ATLANTA and SEOUL, South
Korea, Oct. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling,
announced today the completion of a two-year, $400 million expansion program in South
Korea. The expansion of its Yeongju and Ulsan plants
increases the company's production capacity in the region by more
than 50 percent to approximately one million metric tons of
aluminum sheet per year.
"Investing further in Korea has been a key element in the
company's global strategy," said Phil
Martens, President and CEO of Novelis. "Asia is the largest and fastest growing region
in the world for aluminum, and this expansion allows us to maintain
our leadership in this dynamic region across key markets such as
beverage cans, consumer electronics and automobiles."
Novelis began the expansion of its aluminum rolling and
recycling facilities in 2011 to meet the rising demand for flat
rolled aluminum in high value-added products in the Asian market.
The expansion includes a hot rolling finishing mill, cold rolling
mill, pusher furnace, high-speed slitter and annealing furnaces, in
addition to the previously commissioned fully-integrated recycling
center at Yeongju.
"The expansion enables Novelis to expand into new markets within
the region," said Shashi Maudgal, Senior Vice President and
President, Novelis Asia. "We can now supply coils to our new
automotive sheet finishing plant in Changzhou, China, which is expected to
commence production in mid-2014. Furthermore, we can now
pursue new business opportunities in high value-added markets like
consumer electronics where a high-quality surface finish is
required."
The demand for aluminum in the Asian automotive market is
expected to exceed the 25 percent compound annual growth rate
projected globally over the next five years, as more automobile
manufacturers move to build lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The company's expansion in South
Korea will help it meet this rapidly growing market.
Novelis opened a new aluminum recycling and casting center at
its Yeongju facility in October 2012.
This operation is the largest aluminum beverage can recycling
center in Asia, with the capacity
to produce 265,000 tons of sheet ingot. The Yeongju Recycling
Center is one of a series of recycling and casting expansion
projects launched by Novelis over the past two years to increase
its recycling and casting capacity to 2.1 million tons globally by
2015.
Novelis has a regional headquarters office in Seoul, operates four plants in South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam and will commission its new Chinese
facility in 2014. Currently, Novelis employs approximately
1,800 people in the region including 200 new staff added as part of
this expansion.
About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is the global leader in
aluminum rolled products and the world's largest recycler of
aluminum. The company operates in nine countries, has
approximately 11,000 employees and reported revenue of $9.8 billion for its 2013 fiscal year. Novelis
supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to
transportation, packaging, construction, industrial and consumer
electronics markets throughout North
America, Europe,
Asia and South America.
Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited (BSE:
HINDALCO), one of Asia's largest
integrated producers of aluminum and a leading copper
producer. Hindalco is a flagship company of the Aditya Birla
Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. For more information, visit
www.novelis.com and follow us on Twitter at
twitter.com/Novelis.
SOURCE Novelis Inc.