Driving Modern Manufacturing

The U.S. aluminum industry directly employs more than 162,000 workers and supports hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in nearly every state. This workforce helps innovators make good products great and great products even better by using high quality, sustainable aluminum -- the metal of choice for industries ranging from automotive to aerospace to packaging to building & construction. Sustained demand growth -- and anticipated continued growth moving forward, particularly in the automotive sector -- has led to some significant investment announcements from the industry over the past several years.

Since 2013, Aluminum Association member companies have announced or completed U.S. plant expansion investment totaling more than $2.7 billion, which will create more than 2,000 permanent American manufacturing jobs:

• In October 2018, Hydro announced a $100 million investment to its manufcturing facility in Cressona, Pennsylvania. The project will fund a new 96,000 square foot structure that will house equipment dedicated to producing aluminum for the automotive market, upgrade existing facilities’ infrastructure and modernize equipment. Hydro estimates the improvements will yield 60 family-sustaining jobs over the next three years in addition to retaining an additional 1,307 positions.
• In May 2018, Novelis broke ground on a $300 million automotive aluminum sheet manufacturing facility in Guthrie, Kentucky. The greenfield facility, with an annual nameplate capacity of 200,000 metric tons, will include heat treatment and pre-treatment lines, which prepare aluminum for use in vehicle parts such as body-in-white, hoods, doors, lift gates and fenders. The company expects to create approximately 125 jobs at the new facility, which is slated to open in 2020.
• In November 2017, Aleris opened a $400 million automotive sheet production facility in Lewisport, KY to meet significant growth in North American automotive demand as the industry pursues broader aluminum use for the production of lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. This expansion brought more than 150 jobs (and counting) to the community.
• In October 2017, Tri-Arrows Aluminum opened a $175 million expansion of its cold rolling and ingot casting facilities at the Logan Aluminum plant in Russellville, KY. At the same time, the firmbroke ground on a new $240 million project to produce aluminum sheet for the automotive industry. The investments will bring more than 200 new jobs to the region.
• In May 2017, Constellium announced the grand opening of its new plant in White, GA, dedicated to the production of advanced aluminium automotive structural components and crash management systems. The 135,000 sq. ft. facility is strategically located to supply automakers in the Southeast U.S. and may be expanded to 220,000 sq. ft. to meet customers’ supply needs in the future. Constellium expects to have 150 employees in White, Georgia, by 2019.
• In April 2017, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products announced a $53 million expansion of a facility in Bowling Green, KY to meet the rising domestic demand for aluminum forged suspension products. Once complete, the full Bowling Green facility was expected to support around 600 jobs.
• In September 2016, Constellium and Tri-Arrows opened a new plant in Bowling Green, KY as part of a $150 million joint venture. The investment created 80 full-time positions.
• In August 2016, Kobelco Aluminum Products & Extrusions Inc. broke ground on a new aluminum extrusion facility to support the automotive market. The plant in Bowling Green, KY represents an investment of $47 million and is expected to create 110 jobs by 2019.
• In November 2015, Kobe Steel, Ltd. announced that its U.S. joint venture, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products (KAAP), will invest $57 million to expand its North American production facility, creating more than 100 jobs.
• In September 2015, Arconic completed a $300 million expansion of its facility in Alcoa, TN creating 200 new full-time jobs.
• In April 2015, Constellium completed a $40 million expansion of its automotive structures plant in Van Buren, Michigan. The expansion more than doubled manufacturing capacity at the facility and enhanced advanced prototyping and development capabilities for customers in North America.
• In January 2014, Arconic completed a $300 million expansion of its Davenport, IA facility, which created 150 new full-time jobs and an additional 150 jobs during the construction phase. In November of 2014, the company announced an additional $190 million investment at the same facility to expand its product offerings in the aerospace and industrial markets.  
• In the fall and winter of 2013, Novelis announced $320 million in investment to expand its plant in Oswego, NY creating nearly 200 permanent jobs overall.

Many of these investments are designed to capture anticipated growth in the use of aluminum in the automotive market in the coming years as carmakers strive to produce lighter, safer more fuel-efficient vehicles. Ongoing announcements by Ford and others have underscored the increasing use of aluminum in light vehicles, which is expected to grow dramatically by 2025. These expansions alone are expected to add hundreds of thousands of tons of aluminum auto sheet capacity right here in the U.S.

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