Novelis completes South Korean expansion

South Korea – Major aluminium recycler Novelis has fulfilled a two-year, US$ 400 million mission in South Korea to increase its annual sheet production capacity in the region by more than 50% to 1 million tonnes.

Novelis opened a new aluminium recycling and casting centre at its Yeongju facility in October last year; this is the largest aluminium beverage can recycling hub in Asia and has the capacity to produce 265 000 tonnes of sheet ingot. The Yeongju centre 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 tonnes globally by 2015.

‘Investing further in Korea has been a key element in the company’s global strategy,’ says Novelis’ president and ceo Phil Martens. Asia is the largest and fastest-growing region in the world for aluminium, he stresses, and ‘expansion allows us to maintain leadership in this dynamic region across key markets such as beverage cans, consumer electronics and automobiles’.

Novelis began the expansion of its rolling and recycling facilities in 2011 to meet the rising demand for flat-rolled aluminium in high value-added products in Asia. The demand for aluminium in the Asian automotive market is expected to exceed the 25% compound annual growth rate projected globally over the next five years, as more vehicle manufacturers move to build lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

For more information, visit: www.novelis.com