US-based aluminum products manufacturer Novelis is set to establish a new organization for the procurement of used beverage cans (UBCs) in North America.
Novelis said that the latest announcement follows its decision to withdraw from its Evermore joint venture with Alcoa effective 31 August 2012.
Directly through the new organization, Novelis will obtain all UBCs for its recycling plants in Greensboro, Georgia; Berea, Kentucky; and Oswego, New York.
Novelis global recycling vice president Derek Prichett said the initiative is in line with the company's global strategy to improve its scrap procurement and recycling assets to support its goal of achieving 80% recycled content in its products by 2020.
"The ability to independently control our assets and manage our business will provide us with more flexibility to execute our strategic plans. This is the primary driver behind our exit of Evermore," Prichett added.
At present, Novelis buys the equivalent of 40 billion cans annually, worth an estimated $1bn and expects its global consumption of UBCs to rise to more than 60 billion cans by 2015.
