Explosion at Kaiser Al plant to disrupt output

Kaiser Aluminum is still evaluating damage at its Sherman, Texas, plant after an explosion on 24 September — likely in a furnace — damaged equipment.

The Tennessee-based company expects production at the plant — which makes soft alloy aluminum extrusions using scrap — to be cut, but the extent is so far up in the air.

"We anticipate production will be disrupted, but it is too early to determine the scope of the damage to our other equipment [aside from the furnace] and the rest of the facility," the company told Argus.

The local fire department put out a small fire on 24 September following the explosion and there were no reported injuries.

Kaiser has a large network of other facilities and said many products typically made at Sherman can be produced elsewhere if need be. If production is diminished for an extended period, it could weigh on regional aluminum scrap prices, which are already down recently on falling metal futures, lower premiums and a lack of spot demand.

In addition to aluminum extrusions, Kaiser also makes plate, sheet, tube, wire, rod, forge stock and hard alloy shapes.

In early September, the company called off a force majeure it had announced at its Warrick Rolling mill in Indiana, initially caused by a lack of access to magnesium metal.

By John Betz