F-150 a ‘game changer’ for aluminium: Novelis

The introduction of an aluminium-intensive pickup truck will be a “game changer” for both the automotive and aluminium industries, according to Novelis, which reported a rise in its fiscal third-quarter net income on the back of higher global shipments.
The new aluminium-intensive body enclosure for Ford Motor’s F-150 pickup truck, revealed at the Detroit auto show last month, could use about 1,000 lb of the light metal per vehicle, analysts estimate. The move is part of Ford’s ongoing effort to manufacture lightweight vehicles capable of exceeding current fuel economy standards.

Novelis, the world’s largest recycler of aluminium and a major rolled products company, produces aluminium automotive sheet. Auto manufacturers are accelerating their use of the product for structural components and exterior body panels.

Novelis is the sole supplier to Jaguar Land Rover and a key supplier to Ford for the F-150.

Philip Martens, the company’s president and ceo, said Novelis is in talks with other automakers regarding the supply of aluminium for various applications, but declined to provide further details.

The company is shifting its activities toward the auto sector in order to tap into this increased demand. “We are going to do that globally,” Martens added.

In December, Novelis announced a $205-million investment to further expand its global automotive aluminium capacity.

The company will build new finishing lines at its plants in New York and Nachterstedt, Germany, dedicated to the production of aluminium automotive sheet. The two new lines will each have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes annually.

Martens described the company’s shift toward production for the automotive industry as “very significant” and “more or less permanent,” adding that it had a minimum 15-year lifespan.

Atlanta-based Novelis’ shipments of aluminium rolled products totalled 721,000 tonnes during the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, up 11.4% from 647,000 tonnes in the same year-ago period.

Novelis continues to see strong demand for aluminium flat-rolled products globally, particularly in the automotive segment, according to Martens.

“We have made great progress in the commissioning of our major expansions, and we are now seeing the benefits of some of these projects in our results,” he said in a statement accompanying Novelis’ earnings results. “While external market pressures partially offset the bottom line impact of this volume growth, we are confident about the realisable potential for this business as the new projects come online.”