Constellium, UACJ open auto body sheeting plant in Kentucky

Constellium, UACJ open auto body sheeting plant in Kentucky
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Constellium N.V., headquartered in The Netherlands, and UACJ Corp., based in Tokyo, jointly announced the official opening of the companies’ manufacturing plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The plant will supply aluminum automotive body sheet to the North American automotive industry under the joint venture name Constellium-UACJ ABS LLC.

Initially, the 225,000-square-foot facility will have a capacity of 100,000 metric tons. It has secured its metal supply with both partners’ rolling mills, and the operation expects to offer a flat rolled product portfolio for a wide range of applications, including both closure panels and body structures. The plant is currently in a qualification phase, with ramp-up planned over the next two years.

“Today’s opening represents a significant step towards securing our position as a leading player in the fast growing North American automotive body sheet market,” says Simon Laddychuk, CEO of the joint venture. “Constellium and UACJ’s combined industrial legacy and best-in-class assets, as well as our leading position in innovation with the opening of a new R&D hub in Plymouth, Michigan, position the joint venture to be the partner of choice for North American automotive OEMs.”

“The opening of the first North American automotive body sheet finishing line with our partner UACJ is an important milestone in our goal to become a global leader in aluminum automotive solutions,” adds Jean-Marc Germain, CEO of Constellium. “As a one-stop shop, Constellium is well-positioned to provide automotive OEMs with innovative rolled and extruded products, which lighten vehicle weight, while offering exceptional performance characteristics.”

Mitsuru Okada, representative director and president of UACJ, says, “We are thrilled to be opening this plant at a time when the aluminum automotive market in the U.S. is extremely promising. We are delighted to contribute to the automotive customers in North America, not only with our automotive parts business, but also with Constellium-UACJ’s advanced and innovative products with a state-of-the-art continuous annealing and pretreatment line.”

According to a Constellium release, the use of aluminum automotive body sheet in North America increased from 70,000 metric tons in 2012 to about 500,000 metric tons in 2015 and is forecast to reach more than 1 million metric tons in 2020.

Assisting in the financing of the $150 million project, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in 2014 preliminarily approved the company through the Kentucky Business Investment program for tax incentives up to $4.5 million, which was based on the creation of up to 80 full-time jobs. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. 

Additionally, KEDFA approved Constellium-UACJ for up to $1.5 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.

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Source: Recycling Today
Constellium, UACJ open auto body sheeting plant in Kentucky
<![CDATA[Constellium N.V., headquartered in The Netherlands, and UACJ Corp., based in Tokyo, jointly announced the official opening of the companies’ manufacturing plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The plant will supply aluminum automotive body sheet to the North American automotive industry under the joint venture name Constellium-UACJ ABS LLC. Initially, the 225,000-square-foot facility will have a capacity of 100,000 metric tons. It has secured its metal supply with both partners’ rolling mills, and the operation expects to offer a flat rolled product portfolio for a wide range of applications, including both closure panels and body structures. The plant is currently in a qualification phase, with ramp-up planned over the next two years. “Today’s opening represents a significant step towards securing our position as a leading player in the fast growing North American automotive body sheet market,” says Simon Laddychuk, CEO of the joint venture. “Constellium and UACJ’s combined industrial legacy and best-in-class assets, as well as our leading position in innovation with the opening of a new R&D hub in Plymouth, Michigan, position the joint venture to be the partner of choice for North American automotive OEMs.” “The opening of the first North American automotive body sheet finishing line with our…