Oswego, N.Y. – Crews at the massive Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego County are working around the clock to repair fire damage that is costing one of its major customers $1 billion in lost truck sales.
Novelis released photos Friday showing workers installing new steel trusses in a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation to replace a 40,000-square-foot section of roof on the plant’s hot mill.
The roof was damaged in a fire the night of Sept. 16 that took more than 20 fire departments four hours to extinguish. The cause is under investigation.
Employees safely evacuated the plant during the fire. No one was injured. But the damage to the hot mill has temporarily shut down the plant’s ability to heat aluminum ingots, the first step in making rolls of aluminum sheets that automakers like Ford use in vehicle body panels.
On Thursday, Ford estimated that interruptions to its supply of aluminum from Novelis will cost it $1.5 billion to $2 billion in earnings before interest and taxes in 2025. The automaker said it expects to boost production of its trucks, including its popular F-series pickups, in 2026 to reduce the fire-related earnings “headwinds” by about $1 billion.
Novelis said it has brought in stadium lighting so crews can rebuild the damaged section of the hot mill’s roof and perform other repair work around the clock.
Repairs to the roof and adjacent structural damage began on Oct. 8. Leading up to the start of the repairs, all ductwork in the hot mill was removed and a 500-ton crane was brought onsite, the company said.
On Wednesday, crews began installing new trusses for the portion of the roof that is being replaced. That portion represents about 40,000 square feet of the total roof surface of nearly 1.5 million square feet, according to Novelis.
Large-scale scaffolding has been erected to allow crews to remove and assess the hot mill’s major electrical components, the company said.
Company spokesperson Lauren Thompson said teams are working with “extreme urgency” to order parts needed to repair the mill. Of the 2,455 parts in the hot mill that need to be replaced, about 1,900 are already on hand while the others are on order, she said.
Firefighters attacked the fire from outside the building, pouring 5 million gallons of water on its roof. All the water has been removed from the facility and a major cleaning effort is underway throughout the plant “zone by zone,” Thompson said.
In addition, all motors from the hot mill are being inspected and will be reinstalled and tested after any needed repairs, she said.
Novelis employs 1,150 people at the plant in Scriba near Oswego. It is one of Oswego County’s largest employers.
According to Novelis, all employees returned to work within days of the fire, with the plant’s recycling/ingot casting, cold mill and finishing mill back in operation.
