Novelis, the leading rolled aluminium and recycling company, opened its expanded aluminium rolling operations in Pindamonhangaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The expansion increases production capacity at the plant by more than 50% to more than 600,000t of aluminium sheet per year. The Novelis plant in Pindamonhangaba also houses the largest aluminium-recycling centre in South America. The USD 340M investment is the largest capital expansion by Novelis in South America in the past decade, strengthening the company’s commitment to the region.
“This investment reflects the ability of Novelis to respond to our customers’ needs, develop new products and surpass market expectations,” said Phil Martens, president and CEO of Novelis. “Brazil is one of the most rapidly-growing regions around the world where Novelis operates. With the expansion of our plant in Pindamonhangaba, we expect to meet the growing demand for aluminium flat rolled products in South America for the next decade.”
The expansion included the installation of a third cold rolling mill, designed with advanced technology to deliver improved product quality and productivity. In addition, the investment included a new ingot casting centre as well as a new pusher furnace for the hot rolling mill.
“We are expanding our recycling operations, increasing the use of post-consumer aluminium scrap and accelerating the development of new alloys that contain a greater percentage of recycled content,” said Nardocci. “These changes are aligned with our sustainable business strategy including our aggressive global target to reach 80% recycled content in our products by 2020.”
