Kloeckner Metals (KMC) will build a new aluminum flat-rolled processing facility on the campus of Aluminum Dynamics LLC (ADL) in Columbus. The $90 million investment is part of the ongoing implementation of the company’s strategy whereby Kloeckner is expanding its product and service portfolio along the value chain for customers. As part of this strategy, Kloeckner officials said they intend to broaden its toll processing portfolio to benefit from the profitable higher value-added business and from being significantly less dependent on steel price developments.
“Following our acquisitions of National Material of Mexico (NMM) and Industrial Manufacturing Services (IMS) last year, the investment in this new processing facility marks the next chapter in our success story in North America,” said Guido Kerkhoff, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE in a press release. “Thanks to the consistent implementation of our strategy, we will benefit from the future growth in the automotive and industrial sector in the US and Mexico, increase our focus on our higher value-added product and services portfolio and further insulate Klöckner & Co from market price volatility.”
The strategic investment will enable Kloeckner to accelerate the growth of its automotive and industrial segment in both important growth markets, the US as well as Mexico. Moreover, the investment will support the long-standing collaboration with ADL’s parent company, Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI).
“Our clear focus on customers’ value chains and our portfolio of unique products and services will allow us to accelerate the growth in our automotive and industrial segments,” said John Ganem, CEO of Kloeckner Metals Corporation. “We look forward to realizing our full potential in the North American markets in the years to come.”
The new 200,000-square-foot facility has an annual capacity of up to 250,000 tons strategically located to process ADL’s energy-efficient, CO2-reduced aluminum products. With its on-campus location, KMC will be able to offer highly sustainable, best-in-class aluminum processing solutions, leveraging a hub and spoke model utilizing the 55 locations across the KMC network in the US and Mexico.