Italian aluminium window and door components manufacturer Master Group has unlocked a new chapter in its growth strategy as European private equity platform Equinox IV acquired a 60 per cent stake in the company. The investment, made in partnership with the founding Loperfido-Lacatena family, is aimed at reinforcing Master’s international expansion, boosting its production capacities and pursuing strategic acquisitions, with the ambition of building a leading European industrial group. The acquisition is the second investment in Equinox IV’s log book. The Loperfido-Lacatena family retains a 40 per cent stake, with co-founder and CEO Michele Loperfido would continue to lead the business alongside his children, Annacarla and Stefano, and the existing senior management team. To know the...
Hydro and Mercedes-Benz have expanded their long-standing partnership through a new long-term agreement covering the supply of low-carbon primary and recycled aluminium, strengthening efforts to reduce emissions across the automotive supply chain. The agreement will cover at least 10 per cent of Mercedes-Benz's primary aluminium demand and extend beyond 2030. Under the agreement, Hydro will progressively lower the carbon footprint of the primary aluminium supplied to Mercedes-Benz to 3.5 kg of CO2e per kg by 2028. The partnership will also introduce Hydro CIRCAL recycled aluminium, which contains at least 75 per cent post-consumer aluminium scrap, into Mercedes-Benz production from 2027. The agreement builds on the companies' collaboration established in 2022 and provides long-term demand...
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Jindal Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium extrusion company which controls domestic market share over 30% is expanding its focus on the defence and aerospace sector, as it forecasts these sectors to be more potential given the policy changes permitting private players, as per a senior company official. Bengaluru-based multi-million dollar company with 50 years of legacy is also the second-largest maker of aluminium flat-rolled products, taking 10-12% of the market share; and is the only manufacturer in the country equipped with 11 extrusion presses ranging from 6” extrusion press container to 12” extrusion press container. Jindal Aluminium products are consumed in more than 40 countries globally, contributing 15-20% of its topline sales annually, stated by Pragun Jindal Khaitan,...
The COVID-19 pandemic has not fickle the plans of Hydro Extrusion Poland Sp. Z.O.O. in Łódź, which employs 580 staffs and is looking for more 100 people. Hydro’s extrusion plant in Łódź has been operating for 21 years and has been manufacturing aluminium accessories for the automotive industry, mainly roof rails and decorative strips. The company employs specialists, engineers, operational and office workers and is constantly developing. Hydro Extrusion Poland plans to establish a new production line. It will be a paint shop that will directly affect the attractiveness of products that the company offers and one hundred people will be employed as production workers here. As per Hydro Extrusion Poland representative, the company emphasized that they take into account the Scandinavian work...
MELD Manufacturing Corporation, Christiansburg, Virginia, USA, has announced that it has additively manufactured a 3.05 metre (10 ft) diameter aluminium cylinder, which has potential to demonstrate the scalability of open-air MELD process. MELD is a patented, solid-state process for additive manufacturing, repairing, coating, and joining metals and metal matrix composites. Since MELD is an open-atmosphere process, no special vacuums or chambers are needed, making MELD scalable and able to make much larger parts than similar processes. The size of the cylinder is stated to be a milestone for the company and the metal additive manufacturing industry as a whole. Nanci Hardwick MELD Manufacturing Corporation CEO states, “There is no other technology that offers this ability to scale.”...
Vedanta has declined its aluminium products price after hiking the price of the same products on August 20. With effect from Saturday 22 August 2020, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 147,000-160,000 per tonne, marking a drop of INR 1,750 per tonne from INR 148,750-161,750 per tonne on August 20. With the latest decline, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 155,000 per tonne on August 22, a decrease of INR 1,750 per tonne from INR 156,750 per tonne on August 20. The Indian aluminium producers generally link prices of its products to the three-month futures of aluminium on London Metal Exchange. The three-month futures of aluminium are down by 4% so far due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta Limited cuts its aluminium Cost of...
The global bauxite production for 2020 has been predicted to shrink by 0.1%, to 344 mt, as per the UK headquartered data analytics and consulting company GlobalData, production is hardly affected by the interim halt of mines due to COVID-19 epidemic. GlobalData stated that the production in Australia is anticipated to rise by 1.9% to 107.2kt this year, accounting for almost a third of the global total. Australia, World’s largest producer of bauxite, Australia, also produces aluminium and steps up to focus at containing the spread of COVID-19 across the country’s mining regions expressed that bauxite operations have been marginally affected by COVID-19 disruptions. Australia’s largest bauxite mining firm Rio Tinto, reported production of 24.8Mt of bauxite in H1 2020, which reflects up by...
Rio Tinto filed renewal of licence this week for its Iceland Aluminium smelter (ISAL). However, the current operating license for the smelter at Straumsvík, near Hafnarfjörður, does not expire until 1 st November’20, as reported by the Environment Agency's website. In July, the company filed an official complaint against Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland and nation’s largest electricity generator to the Icelandic Competition Authority (ICA), alleging "anti-competitive conduct, through discriminatory pricing and long-duration power contracts". Rio Tinto stated: "Landsvirkjun's supply contracts bind customers to long-duration terms, rendering it impossible for alternative energy suppliers to either enter the Icelandic market or expand operations.” Landsvirkjun has stated:...
On Friday, August 21, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) said the country should check its aluminium imports and make use of “rich and almost inexhaustible” domestic resources instead, in line with the government’s self-reliant vision. The domestic aluminium consumption is expected to reach 10 million tonnes in the next ten years (FY2031-32). So, to meet the demand, India needs to ramp-up the production of the metal and also its raw materials. Bauxite production should be targeted to increase from 23 million tonnes in FY19 to approximately 70 million tonnes by FY2031-32, while the output of alumina from 7.4 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes, said FIMI Vice President R L Mohanty at a webinar. India is "favourably endowed with rich and almost inexhaustible resources of...
China Hongqiao Group, the world's biggest private-sector aluminium producer, reported 4.1% decline in production in the first half as it moved smelting capacity to southwest China to make use of hydro-electric power, Reuters reported. The company said on Friday its production of aluminium alloy products - the term the company uses for primary aluminium production – stood at 2.741 million tonnes in January-June 2020. The decline in output was "mainly because the group relocated some production equipment to the Yunnan green aluminium innovation industrial park," the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company’s revenue declined by 3.6% to 39.94 billion yuan ($5.78 billion) in the first half of 2020. Net profit stood 14.3% higher year-on-year following lower...
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a promising technology for assembly aluminium parts since 1995. All aluminium alloys can be welded including high-strength alloys (2000, 6000 and 7000 series). This method is also used and very popular for assembly dissimilar materials, such as aluminium - copper, aluminium - steel, Al foundry parts. However, FSW remains a technology reserved for high added value applications involving expensive equipment. StirWeld, a French young start-up firm has developed an FSW head that fits existing machining centres or NC machine tool. This makes FSW accessible by all the manufacturing companies, especially SMEs, as most of the job-shops are already equipped with the NC machine tool. This new welding device requires only a few hours of training and becomes a true...
Britain’s largest digital thermometer makes, Electronic Temperature Instruments (ETI), has rolled-out two metal thermometers designed for some the severe environments in the catering and food processing industries. The CaterTemp and Therma K Metal hand-held thermometers come with IP67 protection, as they are designed to withstand being placed in up to a metre of water for 30mins at a time. Both thermometers are housed in an extruded aluminium waterproof case and are said to incorporate the latest microprocessor technology with durability, designed for reliability and ease of use in day-to-day catering and food processing application. The CaterTemp Metal thermometer measures temperature over the range of -49.9°C to 299.9°C. The instrument features a large LCD. The unit also incorporates an...
According to the latest data revealed by the International Aluminium Institute, primary aluminium production in North America grew by 3,000 tonnes or 1 per cent in July 2020 to stand at 333,000 tonnes. In the month earlier (June), the output of primary aluminium in North America was 330,000 tonnes, declining by 16,000 tonnes or 4.62 per cent from 346,000 tonnes in May 2020. On a year-on-year calculation, North America’s primary aluminium production in July 2020 stood up by 11,000 tonnes or 3.42 per cent from 322,000 tonnes. During May-July this year, primary aluminium production in North America totalled 1.01 million tonnes, higher by 5 per cent than 962,000 tonnes of output during the same period last year. The latest data of the International Aluminium Institute also shows a...
According to a recent report, Jaguar Land Rover said that it could reduce carbon emissions by up to 26 per cent through its ongoing REALITY programme, an aluminium recycling programme aimed at reusing the metal recovered from existing JLR vehicles to produce new cars. Engineers working on REALITY aluminium recycling project could form a new and tested prototype aluminium alloy by using recycled aluminium material mixed with a lower amount of primary aluminium. This material, according to the British multinational automotive company, is comparable to the existing grade and quality it uses and has the potential to cut alloy product CO2 emissions by up to 26 per cent. JLR’s lead project manager for REALITY Gaëlle Guillaume said: “This project has allowed us, for the first time, to recover...
The economy of Peru is an upper-middle-income economy as classified by the World Bank and is the 47th largest in the world by total GDP. The majority of its economy is driven by industries such as mining, manufacturing, fishing, and tourism. The Southern American nation’s export of aluminium scrap reveals growth during 2017-19, though it remains an underrated market, as the volume of export recorded was 21,383 tonnes and foreign revenue generation stood at $16.30 million. The forecasted aluminium scrap export for 2020 has been analysed at 9993 tonnes and earnings to reach $6.80 million. When the evaluated export volume and earnings of 2020 get added to the existing three tears it reflects 31,376 tonnes and $23.10 million respectively. Peru’s has recorded aluminium scrap export in 2017...
Hindalco Industries Ltd has increased its aluminium products price for the second time in a row. With effect from Friday, 21 August 2020, the company’s wire rods price stands at INR 162,350 per tonne, marking an increase of 0.78% or INR 1,250 per tonne from INR 161,100 per tonne on August 20. The company is now selling its billets at INR 158,350 per tonne, up INR 1,250 per tonne from INR 157,100 per tonne with effect from Friday, 21 August 2020. Aluminium ingots price has come in at INR 151,250 per tonne, a hike of INR 1,250 per tonne from INR 150,000 per tonne on August 20. The Indian aluminium producers generally link prices of its products to the three-month futures of aluminium on London Metal Exchange. The three-month futures of aluminium declined by 4% so far in 2020 due to slower...
A SHOC launched performance energy drinks in cans. The proprietary natural energy blend of green coffee beans, yerba mate, coffee fruit extract and guarana are packaged in Ardagh 16 oz. cans. The drinks are available at national grocery and convenience stores across the U.S., including 7-11, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, and, within the next few months, Target. According to Scot DeLorme, Adrenaline Shoc Co-Founder, “In the last year, this relatively new category jumped to more than 10% of the $15 billion energy drink category.” “And there’s no signs of slowing down. Consumers are increasingly considering more functional ingredients with higher efficacy in their beverages and A SHOC delivers on all fronts.” Scot said, “Cans have actually been the preferred package for the energy drink business...
The Russian aluminium company Rusal has reportedly expressed an interest in reopening its Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc., the operations of which was suspended in February 2021, resulting in hundreds of layoffs, citing industrial unrest and damage to property. On Monday, the company’s Country Representative and General Manager Mr Vladimir Permyakov met with a team of ministers and other government officials on recommencing its bauxite operations. They have been asked to submit a report with valid plans to return to viability given its interest in future investment. During the meeting, Rusal pointed out several labour-related issues that they faced earlier, such as the Upper Berbice River block, which was a hindrance to the access to conduct critical works in the mine. “They stressed also...
Africa produced 133,000 tonnes of primary aluminium in July 2020. The output registered a decrease of 2.92% from 137,000 tonnes in July 2019. The output reduced by 4.32% from May 2020’s production of 139,000 tonnes but up 2.31% from June 2020’s production of 130,000 tonnes, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Primary aluminium production stood at 937,000 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020 as compared to 960,000 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019. This marked a decrease of 2.4% or 23,000 tonnes year-on-year. IAI reported that primary aluminium production in Africa came in at 1.643 million tonnes in 2019 as compared to 1.668 million tonnes in 2018. That was down 1.5 per cent year-on-year.
Three-month LME aluminium declined 0.5% to end at US$1,783 per tonne on Thursday. As of Thursday August 20, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1755.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1755.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1791.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1791.50 per tonne; Dec 21 bid price stands at US$ 1868.50 per tonne, and Dec 21 offer price stands at US$ 1868.50 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1578200 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1355900 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 222300 tonnes. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 1782.68per tonne. SHFE Aluminium Price Trend Benchmark aluminium price for SHFE increased to stand at US$ 2144 per tonne on Friday, 21 August 2020. The...
