Spectro Alloys breaks ground on $71M expansion

Spectro Alloys and The Opus Group, a family of commercial real estate development, construction and design companies headquartered in Minneapolis, have broken ground on a $71 million expansion to add new aluminum recycling capabilities to Spectro’s Rosemount, Minnesota, campus. Joining the companies were Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel.

Construction will continue through 2024, and the facility is expected to begin production in mid-2025.

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In September 2023, Spectro announced the expansion, which involves the addition of equipment to sort and melt postconsumer aluminum and cast it into various sheet and billet alloys.

Spectro Alloys will produce recycled billet and sheet ingot in a new 90,000-square-foot building located along Highway 55. The first phase of the project will result in nearly 120 million pounds per year of additional recycling capacity and create up to 50 new full-time jobs. The facility will include equipment for sorting and melting aluminum scrap as well as casting, sawing, homogenizing and packaging billet and sheet ingot. The company says it will incorporate industry-leading automation and the best available pollution control technology.

Compared with primary aluminum production, Spectro says it will reduce energy use and carbon emissions by 95 percent.

“We are excited to celebrate the future of aluminum recycling right here in Minnesota," Spectro Alloys President Luke Palen says. "This expansion will meet the growing demand for high-quality recycled aluminum products while providing value that supports recycling across Minnesota and beyond. It’s a win-win for our company, our customers and our community.”

Aluminum billet is used as raw material for the extrusion process and is turned into products that include railings; window and door trim; and structural components for cars, boats, airplanes, trailers, docks and more. Spectro also will have the ability to recycle used beverage cans (UBCs) into sheet ingot, or slabs of aluminum weighing up to 60,000 pounds each, for use at rolling mills.  

"We're building a strong and sustainable economy in Minnesota,” Walz says in a news release about the groundbreaking. “And it’s businesses like Spectro Alloys that are creating jobs and valuable products and communities like Rosemount, where businesses have the support they need to be successful. This is a win for Rosemount and a win for Minnesota.”

“We’re excited to be part of the Spectro Alloys’ project team and help build their vision for the future,” adds John Williams, vice president at The Opus Group. “We look forward to delivering a new modern industrial facility through our integrated design-build delivery model.”

Since 1973, Spectro Alloys has provided recycled aluminum alloys to regional die casters and foundries, where they are made into new products for the automotive, power sports, home, turf and snow maintenance and other industries.