Aluminum rolling and recycling firm Novelis has completed the two-year expansion work worth $400m at its Yeongju and Ulsan aluminum rolling mills in South Korea.
With the expansion of aluminum rolling mills, the company has increased its production capacity in the region by over 50% to about one million metric tons of aluminum sheet annually.
In addition to fully-integrated recycling center that was previously commissioned at Yeongju, the expansion comprises a hot rolling finishing mill, cold rolling mill, pusher furnace, high-speed slitter, and annealing furnaces.
Novelis president and CEO Phil Martens said the company's global strategy includes investing in South Korea.
"Asia is the largest and fastest growing region in the world for aluminum, and this expansion allows us to maintain our leadership in this dynamic region across key markets such as beverage cans, consumer electronics and automobiles," added Martens.
The expansion work at aluminum rolling mills was started in 2011 in order to cater to the increasing demand for flat rolled aluminum in the Asian market.
Novelis Asia senior vice president and president Shashi Maudgal said with expansion complete, the company can now expand into new markets within the region.
"We can now supply coils to our new automotive sheet finishing plant in Changzhou, China, which is expected to commence production in mid-2014. Furthermore, we can now pursue new business opportunities in high value-added markets like consumer electronics where a high-quality surface finish is required," added Maudgal.
The company is aiming to raise its recycling and casting capacity to 2.1 million tons globally by 2015.
