Aleris International, Inc. broke ground Tuesday for the construction of a state-of-the-art aluminum rolling mill in China's Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province that will produce semi-finished rolled aluminum products in a joint venture with Zhenjiang Dingsheng Aluminum Industries Joint-Stock Co., Ltd. Aleris will own an 81 percent equity interest in the venture, named Aleris Dingsheng Aluminum (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd.

The factory will produce rolled aluminum plate, heat-treated plate and non-heat treated plate for the aerospace, general engineering, tooling and molding, petrochemical and transportation industries. The company said that the operation also has the potential to manufacture product for automotive applications.

"This groundbreaking is a tangible demonstration of our commitment to serving customers in China," said Steven J. Demetriou, Aleris chairman and chief executive officer. "We appreciate and value the collaboration with our partner, Dingsheng, and the support of Jiangsu Province and the City of Zhenjiang, which have helped make this new industrial venture possible. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with all involved."

The Aleris-Dingsheng partnership will build and operate one of the most technologically advanced rolling mills in the world. The potential rolling force of this hot mill qualifies it as the world's strongest, similar to the one at Aleris's Koblenz, Germany facility. Additionally, various advanced commercial plate products developed by Aleris will be produced at the Zhenjiang facility, providing a range of alloy options for Chinese customers.

The mill is designed for an eventual capacity of approximately 250,000 metric tons, with approximately 100,000 square meters initially under roof, on more than 280,000 square meters of land. Construction is expected to be completed within two years, with product shipped to customers by the fourth quarter of 2012.

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