Novelis Breaks Ground on New Kentucky Aluminum Sheet Facility

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered global leader in rolled aluminum products and recycling, Novelis, Inc. has announced groundbreaking of its new aluminum sheet manufacturing facility in Guthrie, Todd County, Kentucky. The ceremony was attended by Senator Rand Paul, Congressman James Comer, Governor Matt Bevin and Senator Mitch McConnell's staff in addition to federal, state and local officials, community members and company representatives.

The new 400,000 square foot facility on the 150-acre greenfield site is expected to create approximately 125 full-time jobs in the region. The plant will have a production capacity of 200,000 metric tons of automotive-grade aluminum sheets per annum. Industry veteran Paul Banks has been appointed as the Plant Manager to oversee the project. The hiring for other key positions at the facility is still in process.

The plant will host state-of-the-art heat treatment and pre-heat treatment lines to process aluminum coils supplied from its Logan Aluminum operation in Russellville in producing aluminum to be used in vehicle body parts.

ALSO READ: Novelis' Net Sales Surged 20% in Fiscal 2018

Novelis expects to start production from the plant latest by 2020, which in turn will contribute to significant improvement in company’s global capacity.

According to Steve Fisher, President and CEO, Novelis Inc., the presence of large number of automotive manufacturing plants in the region makes Guthrie a strategic location to establish the new plant.

Earlier in January this year, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) had approved tax incentives of up to $8.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment Program. Additionally, it had also approved up to $3 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). The company will also receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network.