Novelis injects USD 205 million into auto recycling expansion in Oswego

Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, said that it will invest an additional USD 205 million to further expand its global automobile recycling operations.

The company plans to build new finishing lines at its plants in Oswego, NY and Nachterstedt, Germany. They will be dedicated to the production of aluminum automotive sheet.

The 2 new lines will each have a capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes 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% 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 tonne per year, a 3 fold increase from just a year ago.

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.

Mr Phil Martens President and CEO of Novelis said that “With the addition of these two new lines, we have invested nearly USD 550 million to expand Novelis' global automotive capacity in the last 2 years alone.”

Mr Martens said that “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.”

In addition, a new plant is under construction in Changzhou, China, which is expected to commence production in mid 2014.