the plan, and delivering the result. And that’s what the team did so well. They were the best.”

In the midst of a global financial crisis, the team was able to minimise project costs without impacting net present value. An exhaustive value-improvement exercise resulted in capital expenditure savings of about  $280 million without compromising operating costs.

The project was completed within budget, a month ahead of schedule, and set a new industry standard for safety—with a lost-time injuries rate of 0.27 for 5 million hours (99% better than typical Québec construction industry performance).