Aluminium plate and sheet are used in applications including aircraft fuselage and wing structures, while wing skin is a high specialised product that requires additional processing and pre-machining.

The contract includes the supply of material from Aleris' facilities in Koblenz, Germany, and Zhenjiang, China, the latter of which represents a US$350 million greenfield project for Aleris. This facility was qualified by Airbus for the production of aerospace material in 2015.

"This vote of confidence from Airbus validates our strategy to expand our global rolled products footprint and invest in technology as we are now able to extend our range of aerospace products and better serve Airbus,” said Sean Stack, president and CEO of Aleris.