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Start-up of a roll forming development line at Novelis

Novelis has announced the start-up of a roll forming development line at the company’s Automotive Customer Solution Centre in Novi, Michigan. 

The new roll forming development line at Novelis' Automotive Customer Solution Centre in Novi, Michigan

The new roll forming line will help meet industry demand for a process that can produce large volumes of high-strength aluminium auto parts.

Located in Novi, Michigan, a suburb of Metro Detroit, the state-of-the-art production line will provide Novelis with the unique advantage of conducting full scope, year-round research and development on roll forming inhouse. The round-the-clock access to the line will facilitate innovation and expedite the process to ensure that complex, high-strength aluminium roll forming is developed, and process robustness is proven more swiftly.

Roll forming of automotive sheet

As the automotive industry moves toward electrification, it is demanding faster production of lighter, greener parts. With the roll forming process, strips of aluminium are incrementally formed in a continuous fashion to form a desired shape having various degrees of detail and strength. Offering a process that is scalable and customizable, aluminium roll forming provides significant opportunities for production of high-strength aluminium at scale. While roll forming is not new to the industry, its ability to produce complex high-strength aluminium parts has yet to be fully developed and will require innovation and investment to maximize its potential.

Novelis’ introduction of its own roll forming development line is a critical step to moving the technology forward. The shift to the mass production of aluminium-intensive vehicles is a natural next step as the industry prioritizes electrification and sustainability, as well as other benefits of aluminium, such as increased safety, reduced risk of corrosion and improved performance.

Close cooperation with automotive partners

“The auto industry understands the benefits of aluminium and is looking to Novelis to develop technology that supports their growth initiatives,” said Jamie Zinser, vice president, Global Automotive at Novelis. “One of these technologies is roll forming. We are introducing this development line to accelerate research and development, not to become a roll forming company. Our goal is to work with our automotive and Tier 1 partners to innovate and develop aluminium sheet technology that will support the electrification movement."

Novelis is the first flat-rolled aluminium company to invest in its own roll forming development line, which demonstrates its commitment to innovation and developing new technologies that will swiftly bring the weight, sustainability and cost benefits of high-strength aluminium to the automotive market on a mass scale.

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