BorgWarner has won its first commercial order for an electric motor developed with aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology. The US automotive supplier will provide the new eMotor to a major Chinese automaker for use in hybrid vehicles, bringing the technology into its first production application. The motor uses aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology and is designed for hybrid vehicles. Its applications include generator motors and traction motors for auxiliary drive systems, with production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Explore AL Circle’s report ALuminium Wires & Cables - Insights & Forecast to 2030 for insights into aluminium applications, industry developments and opportunities across the electrical sector . Compared with conventional copper-wire motors with...
Getting a clean, smooth finish while removing material quickly is not always easy when machining high-strength aluminium alloys. A new study on AA7075-T6 aluminium alloy has explored this challenge, identifying two different sets of drilling conditions to improve surface quality and maximise machining productivity. The research examined how cutting speed, feed rate and drill depth influence conventional drilling performance. Using response surface methodology and a central composite design, the researchers developed predictive models to determine how changes in these parameters affect the machining process. The models showed a strong level of accuracy, with coefficients of determination (R²) reaching 0.9731 for surface roughness and 0.9359 for material removal rate. Further confirmation...
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Australian Bauxite Limited announced the confirmation of its next bauxite sale. The company confirmed a sale of 30,000 tonnes of cement grade bauxite from its Bald Hill Bauxite mine, Campbell Town, Northern Tasmania. The bauxite will be dispatched from Bell Bay Port of Launceston before 30 September 2017. The company has issued the road transport contract to Dave Wagner & Son Pty Ltd. It has contracted with QUBE Logistics at Bell Bay for the stevedoring services and the stockpiling arrangements. ABx’s Logistics Manager, Paul Glover said, “It is very clean bauxite due to efficient processing by Stornoway contractors at the Bald Hill mine and careful transport pit-toport by Wagners, in close coordination with QUBE stevedores and TasPorts.” ABx’s Chief Operating Officer, Leon Hawker...
After Tesla it is turn now for the luxe car maker Mercedes Benz to turn to India for setting up its next electric car manufacturing base. The German automaker has approached Indian government to consider offering incentives on electric car manufacturing till the time local output becomes viable. The project, if materialises, will bring in some cheer for the country’s automotive aluminium die-casting parts manufacturers . They will get to cut teeth in a hitherto unexplored market with great potential. The global brand is currently in the process of investing heavily in electric car technology. Merc Benz claims that, if adequate support is extended by India’s regulatory authorities, it will be able to introduce electric vehicles in the country by 2020. The vision is in line with Indian...
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has hinted that they will launch environmental protection inspections across the regions in China this year, according to news reported by Beijing News and published by Shanghai Metals Market. The government will launch environmental inspections in eight provinces which include Shandong, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jilin, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hainan and Qinghai. Ministry of Environmental Protection has not yet announced the date. The provincial government has already started preparatory works. They expect the inspection to start in late July or early August. In April 24 this year, China government launched the third round of pollution control inspections in Tianjin, Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui, Fujian, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, a move feared to strike the...
Vedanta Resources releases production report across all its business for the First Quarter ended 30 June 2017. Aluminium production remains flat quarter on quarter due to previously announced power outage at Jharsuguda-I. The company reports an exit production run-rate of 1.4mtpa. Production ramp up continues at Jharsuguda. * Jharsuguda 1,800MW and Balco 270 MW power plants have been moved from the Power to the Aluminium segment from 1 st April 2016. The alumina production in the Lanjigarh refinery increased 10% YoY to 303,000 tonnes in Q1 FY2018, but drops 3% QoQ. Vedanta reported 352,000 tonnes aluminium production in Q1, up 44% YoY attributed to the ramp ups at the Jharsuguda-II and BALCO-II smelters. This quarter completed the ramp up of BALCO-II smelter and capitalised the same....
The noted Chinese android smartphone manufacturer nubia has announced a US$100 million investment for manufacturing in India over the next few years. The ZTE sub-brand that debuted in Asia’s fastest growing smartphone market last year and have successfully launched seven handsets till now including the latest aerospace-grade aluminium built Nubia N2 hopes to strengthen its presence here in India through this initiative while providing impetus to the ‘Make in India’ drive. Eric Hu, India Country Manager, nubia, said in a recent interview, "We have established our presence in India as recently as 2016 and are aggressively looking to scale up our operations. A significant part of our $100 million investment will be towards developing a manufacturing facility and brand-building initiatives."...
Growing demand for high-quality bauxite in the international market is slowly transforming the mining scene in Cape York at Far North Queensland. A number of bauxite projects are coming up in the area besides the Rio Tinto’s $2.6 billion Amrun project which would be one of the largest bauxite alumina projects in Queensland. Metro Mining’s Bauxite Hills Mine, which is scheduled to begin production in 2018 would benefit remote areas like Mapoon Remote areas like Injinoo and Mapoon which are located at about 95km north of Weipa. The ASX-listed company has signed an agreement with Xinfa Aluminium China to supply seven million tonnes of bauxite over the first four years of the project. The Bauxite Hills Mine will employ about 200 people when it starts operation. “We’re starting to see a lot of...
Saudi Arabia emerged as the major market for scrap metal recycling. The country exports most of the scrap it generates. Aluminium scraps generated in Saudi Arabia comes from consumers, industries, and demolition sites across the country. The country exports its substantial amount of aluminium scrap to India. {newsStudioGallery} Saudi Arabia exports about 210,000 tonnes of aluminium scraps. Apart from India, the country exports aluminium scrap to Pakistan, South Korea, Brazil and USA. With the development of new smelters and expansions, more secondary re-melting opportunities will arise in the GCC countries and till then Saudi Arabia would remain a net exporter of aluminium scrap. According to the recent estimate, in 2015, Saudi Arabia exported 170120 tonnes of aluminium scrap globally....
The diversified natural resources company with aluminium operations in India, Vedanta Limited reported improved bottomline for Q1 FY 2017-18. The company’s Aluminium business registered strong exit production run rate of 1.4 million tonnes per annum from continued ramp-up. The increased production along with the volumes generated by Zinc, Oil and Gas helped drive Vedanta’s net earnings by more than 50 per cent and EBITDA by 40 per cent year-on-year. The net profit (PAT) and EBITDA for the mining and metals giant stood at INR 1,525 crore and INR 4,965 crore respectively for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The strong quarterly financials are further highlighted by Vedanta’s revenues, which is up by 27 per cent YoY at INR 18,203 crore and gross debt, which reduced by INR 9,000 crore in the...
Closures of illegal aluminium capacity in China in July is keeping the alumina prices in check as it may add nearly 170,000 tonnes of alumina to spot market per month in the short term. However, prices for prebaked anode, another raw material in aluminium smelting, set to continue rising next month adding to aluminium costs. According to SMM estimate, rise in prebaked anode price will be driven by rising prices of petroleum coke, which would be passed to prebaked anode prices in August. Currently, the raw material prices in China remain flat across all markets as shown in the below figure: Average prebaked anode price in the Northwest China Market remains the highest at RMB 4,200/t. The prebaked anode prices registered an increase in the first week of July. The latest aluminium capacity...
CPMC Holdings Limited, manufacturer and seller of packaging products in the People’s Republic of China , has received approval for its can project in Haining, Zhejiang. The $20 million project will have an annual capacity of 2 billion pieces of cans. The project would it the largest aluminium food can production base in east China. The aluminium can project will consume 24,000 tonnes of can stock per year, according to news published by Shanghai Metals Market. CPMC Holdings Limited has more than 20 production facilities strategically located across China. The company had revenues for the full year 2016 of 5.22 billion. The company produces seven major types of packaging producing products which include beverage cans, food cans, aerosol cans, aluminium bottle, metal caps, and many more.
LME aluminium edged higher boosted by the gain in crude oil prices. The light metal, which is still trading below US$1,900 per tonne, closed higher at US$1,896.50 per tonne on Tuesday, July 25, up from its earlier close of US$1,890 per tonne. However, the gain is unlikely to sustain over the long term, as LME aluminium will face a downward correction, observes Shanghai Metals Market. The research and media firm predicts that LME aluminium will move higher at US$1,930-1,950 per tonne on Wednesday, July 26. As on July 25, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$1,889.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$1,890 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$1,917 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$1,917.50 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$1,958 per...
Leading Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer Yamaha Motor has opened a motor parts manufacturing and assembly training school in India. The opening ceremony of the institute named Yamaha Motor NTTF Training Centre (YNTC) was held last Friday, July 21, at the company’s Chennai plant operated by local subsidiary India Yamaha Motor (IMY). The initiative aims to impart Japanese style manufacturing skills covering areas: motorcycle assembly, parts control, paint, welding, casting aluminium machining and steel machining, quality control, and utility techniques. The YNTC is the first-of-its-kind initiative by the Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM) and involves collaboration between the government of Japan, government of India, and Japanese companies to give further impetus to the 'Make...
Alteo, a leading producer of high-value specialty alumina with production capacity of over 600, 000 tonnes in France, is going to increase the prices on its whole product portfolio at the end of quarter three this year. The company said, “Alumina production has suffered over the past months from significant cost increases which cannot be absorbed anymore.” The price increase will depend on markets and products. This would apply on products shipped as of September 1 st . Alteo will continue to invest in new product development and capacity expansion in order to meet the rising demand of such products. The company remains committed to supply the highest quality of specialty aluminas and level of service. The company provides its product more than 1,000 different locations worldwide with...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) presents its financial results for Q2 & H1 2017 with substantial increase in net income. Alba’s top-line and bottom-line performances for Q2 and H1 2017 were primarily driven by higher LME aluminium prices and excellent management performance. The Company reported a total sale of US$ 476.9 million in Q2 2017, up 8% from US$ 441 million for the same period in 2016. Total Sales in H1 2017 stood at US$ 983.3 million, up 15% YoY from US$ 856.8 million in H1 2016. The company’s net income jumped 8.5% to US$ 47.1 million in Q2 2017 from US$ 43.4 million in Q2 2016. Net Income for H1 2017 registered a whopping 111% increase YoY to US$ 115.2 million from US$ 54.5 million for the same period of 2016. In addition, Alba shareholders approved dividend of US$ 78.7...
In response to a petition by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) the Directorate of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties, India, has initiated an investigation against solar equipment imports from China. The solar cell and equipment imports, the Association claims, are hurting the domestic industry in more than one ways. And that includes aluminium extrusions sector as well. According to the Association, DGAD should impose anti-dumping duty on imported solar equipment and panels that use aluminium frames in the structure. According to the industry sources, solar cells and panels, with or without aluminium frames, have been flowing into the Indian market in large quantities in the recent times. The source countries tracked include China, Malaysia, and Taiwan. In May 2016, there was a...
Shandong Weiqiao Aluminum & Electricity Co., a power-alumina-aluminium processing integrated company, has sharply increased the capacity of aluminium alloy product over the past years, reported by Shanghai Metals Market. Shandong Weiqiao Aluminum & Electricity Co. is the wholly owned subsidiary company of China Hongqiao Group. According to numbers released by the company in March this year, the total capacity of aluminium alloy product was 4.91 million tonnes. The company’s aluminium alloy capacity was 1.84 million tonnes in 2013, 2.74 million tonnes in 2014 and 4 million tonnes in 2015. The company has a production capacity of 7 million tonnes of alumina and 790,000 tonnes of aluminium plate, strip and foil per annum. The nameplate capacity at its captive power plant totals 8.73 million...
According to the latest report from Aluminum Association, shipments of aluminium powder and paste by domestic producers in the U.S. and Canada, including imports stood at 7.41 million pounds during June 2017, up 2.9% YoY. On a month on month comparison, shipments were off 7.0% from May 2017. YTD shipments through June 2017 stood at 41.31 million pounds, up 13.5% from the same period in 2016. Estimated shipments of aluminium forgings and impacts by U.S. and Canadian producers stood at 30.9 million pounds during June 2017, an increase of 10.6% over June 2016. On a month on month comparison, shipments rose 5.7% over May 2017. YTD shipments through June 2017 stood at 181.7 million pounds, up 15.0% over the 2016 YTD total of 157.9 million pounds. Shipments of aluminium extruded products...
According to the export import data released by the General Administration of Customs on July 24, China's exports of aluminium semis and finished products for June 2017 increased by around 20 per cent on year-on-year basis, while exports for the first six months of 2017 surged by 6 per cent and 20 per cent respectively from the same period last year. {newsStudioGallery} If we look at the estimated figures for H1 2017 versus H1 2016, the export volumes of aluminium extruded products (read aluminium bar rods and profiles) by China reveal the following trends: As per the Customs data, total aluminium semi-finished product export by Asia’s largest aluminium producer and consumer stood at 400,000 tonnes in June 2017, up 17 per cent YoY, while the volume reached 2.13 million tonnes during the...
