SHANGHAI: Novelis Inc., a global producer of premium aluminum rolled products, has signed an agreement with the Changzhou National Hi-Tech District to build its first automotive sheet manufacturing plant in China.
The company, created in 2005 as a spin-off of aluminum producer Alcan Inc., says the wholly owned, $100-million plant will have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year and operating by late 2014.
Novelis expects aluminum demand in the global automotive sector to grow at a compound annual rate of 25% over the next five years as auto manufacturers strive to make their vehicles more fuel-efficient. The move into China will position Novelis as the only aluminum sheet supplier capable of serving automotive customers in all major markets of the world. It serves customers in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.
The new site, located in the heart of the Changzhou National Hi-Tech District, is close to vital rail lines and the Changzhou deep-water port on the Yangtze River. The company plans to ship rolled aluminum coils manufactured at its South Korean operations to the new facility in Changzhou for heat treatment and finishing before delivery to automotive customers in China and other export markets.
To meet growing demand in North America, the company is investing $200 million to increase automotive sheet capacity by 200,000 tons per year.
based in Atlanta, Novellis has operations worldwide, including five facilities in Canada: a plant in Burnaby, BC that produces aluminum containers and foil; a plant in Kingston, Ont. that produces specialty and industrial products for marine, transportation and other industrial applications, plus a global innovation centre; a foil distribution centre in Montreal; a coil production plant in Saguenay, Que.; and the Novelis Foil Products head office in Toronto that produces aluminum container, foil and sheeted foil products for North America and other markets.
Novelis is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Ltd., based in Mumbai, India, one of Asias largest integrated producers of aluminum and a producer of copper.
