Assessment underway after fire at Novelis' Oswego plant

The fire started just after 10 p.m. ET on Sept. 16 in the facility’s hot mill near Syracuse. No injuries were reported among employees or emergency crews, according to Karen Judd, spokesperson for the Atlanta-based Novelis.

“We are incredibly grateful for all the first responders who acted swiftly and for the outpouring of community care and support.”

The extent of the damage is still being assessed, Judd added.

“We should be able to provide more insight to potential operational and production impacts in the coming days,” Judd told AMU.

Novelis’ Oswego location is the company’s first U.S. operation and the company’s largest, wholly owned fabrication facility in North America.

The mill produces flat rolled products primarily for the auto industry as both auto body sheet and structural sheet, as well as production of some beverage can sheet.

Oswego is the largest auto body sheet mill by production volume, according to CRU estimates. The facility accounts for around 40% of total U.S. and Canada auto body sheet production across both heat-treated and non-heat-treated.

Novelis has invested approximately $130 million at the plant, an expansion first announced in 2021, aimed at adding 65,000 tons per year (t/yr) of hot mill rolling capacity dedicated to the automotive and specialty markets and improve finishing capability for sheet. At the beginning of the year, CRU estimated that Oswego’s total capacity would reach about 560,000t/yr in 2025, with part of that increase tied to this long-running upgrade.

After several years of work, Novelis was slated to move into Phase 2 of the project, which is scheduled to begin commissioning during the company’s 2026 fiscal year, running from April 2025 through March 2026.