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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The winter is slowly over and brighter days are ahead. The aluminium industry has experienced some of the brightest days in the month of February till the first week of March. LME aluminium closed at $ 1,934 per ton on March 1 Wednesday, the highest in 2017 till date and 35% higher than the trough seen in late 2015. This is all more a reason to attend the events in the month of March, hunt new business opportunities and reap the benefits of rising aluminium prices. The End-User market is ever growing and expected to drive aluminium demand over the year. Here is a list of the major aluminium events in the month of March that are expected to draw a large number of aluminium players around the world. 1. Window Door Facade Expo 2017 Date: 11 th –13 th March, 2017 Location: Guangzhou, China As...
Aluminium contracts traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and major commodity exchanges of Shanghai kept diverging on Thursday. While LME aluminium dropped after rising at US$1,881 per tonne on Wednesday, Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) benchmark price of aluminium edged higher at US$1,957 per tonne on Friday, March 10. LME aluminium closed at US$1,847 per tonne on Thursday, March 9, down 1.8 per cent from the previous day's close. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) in its forecast says the contract will find support at the 40-day moving average and trade at US$1,860-1,890 per tonne on Friday. As on March 9, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,846.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,847 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,855 per tonne, 3M seller price is...
Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Industry, has announced that the government will develop a smelting facility in North Kalimantan in Indonesia. Presently, Indonesian government has not utilized the regions alumina and bauxite potentials in Kalimantan. "Mining activities can be done in Papua, Maluku or other East Indonesia regions, but the smelting process will be conducted in North Kalimantan. Its location is strategic for shipping to other continents, such as Australia, Asia, South Africa and America," Airlangga said after attending North Kalimantan Investment Forum 2017 in Jakarta. He further stated that North Kalimantan is included in the 2015-2035 national industry development master plan. The region is also included in the 6,600-megawatt hydropower plant development plan. This power...
The global Building and Construction sector is on the cusp of a major evolution. A look at the changing skylines of the big and not-so-big cities of the world would reveal how the once heavy on aesthetics iron and steel reinforcement structures have silently given way to sleek aluminium. It’s almost a norm today to use aluminium facades (on the building exteriors) and aluminium window frames to lessen the use of wood, reduce heat effect, and facilitate smoother opening and closing of panes. There are other benefits also which make aluminium the preferred material for modern day architects, builders, and end users. Use of aluminium windows and doors with advanced coating is also becoming a practice these days although uPVC still stands as a major competitor in many areas. The future of the...
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has presented the 2017 Spring Budget yesterday 8 March. The budget sets the future target rates for the recycling of aluminium packaging till 2020. Current the aluminium recycling target is 55 per cent and the new targets stands at 64 per cent for 2020. Rick Hindley, executive director at aluminium packaging recycling organisation Alupro, said that he is not satisfied with the government’s approach. He stated: “We are very disappointed and frustrated that the government has ignored our proposal. Rather than straight line targets, we proposed a stronger 2017 target of 58% and then 2% increases per annum up to 2020. We did a lot of work to demonstrate the option we proposed was viable.” “With these new targets, there is no guarantee that...
Constellium, a leading manufacturer of high-quality aluminium products and solutions in the world has reported results for Q4 and full year 2016 today, March 9. Overall, the company reported an adjusted EBITDA of €81 million in Q4, up 8% YOY. For the full year 2016, the company reported adjusted EBITDA of €377 million, up 10% from 2015. The company reported revenue of €1.2 billion in Q4 , up 3% from Q4 2015 and €4.7 billion for the full year 2016 , down 8% primarily due to lower metal prices. The company has cut net loss to €4 million in 2016 from €552 million in 2015; Q4 2016 net loss too benefited YOY. The 2016 shipments of 1.5 million metric tons remain flat YOY and Q4 shipments of 344 kt was up 2% from Q4 2015. Commenting on the results, Jean-Marc Germain, Constellium’s Chief...
The 2017 Geneva Motor Show starts with a bang at the Geneva Palexpo in Switzerland where the renowned auto makers are showcasing their latest models. The 87th edition of the Motor Show is set to witness some of the brand new as well as reintroduced cars decked in aluminium from 9 th March to 19 th March 2017. France’s legendary automaker Societe des Automobiles Alpine SAS is launching its new A110 model at The Salon. The A110 is almost 900 lbs. lighter as the company utilizes aluminium in the car’s major parts. Porsche , the Stuttgart automaker, is going to launch its 911 Carrera S Cabriolet . The company has reduced the weight of the car with the use of an aluminium alloy crankcase, an aluminium firewall, and aluminium paddle shifters. Jaguar Land Rover is introducing a coupe SUV called...
India's first ever metal industry share sale through qualified institutional placement (QIP) floated by Hindalco Industries generated overwhelming response in the market last week. Institutional investors lapped up the shares which went on to reinforce their confidence in the aluminium major’s manufacturing success. The QIP- the largest non-bank issue since Indiabulls’s QIP in 2015, saw demand surging more than 3 times and exceeded US$1.5 billion, reported sources aware of the matter. Hindalco had priced the QIP at a premium of 2.7 per cent to the Sebi floor price of INR 184 per share. The Capital Raising Committee of the company at its meeting held on 08th March 2017, inter alia, passed the following resolutions: Approved the closure of the issue period for the QIP on 08th March, 2017;...
Taiwan’s GDP has increased 2.6% year-on-year in Q4 2016, accelerating from the 2.0% increase in Q3, marking the fastest pace of growth since Q2 2015. For the full year 2016, Taiwan’s economic growth was 1.4%, strengthening from the 0.7% expansion in 2015. The government expects GDP to expand 1.9% in 2017. With the growth in GDP, aluminium consumption is increasing at a faster speed. The country ranks second in per capita aluminium consumption with a rate of about 33.3 kg. The island country has seen significant demand growth for aluminium alloy on the island. The country produces about 819,000 tonnes of aluminium domestically in four main categories: Secondary Aluminium Alloy, Casting, Rolling and Extrusion Industries. C.S. Aluminium Corp., which was a subsidiary of China Steel Corp....
The Earthships are gaining popularity all around the world mostly in the United States. The Earthship movement refers to off-the-grid homes built from aluminium cans and other recycled materials and features solar panels, wind power and gray water systems. There are Earthships in more than 20 countries including England and Guatemala that allow overnight visitors in community rentals. The “Euro Earthship” is the latest entrant in the Earthship movement. The Euro Earthship is the latest addition in Michael Reynolds’ Earthship technologies and design series. The home features three bedrooms; two bath houses and it runs 204 square meters on a 6,070 square meter piece of land in Taos. The wall of the Euro Earthship is made from aluminium cans. Architect Michael Reynolds, who initiated...
India's major aluminium scrap commodities prices climbed on Monday, while aluminium futures prices at Multi Commodity Exchange settled slightly down. The major aluminium scrap commodities on the Scrap Register Price Index showed an uptrend on Monday. India's major aluminium scrap commodities like aluminium accessories scrap, aluminium sheet cutting and aluminium wire scrap traded higher on Monday. The most active March aluminium contract on MCX is down by 0.83 per cent to INR 125.10 per kilogram on Monday from previous close of INR 126.15 per kilogram. The MCX aluminium prices touched an intra-day high of INR 125.80 per kilogram and an intra-day low of INR 124.10 per kilogram during Monday. In addition, inventories of aluminium ingot in China’s five major trading markets climbed above 1...
As reported by Reuters, three major aluminium producers, South32 Ltd, Rio Tinto Ltd and UC Rusal have offered aluminium premium of $135 per tonne to Japanese buyers for shipments in the April to June quarter. According to sources from the pricing sector, this records a 42% increase from previous quarter. This offer would mark the second quarterly increase continuously. The increase is driven by rise in premiums in the United States and Europe and falling inventories Japan due to solid local demand. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of aluminium and the premiums it agrees to pay each quarter for the delivery of primary metal over the London Metal Exchange (LME) price set the benchmark for the region. The negotiations for the current quarter began last month and are expected to continue...
China's primary aluminium output is clearly on the rise. Despite news in the international media about the Chinese government halting production at many smelters to curb pollution, the first-hand production data collected by Shanghai Metals Market from the country's major aluminium smelters shows aluminium production in February this year has risen from the year ago period by 21.1 per cent to reach 2.838 million tonnes. The cumulative production for the last two months of the current calendar year stands at 5.876 million tonnes, up 21.6 per cent from the corresponding period previous year. The final production data of January shows aluminium production in China totalled 3.038 million tonnes. In March, China is estimated to produce 3.155 million tonnes of the primary metal. Total output of...
The falling LME aluminium found support at US$1,857 per tonne and edged higher reversing its week-long downtrend. The contract closed at US$1,881 per tonne during Wednesday's night trading, rising 1.28 per cent from its previous day's close of US$1,858 per tonne. As Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) finds it LME aluminium will trade at US$1,860-1,886 per tonne on Thursday, March 9, meeting resistance at the 5, 10 and 20-day moving averages. As on March 8, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,880.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,881 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,888.50 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,889 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,933 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,938 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of...
Bauxite mining stakeholders are urging the state government or the federal government for a set of standard operating procedure (SOP) for bauxite-mining in Pahang since the moratorium period had lasted for more than a year. Gerakan Rakyat Hentikan Pencemaran Bauksit (Geram) chairperson Ali Akbar Othman commented: “The delay in announcing the SOP would reflect the lack of seriousness by the government to resolve the problem or find a solution to bauxite-mining. We are still waiting.” “The government should have invited all non-governmental organisations (NGO), stakeholders, experts and others involved in bauxite-mining to discuss the best option, find a solution or seek their views.” “Only then can a comprehensive SOP be prepared. But until now there has been no action or invitation. If a...
This year’s Aluminium China in Shanghai from 19-21 July is set to mark a new period of growth in the aluminium industry and reflect strengthening market conditions in China and across the world. Aluminium China 2017 will focus on the transformation driven by emerging new technologies in areas such as lightweight vehicle manufacturing and consumer electronics. With China speeding up the upgrading of its vehicle emission standards to control exhaust pollution, the China Automotive Engineering Society’s ‘Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Road Map’ predicts that by 2035, annual car production and sales in China will reach 38 million units, with new energy car sales accounting for 40%. Research shows that every 100kg weight reduced is translated to 0.3-0.6liters less fuel...
India’s leading aluminium producer Hindalco Industries Ltd raised US$550 million over the last weekend through a major stock offering launched on Friday, March 3. The qualified institutional placement (QIP), the country’s first ever metal sector share sale using the vehicle, saw noted foreign investors such as Goldman Sachs AMC, East Spring, Jardine Fleming Asset Management (JFAM), Fidelity, Halbis, Blackrock, and Bajaj Allianz participating in the offering. The offering also bought in to the QIP prominent mutual funds from India, namely HDFC Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund, and Birla Mutual Fund. Floor price for the QIP was set at INR 184.45 per share. According to the term sheet of the QIP offer, the money raised will be used for business purposes such as meeting working...
The new technical brief from the Aluminum Transportation Group, Drive Aluminium details three different types of cosmetic corrosion types for aluminium parts used in vehicular applications and best practices for prevention. When properly sealed and coated, an aluminium vehicle body is inherently more corrosion resistant than an equivalent steel body. This corrosion-resistant quality is one of the reasons aluminium is a material of choice in the automotive, commercial transportation and defence industries. However, under specific conditions, painted or unpainted automotive aluminium can develop three different corrosion types that are primarily cosmetic. Galvanic, filiform and crevice corrosion predominantly affect surface layers only, and can influence paint retention. These types of...
