Novelis announced it will invest approximately $200 million to expand its rolling operations in Oswego, N.Y., in response to escalating demand for aluminum sheet in the U.S. The expansion will result in a capacity increase of 200 kt, five times the company’s North America capacity for producing aluminum sheet for the auto industry. Novelis will construct two new high-performance aluminum processing lines for automotive applications. The company expects to hire about 100 new employees at Oswego over the next two years leading to start-up of the new equipment in the summer of 2013.

Novelis will also make a strong effort to include recycling initiatives into all new sheet contracts. The Oswego facility is an integrated recycling, hot-rolling and cold-rolling complex producing aluminum sheet for the automotive, beverage can and construction industries. Novelis aluminum can be found in 117 different vehicle models around the world. The global auto sector is transforming the vehicle manufacturing process to contain larger percentages of aluminum sheet, causing higher demand.