Crown qualifies coils produced at Constellium’s new recycling center

Constellium SE's newly inaugurated recycling center in Neuf- Brisach, France, has qualified its first aluminum coils with Tampa, Florida-based Crown Holdings Inc., which is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products.

The coils, produced mainly using postconsumer scrap, have passed qualification tests at Crown’s manufacturing plants in France and Spain, and Crown has approved their use in its beverage cans. Constellium, which is based in Paris, says additional qualifications with other customers are expected to follow.

This collaboration highlights both companies' efforts to advance the circular economy by reducing the need for primary aluminum production through large-scale recycling efforts, Constellium says.

Constellium says Crown’s qualification of the plant’s aluminum coils is an important achievement, demonstrating the company’s commitment to providing high-quality recycled solutions for its customers, supporting their sustainability goals.

Constellium’s new recycling center in Neuf-Brisach adds 130,000 metric tons of aluminum recycling capacity annually, bringing the company’s global recycling capacity to approximately 735,000 metric tons across its facilities in Europe and North America.

The Neuf Brisach site was established in 1967 and is one of Constellium’s largest facilities. It features a hot rolling line and three cold rolling mills, a casthouse with five casting pits with a production capacity of 400,000 metric tons of slab, a continuous annealing and conversion line, degreasing and lacquering lines and slitters. The company invested 130 million euro ($145 million) in the site’s new recycling center, which was supported by a grant from the France Relance investment program.

“We are delighted with the development of this new recycling center that brings more used beverage cans recycling capacity to the market, aligning with our ongoing commitment toward circularity,” says John Rost, senior vice president, Crown Technology, Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs. “Using these coils within our production fosters higher levels of recycled content in our products and helps fulfill the sustainability goals established in our Twentyby30 program.

That Crown program encompasses 20 measurable goals to be achieved by the end of 2030 or sooner and focuses on several overarching priorities, including reducing the impact of climate change, using natural resources efficiently, supporting circularity, enacting social change and enhancing product performance, all of which are underpinned by a strong commitment to governance and ethics.

“Across our value chain partnerships, we continuously look to support the can industry and its commitment of increasing can collection, namely through the implementation of deposit return systems (DRS) in our markets to drive a stronger circular economy,” he adds.

"We are grateful to Crown for their long-term partnership and for their support," says Ingrid Joerg, chief operating officer of Constellium. "By enhancing our recycling capabilities and collaborating with trusted partners like Crown, we are making significant strides towards reducing carbon emissions and driving circularity in the packaging market."