UACJ, Constellium partnership to supply aluminum sheets to automotive industry

Constellium and UACJ sign Joint Venture and select Bowling Green, Kentucky to produce Body-in-White aluminum sheet for automotive industry
Date: May 9, 2014
Source: UACJ

New York, May 9, 2014 – Constellium N.V. (NYSE and NYSE Euronext: CSTM) and UACJ Corporation (UACJ) (5741:TSE) announced today that they have signed a Joint Venture Agreement to supply Body-in-White aluminum sheet to the North American automotive industry, following their January 2014 announcement of plans to collaborate in the North American Body-in-White market.

The JV will have an initial target capacity of 100,000 metric tons supplied by cold rolled coils from both partners’ rolling mills. The facility, which will be located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, will be designed to allow for expansion beyond 100,000 tons. The total joint investment is expected to be approximately $150 million. Production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2016, with full capacity reached by 2018.

“Bowling Green is the right place for this plant, particularly because its central location will allow us to serve automotive OEMs across the US with our advanced and innovative range of products,” commented Laurent Musy, President of Constellium’s Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products business unit. “The availability of a highly skilled local labor force and the entrepreneurial spirit of the area were the decisive factors in choosing the city of Bowling Green and the state of Kentucky, which has been very supportive during the decision process”.

“This project is very significant for UACJ in terms of our Body-in-White market strategy. We look forward to supplying automotive OEMs throughout the US with advanced products utilizing the technologies each party has separately developed in EU and Japan. We welcome this Joint Venture with Constellium to tackle the strategic automotive market in the U.S.” said Mitsuru Okada, CEO of UACJ. “Both companies have been working hard together in the spirit of equal partnership, allowing us to finalize the agreement in a timely and efficient manner.”

“We are honored to be chosen as the site for this facility and proudly welcome the Joint Venture to Bowling Green,” stated Warren County Judge Executive, Michael Buchanon. “This is the largest capital investment in our region in more than a decade and we are grateful to the Joint Venture for their confidence in our community. This facility will be a perfect fit for our region which is an automotive hub. The strategic location we offer, coupled with access to a committed skilled workforce will allow the Joint Venture to thrive. We look forward to working with the Joint Venture and to their success here in Bowling Green.”

“This is a great opportunity for UACJ and Tri-Arrows to participate in this dynamic growth segment for aluminum along with our partners at Constellium”, said Patrick Franc, President and CEO of Tri-Arrows Aluminum Inc. “We are also very pleased with the choice of Bowling Green, which is in close proximity to the Logan rolling mill.”