Aleris to Add Capability for Production of Lightweight Aluminum-Lithium Alloys

News provided by

Dec 12, 2011, 08:00 ET

CLEVELAND, Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aleris today announced that it will build a specialized casting facility for aluminum-lithium plate and sheet products. The facility will be built at its Koblenz, Germany plant and will expand the company's ability to meet the needs of the aerospace market.

Aluminum-lithium alloys enable aircraft manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency through the weight reduction provided by aluminum while maintaining strength, and corrosion and fatigue resistance. Additionally, aluminum's infinite recyclability provides a compelling sustainability benefit.

The new facility will be able to cast full-scale ingots for trials as well as for serial production of aluminum-lithium products. The unique design of the facility also will facilitate the development of new "conventional" alloys to provide customers with the most advanced and sustainable solutions. The company expects to begin production in the new casting facility in the first quarter of 2013.

"Aleris is a recognized leader in alloy development and production. The caster is an important enhancement of our capabilities, particularly for producing aluminum-lithium alloys to reduce weight and fuel consumption in aircraft," said Roeland Baan, Aleris executive vice president and chief executive officer, Europe and Asia. "Adding this new caster also strengthens our research and development capabilities by enabling more sophisticated alloy development and the production of full-size trial products for any new alloy."

About Aleris

Aleris is a privately-held, global leader in aluminum rolled products and extrusions, aluminum recycling and specification alloy production. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company operates more than 40 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.aleris.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements about our beliefs and expectations and statements containing the words "may," "could," "would," "should," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project," "look forward to," "intend" and similar expressions intended to connote future events and circumstances constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about future costs and prices of commodities, production volumes, industry trends, demand for our products and services, anticipated cost savings, anticipated benefits from new products or facilities, and projected results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) our ability to successfully implement our business strategy; (2) the cyclical nature of the aluminum industry, our end-use segments and our customers' industries; (3) our ability to fulfill substantial capital investment requirements; (4) variability in general economic conditions on a global or regional basis; (5) our ability to enter into effective aluminum, natural gas and other commodity derivatives or arrangements with customers to effectively manage our exposure to commodity price fluctuations and changes in the pricing of metals; (6) increases in the cost of raw materials and energy; (7) the loss of order volumes from or the retention of our major customers; (8) our ability to generate sufficient cash flows to fund capital expenditure requirements and debt service obligations; (9) competitor pricing activity, competition of aluminum with alternative materials and the general impact of competition in our industry segments; (10) risks of investing in and conducting operations on a global basis, including political, social, economic, currency and regulatory factors; (11) liabilities under and costs of compliance with environmental, labor, health and safety laws; and (12) other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained therein. Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110616/CL21386LOGO )

SOURCE Aleris International, Inc.