Aluminum manufacturers investing in new capacity

Oct 31, 2012 | 07:00 PM | Myra Pinkham

Tags  aluminum, aluminum producers, Keith Harvey, Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Jack Hockema, Alcoa Inc., aluminum expansion, Myra Pinkham

Several major aluminum producers have been putting their money where their mouths are, investing in facilities aimed at such growing market segments as automotive and aerospace.

“We know that to compete globally, we need to be a low-cost producer if we don’t want to wallow in the low-price game,” said Keith Harvey, senior vice president of sales and marketing for aerospace and general engineering at Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Foothill Ranch, Calif. “That is why Kaiser and many of our domestic competitors invest so much in facilities,” especially those aimed at supplying the transportation industry.

Harvey said that not only can Kaiser’s automotive-focused Kalamazoo, Mich., extrusions plant, which was expanded about two years ago, compete with any in the world, but the company also has invested in many of its other facilities as well. In fact, the company expects to complete a Phase 4 expansion at its Trentwood, Wash., rolling mill by the end of this year and could expand capacity there even further should demand from the aerospace sector continue to strengthen as anticipated.....