KALU Kaiser Aluminum Corporation

Follow-on $30 Million Investment Increases Project to $105 Million Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) today announced an additional expansion of capacity at its Trentwood, Wash., rolling mill in order to address the significant growth in demand for heat treat plate used in aerospace, defense and general engineering applications. The $30 million follow-on investment, when combined with a previously-announced $75 million expansion, is expected to effectively double Kaiser's plate capacity. The primary element of this further expansion is an additional horizontal heat treat furnace. The furnace is expected to begin production in early 2008 and will complement the pair of previously-announced furnace expansions, the first of which has begun production and is expected to be fully operational later this year. The second furnace is slated to start production in early 2007 and be fully operational by mid-year. "This additional investment is supported by a strong customer order book that requires capacity beyond what is being provided by the $75-million expansion," said Jack A. Hockema, chairman, president and CEO, Kaiser Aluminum. Kaiser Aluminum is a leading producer of fabricated aluminum products for aerospace and high-strength, general engineering, and automotive and custom industrial applications. The company has more than 2,000 employees and 11 plants in North America and produces more than 500 million pounds annually of value-added sheet, plate, extrusions, forgings, rod, bar and tube. F-1049 Kaiser Aluminum press releases may contain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from those expressed or implied. Kaiser Aluminum cautions that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events may vary materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. These factors include: (a) changes in economic or aluminum industry business conditions generally, including global supply and demand conditions; (b) changes in the markets served by the company, including aerospace, defense, general engineering, automotive, distribution and other markets; (c) the company's ability to complete its expansion projects as planned and by targeted completion dates; (d) the company's ability to meet contractual commitments and obligations to supply products meeting required specifications; (e) customer performance; (f) changes in competitive factors in the markets served by the company; (g) developments in technology used by the company, its competitors or its customers; and (h) other risk factors summarized in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K (for example, see Item 1A. "Business -- Risk Factors" and Item 7. "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations") and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.