Novelis opens new aluminum automotive heat treatment line in Germany

U.S.-based Novelis celebrated the opening of its state-of-the-art aluminum automotive heat treatment line in Nachterstedt, Germany, to serve European and global automotive customers.

Located adjacent to Novelis’ existing rolling mill and one of the world’s largest aluminum recycling centers, the $85 million investment will increase production capacity by 120,000 metric tons of automotive sheet annually, Novelis says. With the expansion, the company says it widens its global manufacturing operations to serve the growing automotive market. The technology used in the new Nachterstedt finishing line is identical to that of the lines recently commissioned in the United States and China, Novelis says.

According to Novelis, at full production, the line will increase Novelis’ European automotive sheet capacity to 350,000 metric tons per year and will provide global customers with high-quality automotive sheet, including the Novelis Advanz portfolio of alloys used in lightweight vehicle structures and body panels. The company says it has invested more than $550 million globally since 2011 to triple its automotive sheet capacity.

“Coupled with our recent automotive expansions in North America and Asia, the opening of the new production line in Europe strengthens our industry leadership in the automotive market and uniquely positions Novelis to serve our global customers,” says Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis. “As automakers increasingly turn to aluminum to achieve better fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions in their vehicles, Novelis remains the supplier of choice and the only manufacturer of automotive aluminum sheet in the three major auto-producing regions of the world.”

As a supplier of aluminum flat rolled products, Novelis has announced partnerships with automakers including Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and Ford to supply the next generation of aluminum vehicles. Novelis says its aluminum can be found in more than 180 different vehicle models in production today. Together with its customers, the company is developing aluminum alloy products for high volume production that achieve high levels of strength, safety and performance, the company reports.

“For more than 40 years, Novelis has been delivering high-end automotive aluminum sheet to Europe's leading automakers, and we continue to grow our capacity in line with our customers' needs," says Erwin Mayr, president of Novelis Europe. "Our newest finishing line in Nachterstedt was built and commissioned in response to our customers' success, bringing online new capacity at the optimum time to serve growing demand for our aluminum in Europe." 

With 56 newly created jobs and 1,200 employees in total, the Nachterstedt complex is the biggest facility of the nine Novelis plants across Europe and one of the biggest employers in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.