Novelis, a major supplier of aluminum sheets to the auto industry, reported on Friday that its cold mill and heat treatment operations at its Oswego, New York, plant were back up and running following a second fire in the last three months.
The facility continued to ship finished material to Ford Motor Co., a primary customer, as of Friday, Novelis said in a joint statement with the automaker. The auto supplier planned to continue leveraging alternative sources, including its global network of plants, to mitigate the impact of the disruptions at the plant, per the statement.
Novelis said it is committed to strengthening its U.S. aluminum supply chain and plans to build a new plant in Bay Minette, Alabama. The company expects the facility to begin commissioning in the second half of next year, the statement said. Novelis and Ford declined to provide further details.
A September fire at the Oswego plant severely damaged Novelis' hot mill, a core element of aluminum production. Novelis expects the hot mill to be back online by the end of December, per a Nov. 11 update.
Meanwhile, Ford reported in October that the aluminum supply disruption would reduce F-Series truck production between 90,000 and 100,000 units in the current quarter.
