Kaiser Aluminum Corp. will spend an additional $34 million on equipment for its Trentwood rolling mill to further increase its heat-treated metal plate production, the company announced Tuesday.
Unspecified new agreements with customers necessitate the equipment, a follow-up to $105 million in capital upgrades already underway in Trentwood, said company CEO Jack Hockema. He declined to elaborate on the type of equipment to be added or on new Kaiser contracts, but said the agreements "do have sufficient length that it justifies us making additional investment."
"We've determined that, in fact, we have some customers who recognize that there was some additional need," Hockema said, adding that the company has no plans to announce new contracts.
Both Hockema and the plant's union leadership foresee a brighter future for Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based Kaiser, which emerged from bankruptcy last summer and plans to double its aluminum plate capacity through the expansion. The company makes aluminum products for the aerospace, transportation and industrial markets.
"Obviously, we're making some big investments in Trentwood, and we wouldn't do that unless we were confident we had a good total business situation there," Hockema said.
Kaiser has added roughly 100 employees in Trentwood during the last year, increasing its workforce there to about 800, said company spokesman Geoff Mordock. That's about double the number of workers in 2002, when Kaiser declared bankruptcy, he said.
The latest investment should create a few more jobs, Hockema said.
Dan Wilson, president of United Steelworkers Local 338, said the business is experiencing the "best conditions" he's seen since he started there more than two decades ago.
"The business base is good," said Wilson, who represents about 775 union members at the plant.
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