This Minnesota recycled aluminum plant will help stem tariff costs
Think 25-foot-long poles of solid aluminum.
The 90,000-square-foot plant gives companies a needed domestic source for the much-in-demand billets at a time when most aluminum in the U.S. is imported and faces a 50% tariff set in June by President Donald Trump.
At the same time, it becomes a much bigger buyer of industrial metal scrap, a new buyer in Minnesota for recycled beer and pop cans and gives Spectro Alloys its first new product line in 53 years.
"So there's a lot of demand. We are in a really good position," said EGA Spectro Alloys President Luke Palen.
Because aluminum is used in everything from cars and fighter jets to food containers and America's ever-expanding energy grid, U.S. demand "approached near record levels in 2024," said Aluminum Association spokesperson Katie Rosebrook.
Spectro Alloy employs about 150 workers in its original aluminum recycling plant, which makes 28-pound bricks, called ingots, that eventually become parts for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Polaris ATVs and products made by companies like General Motors, Tesla, Black & Decker and Caterpillar.
The company, which is majority owned by Emirates Global Aluminum in the United Arab Emirates, now is scrambling to add 50 new workers and expects the new billet operation to boost business by 50%, Palen said.
"Their investment (of) $71 million and creating 50 new jobs for the area is a huge impact for us," said Adam Kienberger, community development director for Rosemount.
Last week, the first molten metal glided from one new three-story furnace, oozed down chutes and spilled into 26-foot casting cylinders, deep in the floor of the expansion.
Three new rumbling furnaces came from Austria.
Once they had cooled, crane operator Lorenzo Martinez gingerly hoisted 10 billets from the "vertical casting pit" and onto a giant conveyor belt. The load weighed nearly 18,000 pounds.
The billets will be marketed under the RevivAL brand name, a nod to the fact the aluminum came from 250 recyclers.
"With this expansion, we will make 120 million pounds a year of high-quality, recycled billet," said Palen, who said it also helps companies meet environmental goals. "It will ... contribute to a circular economy in our region and throughout the U.S."
Customers are already lined up for the billets, which will be used to build door frames, stair railings and boat docks besides auto parts and more.
Last week, the first truck load shipped to Crown Extrusions in Chaska, which is working with a dock maker.
The company plans to add more equipment so it can produce other products such as sheet metal alloys.
Since selling 80% of the company to EGA last year, the Palens have sent engineers, technicians, chemists and metallurgists to Abu Dhabi for billet training.
With the new billet plant, Minnesota will no longer have to send all of its curbside-collected aluminum-can scrap to other states for processing. Some of Spectro's billet alloy recipes will allow for some old cans, in addition to the usual industrial aluminum scrap.
"This is exciting, because it's not only going to increase the aluminum that's recycled overall, but it's the first local outlet for aluminum cans in Minnesota, at least that I'm aware of," said Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) spokesman Mark Rust. "It is critically important that people understand there's a reason to recycle. These products really do have value. The more material that enters the market, that adds value to Minnesota's economy."
Gwen Jenkins, MPCA's recycling and organics specialist, said she hopes Spectro's ability to use additional types of aluminum scrap will remind and encourage Minnesotans to recycle more.
Right now, Minnesotans recycle just 51% of aluminum beverage cans or about 14,000 tons a year, she said.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
South Korea seeks to leverage Trump's focus on shipbuilding in tariff talks
By Ju-min Park and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea and the United States have been discussing a shipbuilding tie-up that could include investments to modernise U.S. shipyards and more help to repair the U.S. naval fleet as Seoul seeks better tariff terms, government and industry sources said. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made revitalising the ageing U.S. shipbuilding industry a priority to keep up with China, has repeatedly raised the idea of cooperating with South Korea's cutting-edge shipbuilding industry. After investing billions of dollars in shipbuilding capacity, China is the world's biggest shipbuilder. It also has the world's largest maritime fighting force, operating 234 warships to the U.S. Navy's 219, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "South Korea can use shipbuilding as leverage to gain some advantage in tariff negotiations," said Kim Suk Kyoon, a former commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard and an expert on maritime strategy. Pressure on Seoul to reach a deal on import tariffs has increased after Japan struck a trade agreement with the U.S. this week. South Korean officials are in Washington for trade talks, though a high-level meeting due on Friday was postponed over scheduling. South Korea is the world's second-largest shipbuilder and a source with direct knowledge of the talks said any partnership should include South Korean companies investing in the U.S. and helping more in repair and maintenance. South Korea's proposal of a "Korea-U.S. manufacturing renaissance partnership" in areas such as shipbuilding had drawn strong U.S. interest, as Washington called for joint efforts to counter China's shipbuilding growth, Seoul trade officials said, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The U.S. Treasury Department and Trade Representative did not respond to requests for comment on the progress of talks about shipbuilding. South Korea's industry ministry said the U.S. and South Korea were discussing ways to cooperate in manufacturing industries, including shipbuilding, but declined to elaborate. POLITICAL WILL "The most realistic option for South Korea is, I think, to make a deal to fix a certain number of U.S. navy vessels annually or build parts of new ships," said Kim, a visiting researcher at the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy. Repair of U.S. Navy ships is already happening in South Korea including at Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard, which has the world's largest dock and a 900-ton "Goliath" crane, according to its website. In July, Hanwha Ocean secured its third U.S. Navy maintenance contract and parent Hanwha Group has also been expanding in U.S. shipbuilding. It acquired Pennsylvania-based Philly Shipyard for $100 million last year and said this week the shipyard had received an order for a liquefied natural gas carrier to be built together with Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard. The conglomerate recently said it obtained U.S. approval to increase its stake in Australian shipbuilder Austal that owns a shipyard in Alabama building U.S. Navy ships. Another South Korean shipbuilder, HD Hyundai, formed a partnership this year with U.S. defence-focused shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls, and joined forces with Edison Chouest Offshore to build container ships in the U.S. But, obstacles remain to expanding the relationship. There are difficulties obtaining parts and a lack of local talent at U.S. shipyards, said Woo Jong Hoon, a naval architecture and ocean engineering professor at Seoul National University. Political will would also be needed given the raft of U.S. regulations that protect domestic shipbuilding. A South Korean trade official called for exceptions or changes to the Jones Act, which bars foreign shipyards from building commercial ships to operate in the U.S. The Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment also prohibits the construction of navy vessels in foreign shipyards, but the president retains the authority to waive its provisions for national security. To skirt U.S. regulations, South Korea could look into ideas like building modules to be delivered to U.S. shipyards or designating a South Korean shipyard as a special district so U.S. Navy ships could be built there, Woo said. 'WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL' Trump's introduction to South Korean shipbuilding probably happened nearly three decades ago. The real estate mogul flew in by helicopter to visit the Geoje shipyard in 1998, recounts Lim Moon Kyu, a retired senior executive at the former Daewoo Shipbuilding company who accompanied the VIP guest "with Hollywood looks". Daewoo Shipbuilding was acquired in 2023, becoming Hanwha Ocean. At the top of a 100-metre (328 ft) high crane, Trump was given a birds-eye view of the sprawling shipyard on a southern island. "Clearly, he was impressed, saying 'Wonderful, Wonderful' on top of the crane," said Lim, as he thumbed through photos of the meeting with Trump, who was accompanied by his son Donald Trump Jr. Lim believes the visit left Trump with a lasting positive impression that means he is now open to cooperating with Korean shipbuilders to counter China's growing naval power. "What carrots do we have to give to the U.S.? Nothing but this (shipbuilding) would be immediately possible," said Lim. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Australia to reduce US beef import restrictions denounced by Trump as a ban
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia will reduce restrictions on U.S. beef imports after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized what he described as an Australian ban on the meat, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said. Collins said Thursday that relaxing the restrictions designed to keep Australia free of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, among its cattle herds would not compromise biosecurity. 'Australia stands for open and free trade — our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this,' Collins said in a statement. Australia has allowed imports of beef grown in the United States since 2019. But Australia has not allowed imports from the U.S. of beef sourced from Canada or Mexico because of the disease risk. But the U.S. has recently introduced additional movement controls that identify and trace all cattle from Mexico and Canada to their farms of origin. US cattle import controls satisfy Australian authorities Australian authorities were 'satisfied the strengthened control measures put in place by the U.S. effectively manage biosecurity risks,' Collins said. The timing of the new, reduced restrictions has not been finalized. Trump attacked Australian import restrictions on U.S. beef when he announced in April that tariffs of at least 10% would be placed on Australian imports, with steel and aluminum facing a 50% tariff. 'Australia bans — and they're wonderful people, and wonderful everything — but they ban American beef,' Trump told reporters then. 'Yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don't blame them, but we're doing the same thing right now,' Trump added. Lawmaker fears appeasing Trump endangers Australian cattle industry Opposition lawmaker David Littleproud suspected the government was endangering Australia's cattle industry to appease Trump. 'I want to see the science and it should be predicated on science. I'm suspicious of the speed at which this has been done,' Littleproud told reporters. 'We need to give confidence to the industry, but also to you (the public): this is not just about animal welfare, this is about human welfare, this is about BSE potentially coming into this country and having a human impact, so I think it's important the government's very transparent about the science and I don't think it's even beyond the question to have an independent panel review that science to give confidence to everybody,' he added. Around 70% of Australian beef is exported. Producers fear that export market would vanish overnight if diseases including mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease infected Australian cattle. Will Evans, chief executive of Cattle Australia who represents more than 52,000 grass-fed beef producers across the nation, said he was confident the agriculture department had taken a cautious approach toward U.S. imports. 'The department's undertaken a technical scientific assessment and we have to put faith in them. They've made this assessment themselves. They've said: 'We've looked at this, we've looked at the best science, this is a decision that we feel comfortable with,'' Evans told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'When you have a 75 billion (Australian dollar, $50 billion) industry relying on them not making this mistake, I'm sure they've been very cautious in their decision-making,' he added. US beef prices rise because of drought and a domestic cattle shortage Beef prices have been rising in the U.S. due to factors that include drought and shrinking domestic herd numbers. The average price of a pound of ground beef in the U.S. rose to $6.12 in June, up nearly 12% from a year ago, according to U.S. government data. The average price of all uncooked beef steaks rose 8% to $11.49 per pound. Australia's opposition to any U.S. tariffs will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secures his first face-to-face meeting with Trump. Albanese and Trump were to hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada last month, but the U.S. president left early. Albanese expects the pair will meet this year, although no date has been announced. The two countries have had a bilateral free trade deal for 20 years and the U.S. has maintained a trade surplus with Australia for decades. Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press
Bloomberg
21 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
ECB Rate Decision: What to Expect
The European Central Bank is expected to leave interest rates untouched for the first time in more than a year as it awaits clarity on what US President Donald Trump's tariffs will do to inflation. Bloomberg's Lizzy Burden reports from Frankfurt. (Source: Bloomberg)
