Alcoa has re-energized the first of three potlines as it restarts its long-idled 269,000 mt/year Warrick Operations aluminum smelter in southwestern Indiana, a company spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
Jim Beck said in an interview that re-energizing the potline is necessary to resume aluminum production for the first time since March 2016, when the smelter, near Yankeetown, Indiana, was shut in a market-related move.
Alcoa announced in July plans to restart three of Warrick's five potlines by the second quarter of 2018 to improve the on-site rolling mill's competitiveness.
Beck said Alcoa remains on track to have the three potlines operating by the start of April.
There are no plans to restart the remaining two potlines at Warrick, which was the largest still-operating aluminum smelter in the US before it was idled.
Once the three potlines are running again, Warrick is expected to produce about 161,400 mt/year.
The three potlines will directly serve the rolling mill, which supplies the North American market with flat-rolled aluminum for the food and beverage can packaging industry.
The company is spending about $35 million on the restart.
Following the restart, Alcoa will have about 886,000 mt of idled smelting capacity out of total capacity of 3.4 million mt.
