Novelis Inc. successfully produced the first coil on the cold mill at its $5 billion aluminum rolling and recycling plant in Bay Minette, Alabama. The new plant is the first integrated rolling facility to be built in the U.S. in 40 years.
“Producing the first coil on the cold mill is an important step in commissioning Bay Minette and increasing the supply of rolled aluminum in the United States,” said Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis. “With the North American market being capacity constrained, this investment will help Novelis meet long-term market demand, strengthen our U.S. manufacturing footprint and increase the use of recycled content in our products.”
When fully operational, the Bay Minette facility will add 600,000 tonnes of annual rolled aluminum capacity to serve beverage packaging, automotive and specialty product markets. The plant also includes a recycling center that will be capable of processing more than 15 billion used beverage cans annually.
The facility features advanced technologies, including a 1+4 hot-strip mill from Danieli, a continuous coating line for high-speed paint applications, and a high-speed trimming line with advanced automation. All equipment and assets at the site are currently in the commissioning process. The highly advanced facility is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs once fully operational.
Bay Minette will be focused on the beverage container market, with flexibility for automotive production. Novelis is working toward customer qualification and commercial shipments, which are on track to begin in the second quarter of 2027.
Novelis a global leader in the production of innovative aluminum products and solutions and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum. The company’s ambition is to be the leading provider of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions and to achieve a fully circular economy by partnering with our suppliers, as well as our customers in the aerospace, automotive, beverage can and specialties industries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America.