Exhibit 99.1

News Release

For Immediate Release

ALERIS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF PURCHASE OF THE DOWNSTREAM ALUMINUM BUSINESS OF CORUS GROUP Plc

BEACHWOOD, OH-August 1, 2006 – Aleris International, Inc. (NYSE: ARS) announced today that it has completed the purchase of the downstream aluminum business of Corus Group plc. The acquisition includes Corus’s aluminum rolling and extrusion businesses but does not include Corus’s primary aluminum smelters.

Steve Demetriou, Chairman and CEO of Aleris International said, “We are extremely pleased to have completed this acquisition which continues the transformation of our company. We are delighted to welcome 4,600 new employees to Aleris. The acquisition provides Aleris with a world-class technology platform and a portfolio of high value-added products that significantly diversifies our current offerings. Today, we are a global company with significant assets in Europe and a foothold in the high-growth China economy. We expect to continue Aleris’s track record of growth and profitability and are very excited about the future.”

About Aleris

Aleris International, Inc. is a global leader in aluminum rolled products and extrusions, aluminum recycling and specification alloy production. The Company is also a recycler of zinc and a leading U.S. manufacturer of zinc metal and value-added zinc products that include zinc oxide and zinc dust. Headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the Company operates 50 production facilities in North America, Europe, South America and Asia, and employs approximately 8,600 employees. For more information about Aleris, please visit our Web site at www.aleris.com.

Contact:        Michael D. Friday

                       Aleris International, Inc.

                       Phone # 216-910-3503

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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, including the acquisition of the downstream aluminum businesses of Corus Group plc; its future growth; an anticipated favorable economic environment in 2006; future benefits from acquisitions and new products; expected benefits from changes in the industry landscape and post-hurricane reconstruction; and anticipated synergies resulting from the merger with Commonwealth, the acquisition of the downstream aluminum businesses of Corus Group plc 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, including any decline 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 (the “SEC”), 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 and in the section entitled “Risk Factors” contained in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 30, 2006.