CRU: Aluminum news roundup

In addition, China will reduce the export tax rebate rates for some refined oil products, photovoltaics, batteries and certain non-metallic mineral products from 13% to 9%. This will aid government finances and encourage moves further downstream.

Russel to expand in US

Multi-metal distributor Russel Metals of Canada has agreed to acquire Tampa Bay Steel, allowing the company to extend its footprint into Florida, says Russel’s president and CEO John Reid.

In the past three years, Tampa Bay has invested in value-added equipment and plant expansion, and has a platform for further growth in the Florida market, he added. The company’s average annual sale revenue has been around US$115 million (€108 million) and adjusted EBITDA in the ballpark of US$13 million during the past five years.

Toronto-headquartered Russel will pay US$79.5 million for Tampa Bay Steel, subject to normal course adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in December.

Tampa Bay distributes carbon and stainless steel products, as well as aluminum and other non-ferrous metals. It also offers a range of machining and fabrication services such as precision processing, laser cutting and computer numerical control forming. Russel focuses on same metal products, serving North America’s metals service centers, energy field stores and steel distributor sectors.

Constellium claims breakthrough in aluminum recycling

Paris-headquartered Constellium says together with partners they have made a major advance in sorting aluminum by implementing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology at an industrial scale. The focus is on the automotive industry.

“Recycling aluminum scrap with the precision and scale offered by LIBS technology is an unprecedented leap forward for the industry,” said Dieter Hoell, vice-president global automotive at Constellium. “This innovative approach allows us to recover high-quality alloys from pre-consumer scrap, significantly reducing our carbon footprint and supporting our customers’ sustainability goals.”

One of the most significant challenges in automotive aluminum recycling is proper segregation – traditionally, mixed 5xxx and 6xxx alloys from stamping scrap were downcycled, limiting their use in high-value applications.

The latest technology allows for fast and precise sorting of aluminum scrap, achieving purity levels of over 95% for both alloy families. Constellium reports that it has already processed large quantities of LIBS-sorted scrap at its Neuf-Brisach plant in Alsace, eastern France, recycling it into top-quality aluminum products while maintaining material integrity.

The process was developed in collaboration with German recycler OSR and an unnamed European automotive manufacturer. Constellium and OSR plan to enhance the technology with the longer term goal of extracting high-value aluminum from end-of-life vehicles.

Norwegian aluminum producer Hydro already uses LIBS-based technology at its recycling plant in Dormagen (Germany) and in partnership with US recycler Padnos at Grandville, Michigan.

Kloeckner to build aluminum processing plant in US

Multi-metal distributor Kloeckner & Co is to construct an aluminum flat-rolled processing plant at the campus operated by Aluminum Dynamics LLC (ADL) in Columbus, Mississippi.

The unit is being designed to handle up to 250,000 Mt/y of product, with ramp-up planned for Q4’26 and scope to add additional higher value-added processing services to meet increasing demand for laser blanking.

Kloeckner of Germany says the development, being carried out through subsidiary Kloeckner Metals Corp, will enable the group to accelerate growth in its automotive and industrial businesses in the key growth markets of the US and Mexico.

The investment is part of Kloeckner’s strategy to broaden toll processing to benefit from profitable, higher value-added services and be much less dependent on steel price developments, the company added. The new service center will process ADL’s aluminum products and adds to Kloeckner’s long-standing collaboration with its parent.

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