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Canada - Mapcan opens new Alliston molten secondary aluminum alloy plant

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Molten Aluminum Producer Canada officially opened its new molten aluminum alloy plant in Alliston, Canada.

The company, a joint venture between the Honda Trading group of companies (65% ownership) and Asahi Seiren Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan (35% ownership), will supply molten aluminum to the new Honda of Canada Mfg. (HCM) engine plant scheduled to open this fall.

Mapcan's new 97,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to produce 50,000 mt/year of aluminum. The facility will house four large regenerative furnaces to recycle the heat from the process; use recycled aluminum that requires only 5% of the energy necessary to make "new" aluminum, while not impacting the quality of properties of foundry alloys; and ensure that all processes, inputs and waste are contained within the facility, controlling any potential dust and noise, while enabling a dust-collection and filtration system to filter and purify air before it is released.

Motohide Sudo, president and CEO, Honda Trading, said, "Material that could otherwise end up as landfill -- household siding, wheels, cars and other scrap aluminum -- is recycled into quality-built, four-cylinder Honda automobile engines. Virtually 100% of the molten aluminum we supply to Honda will come from recycled material," he said.

Molten aluminum from the $16 million facility will be delivered to HCM's nearby engine plant for diecasting, where engine components will be formed and then used in the engine assembly process for just-in-time delivery to the company's vehicle production line. The HCM operation will have the capacity to produce 200,000 engines annually.

The facility is the first Honda supplier in North America to deliver molten aluminum directly to diecast machines.

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