ATLANTA and OSWEGO, N.Y., Oct. 24,
2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis, the world leader in
aluminum rolling and recycling, today commissioned a $200 million expansion of its rolling operations
in Oswego, NY. The expansion
increases the company's North American capacity for producing
aluminum sheet for the automotive industry by 240,000 tons, five
times the company's existing capacity in the region.
"This automotive expansion in North
America is an important piece of our global strategy in a
market that is experiencing explosive growth," said Phil Martens, Novelis President and Chief
Executive Officer. "We are aggressively increasing our capacity to
produce automotive sheet worldwide and we are well-positioned to
extend our leadership in this strategic market segment."
Novelis began construction on two new high-performance aluminum
processing lines for automotive applications at its Oswego facility in 2011 in response to
escalating demand for automotive aluminum sheet in the United States. The company added more than
100 jobs at the Oswego plant as a
result of the expansion.
"Today's commissioning marks an important milestone in Novelis'
ongoing commitment to serving the automotive industry," said
Marco Palmieri, Senior Vice
President and President, Novelis North America. "Intensive use of
aluminum in vehicles is growing more than 25 percent a year. Not
only does this expansion allow us to respond to the rapidly
increasing demand for aluminum automotive sheet, it also plays a
key role in our ongoing recycling efforts to further improve the
sustainability of aluminum in vehicles."
Novelis is the world's leading provider of aluminum automotive
sheet, used for making structural components and exterior body
panels. Novelis aluminum can be found in more than 180 different
vehicle models produced by leading automakers around the globe.
The company is investing around the world to boost its
automotive finishing capabilities. In addition to the Oswego expansion, a new plant is under
construction in Changzhou, China,
which is expected to commence production in mid-2014 and will have
a capacity of 120,000 tons. The company also recently
certified automotive production at its Gottingen, Germany plant that will ultimately add 40,000
tons of additional capacity. These new locations will join the
company's existing automotive facilities in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Sierre,
Switzerland and Nachterstedt,
Germany.
Aluminum is the sustainable choice for vehicles because of its
recyclability and low weight. To meet new fuel economy standards,
North American auto makers are using more aluminum in cars to make
them lighter and more fuel efficient. New federal regulations are
challenging automakers to boost the fuel economy of their vehicles
to approximately 54.5 miles per gallon by model year 2025 and to
reduce emissions.
The Novelis Oswego facility is an integrated recycling, hot
rolling and cold rolling complex producing aluminum sheet for the
beverage can, automotive and building and construction industries.
Producing more than a billion pounds of high-quality aluminum sheet
each year, Oswego is the company's
largest, wholly-owned fabrication facility in North America. The plant currently employs
approximately 850 people.
Fact sheets on Novelis, the company's work in automotive, photos
and video can be found in the novelis.com media center. Additional
images are available upon request.
About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is the global leader in
aluminum rolled products and the world's largest recycler of
aluminum. The company operates in nine countries, has
approximately 11,000 employees and reported revenue of $9.8 billion for its 2013 fiscal year. Novelis
supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to
transportation, packaging, construction, industrial and consumer
electronics markets throughout North
America, Europe,
Asia and South America.
Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited (BSE:
HINDALCO), one of Asia's largest
integrated producers of aluminum and a leading copper
producer. Hindalco is part of the Aditya Birla Group, a
multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. For more information, visit
www.novelis.com and follow us on Twitter at
twitter.com/Novelis.
SOURCE Novelis Inc.