Alvance plans to expand its aluminum smelter in Fort William, UK to include recycling facilities and increase its billet production to 80,000mt per year.
The company said in a Nov 17 statement that it plans to add a recycling and casting facility at the plant to produce secondary aluminum billets. It plans to serve the domestic construction industry, which currently relies heavily on imported material.
Alvance plans to submit its plans to the Highlands Council for approval, replacing its plan to produce caravan wheels, due to a noted decline in the UK’s automotive industry. According to the latest plan, the expansion will begin in 2021, with the new plant to reach full-scale output in 2024.
Alvance also indicated that it is working on the final details to establish an aluminum cans factory, which will serve as a packaging hub for Scottish Highlands water.
The Alvance smelter, earlier referred to as Liberty British Aluminum, was acquired by the GFG Alliance from Rio Tinto in December 2016. It currently produces around 48,000mt of 10-tonne ingots.