American Specialty Alloys to build aluminum plant in the Southeast

American Specialty Alloys (ASA), Flowood, Mississippi, has announced plans to build what it calls an aluminum minimill in the U.S. Southeast. The scrap-fed $1.2 billion facility will supply more than 600,000 tons of flat-rolled aluminum product to the automotive industry, according to the company.

The company says auto makers' move to use less steel by substituting lighter aluminum will create unprecedented demand on current aluminum producers. ASA says a “shortage of modern, efficient, clean manufacturing facilities to keep up with the new demand” is what led to the decision to build the new mill.

The company says it has determined that annual aluminum demand from the auto sector likely will grow from 500,000 tons at the present to between 4 million and 5 million tons by 2025.

ASA says it has completed its business strategy, engineering plan and market analysis and is now finalizing site selection.

The first phase of the operation is expected to begin in late 2016, with full phase one capacity production occurring six months later, says Roger Boggs, founder and CEO of ASA.

The company says the mill will closely follow the mill design and operations model developed for the steel industry by Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We are building a modern mill and using a process that will change aluminum production forever in this industry,” says Boggs. “The mill will leverage the use of automation, low cost utilities in the South and will use recycled aluminum to efficiently produce the higher grade aluminum that will be used to make the Obama administration's Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards (CAFE) compliant automobiles of the future.”

Boggs, who has been involved in the metals business for nearly 25 years, says no new large aluminum facilities have been built in the United States in a long time. “There is a lack of new processes,” he comments.

ASA is looking for a location for the mill that offers access to inexpensive power and is near an auto manufacturing location, Boggs says. “We are narrowing down the possible sites and hope to have a location by the first quarter of [2015].”

Boggs estimates the company’s focus on greater efficiency would result in a continuous casting model that could be as much as 45 percent more efficient than current casting processes. ASA also says the project will include around $200 million in pollution control systems installed at the site.

ASA has chosen Italy-based Danieli Group as its technological partner to provide the hot and cold rolling and aluminum processing mill. In addition, United Kingdom-based Innoval Technology will provide system design support.