Aleris International, Inc. Announces Organizational Changes Related to the Pending Acquisition of the Corus Aluminum Business

Aleris International, Inc. Announces Organizational Changes Related to the Pending Acquisition of the Corus Aluminum Business

July 03, 2006

    BEACHWOOD, Ohio, July 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Aleris
International, Inc. (NYSE: ARS) announced today several
organizational changes related to its planned acquisition
of the downstream aluminum businesses of Corus Group plc.

    Sean M. Stack, currently Senior Vice President,
Treasurer and Corporate Development of Aleris, will become
Executive Vice President of Aleris and President-Europe
upon completion of the pending Corus Aluminum acquisition. 
He will have regional leadership responsibility for all of
the European aluminum rolled products and extrusion
businesses to be acquired from Corus as well as
responsibility for all of Aleris's existing European-based
aluminum recycling and specification alloy businesses. 
Corus Aluminum's Canadian operations will report to John
Wasz, Executive Vice President, Aleris and President,
Aleris Rolled Products, North America. Mr. Stack joined
Aleris in 2004.  Previously, Mr. Stack served as Vice
President and Treasurer of Commonwealth Aluminum, and was
Vice President and Treasurer of Noveon, Inc. prior to
that.

    Alfred Haszler, currently Managing Director of Corus
Aluminum Rolled Products, will become, upon the closing of
the pending Corus Aluminum acquisition, Senior Vice
President of Aleris and President, Aleris Rolled and
Extruded Products-Europe.  He will have responsibility for
the European rolled products business, as well as the
aluminum extrusions business.  Werner Graf will continue to
lead the extrusion business as Managing Director, reporting
to Mr. Haszler.  In his new position, Mr. Haszler will
report jointly to Steve Demetriou, Chairman and CEO of
Aleris and Sean Stack. Mr. Haszler has served in his
current position since 2004, and has worked in various
management positions with Corus and the Koblenz plant
operations in Germany since 1970.

    Gerhard Buddenbaum, Executive Director, Corus Aluminum
Division and a member of the Corus Group plc. Executive
Committee previously announced his retirement from Corus,
effective June 30.  He will be retained by Aleris following
the acquisition as a senior consulting advisor.

    Commenting on the leadership announcements, Mr.
Demetriou said, "Alfred Haszler and Sean Stack will
bring aggressive and top quality leadership to our
expanding European business.  Alfred Haszler is well known
in the rolled products industry and will lead one of the
most capable and technically proficient businesses in our
industry.  Sean Stack brings financial acumen and strategic
vision to our European businesses.  Under their leadership,
I am confident we will have one of the strongest leadership
teams in our industry."

    He went on to say, "We look forward to having
Gerhard Buddenbaum on our team.  He has been a dynamic
executive in the aluminum industry throughout his long and
distinguished career. 

    The organizational changes are expected to take effect
upon the closing of the pending Corus transaction. The
closing of the acquisition is envisaged in the third
quarter of 2006.

    Aleris International, Inc. is a major North American
manufacturer of rolled aluminum products and is a global
leader in aluminum recycling and the production of
specification alloy.  We are also a leading manufacturer of
value-added zinc products that include zinc oxide, zinc dust
and zinc metal.  Headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb
of Cleveland, the Company operates 41 production facilities
in the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Wales, and employs
approximately 4000 employees.  For more information about
the Company, please visit our Web site at
http://www.aleris.com .

    SAFE HARBOR REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

    Forward-looking statements made in this news release
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These
include statements that contain words such as
"believe," "expect,"
"anticipate," "intend,"
"estimate," "should" and similar
expressions intended to connote future events and
circumstances, and include statements regarding future
actual and adjusted earnings and earnings per share; future
improvements in margins, processing volumes and pricing;
overall 2006 operating performance; anticipated higher
adjusted effective tax rates; expected cost savings;
success in integrating Aleris's recent acquisitions; its
future growth; an anticipated favorable economic
environment in 2006; future benefits from acquisitions and
new products; expected benefits from industry consolidation
and post-hurricane reconstruction; and anticipated synergies
resulting from the merger with Commonwealth and other
acquisitions.  Investors are cautioned that all
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
and that actual results could differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements. These risks
and uncertainties would include, without limitation,
Aleris's levels of indebtedness and debt service
obligations; its ability to effectively integrate the
business and operations of its acquisition; further
slowdowns in automotive production in the U.S. and Europe,
the financial condition of Aleris's customers and future
bankruptcies and defaults by major customers; the
availability at favorable cost of aluminum scrap and other
metal supplies that the Company processes; the ability of
the Company to enter into effective metals, natural gas and
other commodity derivatives; continued increases in natural
gas and other fuel costs of the Company; a weakening in
industrial demand resulting from a decline in U.S. or world
economic conditions caused by terrorist activities or other
unanticipated events; future utilized capacity of the
Company's various facilities; a continuation of building
and construction customers and distribution customers
reducing their inventory levels and reducing the volume of
the Company's shipments; restrictions on and future levels
and timing of capital expenditures; retention of the
Company's  major customers; the timing and amounts of
collections; currency exchange fluctuations; future
write-downs or impairment charges which may be required
because of the occurrence of some of the uncertainties
listed above; and other risks listed in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including but not limited to the Company's annual report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31, 2006, particularly the sections entitled "Risk
Factors" contained therein.

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050504/CLW056LOGO ) 

    For more information, please contact:

     Michael D. Friday
     Aleris International, Inc.
     Tel:  [phone]

SOURCE  Aleris International, Inc.