Kaiser Aluminum Corporation today announced an additional expansion of heat treat plate capacity at its Trentwood, Wash., rolling mill. The $34 million follow-on investment, when coupled with $105 million of investments announced in October 2005 and August 2006, will more than double Kaiser's previously available plate capacity.
"Demand continues to remain strong for aerospace, defense and general engineering applications, and a further investment to expand our heat treat plate capacity enables us to serve the growing needs of our customers,"said Jack A. Hockema, chairman, president and CEO, Kaiser Aluminum. "This additional expansion is supported by solid customer commitments."
"The previously announced phases of the heat treat plate project remain on schedule,"added Hockema. "Two heat treat furnaces were fully operational in the first quarter of 2007, and the stretcher and the third heat treat furnace are expected to be on-line early next year. We expect this incremental $34 million expansion to be fully operational by the end of 2008."
Kaiser Aluminum is a leading producer of fabricated aluminum products for aerospace and high-strength, general engineering, and automotive and custom industrial applications. The company has more than 2,000 employees and 11 plants in North America and produces more than 500 million pounds annually of value-added sheet, plate, extrusions, forgings, rod, bar and tube.