
Aluminium production depends on high-temperature processes where furnace efficiency, thermal management and equipment durability are essential for maintaining operational performance. However, refractory materials used in melting, holding and casting operations face continuous exposure to extreme temperatures, thermal fluctuations, chemical corrosion and mechanical wear. These conditions can lead to premature furnace-lining failure, molten-metal penetration, corundum formation and heat loss, increasing maintenance requirements and operating costs. Addressing these challenges requires materials that can withstand demanding operating conditions while keeping equipment efficient and reliable. Alkegen, a supplier of high-temperature refractory and insulation materials, serves this requirement...
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has strengthened its profitability despite a challenging nine-month period marked by operational disruptions, constrained exports and reduced aluminium production. The UAE-based producer reported an improved adjusted EBITDA margin for the first nine months of 2026, supported by higher realised aluminium prices, a stronger value-added product mix and cost-control measures. Meanwhile, the company is progressing with the restoration of its Al Taweelah facilities, expanding its international recycling footprint and advancing its global smelting technology partnerships. EGA recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of USD 1.572 billion (AED 5.773 billion) during January-September 2026, compared with USD 1.738 billion...
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The East of England Co-op has launched a new campaign with Ipswich Borough Council to encourage more recycling in Ipswich, England. East of England Co-op said the retailer will run an in-store trial to increase awareness of items that can and can’t be recycled, and will introduce recycling points for plastic packaging, carrier bags and batteries in its 20 stores across Ipswich. The items that can be recycled include aerosol cans, aluminium foil- must be clean and rolled into a tennis sized ball, TetraPak cartons among others. Roger Grosvenor, Joint Chief Executive for the East of England Co-op said: “The reaction to our Co-op Guide to Dating campaign inspired us to look at other ways we can help our customers to reduce waste. Whilst doing our research we became bamboozled by the...

The German association of the aluminium industry (GDA) had pointed out in August 2018 that the development of business activity in the German aluminium sector until then remained positive. The production reportedly increased in the first half of the year – up 0.9 per cent by aluminium producers and 0.4 per cent by semis-producers. So, the overall expectations for 2018 were hopeful. GDA’s executive director Christian Wellner particularly explained: “Despite political uncertainties, the German economy has developed well so far this year. On top of these favourable general conditions, there are the positive economic forecasts for aluminium, which are pointing upwards for nearly all product sectors in Germany and the rest of Europe.” This indicates that the country imports a significant...

Carlisle Companies Incorporated has completed the acquisition of Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based Petersen Aluminum Corporation for approximately $197 million in an all-cash transaction. Petersen’s manufactures and distributes architectural metal roof panels, steel and aluminium flat sheets and coils, wall panels, perimeter roof edge systems and related accessories for commercial, residential, institutional, industrial and agricultural markets. Chris Koch, CEO and President of Carlisle , said, "The acquisition of Petersen is part of our strategy of providing customers with a portfolio of high quality, innovative products and solutions that meet an increasing array of their building envelope needs.” “Petersen is an excellent fit with our recent acquisitions in the metal roofing space,...

The US dollar remained flat and the safe-haven yen rose, after an unexpectedly sharp fall in China’s exports grew concerns about the global economy. Base metals fell across the board overnight. LME aluminium edged down and SHFE aluminium fell 0.49%. LME aluminium contract closed Monday’s trading at US$ 1775.5 per tonne.LME aluminium extended declines further during the European trading session, and dipped to a low of US$1,807 per tonne. It settled at US$1,830 per tonne with open interests up 6,980 lots. SMM expects the contract to trade at US$1,810-1,845 per tonne today. As on January 14, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1775 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1775.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1813 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price today, on January 15, has extended its plunge further from RMB 13,240 per tonne to RMB 13,200 per tonne. This marks the second consecutive fall of aluminium ingot prices since the week began. Yesterday, on January 14, the ingot price dropped from RMB 13,310 per tonne to RMB 13,240 per tonne. Today, the average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,180 per tonne and RMB 13,220 per tonne, with spot discount to settle at RMB 20 per tonne. The aluminium ingot price in the east has fallen by RMB 40 per tonne from RMB 13,235 per tonne to RMB 13,195 per tonne while in the south and north, the prices have dropped by RMB 50 per tonne and RMB 60 per tonne from RMB 13,235 per tonne to RMB 13,210 per tonne and from RMB 13,270...

Downstream sector of aluminium has seen an event full 2018, again marked by continuous expansions around the world. Demand remained strong in North America, Japan and Europe. China had a lacklustre year as for downstream growth is concerned. Restrictive trade policies by the U.S. president Trump have affected international trade to a certain extent. 10% import tariffs on aluminium and punitive sanctions on Rusal by the U.S. have also affected the market dynamics. Growing demand for aluminium moved the market in 2018 despite all trade disruptions and auto industry shaped the uptrend. Policy Changes, Import Tariff and Investigations 2018 saw continuation of the protective trade policies of Trump that was announced during the President’s election campaign. On 9th March 2018, Trump imposed...

Andersen Corporation, America's premier window and door manufacturer, broke ground on its new 500,000 square foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Goodyear, Arizona. The company plans to invest more than $105 million in the development with the expectation of creating more than 415 jobs during the first phase of this expansion. The manufacturing campus will be owned and operated by Andersen Regional Manufacturing, Inc., a subsidiary of Andersen Corporation, and is expected to be operational in early 2020. "Our vision is to make the world a better place by living up to the promise that everyone benefits from their association with Andersen – our employees, customers, distribution partners, suppliers, shareholders and the communities in which we live and work, which now includes...

The world’s largest consumer tradeshow CES 2019 at Las Vegas reportedly witnessed a launch of a flagship commercial laptop the Primus NX301 by Nexstgo. The event also reportedly observed Nexstgo’s partnership with Foxit, a leading US-based software company, to have its PhantomPDF preinstalled as a Universal Windows Platform in all Nexstgo commercial PC products. Alex Chung, CEO of Nexstgo, expects 2019 to bring in a great demand for quality ultra-thin laptops at competitive prices across Asia-Pacific markets. And in that aspect, Nexstgo, according to him, will continue to deliver breakthrough commercial and business-grade laptops that are innovative and will suit changing tastes of consumers. He particularly said at the event, “An example of this is our partnership with Foxit to provide...

Global packaging company Amcor partnered with Danone to develop new packaging for cold-fill dairy products. The transparent 200-ml polyethylene terephthalate (PET) jar with a wide-mouth opening and an aluminium-PET-aluminium closure with a 65mm over cap in clear polypropylene (PP) was developed for Danone’s La Serenísima’s yogurt. Martin Darmandrail, New Business Development Director for Amcor in Argentina said: “This wide-mouth PET jar is an entirely new format offering for cold-fill dairy products. In a market historically dominated by thermoformed PP and polystyrene containers, we’ve shaken things up with a yogurt package with the durability, freshness, performance, manufacturing, and sustainability benefits of PET.” The new PET jar supports the 100% natural positioning of Danone’s La...

A Dutch shipyard Royal Huisman reportedly announced its plan to build a 59.7 metre world performance cruising sloop: Project 404. Following the footsteps of the shipyard’s previous vessels such as 58m Ngoni and 56m Aquarius, the new and highly advanced vessel would expectedly harness exceptional sail power and system technologies. The shipyard’s aim with this new build is to raise the bar for power and efficiency, especially in terms of operating system and integrated rig technologies. Besides, the impressive performance capabilities will come with luxurious interior and extensive amenities, per the report. Alongside, it will display its true modern beauty, featuring Alustar aluminium hull and low profile carbon composite superstructure. The team behind this project is consisted of...

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) Chief Executive Officer Tim Murray kicked-off the first session of the annual ‘Town Hall Meetings’ for 2019 on Sunday, 13 January. Murray unveiled Alba Expectations for 2019 which are: Safety Gateway; Birth of Line 6; Extreme Ownership; and Growth Mindset. Murray said: “I am proud to say that Alba has finished 2018 strong by joining the 1 Million-Club metric tonne per annum; doing so Alba is one of the five smelters in the world with a production of more than 1 million metric tonne per annum. I thank everyone for embracing extreme ownership on Line 6 and for a great job in 2018 especially in terms of controlling our costs. Upon the successful ramp-up of Line 6, Alba will top the list to become the world largest smelter with over 1.5 million metric tonnes per...

According to China Customs data released on Monday, January 14, China’s aluminium exports in 2018 increased by 20.9 per cent from a year earlier to a record high. United States sanctions on Russian producer Rusal drove the demand for Chinese metal which as a result, spurred the aluminium exports by China. {newsStudioGallery} China, the world’s top aluminium producer in 2018 recorded a total export of 5.8 million tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products, compared to approximately 4.79 million tonnes in 2017, said the General Administration of Customs. In the whole of 2016, China’s aluminium exports were at approximately 4.6 million tonnes. Thus, the year 2017 also saw a year-on-year rise by around 4.5 per cent. The export increased year-on-year despite a 10 per cent tariff on...

While China’s semi-finished exports to the U.S. have lessened due to tariffs, the surplus metal, minimally transformed to exploit China’s export tax differentials, has been showing up in other Asian countries. Semi-finished aluminium export from China is creating concern among south Asian countries as well. Vietnamese aluminium producers recently expressed their concern that cheap aluminium products imported from China would make their domestic products un-competitive. As a follow up of this, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Vietnam has decided to conduct an anti-dumping investigation into aluminium, alloy or non-alloy rods, bars and products of other shapes imported from China to Vietnam. Four local shape aluminium producers – Austdoor, Song Hong Aluminium JSC, Tung Yang Co. Ltd,...

Hydro will be more present than ever at BAU 2019, the World's leading trade fair for Architecture, Materials and Systems for exhibitors, visitors and members of the press. The BAU 2019 will take place from Monday, 14 January to Saturday, 19 January 2019 in Munich. On the largest area in the “aluminium hall” C1, Wicona, one of Hydro’s building systems brands, will present novel solutions and innovative façade systems on stand 338 in hall C1. Wicona will also offer an exclusive seminar program for planners, architects, fabricators during the trade fair and live presentations. Adjacent, Hydro’s Rolled Products business area will debut at BAU with its own stand, to show the opportunities with surface-treated, lacquered and anodized aluminium sheet on stand 331.

The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) reported that Iran's major aluminium producers' output stood at 249,017 tons during the nine months of FY 2019 or from April 1 to Dec. 21, which registers a 1% drop over the corresponding period of FY 2018. Iran, the first aluminium producer in the Middle East has been producing since 1972. The country has 487,000 tonnes of primary capacity and produces about 338,000 tonnes per year on a standard year, IMIDRO report says. Currently, around 20, 000 tonnes per annum capacity is idled partially due to environmental concerns. Iran’s flagship aluminium producer Iran Aluminum Company (IRALCO) accounted for 131,345 tons of last year’s reported production, registering a 3% growth year-on-year. The company has...

Tellus Holdings Ltd announced that it has received approval from the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy (DEE) for its Sandy Ridge Facility in Western Australia. The company said the Sandy Ridge Facility or the “Action” is a proposed open-cut kaolin clay mine and arid near-surface geological waste repository within the mine voids, and associated infrastructure for the storage, treatment, recovery and permanent isolation (disposal) of hazardous and intractable wastes (including low level radioactive wastes). Source:www.tellusholdings.com Australian Government approval signifies confidence that Tellus can manage matters listed under the EPBC Act. The company has undertaken extensive studies over many years with local indigenous families, local scientists, national...

The US dollar gained against the euro, boosted by technical factors after the euro met key resistance levels, even as the greenback's outlook remained bleak amid cautious signals from the US Federal Reserve about further rate hikes. LME base metals rose for the most part while SHFE contracts ended mixed last Friday. LME aluminium fell 1% and SHFE aluminium slid 0.52%. LME aluminium closed the trading at US$ 1816 per tonne last Friday. The contract came off after it rose to a high of US$1,865 per tonne overnight as shorts entered the market. It ended at US$1830.5 per tonne with open interests up 3,589 lots to 682,000 lots. We retain the view that weak fundamentals will keep prices at lows in the medium term. LME aluminium is likely to trade at US$1,805-1,845 per tonne today. As on January...

The Exchange Hotel has reportedly introduced an aluminium can recycling service as a way of raising money for Rotary in Bathurst. The news came after the manager of the hotel Marty Russell revealed about the initiative. During the school holidays, the recycling bin can fill very quickly, but this new initiative by the Exchange Hotel can help you free up some space and do a good deed as well. The cages are located at the rear of the hotel and Mr. Russell said each can would raise 10 cents for the service club. However, a certain norm is set for disposing of the can. “It’s better if the cans are left whole as the Return and Earn system reads the barcodes, and if they’re squashed, you only get paid by weight,” he said. Per the report, the hotel is no longer using post mixes and using canned...