Aluminium alloy powder production for additive manufacturing is set to expand through a new technical cooperation agreement between CNPC Powder China Ltd and Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies Co Ltd (BLT). The agreement covers the production and international distribution of BLT-AlAM400, an aluminium alloy powder developed for applications in humanoid robotics, new energy vehicles (NEVs), aerospace and other industrial sectors. Under the agreement, BLT has authorised Shanghai-based CNPC Powder to manufacture BLT-AlAM400 on a contract basis in China and sell the powder internationally. CNPC Powder has also secured exclusive overseas agency rights, excluding BLT’s direct sales network and existing regional agents. With an annual powder production capacity of almost 10,000 tonnes, CNPC Powder...
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...
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Ford Motor Co. introduced its 2018 model year F-150 pickup on Friday June 16, with a smaller V-6 gasoline-powered engine and more aluminium in its construction. The new diesel engine is the first ever for F-150 and the company says it improves on its EPA-estimated gas mileage. The diesel version is expected to hit the showrooms in next spring and gasoline-powered version would be commercially available this fall. The smaller and lighter 3.3-liter V6 gasoline engine for F-150 is expected to offer a 5% better power-to-weight ratio and better fuel economy compared with the 2014 steel-bodied version. The F-150, the best-selling light vehicle in the U.S. contributes about a third of Ford’s total unit sales. Ford introduced the all-aluminium bodied F-150 in 2015, weighing about 700 pounds less...
Trump’s new protective trade policies are creating concerns among the neighbouring countries like Canada which has been in a balanced trade relation with the U.S. Canada has been exporting large amount of aluminium into the U.S. President and CEO of the Aluminium Association of Canada Jean Simard said that the aluminium industry in Canada is trying to ensure that their aluminium export is not affected by the changing trade policies in the U.S. “With Trump in power, the aluminium industry is also up in the air,” said Simard, addressing Kitimat Chamber of Commerce members and business leaders on an occasion. Canada exports 75 per cent of its aluminium production to the U.S. out of which 400,000 tons are produced annually at the Rio Tinto plant in Kitimat. The country represents about two...
According to the latest Marketsand Markets report, the global aluminium composite panels market is estimated to be valued at US$1.77 billion by 2021 growing from US$1.22 billion in 2015, at a composite annual growth rate of 6.58 per cent. Rapid urbanization and industrialization will increase the demand for new constructions globally. Piggybacking this boom in building and construction sector, consumption of aluminium composite panels will grow significantly. The report identifies a number of key driving factors: Large-scale investments and flow of funds in the industrial and infrastructure sectors Infrastructure overhaul in emerging economies Changing consumer behaviour marked by rising awareness about environmental sustainability and “green” aesthetics Innovation driven product...
MiniTec Framing Systems, the aluminium framing manufacturer, will expand its operations in a larger facility. The company will shift its manufacturing operations from Victor to Farmington in Ontario County, according to the state's economic development agency Empire State Development (ESD). The project is expected to create more employment opportunities in the region. MiniTec Systems Framing, LLC President Andrew Moles said, “The support from Empire State Development has been vital to the completion of our expansion. Once complete this expansion will create about 20 new jobs and several million dollars a year in economic impact to the Farmington area.” The company has already spent $4.4 million to purchase property and construct the new 52,000-square-foot facility on County Road 41 in...
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, today announced Al Robot, a robotics competition that challenges students at universities and higher education institutions in the UAE to create a robot to tackle a real life challenge at EGA’s aluminium smelters. Al is the chemical symbol for aluminium. The competition asks university students to design, build and operate an autonomous robot capable of laying the brickwork lining of pots in which aluminium is smelted. This challenging work is currently done by hand. EGA already works closely with academics to turn the latest scientific thinking into practical technology for EGA’s industrial sites. However this is the first time EGA has invited student teams to participate in an open technology...
Rusal operated Friguia alumina refinery in Guinea got its agreement over tax incentives approved from the country’s National Assembly, reported an article published on the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Guinea. The agreement would allow Friguia alumina refinery multiple tax benefits: Rusal has to pay 2.3 billion Guinea Franc as yearly land use fees after alumina output from the complex reaches 650,000 tonnes annually. Frigua alumina refinery has to pay $0.5 per tonne mineral resource tax for the bauxite it uses in the country. Alumina export by the company is exempted from export duty, and business income tax for the company is also exempted under the agreement, the article stated. Infrastructure development...
Guinea and Indonesia, the two mineral-rich countries of Africa and Asia, could be eyeing possible bauxite tie-ups. According to a recent media report, delegates from the both the countries met last week to discuss a series of topics among which cooperation in bauxite mining sector remained a key possibility area. The parties agreed on establishing an Intergovernment Forum Dialogue by the end of the current calendar year through which possibilities of fostering closer ties in bauxite production between the two countries could be discussed. The Forum would exchange information on bauxite mining technologies, bauxite production and export policies, environmentally sustainable mining practices, investment cooperation, infrastructure development, and trade activities for the betterment of both...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, announced the commencement of construction site-works on its Line 6 Expansion Project in the second quarter of 2017 after the completion of the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study. The FEED was completed in the first quarter of 2017. Alba’s Chairman of Board of Directors Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa stated: “Line 6 Expansion Project has started to take shape with the site being mobilized for preparation work - one of the major activities - which will ensure the rapid start of construction activities.” “We are also very pleased that the site-works contracts have been awarded to local Bahraini companies as that will bring significant opportunities for the Kingdom’s local businesses and...
China has top alumina producers in the world. The country’s four provinces account for almost 70 percent of China's alumina production. China has 79.25 million tonnes of annual alumina capacity, as reported in the end of 2016. Aluminum Corporation of China Limited is the largest alumina producer in the world. {newsStudioGallery} According to the data of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China’s alumina production increased significantly in May. Alumina production nationwide grew 19.6 per cent year-on-year to 6.44 million tonnes in May, and surged 20.8 per cent year-on-year to 30.9 million tonnes in the first five months of this year, as reported by Shanghai Metals Market. According to the recent estimate, China exported an estimated 56387 tonnes of alumina in the first quarter of...
The beautiful port city of Kochi in the God's Own Country, Kerala, got a special gift this weekend. Kochi Metro, Alstom's first 'Make in India' venture was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on Saturday, June 17. From being the French major's first entirely designed and manufactured metro in India to featuring the lightweight aluminium composite panels in its structure, Kochi Metro is special in more than one way. Kochi metro is the first to have a Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC)-based signalling system, confirmed Alstom. Each train can carry up to 975 passengers and has 136 seats, with wide gangways and longitudinal seating arrangements designed to optimize transport capacity and facilitate easy boarding. Each train body is made of lightweight...
According to the data released by the Ministry of Mines, India’s overall mineral production increased by 4.2 per cent for the month of April 2017 as compared to the production during the corresponding period last fiscal. The country produced 2008 thousand tonnes of bauxite during April 2017. The production of coal stood at 463 lakh tonnes. The country witnessed a decline in production of bauxite by 12.2 per cent. Coal production was also declined by 3.7 per cent. India’s total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) during April 2017 stood at INR 19350 crore. Coal was the maximum contributor at INR 6424 crore. The bauxite production in India stands at about 22 million tons, increased by 30% as compared to previous year, due to good demand in domestic market and...
Primary aluminium ingot prices edged higher across major China markets. As on Monday, June 19, A00 aluminium ingot price in North China ranges between RMB 13,540-13,560 per tonne; average price stands at RMB 13,550 per tonne, up 0.44 per cent from its previous price of RMB 13,490 per tonne. The price of A00 aluminium ingot (South China) is ranging between RMB 13,620-13,670 per tonne. The average price is the highest at RMB 13,645 per tonne, up 0.52 per cent from its previous price of RMB 13,470 per tonne. A00 aluminium ingot price in East China- Zhejiang market stands at RMB 13,520-13,530 per tonne with the average price at RMB 13,525 per tonne (+0.41%). A00 aluminium ingot price in Northeast China market stands at RMB 13,500-13,530 per tonne with the average price at RMB 13,515 per tonne...
Any rise in LME aluminium, if at all that happens, will be a marginal one. The light metal traded globally ended last week in a dip near US$1,860 per tonne, down from the earlier close of US$1,864 per tonne. Fundamentals are still weak; so, it is likely that LME aluminium will keep trading at lows in the short term. Further, the metal contract faces a strong resistance at the five-day moving average. Based on that, Shanghai Metals Market predicts that aluminium prices will hover in the range of US$1,862-1,880 per tonne on Monday, June 19. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may break above the resistance and rise towards the next resistance at US$1,899 per tonne. Support is at US$1,871, a break below which would lead to the continuation of the downtrend towards $1,863...
AlCircle helps you to keep track of news that happened in the world of aluminium. Last week, Qatar's Qatalum aluminium plant faced outbound logistical challenges following a diplomatic row with neighbours in the Middle-East and neighbours blocked shipments through their ports. A few major companies secured license contracts and others expanded their downstream operations. Here’s a compilation of the top trending stories covering the primary aluminium vertical for the week that went by: Bosnia’s Aluminij unit secures power supply licence Bosnian aluminium smelter Aluminij announced that its unit AL Trade has secured two years license from FERK, the energy regulator of Bosnia’s Federation. FERK has granted a license to AL Trade to supply electricity. Rusal plans to expand its aluminium &...
IDS Borjomi, the market leader in mineral waters in Georgia, will sell water packaged in aluminium cans to represent innovative packaging in the country’s bottled water industry. The cans will be available in 0.33 litre aluminium bottles. Director of IDS Borjomi Zaza Kikvadze said, “Research on the Georgian [market] as well as the export market showed that there was demand on aluminium packaging. We met the demand of our customers and started producing Borjomi in aluminium cans. Our target customers are young people at the age of about 20-30.” The company has two bottling plants in Borjomi: Bottling Plant N1 and Bottling Plant N2. The new packaging in aluminium cans will be done in its Bottling Plant N1. Georgia’s Economy Minister Giorgi Gakharia yesterday toured the first bottling plant...
Microsoft, remaining true to its tradition of sleek engineering, has introduced an aluminium keyboard for use with Windows 10 PCs, macOS systems and all the latest Android devices. Named the Modern Keyboard, the accessory is a smart looking slab made out of the lightweight metal. Microsoft Modern Keyboard is 19.3 mm in height and has a full-width numerical keypad. A fingerprint sensor is built into its right-hand side to help log in to a Windows computer, or websites using the functionality- Windows Hello. Microsoft’s aluminium keypad is a wireless Bluetooth accessory but can also be connected to a computer device using a wired connection. On being connected using a wire for the first time, the Modern Keyboard automatically pairs via Bluetooth every time it is used after that. As per...
METEF 2017 is an international industry expo, dedicated exclusively to the metals sector and it offers a comprehensive exhibition on raw materials, processing, machining, technologies, machinery and plants, products and applications as well as on state-of-the-art technologies for metals recovery and recycling and the most original solutions for the automotive industry. From June 21 to 24 , METEF 2017 will open its doors to Italians and foreign operators of the aluminium industrial chain and innovative materials in VERONAFIERE, VERONA – an exhibition platform that will acomodate more than 400 exhibitors with one third of foreign presence. “METEF was started in 1997 and it immediately took the shape of the first world-level exhibition dedicated to processing of aluminium and technological...
Aluminium scrap remains a significant resource to be used as raw material to produce secondary aluminium and subsequently new aluminium products. The highest aluminium recycling percentages can be seen in the construction and transport sector of up to 95% but packaging sector is equally growing due to increased use of foil and cans. It is evident that the countries with higher aluminium consumption would be the countries that would also be largest generator of scrap. Not all countries export their scraps; a large portion of it is recovered domestically to make new aluminium. USA, Germany and UK have some of the largest recyclers. Our article intends to list the top five aluminium recycling companies in the world based on production volume and revenue. The companies are segregated as any...
