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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Emirates Global Aluminium announced a partnership with VITO, the European research and technology organisation, to assess use of bauxite residue, a by-product of alumina refining, in construction materials. Abdalla Alzarooni, EGA’s Vice President of Technology Development & Transfer said: “Using bauxite residue as the raw material for construction products is one potential solution we are investigating for bauxite residue. Finding viable uses for this by-product is a challenge for our industry globally, but we aim to reduce and even eliminate the need to store new bauxite residue in the longer term.” VITO will work with experts at the University of Leuven in Belgium to assess the technical and commercial potential of using bauxite residue in the UAE in the manufacture of materials such as...
As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley starts to present Union Budget 2018 today at Parliament, Indian aluminium sector waits eagerly to see if its wishes and demands are fulfilled. The aluminium industry wants duty on essential raw materials of aluminium production like alumina and coal tar pitch to be reduced and policies to be implemented that would equate import duty on aluminium scrap with that on the primary metal. Here’s a list of wishes of the Indian Metals & Mining industry from Union Finance Ministry: 1) Decrease in basic customs duty on coking coal across grades 2) Decrease in export duty on iron ore above certain grade levels 3) Hike basic customs duty on aluminium scrap to protect domestic industry 4) Accelerate minerals exploration The aluminium industry (represented by Aluminium...
According to Shanghai Metal Market data, China’s social inventory of primary aluminium including SHFE warrants stood at 1.76 million tonnes on Thursday February 1, slightly down by 2,000 tonnes from a week ago. Logistics constraints have impacted some deliveries in January. However, SMM learned that the situation will gradually improve in February. Average Aluminum Ingot prices slightly dropped today to stand at RMB 14,160 per tonne. According to data released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Wednesday January 31, China’s production of 10 nonferrous metals amounted to 53.78 million tonnes in 2017, up 3% from a year ago. The annual growth was up 0.5 percentage point from the previous year. Aluminium output was up 1.6% to 32.27 million tonnes. The prices are...
Vedanta Limited has announced its unaudited consolidated results for the third quarter ended 31 December, 2017. The company has reported 19 per cent increase year-on-year in revenue in the fiscal third quarter. Mr. Kuldip Kaura, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Ltd, said: "We delivered a robust quarter with EBITDA significantly higher y-o-y and q-o-q, with our EBITDA margin remaining strong. Our ramp-up plans across our well invested assets are on track, and are delivering industry leading growth." The company’s aluminium production increased 40 per cent YoY in the third quarter ended 31 December, 2017, with an exit run-rate of 1.8 million tonnes per annum. Revenue increased to INR 24,361 crore on account of higher commodity prices, ramp-up at aluminium business, and higher volumes at...
Aluminium prices on London Metal Exchanges stayed flat with a marginal dip as global manufacturing growth provided support. Manufacturing activity in China and Japan expanded in January resulting in raised output and increased employment supporting a strong recovery in the Asian market. LME aluminium closed at US$2,224.50 per tonne on Wednesday, January 31, down from US$2,229 per tonne on Tuesday, January 30. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecasts that LME aluminium may trade at US$2,195-2,220 per tonne on Thursday, February 1. As on January 31, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,224 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,224.50 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,221 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,222 per tonne, Dec1 Bid...
Atlanta’s rolled and recycled aluminium firm Novelis Inc. revealed yesterday that the firm will be supplying aluminium for use in the manufacture of the 2018 Jeep Wrangler (JL). The company said in a press release that FCA US LLC has contracted with the firm to provide aluminium for the production of a variety of parts, including parts of the doors, fenders, swing gate, and windshield surround, which will be sourced from Novelis’ facilities in Oswego, New York and Kingston, Ontario. As a result of extensive use of aluminium throughout the current model year’s units, Novelis says this year’s model is lighter by 200 pounds. FCA US indicates that the weight savings is expected to translate into an improvement in fuel efficiency of 3 miles per gallon. Marco Palmieri, SVP and President,...
Sanjeev Gupta led GFG Alliance has won Highland Council’s permission for a new aluminium alloy wheel factory in Fort William, UK. The plant, which will come up next to its Liberty British Aluminium Smelter, will be the first large-scale alloy wheel plant of UK. Construction work at the site is expected to begin in the second half of 2018. The new aluminium alloy wheel plant to be built at an initial investment of 120 million Pound will procure aluminium from Liberty British Aluminium smelter. It will manufacture up to two million wheels per year and supply to the British automobile industry. Sanjeev Gupta said, “We are delighted to have reached this milestone in the development of a very exciting project and are very grateful to the council for giving this matter their close attention...
Aluminium prices moved down by 0.53 per cent to INR 140.80 per kg in futures trade today as speculators reduced exposure amid easing demand in the spot market. Besides, a weak trend overseas weighed on prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in January edged down by 75 paise, or 0.53 per cent, to INR 140.80 per kg in a business turnover of 3,510 lots. Likewise, the metal for delivery in February was trading lower by a similar margin to INR 140.85 per kg in 1,877 lots. Analysts said offloading of positions by participants due to slackened demand from consuming industries in the physical market and weak trend overseas, led to a decline in aluminium prices at the futures trade. Meanwhile, aluminium for delivery in three-month dropped USD 10 to USD 2,215 per tonne on...
Aluminium alloy prices in China domestic market dropped across major regions as buying slowed down in the winter months. Interruption of the movement of trucks due to low temperatures and heavy smog forced end user industry players to limit their buying of aluminium alloys for future operations. As a result, inventory built-up lead to the fall of prices. The one-month average price movement of aluminium alloy as updated by Shanghai Metals Market is as follows: Aluminium alloy (ADC12) average price has dropped by RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 16100 per tonne; aluminium alloy average prices in east, south, and west China are down by RMB 50 per tonne. Prices of aluminium alloy ZLD102 and ZLD104 are also down by RMB 350 per tonne each at RMB 15600 per tonne and RMB 15000 per tonne respectively as...
To overcome the structural rigidity and weight issues in traditional solar panels that restrict their use in flexible electronics, researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia have built rigid silicon segments joined by aluminium contacts. The lightweight, highly-flexible, portable solar panels are aimed at powering the next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Source: www.i2.wp.com (suggestive image) The screen-printed aluminium contacts linking the silicon sections are positioned at the back of the solar panel to ensure optimal light absorption. The aluminium contacts will also allow modifications of the silicon segments leading to high-structural flexibility. Muhammad Hussain, the lead scientist said, the panel can be bent to different...
The bauxite exploration and development company Australian Bauxite (ABx) has announced its quarterly highlights for the period ending December 31, 2017. The company said it was able to complete all its sales despatches successfully as scheduled and even loaded and shipped a combined 35,000 tonnes of cement-grade bauxite from Bell Bay port, Tasmania, three weeks ahead of schedule in October last year. ABx executed a Heads of Agreement with Refined Ore Industries Limited (ROIL) for the global exclusive rights for Bauxite Refining Technology developed to beneficiate and refine bauxite into high value products (Aluminium Fluoride specifically). On completion, the project will help reduce Australia’s import dependency for the industrial mineral. The bauxite miner also commissioned Turnkey...
Aluminium prices on London Metal Exchanges were lower on Tuesday, January 30, after the base metal complex registered a price correction from its recent gains. LME aluminium came down from US$2,251.50 per tonne (closing price on January 29) to close at US$2,229 per tonne yesterday. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecasts that LME aluminium will test support at US$2,200 per tonne level and trade within a narrow range of US$2,220-2,250 per tonne on Wednesday, January 31. As on January 30, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,228 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,229 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,225 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,226 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$2,272 per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price stands at...
China imported 2.17 million tonnes of aluminium scrap in 2017, an increase of 13.27 per cent YoY. The country’s import of aluminium scrap rose 13.73 per cent YoY to 202,374 tonnes in December. Last month, the USA and Thailand were the top exporters of aluminium scrap to China. The USA and Thailand exported 64, 419 tonnes and 34,034 tonnes respectively. The shipments of aluminium scrap by the USA, the world’s largest aluminium scrap exporter, rose 8.56 per cent to 618,287 tonnes in 2017. Thailand exported 259,349 tonnes of aluminium scrap to China in 2017, up 2085 per cent YoY. Other top countries which supplied aluminium scraps are Hong Kong, Australia, the UK, the Philippines and Malaysia.
The difference between Japanese and South Korea spot aluminium premiums has reached $20.50/mt, the widest on record since S&P Global Platts launched its South Korean premium assessment in July 2015. On Wednesday, the Japanese spot import premium was assessed at $102-$104/mt plus London Metal Exchange cash, CIF Japan, while the South Korean spot premium was at $80-$85/mt CIF Busan. In recent history, the spread between the two premiums has typically averaged around $5/mt. The South Korean premium fell from $85-$90/mt CIF Busan a week ago due to increased exports of Chinese semi-finished products, such as coil and plates. This has compromised demand for P1020 aluminium ingot, sources said. Meanwhile, Japan's premium has stayed unmoved at $102-$104/mt plus LME cash CIF Japan this week....
The Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) in Russia has created an aluminium engine for Yak-52 airplane. This all-aluminium engine is 50 kg lighter than the previous steel engine. According to a TASS report, the engine will be installed on Yak-52 two-seat planes. Image Source: micetimes.asia "The world’s first aircraft engine fully made of aluminium has been developed by designers of the basic Novosibirsk State Technical University. Even the parts exposed to the highest loads are made of aluminium, namely, the crankshaft, cylinder barrels and the flywheel,” the Novosibirsk Region Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation Policy said. Aluminium alloy is the perfect choice for manufacturing aircraft body parts and engines due to its corrosion resistant, high strength, less...
The state-owned mining and metals company Aneka Tambang (ANTAM) has announced its unaudited net sales value for 2017. The company has published net sales of IDR12.55 trillion in 2017 (FY17), up 38 per cent from IDR9.11 trillion in 2016 (FY16). ANTAM has reported 181 per cent increase in bauxite sales in FY17.The company has exported 838,069 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of bauxite. In April 2017, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Indonesia issued a series of export recommendations that allowed ANTAM to export bauxite and nickel ores overseas. The directive allowed export of 850,000 tonnes of bauxite. ANTAM, headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, produces ferronickel, nickel ore, gold, silver, bauxite and coal. The company exports bauxite to alumina producers in Japan and China. ANTAM...
SMM expects the fundamentals of the prebaked anode market to change in 2018, as it may turn to oversupply following a year of surging prices. The shift is being visible in January with a drop in prices and, extension of payment cycle and commissioning of new capacity. Prebaked anode prices in east China were down RMB 150 per tonne this month from levels seen in December, according to SMM data. Prices in February are also set to drop by over RMB 100 per tonne as supply of calcined coke became less tight. SMM has also observed that aluminium smelters are delaying their payment for prebaked anode for up to a month or more. This showed sellers’ willingness to increase delivery of prebaked anode. Another factor that is cutting down the need to procure such material from outside is the...
LME aluminium reversed its recent marginal losses and gained ground as global market sentiment improved ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of Union Address on Monday, January 29. The light metal contract rose from US$2,238 per tonne on Friday, January 26, to close at US$2,251.50 per tonne after night trading yesterday. However, pressure is building up at five-day, 10-day, and 20-day moving averages. So, Shanghai Metals Market thinks that LME aluminium may trade at US$2,210-2,260 per tonne on Tuesday, January 30. As on January 29, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,251 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,251.50 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,257 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,258 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price...
