NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Novelis has announced that it will invest an additional $205 million to further expand its global manufacturing operations serving the rapidly growing automotive market. The company will build new finishing lines at its plants in Oswego, N.Y. and Nachterstedt, Germany, dedicated to the production of aluminum automotive sheet.

 

The two new lines will each have a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year. The latest expansions are in response to the escalating global demand from automakers for aluminum sheet, which the company expects to grow by more than 30 percent per year through the end of the decade. When the new lines are commissioned in late 2015, Novelis' global automotive sheet capacity will reach approximately 900,000 tons per year, a three-fold increase from just a year ago.

 

Novelis is the world's leading provider of aluminum automotive sheet, which auto manufacturers are turning to at a dramatically increasing rate for 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. Aluminum is becoming the sustainable choice for the latest generation of vehicles because of its low weight and recyclability enabling reduced life cycle emissions.

 

“With the addition of these two new lines, we have invested nearly $550 million to expand Novelis' global automotive capacity in the last two years alone," said Phil Martens, Novelis President and Chief Executive Officer. "This commitment -- backed by our history of automotive technology innovation, volume production experience and unmatched global footprint -- strengthens our recognized leadership position as the partner of choice for world-class automotive manufacturers.”

 

The company is investing around the world to boost its automotive finishing capabilities. In addition to the two new lines announced today, the company recently commissioned two new finishing lines at its Oswego, N.Y. plant. In addition, a new plant is under construction in Changzhou, China, which is expected to commence production in mid-2014. The company also recently certified automotive production at its Gottingen, Germany, plant that complements the company's existing automotive facilities in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Sierre, Switzerland and Nachterstedt, Germany.

 

Both expansions will further the ongoing development of the company's automotive closed-loop business model. Today, as much as 50 percent of automotive sheet sold to automakers is left over after a manufacturing plant stamps out automotive parts. The company is working closely with its customers to return this material directly back to Novelis for recycling, streamlining the materials supply chain while reducing the total carbon footprint of the entire automotive production cycle.