Constellium, Paris, plans to build two new casthouses for its Airware aerospace aluminum products at its plant in Issoire, France. 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 the Airbus A350 XWB, Bombardier’s CSeries, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Launcher.
One of the two new casthouses is part of the initial $71 million investment announced in 2013. Constellium plans to make an additional investment of about $59 million to build a second new casthouse and Airware-specific recycling capacity.
Building on the experience of the first casthouse inaugurated in March 2013, which is already producing Airware at an industrial scale, the two new state-of-the-art casthouses are expected to start and ramp-up production in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
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%. It 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.
