On Tuesday, July 23, aluminum producer Constellium, announced that its Muscle Shoals, Alabama facility was selected by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for an investment of $23 million under Title III, Defense Production Act to rebuild its Direct Chill aluminum casting center.
The funding was awarded via the Defense Production Act Investments (DPAI) Program. DPAI is overseen by the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Program (MCEIP) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
According to the press release, Constellium plans to use the funds to install state-of-the-art casting equipment on the site of a dismantled casting center intended to add up to 300 million pounds of annual casting capacity.
Constellium Muscle Shoals plant has the capacity to produce over one billion pounds per year of finished aluminum coils. Muscle Shoals also operates a world-class recycling center that can recycle the equivalent of 20 billion aluminum cans per year.
With the added capacity Constellium is planning, the plant expects to increase its recycled input, reduce its use of primary metal, and provide the U.S. industrial base an additional, self-reliant, domestic source of supply for aluminum rolling ingot.
“This investment under the Defense Production Act will enable our industry to meet the rapidly increasing demand for the aluminum products needed not only for our national security, but also necessary for the overall U.S. manufacturing sector and a healthy economy,” said Buddy Stemple, president of Constellium Muscle Shoals.
Flat rolled aluminum products, including sheet and plate, are critical material inputs for the defense, aerospace, automotive, packaging, and transportation industries. The company anticipates that the expected additional domestic casting capacity enabled by this joint effort with the DoD will help secure the capacity to supply rolling ingot to U.S. rolling mills and provide a vital surge capacity to the DoD if needed to support U.S. security commitments around the globe.
“We are very excited to have this opportunity to partner with the DoD to help strengthen our industrial base,” Stemple added.
On Tuesday, July 23, aluminum producer Constellium, announced that its Muscle Shoals, Alabama facility was...