AlCircle News Edited By "Rupankar Majumder"
A professional with a technical background, specialising in producing insightful content centred around metals, particularly aluminium, passionately engaged in the intricacies of the recycling sector.
EGA accomplishes expansion of Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi to raise production capacity
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), one of the largest companies in the UAE, has accomplished the expansion of Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi to enhance production capacity at the facility by 78,000 tonnes per year. Abdulnasser bin Kalban, CEO of EGA said: “The completion of this expansion project adds to our production capacity amid strong demand for aluminium as the world builds back better from Covid-19. The expansion was delivered below budget and on schedule.” “All 2,843 reduction cells at EGA use our own efficient technology developed in the UAE, an important source of competitive advantage and pride for us as a leader in the global aluminium industry." Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm and the Investment Corporation of Dubai are the joint owners of...
Sweden’s import of aluminium tubes and pipes during 2018-21 reflects significant growth
Aluminium is considered a remarkable metal for its low density and its features to resist corrosion through the passivation process. Aluminium tubing widens from consumer items, recreational merchandise and machine parts and automotive and manufacturing across an extensive range of industrial applications. However, suppliers respect aluminium for its strength and it is only one per cent of the steel weight. The metal exceptionally well absorbs heat making tubing a great material for temperature control applications such as refrigerators, solar power and air conditioning systems. The Scandinavian nation, Sweden imported 4216 tonnes of aluminium tubes and pipes during 2018-20, which incurred revenue expenditure of around $17.25 million for the import. In 2018, the Swedish import of...
Alcoa to resume operations of redundant smelting capacity at Portland Aluminium
On 08 th November 2021, Alcoa Australia stated that it would resume functionalizing 35,000 tonnes per year of long retrenched capacity at its Portland aluminium smelter in Australia that will drive operations at the facility to around 95% of capacity amid supply shortage of the metal. Alcoa said that the procedure to resume the capacity, which was redundant since 2009, will commence forthright with metal output to begin in Q32022. Michael Gollschewski, President of Alcoa Australia said: “Restarting the idle capacity improves the smelter's cost structure, competitiveness and longer-term sustainability.” The prices of aluminium have skyrocketed to a 13-year high in October 2021, due to production restrictions by the world’s biggest producer, China. However, the aluminium prices remain...
Downstream Products Weekly: Novelis Inc. earns net income of $237 million in 2QFY22; Arconic reports 5% growth in revenue for 3Q2021 on higher LME aluminium price
The downstream segment of the aluminium sector is considered the most vital player due to the delivery of its multifaceted products, while the week has remained highlighted due to several reasons. The quarterly and half-yearly reports are gradually getting published, as Novelis, the world-leading producer of aluminium rolling and recycling reported that its net sales improved 38% year-on-year in 2QFY22 from $3 billion to $4.1 billion, primarily driven by a 5% increase in shipments and higher average aluminium prices. Arconic’s revenue from aluminium rolled products improved year on year from $1,092 million to $1,559 million in the September quarter. But from extrusions, it dipped from $82 million to $74 million. On 2nd November 2021, the Croatian parasol manufacturer VIS Promotex stated...
Bangladesh Thai Aluminium posts 512% growth in profit for FY 20-21
The producer and supplier of quality aluminium profiles Bangladesh Thai Aluminium Limited, which was impacted heavily due to the Covid-19 crisis in the previous year, have excelled in the pre-pandemic position in regards to the making of profit. The supplier of fabricated aluminium in Bangladesh, which furnished multiple prestigious buildings, Bangladesh Thai Aluminium booked a profit growth of 512% to Tk16.03 crore compared to the existing fiscal year. As per the reports on its financials, the revenue attained the pre-pandemic level in FY21 to Tk120.36 crore, an escalation of 58% from the previous year. In FY2018-19, the revenue stood at Tk121.22 crore, while the profit remained at Tk6.97 crore. However, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the revenue to plunge at Tk76.24 crore, whereas the profit...
Primary Aluminium Weekly Recap: Yunnan removes preferential electricity pricing for aluminium producers to control power consumption; Century Aluminum reports 10% rise in net sales during 3Q 2021
The primary aluminium segment of the global aluminium industry has been in the limelight due to various events. In China, the Yunnan provincial government issued a policy prescribing an immediate cancellation of power price discounts and subsidies to the aluminium industry. It used to offer preferential electricity pricing to aluminium companies at 16% to 22% lower than the industry average. The US-based primary aluminium producer, Century Aluminium revealed their Q3 2021 results reporting a 10% rise in net sales with a net loss of $52.4 million. The price of aluminium, which is required for making almost everything from soda cans to aeroplane components, had stabilised after reaching a 13-year high of US$3,221 during the third quarter, due to the supply concerns caused by China’s power...
Mercedes Benz chassis, aluminium body zero-emission bus on trial run by Glasgow Airport
The Glasgow International Airport (GLA) in Scotland has started off the trial run of eCOBUS, a zero-emission bus to transfer passengers between the terminal and aeroplanes parked at faraway stands. The new eCOBUS has been made operational to carry delegates and support staff during the ongoing COP26 summit. The zero-emission bus has been built on a Mercedes Benz chassis with an aluminium body for durability along with Scottish weather settings. This drive comes among the various projects that are being implemented under the sustainability plan revealed by AGS Airports. AGS Airports Limited is the United Kingdom-based owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports. The intention is to attain the mid-2030 target for decarbonising the operations and infrastructure of the group. However,...
CBA inks agreement to acquire secondary aluminium alloy producer Alux do Brasil
The largest aluminium producer in Brazil, Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) inked an agreement to acquire 80% of Alux do Brasil, located in Nova Odessa-SP, in a transaction worth R$ 110 million, with a preference to buy the remaining 20% from the third year after accomplishment of the transaction. Alux do Brasil stands among the largest producers of secondary aluminium alloys in Brazil and holds accounts of the major players in the automotive segment as its customers. The Alux facility will empower CBA to set foot in a new market segment in addition to expanding its recycled aluminium production capacity by around 20%. However, the acquisition strengthens CBA's position in the recycling market in Brazil and widens its bases for further expansion in the future, including new...
“Lose-lose situation for the aluminium industry and their downstream customers on both sides of the Atlantic”, says Director General of European Aluminium
The voice of the aluminium industry in Europe, European Aluminium affirms that the tariff-rate quotas, which will replace the existing 10% tariff on EU aluminium products under Section 232, will result in even more trade distortions. The association notifies it will create additional market instability for aluminium companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium, stated: “It seems the EU and US administrations assumed that trade policies that work for steel will work equally well for aluminium without taking into account our industry’s specificities and our continued opposition against tariff-rate quotas. Replacing the Section 232 tariffs with another trade-distorting measure is a lose-lose situation for the aluminium industry and their...
South Korea’s import of aluminium stranded wire during 2019-21 exemplifies a varying movement
Stranded aluminium wiring is considered safe, while it has been performing as intended for decades. The wires need a special joint compound that is electrically conductive and prevents rust. However, the stranded aluminium wire does offer better control of skin effect than stranded copper due to its greater skin depth and natural strand insulation through an oxide layer. South Korea has a mixed economic system that includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. The East Asian nation, South Korea imported 6923 tonnes of aluminium stranded wire during 2019-20, incurring revenue expenditure of $31.70 million for the import. In 2019, South Korea imported 4406 tonnes of aluminium stranded wire, which accounted expenditure of $11.19...
ELYSIS progresses toward commercial demonstration at an industrial scale, a step closer to carbon-free aluminium smelting
The carbon-free aluminium smelting for widely usable products varying from smartphones to cars and drink, cans are one step closer with ELYSIS effectively producing aluminium without any direct greenhouse emissions at its Industrial Research and Development Center in Saguenay (QC), Canada. The production of aluminium at the ELYSIS Industrial Research and Development Center denotes the achievement of a remarkable milestone, using a full industrial design at a size comparable to small smelting cells operating in the industry today. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada said: “Congratulations to the workers at ELYSIS who have taken another step towards producing carbon-free aluminium. ELYSIS and key local players in the supply chain are making us...
Japan urges United States to eliminate extra tariffs on aluminium and steel
On 4 th October 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry stated that Minister Koichi Hagiuda has urged the United States to eliminate extra tariffs on aluminium and steel products imports from Japan in a meeting with Washington's trade representative. The Ministry said: “On a virtual meeting with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai, Hagiuda requested for a resolution to the tariffs issue on Japanese aluminium and steel products under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act.” Hagiuda’s plea comes following the US and the EU concluded a three-year-old discord on 31 st October 2021 over aluminium and steel tariffs and declared they would work on a global disposition to counter high carbon emitted production and overcapacity in the industry. The deal...
Russia envisioned to unfasten tax on aluminium exports
The expectation is gradually peering through the clouds of Russia, that the govt. might remove the taxes on aluminium exports and foster global supplies due to the triggered inventory sell-off that has marked down the prices of the metal on the physical market in the US and in Europe. Following the run down in aluminium stocks that were estimated at around 1 million tonnes in Europe and up to half a million tonnes in the United States, propels the prices towards a further downfall. The implementation of a 15% export tax on primary aluminium exports by Russia or a minimum of $254 a tonne, during the August and December phase is not envisioned to be recommencing after it manifested to discard the duty on aluminium-based alloys. The tax was applied to the Russian aluminium giant Rusal, one...
Egypt’s export of aluminium flat-rolled products during 2018-21 manifests an erratic trend
The aluminium flat-rolled products are generally made by rolling thick aluminium between rolls that reduce the thickness and lengthen it through hot and cold rolling processes. However, flat-rolled aluminium products are widely used in several applications including household utensils, packages, closures, building interiors & exteriors, roofs and home electric appliances. Egypt is considered as one of the few emerging market countries that came across a positive growth rate in 2020. The Egyptian government stated that it expected the economy grew 2.8% in the 2020/2021 fiscal year amid the huge disarray across the global economy. The nation located at the North-eastern corner of Africa, Egypt exported 163,173 tonnes of aluminium flat-rolled products during 2018-20, generating revenue of...
RUSAL's participation in COP26 global climate summit address the road to decarbonize aluminium industry
The Russian aluminium giant, RUSAL participates in the 26 th UN Climate Change Conference that is happening in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The global leader in the production of low-carbon aluminium, RUSAL discusses the path to decarbonize the aluminium industry, within the framework of COP26. However, business representatives and expert organizations talked about the risks and opportunities confronted by the aluminium industry in the activity of zero greenhouse gas emissions (Net Zero), as well as the possibility of conquering technological barricade, which currently staves off further decarbonization of the preliminary phases of the primary aluminium production and supply chain. These comprise bauxite mining, alumina production and metal electrolysis. The experts will also discuss the role...
Consumer packaging firm ‘Amcor’ impacted by aluminium and resin deficit
The global leading company in developing and producing high-quality, responsible packaging, Amcor has provisionally retrenched supplies to some of its lower-margin customers after raw materials shortfall in specialist resins, PET plastic and aluminium contrived its production in the September quarter. Ron Delia, CEO of Amcor said: “Amcor had been forced to make some hard choices as it grappled with the shortages of the raw materials, which he said should right themselves by the second half of the 2021-22 financial year.” “Certainly in the first quarter it provided a bit of a headwind,” Delia added. He said: “Amcor allocated more packaging products to higher-margin customers. We’ve just had to make some choices about what to do.” However, the shortages are starting to subside but still, it...
Finland’s aluminium foil importation during 2019-21 showcases marginal downfall pursued by a growth
People use aluminium foil at home for food storage, to cover baking surfaces and to wrap foods, to avert them from losing moisture while cooking and it is also used to wrap and protect delicate food items. The foil reflects the thermal energy back to the food maintaining the inherent aroma, moisture, and flavour of the food. The most expensive country in the eurozone, Finland imported 21,867 tonnes of aluminium foil during 2019-20, which accounted expenditure of $61.37 million from the import. In 2019, Finland, the ‘Happiest Country in the World’ imported 11,095 tonnes of aluminium foil, incurring an expenditure of $31.45 million, whereas, in 2020, the foil import showcased a downfall by 2.91%, as the import volume declined to 10,772 and expenditure counted to $29.92 million. The import...
VIS Promotex acquires Croatian aluminium foundry Lipovica
On 2 nd November 2021, the Croatian parasol manufacturer VIS Promotex stated that it has taken over aluminium foundry Lipovica, with a focus to increase sales and exports. The Varazdin-based VIS Promotex said in a statement said: “Following a public tender called by the government's centre for enterprise restructuring and privatisation, CERP, in which VIS Promotex was named the best bidder, the company signed a deal to buy the foundry and fulfilled all of its obligations.” However, the company did not reveal the value of the deal, while the information published on the website of CERP, said: “On 24 September, the Croatian Govt. agency decided to accept a binding offer by VIS Promotex to acquire Lipovica for 16 million kuna that outbid three other valid offers.” VIS Promotex said: “Both...
