American Specialty Alloys to build aluminum mini-mill in Southeast

American Specialty Alloys has announced plans to build a $1.2 billion auto-grade aluminum mini-mill in the southeastern U.S. According to the company, the planned 1.4 million-sq.-ft. plant will be the world’s first green mini-mill, featuring more than $200 million in pollution control systems. It will supply more than 600,000 tons per year of flat-rolled aluminum product to the automotive industry.

Phase 1 operations are targeted to begin in late 2016, with full-capacity production occurring six months later. The plant will create 2,000 temporary construction-related jobs initially and 650 to 850 permanent jobs when fully operational.

According to Dr. Roger Boggs, founder and CEO of American Specialty Alloys Inc., “The mill will leverage the use of automation, low-cost utilities in the South, and will use recycled aluminum to efficiently produce the higher-grade aluminum that will be used to make the Obama administration's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards-compliant automobiles of the future.”