US aluminum sheet maker Jupiter Aluminum said it was assessing the extent of the damage caused by a fire at its Hammond, Indiana, plant on November 24 and that it planned to "restart its full Hammond operations as soon as possible." The statement was posted to the company's web site on Saturday,
November 25, after a fire burned for more than ten hours Friday but caused no injuries. Platts was unable to reach Jupiter officials on Friday.
The Jupiter statement said the fire was contained around mid day Friday. "Further word on the effect on production will be communicated by Wednesday, November 29th," the Jupiter statement said.
Jupiter Aluminum uses a mostly scrap-based process to produce aluminum sheet and foil, with its core market being building and construction (gutter and downspouts, trim and soffit coils, screen frames, vents and louvers). Its Hammond plant has been significantly expanded and upgraded since 1992, including adding a new 42-inch Hazelett continuous caster in December 1994, and encompasses more than 600,000 square feet under one roof. Jupiter also operates a coil coating plant in Fairland, Indiana. The Hammond plant uses an oxygen-based, natural gas furnace technology, according to Jupiter's web site.
As reported by Platts Friday, Jupiter's Hammond plant caught fire around 5:45 am CST on the morning of November 24, and the fire made national news on CNN later that day. A policewoman told Platts that there were no injuries but that firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire ten hours later.
The city of Hammond is in Lake County, near the Indiana/Illinois border just 30 minutes from the Chicago Loop and is considered part of the greater Chicago metropolitan area.
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