United Arab Emirates firm buys majority stake in Rosemount’s Spectro Alloys aluminum recycler

A United Arab Emirates firm has purchased a majority stake in the Rosemount-based aluminum recycler Spectro Alloys.

No sale price was given, but the deal announced this week places 80% of Spectro in the hands of Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the largest producer of “premium aluminum” in the world.

The Palen family, which currently owns the operation, will retain 20% ownership.

“We are super excited,” said CEO Luke Palen. The plant’s 150 workers will be retained at the quickly growing operation.

Just last March, Gov. Tim Walz attended a groundbreaking ceremony on a $71 million expansion that will double the size of the Rosemount plant and could add about 50 jobs.

Construction of the new addition is completed, but the factory won’t begin operating until next year when the company installs new equipment, Palen said.

Right now, the plant produces aluminum ingots, which are then used by other companies to make motorcycle and vehicle engine casings, lawn mowers and other products. With the expansion, the plant also will produce larger aluminum billets and sheet-metal ingots.

The expansion will allow the plant to add recycled soda and beer cans to the industrial scrap it currently processes.

EGA already has aluminum billet and sheet metal customers for the new products, which should allow the Spectro workforce to grow beyond the 50 promised jobs — and more quickly, Palen said.

Spectro currently processes 45,000 pounds of aluminum every hour and has processed nearly 6 billion pounds since the firm started in 1973.

Palen said the move with EGA “will unlock the next stage of our development in the fast-growing aluminum recycling industry. In the near term, this will allow us to accelerate our ongoing expansion project. In the long term, this is a big win for the future of aluminum recycling in the United States.”

EGA was interested in an operation in the United States, one of the company’s largest markets, said EGA Chief Executive Abdulnasser Bin Kalban in a statement.

“This acquisition will significantly grow our business and expand our offering to customers with our domestic production,” Bin Kalban said. “Spectro Alloys has a strong and highly experienced team which is already implementing ambitious expansion plans and will be a strong platform for the further development of an EGA recycling business in the United States.”

Spectro’s plant expansion and its new ability to recycle junked consumer soda and beer cans into a new sheet metal product has been welcome news for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said MPCA recycling market coordinator Wayne Gjerde.

Spectro Alloys had traditionally been known for converting old aluminum hubcaps, siding and industrial scrap into ingots that were eventually melted down to become new parts for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, boat motors, Polaris ATVs and snowmobiles and Par Aide machines that wash golf balls.

Spectro showcased the company’s recycling prowess with an exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair last month.

“Sharing our recycling process with the community has been an incredibly special experience, especially getting to do it at the Great Minnesota Get-together,” Palen said.

This week’s sale announcement nudges Spectro a bit more onto the world stage and makes it perhaps a bigger player in a fast-growing industry.

The United States is already the second-largest recycled aluminum market in the world. America consumes about 4.9 million metric tons of recycled aluminum each year. That’s expected to reach about 7.6 million metric tons per year by 2033.

EGA sold about 550,000 metric tons of primary aluminum in the United States in 2023.

Recycled aluminum is expected to account for 60% of the growth in the global aluminum supply chain between now and 2030, EGA and Spectro officials said.