Novelis Inc. completed its $150 million investment project to expand both aluminum rolling and recycling capacity at its facility in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil—the largest such complex in South America.
“This project reaffirms Novelis’ commitment to serve the growing South American market with high-quality, innovative, low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions,” said Francisco Pires, senior vice president, Novelis Inc. and President, Novelis South America. “We stand ready to meet our customers’ needs both now and into the future.”
The expansion project added 100 kilotonnes to both the rolling and recycling area of the facility, increasing the annual capacity to a total of approximately 680 kilotonnes for aluminum sheet and 490 kilotonnes for recycling. In addition to new capacity, the investment includes the establishment of another reliable water source for the plant and a new railway terminal, which will further improve sustainability.
The additional aluminum rolling capacity will allow Novelis to continue growing alongside its beverage packaging and specialty customers in the South American region. Meanwhile, the new recycling capacity is a step toward the company’s ambitious sustainability goals to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2026 and to be net carbon neutral by 2050.
“Recycling and increasing the use of recycled content in our products is the cornerstone of Novelis’ sustainability journey,” said Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis. “We will continue to identify and invest in projects like this expansion in Brazil that will move Novelis toward being a fully circular business.”
The investment in the Pindamonhangaba plant was made possible with technical support from InvestSP, the São Paulo Agency for Promoting Investments and Competitiveness. As a result of the expansion, 90 new permanent positions have been added at the plant.
“InvestSP’s mission is to help develop the entire state,” explained Gustavo Diniz Junqueira, president of InvestSP. “A project of this scope contributes to the economy by creating jobs and furthering industrial activity in Brazil, so we dedicated our efforts in evolving together with Novelis in this expansion.”
The Pindamonhangaba plant has room to continue its growth. As part of its recently completed expansion project, an additional 380,000 sq m of land was purchased for potential future expansion.