Constellium approved for $15 million loan from West Virginia authority

Amsterdam-based Constellium N. V. has announced that the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) has approved partial financing of its previously announced $35 million investment at its Ravenswood, West Virginia, plant.

According to Constellium, the $15 million, 15-year loan financing will contribute to the installation of a new, state-of-the-art 800,000-metric-ton furnace at the facility primarily dedicated to manufacturing advanced aluminum alloys. Constellium says the new equipment is due to start production mid-2016 and is expected to support Constellium’s aerospace customers.

“This new pusher furnace is expected to enhance our high-quality service and product offering to aerospace customers,” states Ingrid Joerg, president of Constellium’s Aerospace and Transportation business unit. “We are delighted to have such active support from the state of West Virginia. The Ravenswood plant employs more than 1,000 workers and also provides work for several hundred contractors. It is the largest employer in Jackson County and one of the 100 largest private employers in the state.”

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says the financing is a win for the state. “Our willingness to partially finance Constellium’s equipment demonstrates our commitment to supporting the development of the state’s economy and to making West Virginia an even more attractive place for companies to invest. Constellium is a global leader in the aluminium business, and we’re very happy they’re continuing to invest in their Ravenswood facility,” says Tomblin. “The Ravenswood plant provides stable, good-paying jobs, and this investment will help it stay at the forefront of aluminum manufacturing for years to come.”

Buddy Stemple, CEO of Constellium Rolled Products LLC, says the pusher furnace will offer a new level of homogenization capacity. “We will significantly increase the preheating capacity, a process step required to improve the workability of aluminum structures. This will allow us to improve quality and increase output production across our entire product range.”

Constellium describes its Ravenswood plant as one of the world’s largest facilities for the manufacturing of rolled aluminum products. The plant supplies aluminum to a range of industries, including companies in the aerospace, marine vessel and military vehicle manufacturing sectors.