Alcoa (NYSE:AA) today announced it has temporarily idled its aluminum smelter in Aviles, Spain as a result of torrential flooding in the Asturias region of Spain late last week. The Aviles smelter has a production capacity of 93,000 metric tons per year.
The Aviles smelter and surrounding region suffered severe flooding last week, including the electrical substation that supplies power to the smelter.
The smelter will continue to be idled while clean-up from the flood is conducted and complete damage assessments can be made. Customers of the plant have been notified that the force majeure provisions of contracts have been triggered, impacting shipments and deliveries.
As the flooding occurred, Alcoa personnel were able to safely raise anodes out of their pots and help mitigate some of the flood’s impact. However, water entered the plant and substation, requiring the idling and clean-up and repair work. The Aviles plant directly employs approximately 500 people.
Alcoa is working with local community representatives, government leaders, and its insurance carriers and will provide additional details once the complete damage assessment, impact and timetable can be determined.
Source: http://www.alcoa.com/