Kaiser Aluminum Announces Additional $14 Million in New Investment Initiatives to Increase Extrusion Capabilities and Enhance Efficiency

-- Increases organic growth investment program total to $244 million

-- Enhances capabilities at Tulsa, Okla., teaming the facility with the company's world-class London, Ontario, facility to supply growing need for automotive extrusions

-- Expands capacity for Kaiser Select(R) at Sherman, Texas, facility

-- Deploys "future state" upgrade featuring environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient casting equipment at Trentwood (Spokane, Wash.)

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved $14 million in additional investments to enhance and expand extrusion capabilities at its Tulsa, Okla., and Sherman, Texas, facilities, and deploy "future state" upgrades to the casting complex at its Trentwood (Spokane, Wash.) facility. The additional investments increase the capital expenditures of Kaiser Aluminum's organic growth program to $244 million.

The investments expand Kaiser Select(R) capabilities at Tulsa to produce automotive extrusions. Teaming with the company's world-class London, Ontario, extrusion facility, Tulsa will provide additional capacity to meet growing customer commitments for automotive applications. Demand for automotive applications has been driven by fuel price pressure and new regulations, such as stricter CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards now mandating a 40 percent improvement in fleet-wide fuel efficiency by 2020.

Equipment upgrades at Sherman will expand capabilities to produce Kaiser Select(R) products, which meet the most stringent standards for quality and consistency. The upgrades will also increase efficiency and capacity at the facility, which produces extruded products for ground transportation and industrial applications.

"We're continuing to aggressively pursue attractive growth and efficiency opportunities in our businesses," said Jack A. Hockema, chairman, president and CEO of Kaiser Aluminum. "These additions to our organic growth program will allow us to further serve the growing needs of our customers and continue to improve our quality, efficiencies and costs."

The investment at the Trentwood facility will significantly improve energy efficiency in its casting process, reducing natural gas consumption per pound cast. The improvements will incorporate a state-of-the-art furnace and combustion system design, utilizing environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient regenerative burners and allowing for reduced material waste.

"This is the second casting unit at Trentwood to be upgraded in a strategic move toward a highly-efficient, future-state casting operation," said Hockema. "The investment complements our ongoing $139 million heat treat plate expansion at Trentwood."

Kaiser Aluminum, headquartered in Foothill Ranch, Calif., is a leading producer of fabricated aluminum products, serving customers worldwide with highly-engineered solutions for aerospace and high-strength, general engineering, and automotive and custom industrial applications. The company's 11 plants in North America annually produce more than 500 million pounds of value-added sheet, plate, extrusions, forgings, rod, bar and tube products, adhering to traditions of quality, innovation and service that have been key components of our culture since the company was founded in 1946. The company's stock is included in the Russell 2000(R) index. For more information, please visit www.kaiseraluminum.com.

Certain statements in this release relate to future events and expectations and, as a result, constitute forward-looking statements involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include: (a) the effectiveness of management's strategies and decisions; (b) adverse changes in economic or aluminum industry conditions generally; (c) adverse changes in the markets served by the company, including the aerospace, defense, general engineering, automotive, distribution and other markets; (d) the company's ability to complete the investment included in its organic growth program as planned and by targeted completion dates; (e) the company's ability to meet contractual commitments and obligations to supply products meeting required specifications; (f) the company's inability to achieve the level of sales, cash generation, margin improvements, cost savings, or earnings or revenue growth anticipated by management; (g) developments in technology used by the company, its competitors or its customers; (h) changes in laws, governmental regulations or policies, currency exchange rates or competitive factors in the markets served by the company; (i) customer performance; (j) significant legal proceedings or investigations adverse to the company, including environmental, product liability, safety and health and other claims; and (k) the other risk factors summarized in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Kaiser Aluminum Corporation

Released February 13, 2008