CBA’s Metalex to increase its aluminium scrap melting capacity

Companhia Brasileira de Alumnio (CBA), based in São Paulo, has stated that its Metalex Ltd. subsidiary has increased its billet production capacity and is investing in its ability to utilise scrap at the Metalex melt plant.

Metalex in Araçariguama, Brazil, has increased its billet production capacity from 75,000 to 90,000 tonnes per year thanks to a new sidewell-style furnace, according to CBA.

Metalex describes the investment as "the first step" of a US$20.6 million investment to develop its recycled-content aluminium manufacturing, according to a news release on its website.

According to CBA, the second stage of the expansion will include the construction of a new recycling plant that will increase the existing scrap consumption in the billet manufacturing mix from 60 percent to 80 percent by using outdated scrap in addition to process scrap. The start of that operation is set for 2023.

Metalex touts itself as a manufacturer of billets ranging in diameter from 4 to 7 inches in a variety of alloys, including standard, special (structural solutions), and premium alloys. Metalex, which was founded in 2000 and bought by CBA in 2010, has a capacity to produce 90 thousand tonnes of aluminium from post-consumer scrap recycled in its factory in Araçariguama (SP).

Metalex has received significant investments in the previous decade, ranging from the development of the scrap yard, which increased the capacity for collecting and storing the material, to the modernization and automation of processes, which increased production agility.