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.

Spectro Alloys breaks ground on $71 million recycling expansion at Rosemount facility

Spectro aims to boost recycling rates and meet growing demand for recycled building materials

Rosemount, Minn. – March 28, 2024 – Spectro Alloys and The Opus Group®, joined by Gov. Tim Walz and Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel, broke ground Wednesday on a $71 million expansion to add new aluminum recycling capabilities to Spectro’s Rosemount campus. Spectro Alloys, the leading Midwest-based aluminum recycler, plans to recycle more end-of-life scrap aluminum to improve recycling rates in Minnesota and meet a growing demand for recycled aluminum sheet ingot and extrusion billet. Click here to download photos from the groundbreaking event.

Spectro Alloys will produce recycled billet and sheet ingot in a new 90,000-square-foot building along Highway 55. The first phase of the project will result in nearly 120 million pounds per year of additional recycling capacity and create up to 50 new full-time jobs. The facility will include state-of-the-art equipment for sorting, melting, casting, sawing, homogenizing and packaging with industry-leading automation and the best available pollution control technology. Spectro’s plant will also provide energy use and carbon emission reductions of 95% when compared to new aluminum production.

“We are excited to celebrate the future of aluminum recycling right here in Minnesota. This expansion will meet the growing demand for high quality recycled aluminum products while providing value that supports recycling across Minnesota and beyond. It’s a win-win for our company, our customers and our community,” said Spectro Alloys President Luke Palen.

Aluminum billet is used as raw material for the extrusion process, and is turned into products like railings, window and door trim, and structural components for cars, boats, airplanes, trailers, docks and more. Spectro will also have the ability to recycle used beverage containers into sheet ingot – slabs of aluminum weighing up to 60,000 pounds each – a feedstock for rolling mills. In Minnesota, only 45 percent of aluminum beverage containers are currently being recycled, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

"We're building a strong and sustainable economy in Minnesota,” Walz said. “And it’s businesses like Spectro Alloys that are creating jobs and valuable products and communities like Rosemount, where businesses have the support they need to be successful. This is a win for Rosemount and a win for Minnesota.”

Construction will continue through 2024, and the facility is expected to begin production in mid-2025.

“We’re excited to be part of the Spectro Alloys’ project team and help build their vision for the future,” said John Williams vice president at The Opus Group. “We look forward to delivering a new modern industrial facility through our integrated design-build delivery model.”