TODD COUNTY, Ky. Novelis will move forward with a Phase 2 expansion of its recently opened operation in Todd County with a roughly $365 million investment to construct a new recycling center that will create 140 well-paying jobs for local residents.
Novelis will construct a new sheet ingot casting, shredding and recycling center with an annual capacity of 240,000 tons to serve the automotive market. The new facility – to be located adjacent to the existing automotive finishing plant on Old Railroad Lane in Guthrie – is expected to reduce Novelis’ carbon emissions by more than 1 million tons each year and enable the company to grow its automotive recycling programs in North America. Using recycled aluminum as input material requires only 5% of the energy used to make primary aluminum, thus avoiding 95% of the carbon emissions associated with production.
The expansion announcement comes just over two months after Gov. Beshear joined Novelis for the grand opening of the automotive aluminum finishing plant in late October. That facility included a $300 million-plus investment and the creation of over 150 jobs, including 100 Kentucky residents. Novelis also operates a 130-employee beverage can recycling facility in Berea that opened in 1989. The Madison County facility melts and casts ingots from 20% of the nation’s recycled beverage cans.
“We are excited about this new investment in Kentucky, which will help Novelis achieve its sustainability goals, as well as support the carbon-reduction targets of our automotive customers,” said Tom Boney, executive vice president and president of Novelis North America. “The Commonwealth of Kentucky has been a great business partner for many years and has a strong, highly skilled workforce to meet the growing need for high-strength, low-carbon aluminum. We look forward to deepening our relationships with community leaders to ensure our facility has a lasting, beneficial impact in the region.”
Headquartered in Atlanta, Novelis recycles and produces aluminum globally, with 33 advanced rolling and recycling facilities in nine countries across North and South America, Europe and Asia. The company employs approximately 14,650 people worldwide. More than 225 vehicle models use Novelis’ aluminum alloy and the company’s products also are used to manufacture a variety of products including beverage cans, airplanes, computers, mobile phones, flexible tubing, insulating sleeves, license plates and architectural products, such as roller shutters, awnings, roofing, gutters, facades and sandwich panels.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) today preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $5 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $364.2 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 138 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $38 including benefits across those jobs.
Additionally, KEDFA approved Novelis for up to $4 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, Novelis can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
Click here for more Kentucky business news.
