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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Three-month LME aluminium fell by 1.04 per cent to end at US$ 1,759.5 per tonne on Friday as the dollar index strengthened. Open interest added 2,430 lots to 802,000 lots as longs added positions. The contract is likely to trade between US $1,740-1,800 per tonne today. As of Friday, August 7, both LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price stood at US$ 1744 per tonne, up by US$ 22 per tonne from to US$ 1722 per tonne on August 6. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price rebounded to US$ 1780 per tonne, following a downfall of US$ 21.50 per tonne to US$ 1758.50 per tonne on the previous day. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price came in at US$ 1858.50 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock declined from 1632325 tonnes to 1626850 tonnes. Live Warrants hovered...
Canada has declared $2.7 billion tariffs on US aluminium products following the day after US President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on some Canadian aluminium products. However, Canada and the USA outstretched a deal last year to lift tariffs on aluminium imports that had been enforced on grounds of national security. On 6 th August’20, Trump administration reinstituted them to protect the US industry. The retaliatory tariff declared by Canada will start its effect from 16 th September’20. The counter steps were made public after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland formerly promised a "dollar-for-dollar" fight. She said: "At a time when we are fighting a global pandemic. A trade dispute is the last thing anyone needs - it will only hurt the economic recovery on both sides of the...
Utkarsha Aluminium Dhatu Nigam Limited (UADNL), a joint venture firm of Nalco and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, has reportedly floated a tender to hire a consultancy firm who would be getting environmental clearance for UADNL's proposed high-end aluminium alloy plant at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. The consultancy firm will have to obtain environmental clearance, including preparation or conducting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies and preparation of environmental management plan for the project site and other studies. The tender document said the environmental consultant will fulfil the statutory requirement and assist UADNL in obtaining environmental clearance for the Nellore project from appropriate authorities. The joint venture was formed to set up a high-end aluminium alloy...
Vedanta has raised its aluminium products price after cutting it on 7th August. With effect from Saturday, 08 August 2020, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 149,000-162,000 per tonne, an increase of INR 2,000 per tonne from INR 147,000-160,000 per tonne on August 7. With the latest hike, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 157,000 per tonne on August 8, a rise of INR 2,000 per tonne from INR 155,000 per tonne on August 7. 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 3% so far due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta Limited cuts its aluminium Cost of Production (CoP) in the fourth quarter of FY20...
The Supreme Court of India on 7 th August’20 issued contempt notice to the top executives of National Aluminium Company (Nalco), including its executive director (Marketing) R N Mohapatra and CMD Tapan Kumar Chand, on a petition by Vedanta alleging “willful disobedience” of its January judgment that allowed its UK-based arm to participate in the state-run aluminium producer’s tender for the sale of surplus 30,000 MT of metallurgical-grade calcined alumina. A bench led by Chief Justice SA Bobde solicited a response from the top Nalco brass as to why contempt should not be initiated against them for “clear deviation from the requirement recorded in it January 14 judgment,” as alleged by Vedanta. The Supreme Court had permitted Vedanta Resources to bid for Nalco’s alumina tenders meant for...
National Aluminium Company Limited has continued to increase its aluminium ingots and products prices for the third time in a row, with effect from Friday, August 7, 2020. Nalco’s aluminium ingots price is now standing at INR 148,750-152,250 per tonne, up by INR 3050-3100 per tonne or 2.09 per cent from INR 145,700 – 149,150 per tonne on August 1. The price of aluminium wire rods has also been raised by INR 3,100 per tonne or 2.08 per cent from INR 149,150-153,500 per tonne to INR 152,250-156,600 per tonne. Nalco, on the other hand, is selling its aluminium billets price at INR 152,200-154,850 per tonne since the latest hike. This registers an increase of INR 2,850-3,100 per tonne or 1.9-2.04 per cent from INR 149,350- 151,750 per tonne on August 1. Like any other major Indian aluminium...
The American President Donald Trump on 6 th August’20 declared the re-impose of Section 232 aluminium tariffs on Canada to stop an unusual surge of imports from Canada. Over the past twelve months, Canada’s imports of unalloyed primary aluminium to the United States have increased by over 95%. Michael Bless, President and CEO, Century Aluminum Company, praised the President’s action: “President Trump’s action demonstrates this administration’s continued dedication to restoring the U.S. aluminium industry and American jobs. As policymakers focus on shoring up our manufacturing base and enhancing supply chain resiliency, the President’s leadership helps to secure continued domestic production of this vital strategic material and level the playing field for thousands of American aluminium...
Shanghai Metals Market found China’s alumina production stood at 5.91 million tonnes in July 2020, including 5.7 million tonnes of metallurgical-grade alumina. The output increased by 3.50 per cent from 5.71 million tonnes in June 2020. China’s total alumina output in the first seven months of the year amounted to 38.34 million tonnes, down by 6.54 per cent from the year earlier, showed SMM data. China’s daily alumina production was 183,000 tonnes in July, registering a hike of 0.29 per cent month-on-month and 0.04 per cent over the year. The month-on-month increase in production could be attributed to Luoyang Wanji, SPIC Aluminium & Power Investment, and Chongqing Bosai as they restored some capacities. As of early August, the operating capacity of metallurgical-grade alumina stood at...
Hindalco Industries Ltd reduced its aluminium products price after raising it for the fourth time in a row. With effect from Friday August 7, Hindalco aluminium ingots price now stands at INR 148,250 per tonne, a decrease of 1% or INR 1,500 per tonne from INR 149,750 per tonne on August 6. The company is now selling its wire rods and billets at INR 159,350 per tonne and INR 155,350 per tonne with effect from Friday August 7 2020, registering a decline of INR 1,500 per tonne each from August 6. 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 so far in 2020 due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak but have come off their recent lows....
Metro Mining planned to shutdown Bauxite Hills mine for wet season if further sales cannot be concluded in the next month. The company has not sold bauxite for 2020 outside the foundation Xinfa contract. “Negotiations with refineries continue to advance, however no further bauxite has been sold for 2020 outside the foundation Xinfa contract,” the company said. “It is likely the period of closure would extend from mid-September through to April 2021 when deliveries into existing Xinfa contract would recommence (2.3M WMT sold). However, the mine could reopen in 2020 if justified by further sales.” “The strong operational performance in early 2020 has delivered robust cashflows leaving Metro in a good financial position.” The company produced and shipped 1,419k wet metric tonnes (WMT) and...
A further decision on the future of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will be announced to staff in four to six weeks, as stated by Forsyth Barr, a New Zealand owned investment management services firm. The Tiwai aluminium smelter’s majority stakeholder, Rio Tinto, announced in June’20 that it planned to pull down the smelter by August’21 after failing to reach an agreement over the desired reduction in its power bills. Forsyth Barr said: “Electricity industry investors should assume the smelter would close by the end of August next year and that anything else would be an upside.” The New Zealand Government turned rigid that there would be no further government funds going into the smelter and that it would rather support Southland in creating new opportunities for the 1000 staff and...
Ball Corporation reported second quarter 2020 net earnings attributable to the corporation of $94 million on sales of $2.8 billion, compared to $197 million net earnings attributable to the corporation on sales of $3.0 billion in 2019. For the first six months of 2020, net earnings attributable to the corporation of $117 million on sales of $5.6 billion, compared to $314 million net earnings attributable to the corporation on sales of $5.8 billion for the first six months of 2019. Ball's second quarter and year-to-date 2020 comparable earnings per diluted share were 65 cents and $1.26, respectively, representing, year-over-year second quarter and year-to-date growth of 2 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Second quarter and year-to-date results reflect the 2019 sale of the company's...
The UK-based Precision Technologies Group (PTG) outstandingly developed Powerstir friction stir welding (FSW) machines that could soon reinvent how Europe’s leading manufacturers of railway rolling stock produce aluminium carriage bodies. The new machines possess a 30 by 4 m moving gantry. The manufacturers in Europe typically use a combination of TIG and MIG welding to create railway panel welds, but the friction stir technique is superior. One leading European train builder already counts on that using its newly purchased Powerstir FSW machine will drive to a reduction in the wall thickness of panels, with the potential for weight savings of as much as 30%. PTG is extensively considered to be a leader in the development of FSW technologies for transport applications. Since their launch,...
Grupa Kety, the Polish aluminium extruder has reported with a record rise of sales in the Q2. The aluminium firm secured new export markets from suppliers that were forced to axe production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of Grupa Kety surged by 5% on the year to 22,000 tonnes in April-June regardless of a huge slump in deliveries to the automotive and transport sectors. However, the company was operating at 96% of capacity all over the quarter. The key driver for the sales to rise as it came from growth in exports to wholesalers in Germany. It obtained the market share from Italian producers that were forced to reduce output because of national lockdown measures. A depreciation in the zloty against the euro further boosted Grupa Kety's advantage over Eurozone manufacturers. German...
Following the United States announcement to restore the 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian non-alloyed unwrought aluminium, Canada has decided to retaliate with counter tariffs on the US. The news came after Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland said in a statement that Canada intends to swiftly impose dollar-for-dollar countermeasures, in response to the American tariffs. She called the United States new tariffs “unwarranted and unacceptable,” noting that Canadian aluminium does not undermine U.S. national security but strengthens it. She added that these tariffs were the last thing that American and Canadian workers needed during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis. According to Chrystia Freeland, the tariffs would bring in another toll on workers and regional...
On Thursday, August 6, the US President Donald Trump declared to reimpose 10 per cent tariffs on non-alloyed unwrought aluminium imported from Canada, as a measure to protect the US aluminium industry. Speaking in Ohio, Trump said these tariffs were necessary to defend the US aluminium industry as the imports from Canada surged above historical levels in recent months, despite a drop in US demand. The office of the United States Trade Representative pointed out that in May 2019, Canada was exempted from tariffs "on the basis of an agreement that imports of steel and aluminium products from Canada would remain at historical levels." In 2018, the US had imposed an additional 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium from Canada and other countries, which fuelled a...
Hindalco Industries Ltd has raised its aluminium products price for the fourth time in a row. With effect from Thursday August 6, Hindalco aluminium ingots price now stands at INR 149,750 per tonne, an increase of 1.35% or INR 2,000 per tonne from INR 147,750 per tonne on August 5. The company is now selling its wire rods and billets at INR 160,850 per tonne and INR 156,850 per tonne with effect from Thursday, August 6 2020, registering a hike of INR 2,000 per tonne each from August 5. 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 so far in 2020 due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak but have come off their recent lows. Aluminium...
Vedanta has raised its aluminium products price for the fourth time in a row. With effect from Thursday, 06 August 2020, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 148,500-161,500 per tonne, an increase of INR 2,000 per tonne from INR 146,500-159,500 per tonne on August 5. With the latest hike, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 156,500 per tonne on August 6, a rise of INR 2,000 per tonne from INR 154,500 per tonne on August 5. 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 3% so far due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta Limited cuts its aluminium Cost of Production (CoP) in the fourth quarter of FY20 by...
