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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Hindalco Industries, an aluminium manufacturing company and subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group, have decided to invest INR 1,000 crore in order to expand their downstream business in next term. The company took the decision to boost overall sales of aluminium and copper value added products. Hindalco MD Satish Pai explained that the company plans to invest INR 3,000-4,000 crore in downstream expansion over the next five years. Also, the company targets an extra EBIDTA of $150-$200 a tonne. Next year, Hindalco is going to add 50,000 tonnes of aluminium value added products. The company’s proportion of aluminium value added products such as flat rolled products, foils and extrusions is about 3.40 lakh tonnes. He said, “We are committed to be capex disciplined and have tight control on...
Gulf region is the fasted growing aluminium producer and exporter in Asia after China. The volume of aluminium production in the GCC countries stood at 5.2 million tonnes in 2015, accounting for around 10 per cent of total global output of 58 million tonnes. This was due to the major expansion of existing smelters and commissioning of new projects that the production is increasing at a faster rate. After oil and natural gas, now aluminium is one of the key economic drivers for the Gulf region. About sixty per cent of the total aluminium production in the GCC region is exported to different parts of the world. {newsStudioGallery} Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in UAE is the top aluminium producer in GCC and it is also among the five largest aluminium producers in the world. EGA’s consists...
Australia's recent shift away from thermal power to alternative energy sources to meet a national 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020 has put aluminium smelters and mineral refining businesses of the country in a complicated situation. The supply uncertainty of electricity is making it difficult for the smelters, which have till date benefited from cheap, long-term electricity agreements with state-owned power companies, to operate profitably. "There is no bigger factor for a smelter than disruption to power supply," said Miles Prosser, executive director of the Australian Aluminium Council. "A disruption for even just a few hours can be almost catastrophic," he said. Australia produces coal more than almost any other country, and that makes it one of the cheapest thermal power...
Maarten Labberton, the director for the Packaging Group at European Aluminium, a member of the Executive Committee of Metal Packaging Europe and a member of the European Steering Committee of Every Can Counts makes his statement on Circular Economy in Europe. He says that ambitious yet realistic targets for all packaging materials can build a true circular economy in Europe. The Circular Economy Package designed by the European Commission aims at recycling 75% of all aluminium packaging by 2025, and of 85% by 2030. Maarten considers it to be a balanced and constructive approach if it covers all collection, sorting and recycling options. The Members of European Parliament (MEPs) further increased the original targets for aluminium and a few other materials – to 80% by 2025 and 90% by 2030....
Aqualuma, the world’s leading LED lighting manufacturer in Australia, has introduced LED highbay light called Lite-bay for the marine industry. The Lite-bay is a cost- effective solution and is best suited for small businesses for restraining them from buying cheaper imported products. The new LED lighting features a marine-grade epoxy powder-coated aluminium housing and heat sink with IP66 water ingress rating. The Lite-bay offers energy efficient LED lights that can minimize energy costs by over 70 per cent. Aqualuma director Carl Amor stated that the price of this lighting is very competitive so that the buyers don’t need to buy Chinese imported products. This could lead to support the growth of the market for Australia-made products. He said, “The new Lite-bay allows us to compete in...
India's mining sector is set to witness the entry of private exploration companies as the Mines Ministry identifies 50 mineral blocks to be offered to them under the new National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP). The offer stands as an adjunct to one of the biggest auction of explored mineral blocks, which India government has lined up. The Empowered Committee of the Ministry has identified the auction of 70 non-coal blocks like iron-ore, limestone and bauxite in the first tranche of the coming fiscal year. The total number of non-coal blocks that could be identified by the Ministry for auction is estimated to reach 280. The new NMEP introduced last year allows entry of private companies into minerals exploration domain in India. It is understood that there are around 30 specialized...
Skoda Auto, a Czech automobile manufacturer, said in a press statement that the company has begun production of its new 1.0 TSI engine at its Mlada Boleslav engine plant. The three cylinder turbo petrol engine belongs to Skoda’s EA 211 family of engines which the company builds in four displacement volumes. According to the company, the four-valve unit with aluminium engine block is characterised by its compact dimensions and exemplary running smoothness. Skoda said, "The new 1.0 TSI once again extends the range of the engine family. The modern three-cylinder has weight-optimized, forged connecting rods and aluminium pistons.” "Compared to comparatively powerful four-cylinder engines, it is more compact, lighter and generates less friction, and thus operates much more efficiently." In...
Aluminium prices on London Metal Exchange remained unchanged at US$1,878 per tonne on Tuesday, though the U.S. dollar strengthened signalling at a possible downward correction in the near term. Crude prices also fell on Wednesday as American crude supplies climbed 9.53 million barrels to reach their highest at 518.1 million. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) said in its forecast that the contract will fluctuate between the 5 and 10-day moving averages and trade at US$1,875-1,900 per tonne on Wednesday, February 22. As on February 21, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,877.5 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,878 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,889.50 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,890 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,935 per tonne, and Dec1 seller...
Altech Chemicals Limited has announced that it has reached an agreement with its appointed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor M+W Group on a framework for a fixed price EPC contract for the construction of the Company’s proposed Malaysian high purity alumina (HPA) plant. A fixed price EPC contract insures the risks during the construction phase of the project like completion risk (cost and timeline)and project operability risk (at completion and handover). The contract will offer throughput performance guarantees and warranty periods, a performance bond, warranty bond, liquidated damages for delay in completion and a bonus for early completion. The process guarantee remains with Altech and the technical risks have been minimised through extensive test work and...
Danieli Fata Hunter, a manufacturer of machinery for the production of aluminium strip and foil, has supplied and installed a cold rolling mill and a tension leveling line at the new Eurometal greenfield plant located in the new Kleszczow Industrial Park in Poland. Danieli FATA Hunter’s supplied equipment will make one of the up-to-date aluminium rolling plants in Europe. The equipment’s have been chosen on its innovative and advance design. The cold rolling mill produces 120,000 tons per year of aluminium coils with a thickness of 10 to 6 mm and rolled down to a minimum thickness of 0.15 mm. Danieli FATA Hunter has developed new features called the induction heating system for the tight edges control, a new VOC emission control to guarantee low emissions required by the European...
UACJ Corporation, one of Tesla’s aluminum part suppliers announced further investment to increase production of certain parts just before the beginning of Model 3 production. Though the level of steel versus aluminium parts in the car has not yet been revealed, the suppliers are making themselves ready for the production. The amount of steel and aluminium to be used in the car give insights into repair costs. Repairing aluminium parts is more expensive than steel parts. UACJ Corporation, a major Japanese aluminium group, announced that it would invest about US$26 million into an aluminium part manufacturing company which it acquired last year in order to supply aluminium parts for Tesla’s Model 3. UACJ acquired Michigan-based SRS Industries in 2016 which was already a supplier for Tesla’s...
Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD), one of the leading independent European distributors of India’s forged aluminium wheels, has introduced the latest Xbrite+ forged aluminium wheels for the European market. The size of the Xbrite+ wheels is 17.5, 19.5 and 22.5 inch. The Xbrite+ wheels took the advantage of Wheels India’s upgraded multi-million pound production facility. MWSD has distribution rights for supply of Xlite and Xbrite+ forged aluminium wheels throughout Europe. The company signed a long-term agreement with manufacturing giant, Wheels India (WIL). Matt Mardle, chief operating officer at MWSD, said: “The latest generation of the Xbrite+ is a marked advancement on its predecessors, with the new production facility allowing far deeper penetration of the forged aluminium which...
South Africa's manufacturing sector has logged a moderate to slow growth over the last three years. One of the two major smelters in the country- Bayside Aluminium operated by South32, erstwhile BHP Billiton, shut down in 2015. The other smelter, Hillside Aluminium in Richards Bay, has been single-handedly churning out the primary metal for domestic market as well as shipping ingots to the international buyers {newsStudioGallery} In 2015, South Africa exported 484559.76 tonnes of aluminium (alloyed and non-alloyed ingots), which increased to reach 537002.69 tonnes in 2016, up 10.8 per cent from the previous year. In 2017 till October, the country is estimated to ship around 404435.74 tonnes of aluminium to the global market, down 11.7 per cent from the corresponding period previous year....
The Taiwanese based smartphone maker HTC is ready to launch its U Ultra smartphone in India today. The launch event is going to take place in New Delhi. The company had already unvailed U Ultra at CES 2017 in January. Now, the device is going to hit the shelves in Indian maeket. The U Ultra smartphone bears an aluminium chassis with glass body. The device is the company’s U series phone and it is the top of the line smartphone in the U-series. The smartphone sports 5.7-inch Quad-HD Super LCD panel and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor with 4GB RAM. The highlight of the U Ultra is its secondary 2-inch 520 PPI display. HTC U Ultra has a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 16-megapixel front camera. The device gets a hybrid SIM card tray and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat with HTC’s...
Century Aluminum is projected to post profits in its fourth quarter of 2016 fiscal year. According to the consensus estimates compiled by Thompson Reuters, analysts expect the North American primary aluminium producer to post adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deductions and amortization (EBITDA) of US$10.4 million in Q4 2016. However, with alumina prices escalating, it is likely that Century’s profitability will be hurt moderately, observe analysts. Century Aluminum’s projected EBITDA will rise from the last quarter’s (Q3 2016) loss of US$5 million and up from -US$10 million in the corresponding period previous year. The rise in profitability is likely to get a logical boost from aluminium prices which have improved significantly in Q4 2016. However, input costs, especially alumina...
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has named Jorge Arreaza as the country’s new mining minister. Guyana President Desmond Hoyte has reiterated the significance of the mining resources in the country and the need to attract foreign investors for the development of its resources. While announcing Arreaza’s appointment on a televised broadcast the president said developing mining was part of his emergency plan to revive the dwindling economy of his country. The oil price crash in 2014 has caused a severe economic crisis in the country which led to skyrocketing inflation and mass shortages of food and supplies including medicine. “Mining is one of the great sources of financing for development for the coming years,” Maduro said. He added that the government was looking for investment from...
According to the monthly aluminium highlights published by Aluminum Association, U.S. and Canadian producers shipped estimated 343.8million pounds of can stock during January 2017, registering rise of 3.1 per cent YOY. Month on month, shipments increased 9.1 per cent. Revised shipments for the full year 2016 stood at 4,154.4 million pounds, slightly off YOY. Producer shipments of can stock to U.S. markets rose 2.2 per cent YOY to 292.9 million pounds, while exports were up 8.8 per cent to 50.9 million pounds. U.S. and Canadian producers shipped estimated 75 million pounds of aluminium foil during January 2017, registering a slight drop YOY. Month on month, shipments increased 20.1 per cent. Revised shipments for the full year 2016 stood at 969.6 million pounds, up 2.8 per cent over the...
Scientists at Disney’s Research Lab has constructed an aluminium room for charging several electronic devices present in the room without using electrical cords or charging cradles. With the help of this technology, numerous gadgets mobiles, fans, lights, Laptop, tablets are chargeable at the same time. The Disney’s researchers constructed a 16×16-foot room with aluminium walls, ceiling and floor bolted to an aluminium frame. Alanson Sample, associate lab director and principal research scientist at Disney Research in the US, said, “This new innovative method will make it possible for electrical power to become as ubiquitous as WiFi.” Alanson further stated that they have demonstrated room-scale wireless power and this wireless power transmission is a long-standing technological dream. At...
