
Finland-based renewable heat technology developer Coolbrook has joined Australia’s Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC) as an affiliate partner, bringing its electrified heating technology into research aimed at decarbonising alumina refining and the wider aluminium industry. The collaboration would explore how high-temperature electric heating can support next-generation alumina refineries, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Coolbrook would work alongside major alumina and aluminium producers, including Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Alcoa, Rio Tinto, South32 and Hydro, as well as research organisations of CSIRO and Adelaide University. Initially, it would focus on HILT CRC’s Alumina Refineries’ Next-Generation Transition (AlumiNEXT) project,...
Qingdao Allheart Marine, established in 2012, is a high-tech aluminium boat manufacturer in Qingdao, China. Spanning 42,000 m, the facility produces over 60 vessel models from 4 to 30 meters, including fishing, work, patrol, pilot boats, tugs, water taxis, catamaran ferries, and landing crafts. Certified under ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and CE, Allheart offers professional OEMper ODM solutions, exporting 50 per cent of its production to over 30 countries across Oceania, Europe, and the Americas. Qingdao, Shandongper China - November 11, 2026 Qingdao Allheart Marine Co., Ltd, a recognised leader in the maritime manufacturing sector, is reinforcing its commitment to international buyers seeking robust commercial watercraft and specialised marine solutions. Operating from an advanced...
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NALCO CMD Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand disclosed a new business plan on Monday, October 1, 2018, to increase company’s 3-digit profit figure to 4-digits and 4-digit turnover to 5-digits. Under the new business plan, the company intends to put a complete focus on business excellence so as to turn into a hardcore business organisation. While the company has already achieved 4-digit figure at INR 1342 crore in 2017-18, it now aims to achieve more than Rs.1600 crore in 2018-19. Chand said: “With the emergence of the 4th Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics, Augmented Reality etc would be the trendsetters and NALCO is all set to lead this revolution. The new technology: Industry 4.0 will bring in a substantial reduction in capital investments and Indian...

After closing the last week with a drop, LME aluminium started the week and the new month with a gain. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange gained significantly to close at US$ 2047.50 per tonne on Monday October 1. As on October 1, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2047 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2047.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2063.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2064 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2115 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2120 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock dropped further and quicker to 987800 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 616575 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 371225 tonne. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price is hovering at US$ 2050...

The UK-based leading aluminium window and door manufacturer Fentrade Limited has taken a 3,000 square feet unit at Maesglas Industrial Estate as part of its expansion plan. This expansion is reportedly expected to bring 10 new jobs to the area. The estate is now fully let until further four units come back onto the market after refurbishment. Work on units 14, 15, 19 and 19A, which are 2,140 square feet each is expected to be finished in November. Fentrade Limited chose Maesglas Industrial Estate for the expansion because of its convenient location near the M4, which would expectedly benefit distribution, recruitment, and other complimentary businesses on the estate. In regards to this, Chris Reeks, director for Fentrade Limited, said: After reviewing many properties and locations we...

Anrak Aluminium Limited (AAL), a joint venture of Penna Group and Ras Al Khaimah is optimistic about starting operations of its 1.5 million tonne alumina refinery in Visakhapatnam in the next few months after Hyderabad High Court passing a judgement in favour of it. The refinery is lying no-operational even after five years of its construction. The High Court has recently asked the State Bank of India (SBI) to withdraw its petition against the one-time settlement proposed by the Anrak Aluminium. The company has spent INR 6,000 crore on building the refinery. The AAL has agreed for one-time settlement of INR 1,275 crore to the SBI-led consortium of lenders against a loan of INR3,461 crore. In their appeal they said that the refinery was built on the promise of bauxite, agreed upon by the...

Saudi Arabian aluminium industry is growing immensely in last few years after the country decided to venture into a parallel non-oil economy. A joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and Alcoa Ma’aden Aluminium (MA), Ma’aden Aluminium is a significant contributor to the growth of the Saudi Arabian economy. The company is inching towards becoming the largest and most efficient integrated aluminium complex in the world. Ma’aden has the only operating alumina refinery in the Gulf region and it imports the large part of its bauxite from various bauxite producing regions, while exporting the alumina to India and UAE. As shown by our data, Saudi Arabia exported about 984 tonnes of alumina in 2016 and earned revenues of US$ 149,004. In 2017, the export volume dropped...

The 24-year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reportedly underwent modest revisions on Sunday, September 30, to build up a last-gasp between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This new deal called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, is meant to rescue a US$1.2 trillion open-trade zone that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century. The US and Canadian negotiators worked around the clock over the weekend to settle differences, with both sides making concessions to seal the deal. According to two senior Trump administration officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, the new accord involves improved access to Canada’s dairy market for US farmers to about 3.5 per cent of approximately US$16 billion annual domestic dairy market. The new...

The aluminium major National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) plans to set up aluminium foil manufacturing unit at Kamakshyanagar in Odisha to meet the challenges of providing alternative solutions to the packaging industry, said Nalco Chairman and Managing Director Dr Tapan Kumar Chand while addressing a function organised to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr Chand advocated the use of aluminium foil as alternative solutions to plastic packaging, which is eco-friendly and can be recycled. Nalco organised host of activities under the swachhata hi seva movement at Bhubaneswar. Led by Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, distinguished personalities from media houses, bureaucrats, social activists, artists, and students from various institutions including XIMB, KISS, KIIT, Astha...

According to an Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) official statement, Iran’s major aluminium producers produced 151,691 tonnes of aluminium during the five-month period from March 21 to August 22, registering a growth of 10 per cent from the same period of 2017. IMIDRO data registered an aluminium output of 137,473 tons during the five-month period of 2017. Last month, Deputy Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mehdi Karbasian announced that a large aluminium production plant with a capacity of 300,000-tonne per year will be put into operation in the south of Iran by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2019). The plant will be the largest and most modern aluminium production plant in Iran. Karbasian added that...

According to Shanghai Metals Market report, the last month (September) in China recorded an expansion in aluminium processing industry, bolstered by improvement in primary alloy, secondary alloy, foil, plate/sheet and strip, and construction extrusions sectors. The purchasing manager’s index (PMI) across seven sectors in China’s aluminium processing industry rebounded to 51.1 in September, which indicated an expansion; while in August, the PMI was comparatively lower at 49.6, indicating a contraction. A production sub-index, viewed as a proxy for operating rates, also increased to 51.3 in September from 50.5 in August but a new orders sub-index fell to 47.4 from 49.5. New export orders, however, saw a growth this month, with the sub-index climbing to 51.4 from 37 a month ago. The...

The dollar climbed to a two-week peak versus a currency basket on Friday, as concerns about the Italian budget weighed on the euro while the greenback drew support from an outlook for multiple US interest rate hikes until 2020. LME base metals ended in mixed performance on Friday, September 28. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped further to close at US$ 2011.5 per tonne on Friday, September 28, from the previous day’s close at US$ 2030 per tonne on Thursday September 27. As on September 28, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2011 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2011.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 2033 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2034 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$ 2087 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer...

The US and Japan announced intentions to start negotiations on a new free trade agreement after a meeting between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday September 26. This indicates that the two countries would not impose new tariffs on each other during the course of the agreement. The agreement comes while Trump’s trade war with China and Canada is getting more intense every day. Japan agreed to negotiate on a bilateral free trade agreement as a part of President Donald Trump’s bid to reshape America’s trade relations with its partners. “The United States and Japan will enter into negotiations, following the completion of necessary domestic procedures, for a United States-Japan Trade Agreement on goods, as well as on other key areas including...

A Kansas City-based healthy lifestyle brand Tohi Ventures has launch a new range of four Aronia Berry-based functional beverages in 12oz slim aluminium cans. Tohi beverages are 30% single strength Aronia Berry juice and 70% hydration. These beverages are available in four refreshing flavours: The Original, Blackberry Raspberry, Dragon Fruit and Ginger Lime. Shari Coulter Ford, CEO and Co-Founder, said: "We are pioneering innovation around our core ingredient, with the goal of optimizing the nutritional value and potential health benefits of Aronia Berries in our products. We believe Aronia is a break-out category." "Tohi is the perfect blend of science and nature, flavor and functionality. The polyphenols and anthocyanins in Tohi beverages are naturally derived from Aronia Berries, which...

The Trump administration formally turns down India’s urge for an unconditional exemption from the US aluminium and steel tariffs, reported Commerce Ministry officials to the BusinessLine . A meeting, led by Assistant US Trade Representative Mark Linscott, was held early this week in Washington with Commerce Ministry officials, where it was decided that no exemption from higher duties on aluminium and steel would be extended to India. If India wants to resolve the matter, then it should come up with a counter proposal of capping its metals exports . Though Washington had been indicating it was not in favour of giving exemptions, New Delhi had been pushing for a complete unconditional rollback. Yesterday, on September 27, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said India was not foreclosing any...

The Hyderabad-based defence public sector unit, Midhani or Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited has announced a dividend of INR 39.4 crore or INR 2.10 per equity share for FY 2017-18. During FY 2017-18, the manufacturer of speciality materials for strategic sector registered a net profit of INR 131.26 crore on a turnover of INR 666 crore. The order book position as on September 1, 2018 stood at INR 734.71 crore. According to the Chairman & Managing Director, D K Likhi’s speech during the 44th Annual General Meeting, the company is in the process of finalizing new orders and Midhani is confident of registering consistent growth in future. “In line with the disinvestment programme of Government of India, Midhani has become a public limited company and completed the exercise of listing of the company...

Dongfeng Renault Automotive Co. will reportedly introduce its first electric vehicle next year in China. The news came after Francois Provost, Renault’s Asia chief and CEO of Dongfeng-Renault, disclosed the plan last week. Dongfeng Renault Automotive Co is an equally-owned joint venture between car manufacturers Dongfeng Motor Group and Renault established in 2013 with an aim to produce and sell Renault-badged vehicles. The joint venture will launch two other EV models before 2022, Provost added. Not much detail is known yet about the would-be launched cars, except the fact that the first one will be a low-price small EV, which will be manufactured at Dongfeng’s assembly plant in Shiyan and distributed under a new brand planned by Dongfeng-Renault, according to the information published...

According to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey, aluminium scrap exports by the USA stood at 137,000 tonnes in July 2018, down 5.5 per cent from June 2018 total of 145,000 tonnes. Total scrap exports stood at 965,000 tonnes in the first seven months of 2018. The US exported 7,500 tonnes of aluminium scrap to Canada in July, down from 8,740 tonnes exported in June. The figure dropped by 14 percent month-on-month. The USA scrap exports to Canada totalled 60,200 tonnes in the first seven months of 2018. Aluminium scrap imports by China, the world’s biggest aluminium producer, stood at 27,300 tonnes in July 2018, down from the volume imported in June. Aluminium scrap import was 37,500 tonnes in June 2018. Aluminium scrap exports to China dropped since the...

Sanctions on Russian suppliers exporting to the US have indirectly helped some other aluminium producers and aluminium product manufacturers. Johannesburg-based precision water-cutting and -profiling company AquaJet Profiles reported record-high aluminium sales profit margins earlier this year, owing to the sanctions, company director Preeshan Naidoo says. Since US domestic manufacturing has become costlier because of the price rise in imported raw materials and tight supply, countries like South Africa is exporting more finished products to the US. “South Africa needs to acknowledge the significance of the US markets. While there is potential in emerging markets, and not forgetting the huge client base in the Asian market for raw materials, the US is still one of the largest consumers of...

The US-sanctioned Russian parent company of Aughinish Alumina, one of the major industrial employers in the mid-west, has reportedly guaranteed a €28 million financial package to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in case of its closure. There are fears that the US sanctions may lead to production slash by up to 70pc at Aughinish or a shutdown. Out of 70pc, the refinery supplies some 30pc of all aluminium in Europe. In the event of closure, the company will guarantee a €28 million-euro package to the Environmental Protection Agency for decommissioning and aftercare of the site, according to the Irish Independent. The Irish Government is engaged in intense negotiations with the United States to ensure a job security for 450 people who are directly employed, as well as hundreds more...