Novelis Inc., a leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, announced it signed a binding agreement to acquire operating facilities and manufacturing assets at its Sierre plant that have historically been leased. By doing this, Novelis will gain additional flexibility to continue serving the growing automotive aluminum sheet market and provide a more secure and stable future for its employees, customers and the community.
The acquisition from Constellium, which is co-located on the site, is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.
“This acquisition further solidifies our leadership position in the automotive aluminum sheet market and provides us with the strategic flexibility to evaluate future growth opportunities in Europe,” said Steve Fisher, president and chief executive officer, Novelis.
As part of the acquisition, Novelis will establish a joint venture with Constellium to administer shared infrastructure activities across the entire Sierre facility, which is expected to provide an efficient, long-term solution to both parties. Constellium will continue to own and operate its cast houses, plate, and extrusion manufacturing plants. Novelis will retain its Research and Technology Center that offers technical assistance, research and product development to its automotive customers.
Focused on the production of aluminum sheet for the automotive industry, Novelis’ Sierre plant has been supplying the market for more than 20 years and is the leading location in Europe for the production of aluminum sheet for the automotive industry. Novelis maintains at Sierre a fully integrated system, covering the entire process from casting to finishing. The casthouse is capable of casting standard single alloys as well as multi-alloy ingots. In addition to its hot and cold rolling mills, the plant operates a state-of-the-art continuous annealing line for automotive sheet and has laser cutting capability.
Published in the April 2018 Edition