ASSA ABLOY has agreed to acquire Brazilian aluminium solutions manufacturer Rometal, strengthening its manufacturing presence in Latin America while expanding its portfolio of door systems, furniture fittings and aluminium products. Announced on November 12, 2026, the proposed acquisition would bring an established Brazilian business with approximately 500 employees into the Swedish group's Americas Division. Rometal recorded sales of approximately BRL 332 million (USD 59 million) in 2025, equivalent to approximately SEK 580 million (USD 57.57 million) in ASSA ABLOY's announcement. The purchase price has not been disclosed. ASSA ABLOY described the company's EBIT margin in 2025 as strong and expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings per share from the start. Rometal acquisition...
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,...
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LME aluminium opened higher after Early May Bank Holiday. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange increased to close at US$ 2384 per tonne on Tuesday, May 8, from US$2316 per tonne on Friday May 4. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$2,330-2,380 per tonne today. As on May 8, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2382 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2384 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$2362 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2363 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$2293 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2298 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1297550 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 863950 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 433600 tonne. LME aluminium 3-months ABR price is hovering low at...
China's exports of aluminium increased in April as U.S. import tariffs failed to have any strong impact on outbound shipments from the country, Reuters reported.China exported 451,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium product last month, a 0.2 per cent increase from 450,000 tonnes exported in March and up 4.9 per cent from 430,000 tonnes in April 2017, according to the General Administration of Customs. Aluminium prices jumped 12.5 per cent on the London Metal Exchange last month after US imposed sanctions on Rusal, the world’s second-biggest aluminium producer. The United States imposed a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imports, effective from March 23 as U.S. President Donald Trump sought to protect domestic producers. The United States accounts for 14 percent of China's total...
According to aluminium recycling statistics published by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Interior, the U.S. aluminium industry purchased an estimated 703 million pounds of aluminium scrap during February 2018, down 3.1 per cent from the February 2017 total. USGS estimates that recovery of aluminium and aluminium alloys totalled 291,000 tonnes in February 2018, a decrease of 3.0 per cent year-over-year. The amount is slightly less than the revised amount in January 2018. Of this, 166,000 t of aluminum was recovered from new scrap and 125,000 t was recovered from old scrap. Through the first two months of 2018, preliminary data indicate that recovery of aluminium from scrap totalled an estimated 585,134 tonnes, off 2.2 percent over year-to-date 2017. U.S. exports of scrap, not...
Iran is estimated to witness a jump in alumina imports in the first half of 2018. The country imported an estimated 221359 tonnes of alumina from the global market in 2017. The country’s alumina imports from China climbed up significantly in March 2018.China, one of the major exporters of alumina to Iran, exported 157 tonnes of alumina in March, up 241 per cent year on year. The quantity of alumina imported from China totalled 424 tonnes in the first three months of 2018, an increase of 30 per cent in the same period previous year. As per global import-export data, Iran is estimated to import 376334 tonnes of alumina in the half of 2018, up 114 per cent in the same period previous year. In H2 2018, the country is estimated to import 279992 tonnes of alumina, up from 45750 tonnes in the...
We have recently covered a story on how Sanction against Rusal drove a quick surge in alumina export from China. China exported more than 300,000 tonnes of alumina as of May 4, since the profit window opened in April following the US sanctions against Rusal, SMM learned. The export started in Shandong and Guangxi provinces, but has recently expanded to Shanxi province. SMM believes China’s alumina export is set to decline but the downward room is limited as profits remain intact for the suppliers. They see that alumina output in Shandong and Guangxi is unlikely to drop in short and medium term and production in Shanxi as well as Henan provinces are rising on export margins, SMM believes. The following table shows today’s alumina prices in China: Major producers and traders now prefer...
London Metal Exchange was closed on Monday May 7 due to Early May Bank Holiday. Shanghai Metals Market expects LME aluminium to expand upwards along the 20-day moving average today with a trading range of US$2,320-2,370 per tonne. The benchmark aluminium price on Shanghai Metal Exchange increased from US$ 2288 per tonne on May 7 to US$ 2298 per tonne on May 7. The SHFE 1806 contract climbed up to a high of RMB 14,700 per tonne yesterday as lead, zinc and most ferrous metals gained. Downstream demand remains firm and the increase in inventory has more to do with latent inventory changes, including stocks at traders moving to major consumption markets. The SHFE 1807 contract climbed to a high of RMB 14,755 per tonne overnight as longs added their positions. It fell to a low of RMB 14,695...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) announced that its Line 6 Smelter exceeded more than 10 million work-hours without a single Lost Time Injury (LTI), a major Safety Milestone, by mid-April 2018. Commenting on this record achievement, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Murray said: “Safety is our best insurance policy. This milestone is truly a remarkable achievement by our Line 6 Smelter team (over 6,000 employees and contractors) and is a testament to the workers and contractors’ commitment to Alba’s Safety standards. I express my thanks to the Line 6 Smelter teams and look forward to attain higher Safety goals as we move ahead with Line 6 Expansion Project construction.” Alba has won international accolades for its strict adherence to local and international Safety standards, rigorous...
Shiloh Industries announced the opening of a new aluminium casting plant in Nantong to serve the growing electric vehicle market in China. It will focus on manufacturing new, innovative 9-speed, aluminium transmission carriers and reverse carriers through Shiloh's proprietary, high-integrity casting technology. “We have experienced significant global demand for our lightweighting solutions and continue to invest resources to meet this growing need," said David Jaeger, senior vice president and managing director, CastLight. The new aluminium casting plant enhances company’s current aluminium and magnesium casting capabilities in Asia, Europe and North America. The 150,000 square foot facility is located in the Jiangsu Nantong Science & Technology Industrial Zone. "Our growth at this...
State energy giant Qatar Petroleum will offer 49 percent of its shares in Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum) for public offering. The move is “part of the State's plan to increase the participation of the private sector in economic activity and supporting an investment climate capable of attracting capital,” according to the compny. The necessary procedures and approvals are expected to be taken for listing on the Qatar Exchange during the last quarter of this year. Qatar Petroleum will also establish a holding company that will acquire Qatar Petroleum's stake in Qatalum. Qatalum, a jointly owned by the Norwegian company Hydro, produces about 645,000 tons per year of high quality aluminium. Qatalum uses the HAL275 system, an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient technology. Qatalum’s...
Trade talks between the United States and China, led by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He on Friday, May 5, 2018, resulted in not many tangible achievements other than both the nations agreed upon having more dialogue in the future over US-China trade war. A list of dramatic concessions demanded by the US at the meeting that would possibly challenge the core elements of China’s economic system and its ambitions for future development is even anticipated by the trade analysts to have no solution to the trade war between the two large economies. In addition to demanding state subsidies halt from China for industries under its ‘Made in China 2025’ plan, the United States has even asked China to solve US's trade deficit by at least US$200 billion by the end...
Ball Corporation reported net earnings of $125 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $68 million in last year’s first quarter. Excluding items, the company posted adjusted earnings of $180 million compared to $136 million last year. "Ball Corporation started the year strong, posting improved performance across each of our product lines, with comparable operating earnings up 13 percent in our global beverage operations, 19 percent in our aerospace business and 10 percent in our food and aerosol business and with lower overall corporate costs year-over-year.” “In our global beverage can business, overall volumes were up low single-digits in the quarter, driven largely by continued strong performance in South America and Europe. Global consumers continue to support the beverage...
Aluminum imports of ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totalled 362 thousand tonnes in February 2018, up 5 per cent over the February 2017 total of 344 thousand tonnes. U.S. exports of scrap, which is not included in the government’s consumption statistics, totalled 1.6 million tonnes in 2017, up 18.3 per cent over 2016. For the first two months of 2018, the total aluminium scrap export by the U.S. is estimated to stand at about 240 thousand tonnes, up 9.2 % from the same period of 2016. Total exports by the U.S. in January-February stood at 490 thousand tonnes, up 14.5 per cent over a year ago. Scraps account for roughly 50 per cent of reported aluminium exports by the U.S. Excluding scrap; exports totalled 463 thousand tonnes. Exports...
Norsk Hydro has acquired Eugen Notter GmbH, a German aluminium window hardware manufacturer, to strengthen its offering for the building and construction industry. Hydro Building Systems manufactures miscellaneous structural metal work products, such as aluminium profile systems. The company sells facades, windows, doors, folding and sliding systems, fire protection, sun protection, and smoke control products to the building and construction industry. Eugen Notter GmbH, with a global customer base in Europe, North America and Asia, has been a supplier of Hydro Building Systems, offering hardware for aluminium windows. "This acquisition will support Hydro’s strategy to offer innovative solutions for windows and doors to serve an increasingly sophisticated market. We are very pleased to...
With a flourishing primary aluminium sector, Canada remains the top exporter of aluminium to the U.S. and the country is now rightfully negotiating on the 10% duty imposed on all aluminium imports. Canada is graced for a temporary period for further negotiation for a permanent exemption from the duties. Quebec, Canada’s aluminium hub with the presence of Alcoa, Rio Tinto Alcan and Alouette, three major aluminium players operating eight world-class primary smelters in the province and producing 2.9 million tonnes of primary aluminium, or 60% of total North American production. However, Canada is not only about the three primary players. Quebec in Canada is a province that house a number of innovative solution providers centering round the primary industry. We continue to focus on some of...
Aluminium downstream players started stockpiling raw material in the last week and continuing to do so until this week, resulting in active trading at aluminium spot market across East and South China, Shanghai Metal Market research found. Traded prices for aluminium billet processing fees, however, have dipped to as low as RMB 700 per tonne last week on Friday, May 4, 2018, with fewer transactions than aluminium ingots, SMM learned. This was primarily due to the increasing use of aluminium ingots in processing plants than the aluminium billets because of higher processing fees than the former. Aluminium rod processing fees, on the other hand, have surged in Guangdong to RMB 850 per tonne last week from RMB 500 per tonne in mid-April, as a consequence of a plunge in aluminium billet...
Metro Mining Ltd has shipped its first batch of 62,000 tonnes of bauxite to China from its flagship Bauxite Hills Mine in northern Queensland, Australia. This was purchased by the Xinfa Group, one of China’s largest integrated aluminium companies with refining and smelting facilities in Shandong, Shanxi, Guangxi and Xinjiang provinces. Metro Mining has signed a four-year binding off take agreement with Xinfa with a commitment to deliver one million tonnes in the first year followed by two million tonnes each for next three years. A second bulk carrier has arrived for the purpose. Metro Mining Ltd started mining at its Bauxite Hills project in Far North Queensland after January 2018 with an annual mining target of two million tonnes of bauxite every year. The company expects to ramp it up...
Most base metals rose as the US-China trade negotiations made some progress. LME aluminium increased 2.6 per cent and hit a two-week high, as seen by Shanghai Metals Market. Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange dropped to close at US$ 2316 per tonne on Friday, May 4, from the previous day's close at US$ 2349 per tonne. As on May 4, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 2315 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 2316 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$2306 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 2307 per tonne; Dec 19 bid price stands at US$2255 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2260 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1310650 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 866775tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were 443875 tonne....
AMAG, the leading Austrian premium supplier of high-quality aluminium cast and flat rolled products, which has been a long term partner with Boeing has renewed its multi-year contract with the company for the supply of aluminium flat rolled products for its commercial airplanes. AMAG flat rolled products will be used especially for the manufacturing of the fuselage and wings in all current Boeing commercial aircrafts. The new agreement will expand AMAG’s yearlong association with Boeing and cement AMAG’s position as a leading material supplier to the global aircraft industry. AMAG has expanded its product portfolio and production capacity with the new hot and cold rolling mill complex and casting facility in Ranshofen. The company is gearing up to leverage on the projected growth...
