Constellium installs furnace in Alabama

Constellium N.V., a Netherlands-based aluminum company with operations in Europe and the United States, has completed the installation of a recycling furnace at its Muscle Shoals, Alabama, aluminum facility. The company says the new furnace will expand its recycling capabilities in North America.

The fully operational furnace is expected to increase the total recycling output of the plant by 170 million pounds, or by 5.2 billion additional used beverage cans (UBC), per year. With the new furnace, Constellium’s Muscle Shoals facility will be able to recycle nearly 20 billion aluminum cans per year, the company says.

“This new furnace is a major step for our Muscle Shoals facility, great news for our customers and an exciting step forward in our commitment to promote recycling and sustainability," says Mike Tanchuk, president and CEO of the plant. “This increased recycling capacity will enable us to better leverage aluminum’s infinite recyclable properties.”

Joe Pampinto, the plant's manager, says, “I am proud of the team who delivered this state-of-the-art equipment. The furnace is now fully operating, and this added recycling capacity will increase the molten metal supply required for customer deliveries.”

Constellium says the new furnace, which meets the best available control technology (BACT) environmental requirements set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, also is expected to improve the safety, energy efficiency and environmental footprint of the plant.

The company says its recycling facility at the Muscle Shoals plant is one of the largest recyclers of UBCs in the world.

Constellium says its Muscle Shoals facility has the widest strip mill in the United States and is one of the largest sites within the Constellium network of operations. The main product made at the plant is aluminum can sheet for the packaging industry, particularly beverage containers. It manufactures sheet used in all three components of an aluminum can: body stock, coated end stock and tab stock.