Novelis just announced the opening of its latest office in the Shanghai World Financial Center. This opening signals their intention to expand their presence in Asia and they have appointed James Liu as the Managing Director of Novelis China and as the Director for Sales and Marketing of Automotive Asia.
Liu’s lofty goals will include expanding Novelis’ automotive growth opportunities in both China and Korea. As the President and CEO of Novelis said, "Aluminum has been growing at a much faster pace than other comparable materials."
"As global urbanization and income continues to accelerate in Asia, and particularly China, the flat rolled aluminum market is expected to double in size there by 2020. The opening of our Shanghai office is an important step for Novelis to further capitalize on this significant opportunity. With an expansion underway in Korea, combined with our move into China, we can better serve rapidly growing consumer demand in Asia for high-margin can, automotive and specialty products."
Novels’ aluminum sheet capacity is set to expand to one million metric tons annually with their investments in both hot rolling and cold rolling operations. They are, at the moment, investing about $400 million to expand their aluminum rolling and recycling operations in South Korea.