Constellium installs new recycling furnace at Alabama aluminum facility

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Amsterdam, Netherlands-headquartered aluminum major Constellium has announced installation of new recycling furnace at its Muscle Shoals, Alabama facility, in a bid to boost its recycling capabilities in North America.

The company’s recycling facility at the Muscle Shoals plant, commonly known as Element 13 facility, is one of the world’s largest recyclers of used beverage containers in the world. The installation of the new furnace is expected to boost the total recycling output of the plant by 170 million pounds. Once fully operational, the plant’s recycling capacity is expected to touch 20 billion used aluminum cans per year, which is equivalent to almost one-fifth of the total number of beverage cans sold in the US.

Commenting on the upgrade, Mike Tanchuk, president and CEO of the plant noted that the new furnace is a major step for the Muscle Shoals facility. The recycling capacity addition will help Constellium to better leverage aluminum’s infinite recyclable properties. The installation of the furnace is a clear demonstration of the company’s ongoing commitment in promoting recycling and sustainability, Tanchuk added. Meantime, Joe Pampinto, Plant Manager at the facility, stated that the expanded recycling capacity will significantly boost the molten metal supply required for customer deliveries. Further, it would also ensure better safety standards and reduced environmental footprints at the facility.

The new furnace meets the New Source Review (NSR) permit requirements prescribed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the company, the furnace meets the best available control technology (BACT) environmental requirements under the NSR program. The BACT construction permit ensures that the facility’s upgrade acts comprises of necessary mechanisms to minimize air pollution emissions.

Last year, Constellium had partnered with Tokyo-based UACJ Corp. to set up a manufacturing plant in Kentucky to supply aluminum automotive body sheet to the North American automotive industry. The company had also entered into deal with Nespresso to recycle used aluminum capsules in Switzerland. Also, the company had signed a contract with Airbus towards supply of advanced aluminum rolled products, aerosheets and plates.

The company had reported 10% growth in adjusted EBITDA during the entire year 2016. The shipments remained in line with the previous year at 1.5 million metric tonnes. However, lower metal prices led to 8% decline in revenue. The revenue totaled €4.7 billion in 2016. The net loss narrowed sharply from €552 million in 2015 to €4 million in 2016. The company had expressed confidence that it would be able to maintain adjusted EBITDA in high single digits over the next three years.

Constellium is a global producer of aluminium semi-products. Constellium manufactures aluminium rolled products and extruded products based on a large variety of advanced alloys. It has customers in different industries, including mainly aerospace, automotive and packaging sectors. The company has 22 production facilities, 10 administrative and commercial sites and a Technology Center based in Voreppe to support research and development initiatives across the globe.

The main product of Muscle Shoal facility is aluminum can sheet. It manufactures sheet used in body stock, coated end stock and tab stock of aluminum can. The aluminum manufacturing plant employs over 1,200 people. It also houses the widest strip mill in the USA, thus making it one of Constellium’s largest sites in operation.