NOVELIS EXPANDS ITS PINDAMONHANGABA PLANT IN BRAZIL

The multinational Novelis has already consolidated its expansion plans in the southern hemisphere. It has just celebrated the official inauguration ceremony of the expansion of its plant in Pindamonhangaba for which it will invest close to 120 million euros. This plant is considered the largest aluminum rolling and recycling complex in South America.

The new plant, located in the state of São Paulo, has been operational since last August, and has a total capacity of 680,000 tons of sheet production and 490,000 tons of recycling per year, 100,000 tons more in each area. The company has waited to hold this in-person event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to company executives, authorities, customers, suppliers, partners and journalists were also present.

“In 2018 we saw strong growth in the consumption of cans, customers were announcing new plants and we decided to expand,” admits Francisco Pires, president of Novelis in South America to which he adds that “our entire business model is based on the circular economy. We invested in increasing the production capacity of aluminium laminates and also our recycling capacity. Brazil is today one of the world leaders in aluminum can recycling, with a rate of 97.4%. And it is here, in this industrial complex, where part of the magic happens. About 20 billion cans are recycled annually in this unit”, celebrates Pires.

The scope of the project, which began in November 2018, included improvements in recycling, remelting, slab preparation, hot rolling, cold rolling, finishing and logistics. The expansion adds a built area of 21 thousand square meters, totaling 220 thousand square meters of built area. It mainly benefits the sectors of beverage cans and specialties (transport, kitchenware, civil construction, etc.).

As part of this project, the rail terminal responsible for transporting 25% of the cargo was inaugurated in 2020. During the construction phase, the project generated around 2,500 jobs, most of which were filled by local professionals. Since the expansion, the factory has taken on 90 new employees, including employees of Novelis as well as partner companies.

On her part, Janaina Donas, executive president of the Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL), emphasizes that “one of the greatest competitive advantages of the aluminum industry in Brazil is the integration of the production chain, from end to end, to the consumer market. It is important that we can take advantage of these moments to also strengthen the partnership in the entire value chain, including consumers, collectors, recyclers and society in general”.

But this will not be Novelis’ only investment in Rio de Janeiro. The company will carry out a new cycle of investments, this time of 530,000 euros, in Brazil, as it expects that the consumption of aluminum for cans will continue to grow in the country. It also envisages a new expansion project in India to be completed by 2025.