Constellium N.V. held the official opening ceremony for its new state-of-the-art aluminum sheet finishing line at its plant in Neuf-Brisach, France, on October 18. The €180 million investment is designed to meet the growing demand for aluminum automotive body sheet.
“We are thrilled to announce the capacity expansion of our plant in Neuf-Brisach with the opening of a best-in-class automotive finishing line,” said Arnaud Jouron, president of Constellium’s Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products business unit. “With top-notch technologies, a long-standing automotive expertise among our staff on both sides of the ocean, and an additional line located in the heart of Europe, we are well positioned to capture the growth for automotive body sheet in Europe and across the globe.”
The new 240 m (787 ft) long finishing line features high-speed thermal treatment, precise temperature control, highly efficient quenching process as well as greater flexibility on the thickness of processed alloys. This diverse range of innovative technologies will enable Constellium to manufacture high-quality aluminum products for automotive closure inners, outers, and body-in-white. The new finishing line is in the final stage of the qualification phase and has already started commercial production, with a production capacity of 100,000 tons.
“On the heels of the launch of our new manufacturing plant with our joint venture partner UACJ Corporation in Bowling Green in the US, the opening of the new finishing line in Neuf-Brisach is another critical step in the execution of our worldwide automotive growth strategy,” said Jean-Marc Germain, chief executive officer of Constellium. “It shows our continued commitment to serving the needs of automakers with our advanced aluminum products and solutions.”
Built in 1967, the Neuf-Brisach plant is an integrated aluminum rolling, finishing, and recycling facility. At the plant, Constellium designs and produces a wide portfolio of coil and sheet products for automotive OEMs as well as food and beverage can customers. Adding to the production capacity of aluminum automotive body sheet in Neuf-Brisach, the opening of this additional finishing line is expected to significantly boost Constellium’s automotive body-sheet production capacity in Europe to meet anticipated automotive market growth.