Aleris International, Inc. Announces Zinc Investment In China

Aleris International, Inc. Announces Zinc Investment In China

June 06, 2006

    BEACHWOOD, Ohio, June 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Aleris
International, Inc. (NYSE: ARS) announced today that it is
constructing a zinc recycling facility in the Economic
Development Zone of Changshu, China, approximately 100
kilometers outside of Shanghai.  The plant will recycle
secondary zinc materials generated in the steel galvanizing
process. The plant will also produce various zinc products,
including zinc oxide, which will be sold to customers in
the fast growing tire, chemicals and other industries. 
Production is expected to commence in the third quarter of
2007.  Initially the plant will produce approximately
16,000 metric tons of zinc oxide annually. 

    This project represents Aleris's first direct
investment in the fast growing China economy and coincides
with the Chinese national drive to focus on the environment
and the recycling of valuable raw materials.  The Company
plans to expand its presence in China and the rest of Asia
and has recently opened regional offices in Shanghai and
Hong Kong to pursue additional opportunities in its
aluminum recycling and rolled products businesses.  

    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 alloys.  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, Netherlands,
Mexico and Wales, and employs approximately 4,000
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.