Hydro Aluminium UK specialises in aluminium extrusion and has its Cheltenham manufacturing plant on Tewkesbury Road. Last month all eyes were on its factory building when the firm commissioned local Cheltenham Paint Festival director and founder Andy 'Dice' Davies to paint the blank factory wall and create a work of art.

The large-scale mural took two weeks to complete.

Victor Imaz, managing director at Hydro Aluminium UK said: "We had seen work across Cheltenham as part of the Paint Festival and thought the artwork was creative, varied and brightened up the buildings. We had a large space on the side of one of our exterior walls which wasn't very appealing, and we are always looking for ways to improve our workplace for our employees, so we thought a painting like this would be a boost for visitors, customers, employees, and the community."

Victor added: "We were playing around with a few ideas and encouraged our team to get involved and give suggestions. We wanted the artwork to represent our core values and promote sustainability, which is vital to us at Hydro. We considered different options which would visually portray our company ethos. Following meetings with Andy to discuss practical concepts for this huge space, we were keen to show our relationship with the local community. It seemed perfect to focus on the Neptune Fountain which has a lot of history in the town and reflects many of our company values.

"The large-scale art has been well received by our staff and is an instant mood booster when you arrive at the Hydro site."

With a view to sustainability, Hydro aims to create a more viable society by developing natural resources into products and solutions in innovative and efficient ways.

Hydro's mission is to tackle global challenges. 

Victor said: "The world needs to produce and consume in new ways. We want to contribute to creating a fair society and circular economy by producing responsibly, making net-zero aluminium by 2050 or earlier, and producing and using more renewable energy."

Hydro Aluminium UK has certified three solutions that it supplies to customers in terms of CO2 footprint: Low Carbon, Recycled Aluminium 6.0, 4.0 and 3.0 for users wanting to choose sustainable aluminium as their preferred material. Hydro works across many industry sectors from building and construction to transport, medical, marine and many more.

An important collaboration with Jaguar-Land Rover sees Hydro utilising low-carbon aluminium products that used to be produced outside the UK and are now being produced locally.

The Cheltenham site offers extruded aluminium profiles and surface treatment for bespoke aluminium finishes. Across the UK the firm employs 590 staff with 140 working at the Cheltenham plant, which opened its doors in 1963, which marks 60 years this year.

It is one of the Group's primary extrusion plants with two presses and an extensive list of surface finishing capabilities. Hydro Cheltenham is also one of four UK manufacturing plants certified according to the ASI Performance Standard and ASI's Chain of Custody Standard, recognised for the responsible production, sourcing, and stewardship of aluminium.

The group company Norsk Hydro has turned natural resources into valuable products since 1905 and has 32,000 employees in more than 140 locations and 40 countries.