Aleris to Provide Aluminum for COMAC C919 Prototype Aircraft

CLEVELAND, Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aleris today announced it has received orders to provide aluminum to Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd, a manufacturing subsidiary of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) for the production of multiple sets of COMAC's C919 test planes. Aleris will provide conventional aluminum alloys as well as an advanced aluminum alloy with high-damage tolerance to be used on the lower wing covers for a single-aisle commercial aircraft as part of the COMAC C919 program.

"This announcement is an important step forward for Aleris as we look to capitalize on the significant growth that is occurring in the aerospace industry in Asia," John Zhu, senior vice president and president of Aleris China said.  "We appreciate COMAC's partnership and look forward to delivering innovative, quality materials that will enable them to produce this high-performance aircraft."

Initially the material for the COMAC test planes will be delivered from the Aleris plant in Koblenz, Germany. Long-term Aleris plans to supply the aluminum for production from its new rolling mill that is currently under construction in Zhenjiang, China, a $350 million state-of-the-art facility designed to meet regional and global aerospace, and other commercial plate demand.  The company plans to begin non-aerospace commercial plate production at Zhenjiang in the first quarter of 2013, while it establishes qualification programs for key global customers to begin selling aerospace material in 2014.

About Aleris

Aleris is focused on realizing the significant potential of aluminum for our customers and our world.  A global leader in aluminum rolled and extruded products, aluminum recycling and specification alloy manufacturing, Aleris products are used by manufacturers in almost every industry.  Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has approximately 7,300 employees and currently operates 41 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.  For more information, visit www.aleris.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements about our beliefs and expectations and statements containing the words "may," "could," "would," "should," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project," "look forward to,"  "intend" and similar expressions intended to connote future events and circumstances constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about, among other things, future costs and prices of commodities, production volumes, industry trends, demand for our products and services, anticipated cost savings, anticipated benefits from new products or facilities, and projected results of operations.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements  include, but are not limited to, the following:  (1) our ability to successfully implement our business strategy; (2) the cyclical nature of the aluminum industry, our end-use segments and our customers' industries; (3) our ability to fulfill our substantial capital investment requirements; (4) variability in general economic conditions on a global or regional basis; (5) our ability to retain the services of certain members of our management; (6) our ability to enter into effective metal, natural gas and other commodity derivatives or arrangements with customers to manage effectively our exposure to commodity price fluctuations and changes in the pricing of metals; (7) our internal controls over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent all possible errors that could occur; (8) increases in the cost of raw materials and energy; (9) the loss of order volumes from any of our largest customers; (10) our ability to retain customers, a substantial number of whom do not have long-term contractual arrangements with us; (11) our ability to generate sufficient cash flows to fund our capital expenditure requirements and to meet our debt service obligations; (12) competitor pricing activity, competition of aluminum with alternative materials and the general impact of competition in the industry segments we serve; (13) risks of investing in and conducting operations on a global basis, including political, social, economic, currency and regulatory factors; (14) current environmental liabilities and the cost of compliance with and liabilities under health and safety laws; (15) labor relations (i.e., disruptions, strikes or work stoppages) and labor costs; (16) our levels of indebtedness and debt service obligations; (17) the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness in the future; (18) limitations on operating our business as a result of covenant restrictions under our indebtedness; and (19) other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained therein.  Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, futures events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120201/CL45778LOGO)

SOURCE Aleris