Hydro Aluminium to Build Precision Tubing Plant in China
December 10 2003 - 5:08AM
PR Newswire (US)
Hydro Aluminium to Build Precision Tubing Plant in China OSLO,
Norway, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hydro Aluminium will
construct its first wholly owned automotive components plant in
China to better serve customers in the country's growing automotive
market. Hydro will build the plant in Suzhou, north of Shanghai, to
satisfy its automotive customers and further raise its own profile
as the leading global supplier of lightweight precision tubing
components. Global market leaders in heat and fluid transfer like
Behr, Calsonic, Delphi, Denso, Valeo and Visteon are each located
in the regions close to the Suzhou Industrial Park site, where the
plant will be based. At the new site, Hydro will produce precision
drawn tubing, multi-port extrusions (MPEs) and extruded tubular
profiles used in automotive heat transfer applications. The company
will also deliver other high-value components from the plant. Hydro
will break ground in the first quarter of 2004 and install the
plant's extrusion press by July. Production is scheduled to start
in the third quarter of next year. The plant will create about 140
new jobs in Suzhou in first phase (2004). Total investment costs
are estimated to be NOK 150 million (EUR 18 million). "As the
technology leader in this area, we will deliver products with the
same high quality and performance as those our customers use in
vehicles manufactured in Europe and the United States," says Jan
Arne Ronningen, who heads Hydro's Precision Tubing business unit.
"Our Chinese customers have previously had to import some of these
products, so they are very happy with our decision to manufacture
them within the country." Hydro Aluminium is the world's leading
supplier of precision tubing for automotive heat and fluid transfer
applications. Its drawn tubes are used, for example, in fluid lines
and air conditioning systems, while MPEs are applied in condensers,
evaporators, radiators and charge air coolers. Although the plant
will be Hydro's first fully owned automotive components plant in
China, the company already serves the domestic precision tubing
market from its nearby joint venture, Hydro Aluminium Wuxi. Hydro
also operates a wholly owned magnesium alloys plant in China, in
Xi'an, and owns a 31.8 percent share of Suzhou Huasu Plastics Co.
Ltd. Hydro Aluminium is a leading global supplier of high-value and
lightweight automotive components, including extrusion-based
crash-management systems and cast aluminium engine blocks and
cylinder heads. Hydro Aluminium is the largest integrated aluminium
company in Europe and one of the three leading integrated aluminium
companies in the world. Hydro Aluminium has 27,000 employees in 28
countries and is part of Norsk Hydro ASA, a leading Norwegian
industrial company founded in 1905. Hydro Aluminium is one of the
three core business areas in Norsk Hydro, in addition to Hydro Oil
and Energy and Hydro Agri. Norsk Hydro is headquartered in Oslo,
Norway and has 50,000 employees in approximately 60 countries
worldwide. Certain statements in this press release are or may
constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that
are not in the nature of historical facts may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements and may contain identifying words such
as "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "expects" and similar
expressions. These forward looking statements are based on Hydro's
current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about
the company and the industries in which it engages in business. All
forward- looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. For a
detailed description of factors that could cause Hydro's actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by
such statements, please refer to its annual report on Form 20-F for
the year-ended December 31, 2002 and subsequent filings on Form 6-K
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With respect to
each non-GAAP financial measure Hydro uses in connection with its
financial reporting and other public communications, Hydro provides
a presentation of what Hydro believes to be the most directly
comparable GAAP financial measure and a reconciliation between the
non-GAAP and GAAP measures. This information can be found in
Hydro's earnings press releases, quarterly reports and other
written communications, all of which have been posted to Hydro's
website (http://www.hydro.com/). DATASOURCE: Norsk Hydro CONTACT:
Thomas Knutzen of Hydro Aluminium, +47-22539115, or cellular,
+47-90612359, or Web site: http://www.hydro.com/
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