Kobe Steel is considering setting up a JPY100bn (US$835m) aluminium plant in the US as it looks to increase sales to Japanese automakers that are operating in North America.

Details on the plant’s location and when and construction are not yet available.

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The company’s investment amount is larger than expected as it might have to increase the plant’s capacity to process aluminium alloy, senior officer Hiroshi Kato said.

Kobe’s supplier of semiprocessed alloy in the US is being acquired by rival Constellium. If the company can find a new supplier, then it will go back to its original plan of building a 100,000-metric tonne plant, The Japan Times reported citing Bloomberg.

According to industry data, sales of aluminium sheets for automotive body panels, in North America, are expected to rise to 1.7m tonnes by 2024 from 150,000 tonnes in 2014.

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