Workers at Holmestrand smelter endure 600°C molten metal as heatwave grips southern Norway

HOLMESTRAND (Dagbladet) — While southern Norway swelters under a heatwave that has pushed outdoor temperatures above 30°C, the 600°C molten aluminium flowing at Speira Holmestrand’s smelter demands a different kind of endurance.

Tony Malmgren, a 30-year-old shift worker with nearly a decade at the Vestfold plant, says the heat is relentless. “It’s tough. You feel it in your body. Some weekends we work twelve-hour shifts, and it takes its toll,” he told Dagbladet.

Inside the foundry, where metal is cast into massive ingots for food packaging, construction and other uses, Malmgren and his colleagues alternate between the 600°C environment and the air-conditioned control room. The faster they work, the sooner they can retreat indoors, he explained. “The hotter it gets, the faster we move. You don’t want to linger out here any longer than necessary.”

Hydration is critical. Malmgren recommends constant fluid intake, adding juice or salt tablets to improve absorption, and even an occasional ice cube to boost morale. His colleague Patrik Ommedal showed the heat’s impact on his legs with a thermal camera registering 40°C.

The plant recycles scrap metal into new aluminium under a system of rotating day, evening and night shifts. Malmgren prefers the cooler daytime hours, but even then the foundry remains punishing. “By afternoon the heat builds to the same levels as the outdoor peak,” he said.

Despite the gruelling conditions, Malmgren admits to smiling when he hears others complain about office heat. “When I meet people who say they’re hot at work, I just think, ‘You have no idea,’” he said.