Novelis hosted members of the community, customers and government officials to break ground on the expansion of its automotive aluminum manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China.
The $180 million investment will double the facility’s production capacity of heat-treated aluminum sheet by 100,000 metric tons in order to better meet the growing demand for automotive aluminum in Asia. The facility will also be equipped with a high-speed slitter, and a fully automated packaging line. The expansion is expected to create approximately 160 jobs.
The project is scheduled to be complete in 2020 in order to align with key customer’s vehicle launch plans.
According to Ducker Worldwide, automakers are expected to increase the adoption of high-strength, lightweight aluminum over the next decade, specifically in light trucks, SUVs and electric vehicles.
Novelis’ Changzhou plant is the company’s first aluminum automotive sheet manufacturing facility in China. The wholly owned $100 million plant first began commissioning in 2014 with an annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons.
Published in the November 2018 Edition
