The Cast: 2024 edition

Check out this year’s edition of The Cast, our community newsletter about the people and products behind Spectro Alloys!

Our 2024 highlights include:

• The groundbreaking of our $71 million expansion project, which will add 50 new jobs and an additional 120 million pounds of recycling capacity per year in its first phase.

• The continuation of our “Giving Together” holiday donation program. Since its start in 2021, Spectro has donated $300,000 to 49 local nonprofits through this program.

• A majority stake acquisition by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest premium aluminum producer in the world, marking the next step in our growth journey.

These exciting developments are paving the way for the future of aluminum recycling! Check out this issue of The Cast to learn more about the investments we’re making in our business, our employees and our communities.

EGA acquires majority stake in Spectro Alloys

The Spectro Alloys team is thrilled to announce Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in our company. Based in the United Arab Emirates, EGA is the largest ‘premium aluminum’ producer in the world, and it acquired 80 percent of Spectro Alloys.

With this investment, our team in Minnesota can continue our growth and accelerate our capabilities to recycle more aluminum for customers in the United States.

Luke Palen, President of Spectro Alloys, said: “Becoming part of EGA is an exciting new chapter in Spectro Alloys’ five decades-long journey. EGA’s global resources and strength in marketing aluminum in the United States will accelerate Spectro’s growth.  We are now well-positioned to develop even further as a leading recycling company, serving our customers even better, creating more job opportunities for people in Minnesota, and contributing to the production of aluminium products that are both environmentally responsible and made in America.”

To learn more, visit the EGA website.

Spectro Alloys acquired by Emirates Global Aluminium

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas and the biggest ‘premium aluminum’ producer in the world, today announced it has acquired a majority stake in American aluminum recycling firm Spectro Alloys. The acquisition will accelerate EGA’s global expansion into aluminum recycling and expand EGA’s business in the United States. EGA acquired 80 percent of Spectro Alloys. The current owner-managers retained a 20 percent shareholding.

Spectro Alloys is a leading recycled aluminum alloy producer in the United States, founded in 1973, and based in Rosemount, Minnesota. The company has an annual production capacity of 240 million pounds per year of aluminum foundry alloys. Aluminum recycling at Spectro generates more than 95% in CO2 and energy savings compared to creating new aluminum. Spectro’s direct CO2 savings is equivalent to removing more than 80,000 cars from the road, and Spectro’s direct energy savings could power more than 200,000 homes.

Earlier this year, Spectro broke ground on a $71 million recycling expansion project that will result in nearly 120 million pounds per year of additional recycling capacity and create up to 50 new full-time jobs. The first phase of this project will be completed in 2025.

“Our goal is to grow further in both primary and recycled aluminum to meet the growing global demand for a metal which is essential for our world’s sustainable future,” said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA. “In the United States, which is already one of EGA’s largest global markets, this acquisition will significantly grow our business and expand our offering to customers with our domestic production. Spectro Alloys has a strong and highly experienced team which is already implementing ambitious expansion plans and will be a strong platform for the further development of an EGA recycling business in the United States. I look forward to working with Spectro Alloys’ team.”

“We have grown Spectro Alloys over the last five decades into one of the United States’ top aluminum recycling companies,” said Luke Palen, president of Spectro Alloys. “By becoming part of EGA, we will unlock the next stage of our development in the fast-growing aluminum recycling industry. In the near term, this will allow us to accelerate our ongoing expansion project. In the long term, this is a big win for the future of aluminum recycling in the United States.”

The United States currently consumes about 4.9 million metric tons of recycled aluminum annually, accounting for half of all aluminum demand in the country and making the United States the second largest recycled aluminum market in the world. Demand for recycled aluminum in the United States is expected to reach about 7.6 million metric tons per year by 2033. EGA sold approximately 550 thousand metric tons of primary aluminum in the United States in 2023.

Spectro Alloys currently supplies more than 125 customers, primarily in the Upper Midwest and Texas. Almost half of Spectro’s production is used in the automotive sector. The company sells to semi-fabricators, who in turn supply blue-chip end-user companies. Other important sectors for Spectro include small engine manufacturing, construction, and recreational vehicles.

Spectro sources aluminum scrap from more than 250 scrap suppliers in the region and uses advanced sorting and analysis technology to produce the wide variety of alloys required by the company’s customers. Market analysts expect global demand for recycled aluminum to double by 2040. Recycled aluminum is expected to account for around 60 percent of the growth in global aluminum supply between now and 2030, and around 70 perent of supply growth between 2030 and 2040.