NEW YORK — Pennex Aluminum Co. has decided to restart Ilsco Extrusions Inc.’s idled billet casting facility in Greenville, Pa., as demand from end-users such as the automotive industry has exceeded the company’s current capacity, according to Pennex remelt business manager Harry Dillman.

Growing demand for aluminum extrusions recently led the company to buy billet externally to supplement its production needs, he said. Pennex already has a billet casting facility at its Wellsville, Pa., operations,

"We’re fortunate to have a very strong customer base," he told AMM. "We’re completely tapped out at Wellsville."

The increase in demand meant the company was in need of expansion, and the Greenville facility, formerly Signature Aluminum Inc., presented the perfect opportunity, Dillman said.

Pennex is seeing growing demand from the automotive sector, with truck and trailer demand particularly strong.

"We had a bit of a downturn at the end of last year, but it (has) rebounded nicely in January," Dillman said.

The Wellsville-based company plans to restart billet production at Greenville in the second quarter of this year (amm.com, Feb. 1).

The facility previously produced more than 100 million pounds per year, a target that Pennex expects to achieve and possibly surpass, Dillman said.

AMM’s spot 6063 billet premiums increased to between 12 and 13 cents per pound last month as spot activity picked up in a tightly supplied market (amm.com, Jan. 25).

The prospect of a production disruption at Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc.’s Aluminerie de Bécancour Inc. smelter in Quebec remains a concern for consumers (amm.com, Jan. 4).