Aluminium products makers Constellium NV and UACJ Corp will form a joint venture in the United States to supply the auto industry in response to growing demand for light-weight materials, the companies said on Thursday. Car manufacturers are turning to aluminium to raise fuel efficiency in line with new regulations, and some analysts expect a fivefold increase this year in the auto aluminium sheet market in the United States.Dutch-based Constellium and Japan's UACJ plan to invest about $150 million to develop a production facility for aluminium sheet for car bodies, with an initial capacity target of 100,000 tonnes, they said in a joint statement.The partners aim to launch production in the first half of 2016, a Constellium spokesman told Reuters, adding they would probably develop a new site rather than add a line at an existing plant.Constellium will take a 51 percent stake in the venture alongside UACJ's U.S. subsidiary Tri-Arrows Aluminium Inc., with the agreement to be finalised in the first half of this year.
Constellium N.V., formerly Constellium Holdco BV, is a Netherlands-based company, which is engaged in the manufacture of aluminum products and solutions. Shares of CSTM fell by 0.16% or $-0.04/share to $24.26. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $13.26 and as high as $24.50. On average, 467124 shares of CSTM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 462740.
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