Alcoa Corporation announced that it has proposed to restart three of five potlines, which were closed in March of 2016, at its Warrick Operations aluminium smelter near Evansville, Indiana. The company said that it would improve the competitiveness of the on-site rolling mill. The process is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018. The three potlines will have an annual capacity of 161,400 tons.
Tim Reyes, President of Alcoa’s aluminium business unit said, “By restarting a portion of the Warrick smelter, we will provide an efficient source of metal for the co-located rolling mill and help it meet an anticipated increase in production volumes.”
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The three potlines will further supply to the company’s rolling mill. The Warrick rolling mill produces flat-rolled aluminium for the food and beverage can packaging industry in North America.
The company expects to incur expenses of $30 and $35 million (after-tax) in the third and fourth quarters of 2017. Additionally, in third quarter 2017, the company would record an after-tax benefit of about $25 million for the reversal of liabilities related to the original closure.
“Alcoa appreciates the actions the Trump Administration has taken to address the challenges faced by the U.S. aluminium industry, including Chinese overcapacity,” according to the company’s press release.
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The company further said that the state of Indiana, through the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC), and Warrick County offered preliminary assistance to support the restart plan. The IEDC offered up to $2.4 million in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on plans to add new full-time jobs for Indiana residents.
Ed Hemmersbach, Vice President of Operations for Alcoa Aluminum said: “We appreciate the assistance and collaboration with numerous stakeholders in this process, including our employees, United Steelworkers Local 104, Vectren, and the local and state officials who have all provided support in our work to strengthen the integrated operation here in Southwestern Indiana.”
After the partial restart, Alcoa will have about 886,000 tons idled of its total smelting capacity of 3.4 million tons.
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