Doubt Cast On Bendigo Aluminium Plant Plan
The Age
Monday August 26, 1991
Comalco cast serious doubts yesterday on plans by the state-owned Aluvic and Golden Aluminum, of the United States, to build a $310 million aluminium can sheet plant at Bendigo.
Comalco's chief executive, Mr Nick Stump, said he wondered how much ``blue sky" was in the proposal, announced by the Premier, Mrs Kirner, last Friday.
Comalco and Alcoa share the domestic market for can sheet and also export to the South-East Asian markets.
The combined annual capacity of their plants is about 130,000 tonnes, compared with the 105,000 tonnes a year proposed for the Bendigo plant.
Mr Stump said there was over-capacity in rolling mills in this country and had been for many years.
``We and Alcoa export a large proportion of sheet to keep our plants at reasonable capacity," he said.
The Bendigo proposal represented a huge increase in domestic capacity for can sheet. ``Clearly if that was to come about, there would be a price war," he said.
Mr Stump said the Bendigo announcement was ``somewhat confusing" as he had yet to see a can made by the technology planned to be used at the Bendigo plant.
Comalco reported yesterday that the recession had forced its rolled products division into losses in the June half.
It said the impact of imports, particulary from Europe, created an imbalance in the construction and general product markets in Australia.
© 1991 The Age
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