ILSCO to Lease Casting Plant to Pennex

ILSCO Extrusions Inc. (IEI) has reached an agreement to lease its alloyed aluminum log and billet casting operations in Greenville, Pa., to Pennex Aluminum Co. At full capacity the cast house will produce more than 100 million pounds of alloyed aluminum log and billets per year.

IEI was formed in 2010 after its parent company, ILSCO Corp., purchased the assets of the former Signature Aluminum/Werner Co., facility in a move to vertically integrate its supply chain.

Pennex, a subsidiary of Metal Exchange Corp., St. Louis, has more than 33 years of experience supplying alloyed aluminum products, including log, billet, extrusions and fabricated components. Pennex has operations in Wellsville and York, Pa. The company also recently completed the acquisition of a facility in the Youngstown, Ohio, area that the company says will allow it to strengthen its position in the Midwest.

Metal Exchange is a supplier, processor and purchaser of nonferrous metals. The company has a number of locations in North America, as well as operations in Europe, Asia and South America.

Andrew Quinn, president of ILSCO, says, “We have been very encouraged by the results from our investment in Mercer County, (Pennsylvania). We are pleased to be partnering with Pennex to help our facility reach its full potential.”

Rick Merluzzi, CEO of Pennex, says, “We are excited to team up with the veteran leadership at IEI and to become a member of the Greenville business community. IEI’s management had been terrific stewards of the idled casting equipment, and we are thrilled about the synergies that both parties will recognize for many years to come.”

Merluzzi adds that the facility will enhance Pennex’s capabilities to serve its long-term customers, prospective customers as well as its growing internal needs.

Pennex hopes to recondition the cast house and open the facility by the second quarter of 2013.

ILSCO Corp. is a manufacturer and distributor of branded copper and aluminum electrical connectors. The company has seven manufacturing locations throughout North America.