Braidy Industries appoints chief operating officer

Braidy Industries Inc., Ashland, Kentucky, has named Mike Otero its chief operating officer (COO). He officially joins the company Jan. 6, 2020, and has the added designation of heading the company’s Ashland headquarters facility. He will report directly to Craig Bouchard, CEO and chairman of Braidy Industries.

Otero previously served as CEO of Oman Aluminum Rolling Mill Co. LLC (OARC), a $500 million greenfield aluminum rolling mill and paint line facility that was established in 2011 in Sohar, Oman. During his time with OARC, the company became EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and cash flow positive and strategically positioned itself as the world’s largest offshore supplier of aluminum flat-rolled products (common alloy and foil) to the United States, Braidy says in a news release announcing his appointment. Prior to working at OARC, Otero served as commercial and supply chain manager for Sohar Aluminum, a $2.7 billion greenfield construction smelter and power plant project.

Otero also held prior positions at Rio Tinto Aluminum, Edwards D. Jones & Co. LLP and Crown Crafts and served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves from 1989-1997 as a logistics specialist.

“Mike’s extensive executive experience in the aluminum industry will be of unique advantage to Braidy Industries as we move forward with the construction of our world-class aluminum rolling mill,” says Bouchard. “His track record in operations and finance and experience building a successful commercial mill will prove instrumental to achieving our objective of developing lighter and stronger low-carbon alloys for America and territory beyond.”

Otero says, “I am thrilled to join the Braidy Industries team creating a generational shift in the production of aluminum and other lightweighting materials. Working alongside my uniquely talented colleagues, we have our common goal of bringing economic revitalization to Appalachia.”

Braidy Industries' first project is the construction of Braidy Atlas aluminum rolling mill, which it describes as a state-of-the-art, low-emissions greenfield manufacturing facility at EastPark Industrial Center in Ashland. The company says the mill will position Braidy Industries as the low-cost, low-carbon maker of 300,000 annual tons of production-ready series 3000, 5000 and 6000 aluminum sheet for the automotive and beverage can industries. Braidy subsidiary Veloxint Corp. is an MIT-incubated lightweighting solutions company, while its NanoAl LLC subsidiary applies nanocrystalline technology to aluminum.

In July, Braidy Industries announced the completion of Regulation CF “crowdfunding” of its common stock offering, having received commitments in excess of 100 percent of the statutory limit of the allowed $1.07 million, in parallel to its $500 million Wall Street private placement offering. The Regulation CF offering was launched by Braidy via the Netcapital portal, allowing Kentuckians classified as nonaccredited investors the opportunity to make a pre-initial-public-offering purchase of stock.

The company also received a $200 million strategic equity commitment from United Co. Rusal into its subsidiary company, Braidy Atlas LLC, and a 10-year supply agreement of low-carbon prime aluminum for the mill.