Japanese aluminum rolling mill Kobe Steel plans to double the output capacity of its Kentucky aluminum extrusion plant by the first half of 2020, on the back of automotive demand, the company said Wednesday.
Kobelco Aluminum Products & Extrusions will be expanded to 1,000 mt/month from the current 500 mt/month, after installing a new melting furnace and an extrusion press machine. The company will spend $42 million for the expansion.
The company was established in 2016 to produce bumpers and car frames. Integrated aluminum extrusion production, involving melting of aluminum raw material to the final stage of processing, only started last month.
