Novelis President Sees Jump in Aluminum Applications

During a recent aluminum industry meeting, Philip Martens, president and COO for Novelis Inc., with U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, said that the worldwide adoption of aluminum in industrial and consumer applications is nearing a tipping point and may be about to surge. Martens made the statements at the recently concluded Platts Aluminum Symposium 2010.

Philip Martens

According to Martens, rapid urbanization in developing countries and a push for sustainability are the drivers that will increase demand for aluminum beyond current projections. "Beverage cans, food packaging, appliances, construction, transportation and personal technology all are on the verge of a new boom in emerging markets," said Martens at the Symposium. "In transportation alone – products like shipping containers, trucks, commuter trains and automobiles – the opportunity is bigger than most observers have recognized."

Light-weighting, said Martens, is the key. "Without compromising strength, aluminum allows for light-weighting in the design of anything that moves," he said. "In a world constrained by fuel supplies, and as alternative energy sources come on line, aluminum is the most plausible option."

In regards to increased application of aluminum in automobiles, Martens noted, that "We may be about to see a sharp turn in the next few years that would make the aluminum industry's current projections of demand look very conservative. We've been having talks with automobile manufacturers that are more than encouraging on this point."

Food packaging also will see a new wave of demand, said Martens. "In just the next few years, more than 2 billion people will cross the official threshold out of 'poverty' and adopt lifestyles the developed world would begin to recognize as working class," he said. "When you look at the global performance of beverage companies, it's clear that the capacity to manufacture aluminum beverage containers and other food packaging will struggle to keep pace with demand."