Constellium to build two new casthouses in its Issoire plant to accelerate production and recycling of its AIRWARE aerospace technology

Constellium N.V. announced today that it will significantly increase the industrial capacity of its Issoire (France) plant to meet accelerating demand for its AIRWARE® technology.

Building on the experience of Constellium's first casthouse inaugurated in March 2013, which is already producing AIRWARE® at industrial scale, the two new state-of-the-art casthouses are expected to start and ramp-up production in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

These two additional casthouses will allow Constellium to nearly triple its production of advanced solutions based on its AIRWARE® technology, which was selected to be part of major new aerospace programs including Airbus' A350 XWB, Bombardier's CSeries and SpaceX's Falcon 9 Launcher.

"This strategic move demonstrates our ability to not only be the leading innovator in our field but also scale up the production of AIRWARE®, our patented range of aluminum-lithium alloys," stated Jean-Christophe Figueroa, President of Constellium's Aerospace and Transportation Business Unit. "Our investment, which will allow us to meet greater demand than anticipated under contract, clearly illustrates our long term commitment to strengthen our leading position in the aerospace market. And we intend to continue to expand our industrial platform in the future to accompany customer's needs," Figueroa added.

The AIRWARE® technology is considered a true game changer as it demonstrates a unique combination of strength, lightness, and improved corrosion resistance. Taking advantage of lower alloy density and improved material properties, AIRWARE® enables the re-design of structural parts and allows aircraft manufacturers to reduce the weight of aerospace components by up to 25 percent. AIRWARE® also eases the production of complex parts, guarantees higher durability due to its greater resistance to metal fatigue and corrosion, and contributes to the development of a more sustainable aerospace industry due to its infinite recyclability.