New York – Constellium N.V. and UACJ Corp. have signed a joint venture agreement to produce automotive aluminum sheet for the North American automotive industry, from a new plant in Bowling Green, Ky.
The JV will have an initial target capacity of 100,000 metric tons supplied by cold rolled coils from both partners’ rolling mills. The facility will be designed to allow for expansion beyond 100,000 tons. The total joint investment is expected to be approximately $150 million. Production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2016, with full capacity reached by 2018.
“Bowling Green is the right place for this plant, particularly because its central location will allow us to serve automotive OEMs across the U.S. with our advanced and innovative range of products,” comments Laurent Musy, president of Constellium’s Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products business unit. “The availability of a highly skilled local labor force and the entrepreneurial spirit of the area were the decisive factors in choosing the city of Bowling Green and the state of Kentucky, which has been very supportive during the decision process”.
Bowling Green is home to General Motors’ Chevrolet Corvette plant and near Ford, Nissan, Honda, and Toyota manufacturing plants in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Alabama.
“This project is very significant for UACJ in terms of our Body-in-White market strategy,” says Mitsuru Okada, CEO of UACJ. “Both companies have been working hard together in the spirit of equal partnership, allowing us to finalize the agreement in a timely and efficient manner.”
Source: Constellium