Aleris Unveils New State-of-the-Art Rolling Mill in China

ZHENJIANG, China, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aleris today formally introduced its new $350 million hot rolling mill in Zhenjiang, China designed to meet fast-growing national and global demand for technically advanced aluminum plate products for global aerospace and commercial plate customers.  The state-of-the-art plant, one of only a handful in the world, is equipped to produce the most advanced value-added aluminum material for aerospace and leading manufacturers in a variety of fast-growing industries in China and worldwide.

"The unveiling of our Zhenjiang plant represents a significant milestone for Aleris, further solidifying the company's industry leadership and establishing a path for continued growth in China and worldwide,"  Steve Demetriou, Aleris chairman and chief executive officer, said. "This plant will deliver the technically-advanced aluminum solutions for the aerospace and commercial plate industries that our customers across the globe have come to expect from us." 

With a hot mill capacity of 250,000 metric tons, the plant will have a phase one capability of producing 35,000 tons of value-added commercial plate products that will serve a number of technically demanding end uses including engineering, transportation, ship-building, and air separation units.  The company has begun shipping orders for commercial plate customers.  Qualification programs with major aircraft manufacturers are underway, and the company expects to begin shipping aircraft material in the second half of 2014.

"This capital project is the largest ever in our company's history, and much of it would not be possible without the support from our customers in China and worldwide, the Jiangsu Province and Zhenjiang City governments, and our team," Demetriou said.

The world's fleet of aircraft is expected to grow by 100 percent by 2031, with 35 percent of the growth coming from Asia, a key area of focus for the company.  China itself is expected to become the world's second largest aviation market with demand for civil aircraft expected to triple over the next 20 years.¹

About Aleris

Aleris is a privately held, global leader in aluminum rolled products and extrusions, aluminum recycling and specification alloy production. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Aleris operates more than 40 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.aleris.com.  

¹Boeing Market Forecast 2012

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements about our beliefs and expectations and statements containing the words "may," "could," "would," "should," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project," "look forward to,"  "intend" and similar expressions intended to connote future events and circumstances constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about, among other things, future costs and prices of commodities, production volumes, industry trends, demand for our products and services, anticipated cost savings, anticipated benefits from new products or facilities, and projected results of operations.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements  include, but are not limited to, the following:  (1) our ability to successfully implement our business strategy; (2) the cyclical nature of the aluminum industry, our end-use segments and our customers' industries; (3) our ability to fulfill our substantial capital investment requirements; (4) variability in general economic conditions on a global or regional basis; (5) our ability to retain the services of certain members of our management; (6) our ability to enter into effective metal, natural gas and other commodity derivatives or arrangements with customers to manage effectively our exposure to commodity price fluctuations and changes in the pricing of metals; (7) our internal controls over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent all possible errors that could occur; (8) increases in the cost of raw materials and energy; (9) the loss of order volumes from any of our largest customers; (10) our ability to retain customers, a substantial number of whom do not have long-term contractual arrangements with us; (11) our ability to generate sufficient cash flows to fund our capital expenditure requirements and to meet our debt service obligations; (12) competitor pricing activity, competition of aluminum with alternative materials and the general impact of competition in the industry segments we serve; (13) risks of investing in and conducting operations on a global basis, including political, social, economic, currency and regulatory factors; (14) current environmental liabilities and the cost of compliance with and liabilities under health and safety laws; (15) labor relations (i.e., disruptions, strikes or work stoppages) and labor costs; (16) our levels of indebtedness and debt service obligations; (17) the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness in the future; (18) limitations on operating our business as a result of covenant restrictions under our indebtedness; and (19) other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained therein.  Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, futures events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. 

SOURCE Aleris