Hindalco in joint venture with Almex for aircraft grade aluminium

01 November 2006

Mumbai: Hindalco Industries Limited, flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, has entered into a joint venture with Almex USA Inc for the manufacture of high-grade aluminium alloys for applications in the aerospace, sport goods and surface transport industries.

Hindalco will have 70 per cent equity stake in the joint venture, to be called Hindalco-Almex Aerospace Limited, with Almex holding the balance 30 per cent.

"In line with our growth aspirations, we are aggressively ramping up our portfolio of value-added products. Getting into high-strength alloys is a part of our strategic growth initiative. Today, 60 per cent of our products are value-added and we expect to scale this up, going forward," said group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.

"This is a great opportunity for Hindalco at a time when the aviation industry is slated to be on an upswing. Its foray in this segment catapults Hindalco into a different league, joining as it does an exclusive band of global players in this high technology sector," said Debu Bhattacharya, managing director of Hindalco.

Hindalco proposes to market a large proportion of the new company's output overseas. Domestic demand for high-strength aluminium alloys is currently small. The demand, however, is likely to pick up as India's aerospace sector takes off.

The joint venture, involving a capital outlay of Rs155 crore, expects to attain a production level of 46,000 tonnes in phases over three to four years. Production is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2008.