"Aluminum Cannot Rust" — Fairmont's Industrial Resilience

City Manager Travis L. Blosser's remarks at the September 14th ribbon cutting of Kibar Americas' aluminum rolling operation in Fairmont. In 2025, Fairmont was rocked by the news that Novelis, an aluminum roller, would be shuttering its Fairmont operation, ending over 100-years of that facility's continued operation in the Friendly City. Almost exactly one year later, Kibar Americas, an American subsidiary of Assan Aluminium based in Istanbul, Türkiye, announced it would be acquiring and reopening the facility. City Manager Blosser's remarks highlight the resilience of the City of Fairmont's industrial heritage despite the disinvestment that has happened across the American Rust Belt, and that our City exemplifies the grit and determination that make American manufacturing so valuable.