Company: CENX
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000949157-25-000024
Chunk: 9

Company: CENTURY ALUMINUM CO
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 9
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 continue to operate under the current agreements.

Competition

The market for primary aluminum is global, and demand for aluminum varies widely from region to region. We compete with aluminum producers domestically and internationally, as well as with producers of alternative materials such as steel, copper, carbon fiber, composites, plastic and glass, each of which may be substituted for aluminum in certain applications. Our competitive position depends, in part, on the availability of electricity, alumina and our other key raw materials to our operations at competitive prices. We face global competition from companies who may have access to these key production costs at lower prices, and they may also receive various subsidies from local, state and federal governments. Many of our competitors are also larger than we are and have vertically integrated operations with superior cost positions. As a result, these companies may be better able to withstand reductions in price or other adverse industry or economic conditions.

Competitive Advantages

While we face significant competition, we also have several competitive advantages. We believe our key competitive advantages are:

Focus on Primary Aluminum Business. We operate principally in the production of primary aluminum. By concentrating our activities in primary aluminum production, we are able to focus our resources on optimizing the cost effectiveness of our existing operations, minimizing overhead costs and maintaining a market position where our products are ultimately targeted toward a broad range of end uses.

Strong Internal Growth Opportunities. Over the past several years, we have undertaken various expansion programs at all of our operating facilities and continue to pursue additional internal growth opportunities. In 2022, we completed a project to restart approximately 172,000 tonnes of production capacity at Mt. Holly (bringing its operations to 75% of Mt. Holly's maximum production capacity) and can restart another 58,000 tonnes of production capacity in the future provided we are able to obtain sufficient energy at competitive rates.

In 2024, Century completed construction of the Grundartangi Casthouse Project. The new value-added casthouse can produce up to 150,000 tonnes of billet and 120,000 tonnes of primary foundry alloys, in each case from existing Grundartangi production. 

Since our purchase of the Vlissingen facility, we have completed a variety of expansion projects and efficiency programs in order to more than double its production capacity. Vlissingen supplies anodes primarily to our Grundartangi smelter, meeting 93% to 98% of Grundartangi’s carbon anodes requirements at current production levels. We continue to pursue additional internal growth opportunities to maximize efficiencies and improve