BEACHWOOD, Ohio, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Aleris Light Gauge Products, a
business unit of Aleris International, Inc., announced today that it will
be permanently closing its aluminum rolling mill facility located in Cap de
la Madeleine, Quebec, following an orderly shut down of all remaining
activities at the facility. All new production has already ceased. Aleris
made this decision because of the permanent and irreparable damage suffered
by the operations as a result of the ongoing labor issues.
The unionized production and maintenance workforce at the facility has
been working without a collective bargaining agreement since February 2008,
when the prior labor agreement expired. Management and representatives of
the union engaged in negotiations and discussions regarding a new
collective bargaining agreement for many months. Those negotiations and
discussions were unsuccessful, and the union failed to ratify a new
agreement. This impasse resulted in management imposing a lock out on July
2, 2008 and ceasing all new production. The union voted to reject
management's final proposal on two occasions, first on July 1, 2008 and
again on July 10, 2008.
About Aleris
Aleris International, Inc. is a global leader in aluminum rolled
products and extrusions, aluminum recycling and specification alloy
production. Headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the
Company operates 47 production facilities in North America, Europe, South
America and Asia, and has approximately 8,800 employees. For more
information about Aleris, please visit our Web site at http://www.aleris.com.
SAFE HARBOR REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Forward-looking statements made in this news release are made pursuant
to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These include statements that contain words such as "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "should" and similar
expressions intended to connote future events and circumstances, and
include statements regarding future actual and adjusted earnings; future
improvements in margins, processing volumes and pricing; overall 2008
operating performance; anticipated effective tax rates; expected cost
savings; success in integrating Aleris's recent acquisitions, including the
acquisition of the downstream aluminum businesses of Corus Group plc; its
future growth; the anticipated economic environment in 2008; future
benefits from acquisitions and new products; expected benefits from changes
in the industry landscape; and anticipated synergies resulting from the
acquisition of the downstream aluminum businesses of Corus Group plc and
other acquisitions. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results could
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties would include, without limitation, Aleris's
levels of indebtedness and debt service obligations; its ability to
effectively integrate the business and operations of its acquisitions;
further slowdowns in automotive production in the U.S. and Europe; the
financial condition of Aleris's customers and future bankruptcies and
defaults by major customers; the availability at favorable cost of aluminum
scrap and other metal supplies that Aleris processes; the ability of Aleris
to enter into effective metals, natural gas and other commodity
derivatives; continued increases in natural gas and other fuel costs of
Aleris; a weakening in industrial demand resulting from a decline in U.S.
or world economic conditions, including any decline caused by terrorist
activities or other unanticipated events; future utilized capacity of
Aleris's various facilities; a continuation of building and construction
customers and distribution customers reducing their inventory levels and
reducing the volume of Aleris's shipments; restrictions on and future
levels and timing of capital expenditures; retention of Aleris's major
customers; the timing and amounts of collections; currency exchange
fluctuations; future write-downs or impairment charges which may be
required because of the occurrence of some of the uncertainties listed
above; and other risks listed in Aleris's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including but not limited to Aleris's
annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008,
particularly the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained therein.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050504/CLW056LOGO )
SOURCE Aleris International, Inc.
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Related links:
http://aleris.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050504/CLW056LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Media: Bill Sedlacek, +1-216-910-3522, or
Investor: Sean M. Stack, +1-216-910-3504, both of Aleris
International, Inc.
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