Spectro Alloys completes recycling expansion

Construction of the expansion at the Rosemount, Minnesota, campus of secondary aluminum foundry Spectro Alloys, has been completed after breaking ground on the project in March of last year.

The 90,000-square-foot addition enables Spectro Alloys to expand its product offering into billet made from postconsumer aluminum scrap. Aluminum billet is a raw material for extruders that transform it into products like railings, window and door trim and structural components for cars, boats, airplanes, trailers, docks and more.

The company announced the $71 million expansion project in September 2023 in response to the growing market for recycled aluminum sheet and extrusion driven by consumer demand for sustainable products, green building standards a stable domestic supply chain and cost savings associated with recycled material.

“This increase in capacity and capabilities means Spectro will have a greater impact on recycling rates in Minnesota, on meeting the needs of sustainable manufacturers and on advancing the increasingly vital circular economy,” Spectro Alloys President Luke Palen says.

With Phase 1 of the expansion completed, the facility’s equipment will be assembled and calibrated over the next several months, with first production expected during the second half of this year. Ramp-up to full production is expected in the first quarter of 2026, according to Spectro Alloys.

The new facility creates an estimated 50 new jobs and adds nearly 120 million pounds per year of additional recycling capacity to Spectro.  

Opus, an integrated group of commercial real estate development, design and construction companies headquartered in Minneapolis, was the design-builder and architect of record on the project.

“We applaud Opus for their partnership on this project,” Palen says. “Their depth of expertise, the quality of their work and their ability to meet our compressed timeline were second to none and set us up to make a much more significant impact on our environmental performance and the economy.”

“We are thrilled that Spectro Alloys found value in our design-build model and trusted us to deliver their facility on time and on budget, both of which we did,” says John Williams, vice president of construction with Opus. “It’s always rewarding to partner with clients who are doing good work, and, in the case of Spectro, to partner on a project that will have tangible, meaningful benefits today and well into the future.”