Novelis Announces Customer Solution Centers to Innovate Alongside Automotive Customers

New engagement model will enhance collaboration to drive industry transformations

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Oct 31, 2018, 16:31 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis Inc., the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced plans to establish a global network of Customer Solution Centers (CSCs) to accelerate collaborative innovation between Novelis and automakers for the next generation of vehicle design. Novelis will work with OEMs to determine how to maximize lightweight, high-strength aluminum to design the best solutions for specific applications at the right cost to better compete against steel and other materials. The facilities will be led by teams of industry-leading researchers, designers and engineers located in close proximity to automakers' manufacturing sites in North America, China and Europe. In addition, Novelis CSCs will provide an environment to demonstrate product concepts, simulate customer processes and performance in use, as well as leverage data to educate stakeholders throughout the supply chain about elements ranging from forming to costing.

The first center is scheduled to open in Novi, Michigan with China and Europe to follow.

"The global auto industry is experiencing disruptive change in nearly every dimension, including electrification, autonomy and accelerated development times," said Steve Fisher, President and CEO, Novelis Inc. "To meet rapidly evolving demands, we are developing the CSCs to help our customers innovate with aluminum for tomorrow's lighter, safer and better performing vehicles."

Customer Solution Centers will bring research and technical platforms, operations and commercial development together to increase collaboration and innovation. Each center will include high-tech development machinery ranging from computer-aided design (CAD) software to virtual collaboration capabilities and visualization technologies.

"The automotive industry is entering a period of transformative change and relying on partners to provide solutions to help them build the cars of the future," Pierre Labat, Vice President, Global Automotive, Novelis Inc. "By creating another new way to engage with automakers, along with a physical space that inspires innovation, we are better prepared to make our customers more successful."

As the facilities come online, cross-regional teams will be in place to ramp up product development in critical stages for the auto industry.

Additional Details
Initially, Novelis working groups will be devoted to the following specific initiatives:

Automotive application development: Novelis engineers are using competitive, affordable aluminum solutions to achieve a variety of innovations, particularly the benefits of lightweighting, to bring customer-centric development projects to market. Significant time and investment are being made to help manufacturers develop high-strength components for applications ranging from car doors to electric battery enclosures to full "body in white" (BiW) design.
Innovative, high-strength, high-forming alloys: Novelis is currently bringing to market the next generation of high-strength aluminum alloys. Novelis Advanz™ 6HS-s650, Advanz™ 7UHS-701 and Advanz™ 7UHS-s702 will give automakers the highest-strength aluminum choice for BiW structural applications. In addition, automakers have been increasingly using Novelis Fusion™ 6HF – e200, a heat treatable solution for applications requiring deep drawing, such as complex body sides.
Joining technology: Teams of Novelis research and technology professionals are developing ways to increase the adoption of aluminum through its ability to join with other materials as more vehicles are mixed-material. Novelis' Fusion™ technology is proving advantageous for spot-welding and laser-welding needed for mixed-material architectures.

In addition to material and design application support, as part of its purpose to shape a sustainable world together, Novelis' CSCs will provide sustainable process recommendations such as closed-loop recycling systems and the use of more alloys with higher recycled content to help curb CO2 emissions and establish more secure supply chains.

Novelis is accepting engineering candidates with a specialization in automotive design, metallurgy, CAD and costing to join the forthcoming CSCs. Open positions can be found at novelis.com/careers.

For more information, please visit novelis.com.

About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and the world's largest recycler of aluminum. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operates in 10 countries, has approximately 11,000 employees and had $11.5 billion in revenue for its 2018 fiscal year. Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to transportation, packaging, construction, industrial and consumer electronics markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, an industry leader in aluminum and copper, and metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. For more information, visit novelis.com and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/Novelis Inc and Twitter at twitter.com/Novelis.

SOURCE Novelis Inc.