AlCircle News Edited By "Debanjali Sengupta"
Debanjali Sengupta is a passionate content writer with 10 years of experience in Business writing, Web Content writing, Blogging, Editing and Research. She is responsible for generating and editing content for AlCircle Newsletter and other online and offline content for enhancing the brand value and its visibility among global users.
Norsk Hydro to expand automotive aluminium production worth $100 million
Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro ASA reportedly declared late last week to expand its automotive aluminium production at a plant in Cressonia, Pennsylvania, which would expectedly create 60 family-sustaining jobs over the next three years and retain an additional 1,307 jobs. The expansion will take place on a property of 96,000-square-foot, adjacent to an existing facility that will provide new manufacturing capabilities needed to compete in the automotive market. According to the report, Hydro will also invest some of its money to upgrade the existing facility’s infrastructure as well as purchase and modernize some equipment. This entire project of Norsk Hydro is estimated to involve more than US$ 100 million. Charles Straface, business area president for Extrusion North America...
NALCO discloses new business plan to increase profit and turn the firm into a hardcore business organisation
NALCO CMD Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand disclosed a new business plan on Monday, October 1, 2018, to increase company’s 3-digit profit figure to 4-digits and 4-digit turnover to 5-digits. Under the new business plan, the company intends to put a complete focus on business excellence so as to turn into a hardcore business organisation. While the company has already achieved 4-digit figure at INR 1342 crore in 2017-18, it now aims to achieve more than Rs.1600 crore in 2018-19. Chand said: “With the emergence of the 4th Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics, Augmented Reality etc would be the trendsetters and NALCO is all set to lead this revolution. The new technology: Industry 4.0 will bring in a substantial reduction in capital investments and Indian...
Aluminium window and door manufacturer Fentrade Ltd. expands at Maesglas Industrial Estate
The UK-based leading aluminium window and door manufacturer Fentrade Limited has taken a 3,000 square feet unit at Maesglas Industrial Estate as part of its expansion plan. This expansion is reportedly expected to bring 10 new jobs to the area. The estate is now fully let until further four units come back onto the market after refurbishment. Work on units 14, 15, 19 and 19A, which are 2,140 square feet each is expected to be finished in November. Fentrade Limited chose Maesglas Industrial Estate for the expansion because of its convenient location near the M4, which would expectedly benefit distribution, recruitment, and other complimentary businesses on the estate. In regards to this, Chris Reeks, director for Fentrade Limited, said: After reviewing many properties and locations we...
New NAFTA deal between US and Canada brings in a resolution to Trump’s auto tariff
The 24-year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reportedly underwent modest revisions on Sunday, September 30, to build up a last-gasp between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This new deal called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, is meant to rescue a US$1.2 trillion open-trade zone that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century. The US and Canadian negotiators worked around the clock over the weekend to settle differences, with both sides making concessions to seal the deal. According to two senior Trump administration officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, the new accord involves improved access to Canada’s dairy market for US farmers to about 3.5 per cent of approximately US$16 billion annual domestic dairy market. The new...
China’s aluminium processing industry sees a growth in September with PMI rebounding to 51.1
According to Shanghai Metals Market report, the last month (September) in China recorded an expansion in aluminium processing industry, bolstered by improvement in primary alloy, secondary alloy, foil, plate/sheet and strip, and construction extrusions sectors. The purchasing manager’s index (PMI) across seven sectors in China’s aluminium processing industry rebounded to 51.1 in September, which indicated an expansion; while in August, the PMI was comparatively lower at 49.6, indicating a contraction. A production sub-index, viewed as a proxy for operating rates, also increased to 51.3 in September from 50.5 in August but a new orders sub-index fell to 47.4 from 49.5. New export orders, however, saw a growth this month, with the sub-index climbing to 51.4 from 37 a month ago. The...
US declines unconditional withdrawal of aluminium and steel tariffs on India
The Trump administration formally turns down India’s urge for an unconditional exemption from the US aluminium and steel tariffs, reported Commerce Ministry officials to the BusinessLine . A meeting, led by Assistant US Trade Representative Mark Linscott, was held early this week in Washington with Commerce Ministry officials, where it was decided that no exemption from higher duties on aluminium and steel would be extended to India. If India wants to resolve the matter, then it should come up with a counter proposal of capping its metals exports . Though Washington had been indicating it was not in favour of giving exemptions, New Delhi had been pushing for a complete unconditional rollback. Yesterday, on September 27, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said India was not foreclosing any...
Donfeng Renault Automotive to launch its first electric vehicle in China
Dongfeng Renault Automotive Co. will reportedly introduce its first electric vehicle next year in China. The news came after Francois Provost, Renault’s Asia chief and CEO of Dongfeng-Renault, disclosed the plan last week. Dongfeng Renault Automotive Co is an equally-owned joint venture between car manufacturers Dongfeng Motor Group and Renault established in 2013 with an aim to produce and sell Renault-badged vehicles. The joint venture will launch two other EV models before 2022, Provost added. Not much detail is known yet about the would-be launched cars, except the fact that the first one will be a low-price small EV, which will be manufactured at Dongfeng’s assembly plant in Shiyan and distributed under a new brand planned by Dongfeng-Renault, according to the information published...
Aughinish Alumina guarantees €28 million financial package to EPA in the event of its closure
The US-sanctioned Russian parent company of Aughinish Alumina, one of the major industrial employers in the mid-west, has reportedly guaranteed a €28 million financial package to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in case of its closure. There are fears that the US sanctions may lead to production slash by up to 70pc at Aughinish or a shutdown. Out of 70pc, the refinery supplies some 30pc of all aluminium in Europe. In the event of closure, the company will guarantee a €28 million-euro package to the Environmental Protection Agency for decommissioning and aftercare of the site, according to the Irish Independent. The Irish Government is engaged in intense negotiations with the United States to ensure a job security for 450 people who are directly employed, as well as hundreds more...
Aluminium billet inventories in China inch up on limited restocking; Alloy price registers a drop
Aluminium billet inventories have extended their growth further on less than expected restocking across the major Chinese consumption areas, found Shanghai Metals Market. As of September 27, the stocks of 6063 aluminium billet were seen at 117,200 tonnes after inching up by 1,000 tonnes from 116,200 tonnes on September 20. Consequently, aluminium alloys (ADC12) price are reportedly shrinking over the past two days, learned SMM. Yesterday, on September 27, aluminium alloys (ADC12) price had dropped to RMB 15600 per tonne while today, September 28, the price further dipped by RMB 50 per tonne to RMB 15550 per tonne. Aluminium alloy (A356) today is hovering at RMB 15000 per tonne after registering a plunge by RMB 10 per tonne from the previous day, and aluminium alloy (A380) is at RMB 16300...
Ball Aerosol Packaging unveils new aluminium aerosol can printing technique
Ball Aerosol Packaging has recently announced the launch of a proprietary high-definition printing technique Eyeris, which according to the company will address the problem associated with the translation of graphics to conventional offset printing, and believed to offer photo-realistic packaging designs to aluminium aerosol customers. This new printing technology would bring in a solution for customers who especially crave for detailed graphics to bring products to life. It will provide photo-realistic quality can design without using digital printing. The ground-breaking HD imagery will cover 360 degrees of the can, helping customers to increase consumer engagement and brand visibility. As the personal care industry continues moving towards more natural products, Eyeris allows its...
Iceland aluminium export records a growth of 6% in Q1 2018
Alcoa, Century Aluminium, and Rio Tinto Alcan are the three notable aluminium smelters in Iceland. In the year 1969, Iceland started producing aluminium in Straumsvík (South Coast). During the first year, the production capacity was at 33 thousand tonnes, which currently is at 850 thousand tonnes (including both aluminium non-alloy and alloy) every year on average. The country exports a lion share of its production, accounting for 14 per cent of total exports of goods and services, as of Q3 2017. {newsStudioGallery} The below graph shows the growth of Iceland’s aluminium and aluminium products export over the years: According to the global export-import data, the estimated aluminium export from Iceland in Q1 2017 was at 188,522 tonnes, 12 per cent up from the estimated volume of 167,815...
Sunseeker to build aluminium yachts in partnership with Dutch shipyard ICON Yachts
Sunseeker has recently announced to start building metal yachts in partnership with Dutch shipyard ICON Yachts for the first time in its 50-year history. The first model will be a 49-metre aluminium yacht based on a fast displacement hull form, with completion expected in 2021. The news came after Sunseeker official spoke to SuperyachtNews. According to the report, the partnership with ICON Yachts was brewing over the last 18 months. ICON was founded in 2005 and immediately promulgated the idea of selling a fully engineered platform which could be customised from the waterline up. The new 49-metre will render a look of 161 Yacht and tap into the naval architecture know-how of Van Oossanen Naval Architects and a Fast Displacement Hull Form design. Moreover, the profile borrows distinct...
Chinese aluminium inventory records longest destocking phase this year on output cut and stable consumption
Shanghai Metals Market found that this year the Chinese aluminium inventory cycle so far has lingered in a destocking phase for 25 weeks, as of Wednesday September 26. This has been the longest destocking period since 2007, which was first recorded in 2011. As of Tuesday September 25, the social inventories of primary aluminium across major consumption areas in China had stood at 1.606 million tonnes, down 29.64 per cent from the peak of 2.284 million tonnes notched on March 12, 2018. The primary reasons behind these shrinking inventories across China could be the production cut and shutdown of capabilities, SMM found. In March-August, Chinese smelters produced 18.31 million tonnes of primary aluminium, down 1.6 per cent from the contemporary period of 2017. In June-September, over...
Nalco to place high stakes on downstream aluminium business; plans for INR 5.52 billion worth project
As Nalco’s chairman and managing director Dr. T. K. Chand say that the navratna company is always focused on constant value addition, this time it has decided to place high stakes on downstream aluminium business. After co-developing a downstream park with Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) and planning joint ventures with foreign players- Almex and Rusal, the company has pledged an investment of INR 5.52 billion on a major downstream complex at Kamkhyanagar in Dhenkanal district. The entire fund for the project will come from Nalco’s internal accruals, according to the report. Dr. T.K. Chand has also said “There is a huge demand for value added aluminium products. Apart from catering to the demand, product diversification will also shore up our margins.” As...
First US-manufactured aluminium-hulled vessel Enhydra starts its commercial operation
Red and White Fleet has reportedly begun the commercial operation of its new plug-in hybrid vessel Enhydra in San Francisco Bay, California, US. The vessel was launched last month from Bellingham, Washington, and said to be the first with aluminium hull and lithium-Ion battery plug-in manufactured in the US. It has three decks to provide splendid views of the Bay and San Francisco skyline and also comes with an audio tour entertainment system. The vessel is 128ft-long and 30ft-wide with total accommodation capacity of 600 passengers. To equip it with the HybriGen propulsion system, Red and White Fleet had reportedly collaborated with BAE Systems. HybriGen features 160kWh lithium-ion battery packs, generators, control system, and AC electric traction motors. Red and White Fleet president...
Ball Corporation runs survey over aluminium recycling awareness in UK
During the Recycle Week this year from September 24 to 30, the world’s leading beverage can maker Ball Corporation has reportedly stepped forward with its survey campaign, which reveals that “Wales is the most worried country about plastic pollution in the UK.” About 81 per cent of people in Wales claiming to often take action to reduce plastic pollution against the national average of 67 per cent, by recycling or changing shopping habits, for instance. However, 1 in 10 (10%) of people in Wales still don’t understand what they can and cannot recycle. In spite of efforts to improve recycling rates and only 2 per cent of people in Wales claiming that they don’t have time to recycle. In addition, there is a lot of confusion and numerous factors that are preventing people from taking more...
A00 aluminium ingot spot price drops in east China market on improved transactions
According to the Shanghai Metals Market report, primary aluminium spot discounts in the east China market had slightly widened yesterday, September 25, after the Mid-Autumn Festival. The market was oversupplied amid sellers’ enthusiasm to offload cargoes. Purchasing activity, however, had taken a back seat as buyers took a wait-and-watch stance. This exacerbated the supply overhang across the market. This scenario is more or less similar even today, on September 26, except the fact that buying enthusiasm among downstream consumers have spurred as they have begun to stockpile for the National Day holiday, SMM found. The SHFE morning contract for October delivery today is still sluggish like yesterday in the morning trading hours. Yesterday, on September 25, most transactions in Shanghai...
Production on hold at New Day Aluminium bauxite plant because of the strike by workers
As per the report on September 24, production at the New Day Aluminium Limited bauxite plant was put on hold, as almost 200 hourly-paid workers went on strike for approximately four hours. The enraged workers reported that they had no choice but to protest because of the consistent delays in renewing their contracts. They claimed that they had been working for past three years without a contract and without several benefits that they should be entitled to. “The workers reach a stage where enough is enough. We are waiting too long, nearly three years of expired contract and nothing can be done. Enough is enough,” said Alfred Hemmings, University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) Senior Union Delegate representing approximately 180 employees. Hemmings further intimidated that a meeting was...
