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c o m p a n y n e w s w o r l d w i d e
ravenna aluminum set
to reopen after buyout
Ravenna Aluminum Inc.’s two foundries
in northeast Ohio have been
acquired by General Aluminum Manufacturing
Co. (GAMC) and are scheduled
to reopen starting this fall, nearly
a year after they were shut down when
the castings manufacturer filed for protection
under the states’s bankruptcy
laws. The company hopes to employ
more than 200 there within the next
two years. When Ravenna Aluminum
closed unexpectedly last fall, it left
about 460 workers at facilities in the
city of Ravenna and nearby Rootstown
out of work. But sources also stressed
the deal is not completely finalised
and there are still additional hurdles to
clear including approval from the State
Controlling Board for financing under
a state-backed direct loan program.
Conneaut, Ohio-based GAMC
bought Ravenna Aluminum earlier in
2008. GAMC makes automotive parts
including engine, transmission, suspension
and brake components at facilities
in the Midwest. Ravenna Aluminum
shut down in November 2007
citing economic hardship and said it
was planning to sell off the assets. The
foundries stopped operating when the
sale was not completed by the end
of 2007. The Cleveland Plain Dealer
said GAMC would receive a USD4m
low-interest loan from the Ohio Department
of Development. The firm
also will receive tax credits valued at
USD275,000 over five years.
during the first half of 2010, bringing
more than 300 jobs to the area. Kaiser
has received a USD3.7m tax credit
from the Michigan Economic Growth
Authority, USD280,000 in employeerecruitment
and job-training assistance
from Michigan Works and a
USD100,000 economic development
job-training grant from the township
and Kalamazoo County.
china to step up
UBc buys significantly
China is likely to become a significant
buyer of U.S. aluminium used
beverage cans (UBC), said an Alcoa
Inc. executive, citing the expansion
of China’s sheet mill capacity. The
one big scrap market development
that everybody’s been waiting for is:
when will the Chinese start to import
UBCs. Several aluminium can sheet
mills are built in China, one of which
involves Alcoa.
Chinese purchases of UBCs from the
United States in the first seven months
of this year totalled a modest 141
tonnes valued at USD503,000. However,
within the next couple of years
China will take a significant quantity of
UBCs from the West Coast. The West
aluminium semis
Coast generates about 20% of the entire
UBC supply to the United States
market. When the Chinese draw off a
significant part, those metal units have
got to be replaced from other origins in
the U.S. This will also hurt secondary
smelters on the U.S. west coast.
Alcoa, its competitors and beverage
producers are making a serious effort
to boost U.S. can recycling to 75%
by 2015 from 53.8 % in 2007. Probably
materials recovery facilities (MRFs)
fed by kerbside recycling will supply
most of the incremental growth
to achieve that 75% target. But MRFs
don’t match the quality of can scrap
available from processing yards, particularly
when recycling programmes
collect all eligible materials in a single
bin or bag.
Exporters of low-end merchandise,
in terms of value per tonne, will be facing
major rate hikes from maritime carriers.
The physical imbalance in containerized
cargo, once heavily tilted in
favour of China to the United States,
has eased, leaving less free capacity
on westbound ships. Higher inland
freight rates will force U.S. secondary
aluminium smelters to retrench geographically.
If freight costs for scrap
and ingot continue to go up, it will be
harder to do profitable business. ■
Kaiser signs lease for
Usd80m operation in michigan
Kaiser Aluminum Corp. is on track to
open its Kalamazoo, Michigan, remelt
and extrusion facility in 2009 after the
company signed a lease for 464,500
square feet of space in the Midlink
Business Park. Kaiser is investing
more than USD80m in the aluminium
foundry operation that will produce
components for the domestic automotive
market. The company hopes
the project will resolve inefficiencies
in its rod and bar value stream. The
plant is expected to begin production
in late 2009 and be fully operational
Hydro
norTH america
alcoa rolls out three
new lines of aluminium wheels
Alcoa Inc. added three new lines of
aluminium wheels to its portfolio of
brands aimed at full-sized trucks.
The Discover, Revolver and Xtreme
series wheels are forged from a single
piece of 6061-T6 aluminium. The new
wheels were designed, engineered
76 ALUMINIUM · 11/2008