In order to meet the terms of the new pact, IMCO Reciclaje de Nuevo Leon S. de R.L. de C.V. is now building a new processing plant with an initial rated annual capacity of 100 million pounds. This new processing plant will upgrade and eventually replace the current operation near the NEMAK plant, which is the largest cylinder head and engine block casting facility in the Western hemisphere.
The new plant will use proprietary recycling furnaces redeployed from IMCO's U.S. operations and is scheduled for completion by the end of October. The joint venture is planning to equip its Monterrey facility with the capability to deliver molten metal.
Don V. Ingram, IMCO's chairman and chief executive officer, says: "Formation of our Mexican joint venture, the awarding of this long-term contract and construction of the new processing facility are major steps in a strategy to increase our participation in the international aluminum recycling market, particularly the dynamic Mexican auto industry. Since 1994 when the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, U.S.-Mexican trade in vehicles and parts has increased from $14.6 billion to about $40 billion.”
Ingram adds, "In recent weeks we've acquired an aluminum recycling plant in Brazil that will serve that country's only can sheet rolling mill under a long-term contract, and we've exercised our right to obtain full ownership of VAW-IMCO, our joint venture in Germany. In addition, we are planning an expansion of our British operations."
NEMAK S.A. is a joint venture between Groupo Alfa S.A. de C.V. (80 percent), a major Mexican industrial conglomerate with annual sales of over $4.5 billion, and Ford Motor Company (20 percent). NEMAK S.A. also operates two aluminum auto parts plants in Windsor, Canada. Its customers include Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Opal, Jaguar and Vauxhall.