Kaiser to expand Trentwood plant

Kaiser Aluminum announced Monday that it plans to invest $75 million in new equipment at its Trentwood rolling mill due to dramatically increasing demand from the aerospace industry.

The expansion, slated to take place over the next three years, includes the addition of a plate stretcher that can create eight- to 10-inch aluminum plates, additional furnaces, and an ultrasonic inspection system. Installation already has begun and is scheduled to be complete by 2008, said Geoff Mordock, a Los Angeles-based spokesman.

Dave Carlson, president of Steelworkers Local 338, said the company’s current stretcher can only create a three-inch thick plate.

“That limits you if a customer wants an eight- to 10-inch thick plate. We just can’t run it for them,” Carlson said. “They want to be able to offer a customer one-stop shopping.”

Kaiser, which is on track to emerge from bankruptcy early next year, employs 600 people at the Trentwood plant.

No staffing changes have been announced as a result of the equipment investment, Mordock said. Carlson said additional automation sometimes leads to layoffs, instead of hiring. However, the union has not had an opportunity to talk to company representatives about the impact of the new equipment, Carlson said.

“The union applauds Kaiser Aluminum as a whole for investing in their plants,” Carlson said. “We want our jobs here in the U.S. rather than going to China.”

The company has more than 2,000 employees and 11 plants in North America. However, no similar investments have been announced at other plants. Trentwood is Kaiser’s largest plant, where a significant portion of sheet and plate aluminum is produced for the aerospace industry and other manufacturing sectors.

Kaiser announced in September that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware had scheduled a confirmation hearing for Jan. 9 and 10 on the company’s amended reorganization plan. If it is approved, the company could emerge from bankruptcy by early February.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in February 2002.