ABB has secured two orders from China’s Southwest Aluminum to supply integrated automation and digital technologies for two six-high aluminium cold rolling mills, supporting the manufacturer’s wide-strip production expansion and upgrade. The projects involve a 2,500 mm two-stand mill and a 3,000 mm single-stand mill, with both lines expected to be fully commissioned and operational by the end of 2027. Chongqing-based Southwest Aluminum is a subsidiary of the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco). The orders build on the longstanding cooperation between ABB and the aluminium producer, with the latest projects focusing on process stability, control precision and production performance. Explore insights and forecasts for the aluminium flat rolled products (FRP) market from our...
India-based PG Foils Limited plans to establish a downstream aluminium manufacturing facility in Bahrain, focusing on electric vehicle (EV) battery foil and pharmaceutical foil production. The proposed investment is expected to expand the kingdom’s aluminium downstream capabilities and strengthen its manufacturing base. Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce signed a letter of intent with PG Foils for the project. The agreement was signed by Industry and Commerce Minister Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro and PG Foils Joint Managing Director Sahil Shah during the fourth edition of the Gateway Gulf expo, which opened on November 1 in Manama. Explore: The most comprehensive and forward-looking industry-focused report – Aluminum Foil Market Report Forecast Till 2035 Hosted by the Bahrain...
Grow with
AL Circle
Norsk Hydro reported that Extruded Solutions business is producing at an overall production rate of 70-80% as of Tuesday, while operations in Building Systems business unit remain almost at a standstill. The division was running at 60% capacity on Monday. “Extruded Solutions is producing at an overall production rate of 70-80 % in the three business units Extrusion Europe, Extrusion North America and Precision Tubing, Hydro said. “Based on current progress the expectation is for Building Systems to gradually ramp up production and shipments during the week.” In an update on Hydro’s site yesterday, on a preliminary basis, the company estimates the financial impact for the first full week after the cyber-attack would be between NOK 300 million and 350 million ($40 million). "Hydro has a...
Montenegrin based company Uniprom has announced its plan to invest around €26-million for upgrading the KAP aluminium smelter. The company's owner Veselin Pejović said this during his recent visit to KAP facilities. Uniprom KAP or Aluminium Plant Podgorica is an aluminium smelter located on the southern outskirts of Montenegro. Uniprom plans to open a 30,000 tpy production unit for silumin alloys investing €11-million. €15-million is planned to be invested in the construction of an aluminium billets production unit with a production capacity of 70,000 tpy, which will start operation by the end of 2019. "The two factories will have a combined output of 100,000 tonnes, which means that in 2020 we should have exports of circa $300-million (€266-million)," Pejović said. Montenegrin Prime...
China Customs data estimates aluminium extrusion, bar, and rod (under five HS codes) exports by China likely to rebound in March after a sharp drop last month. In February, China’s exports of aluminium extrusion, bar, and rod had reduced to 42,500 tonnes, down 63.81 per cent from the previous month and 25.6 per cent from the same period last year. Shanghai Metals Market believed stronger yuan, holidays, and tariffs concerns were some of the factors that led to the decline in exports. According to SMM, Chinese New Year breaks also took a toll on exports for February, as productions at most aluminium extrusion manufacturers were closed until the middle of the last month. Some producers even did not recover until the end of February. As a result, operating rates lowered, which could also be...
The European Commission announced on Monday that it started an investigation on the proposed acquisition of Aleris by Novelis under the EU Merger Regulation. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy said that the investigation would look into whether the acquisition would reduce competition in the semi-finished aluminium product market. It would also see whether such a merger would lead to less choice and higher prices for European industrial customers as for aluminium automotive body sheets are concerned. "European industries should be able to access aluminium products at fair prices to be able to compete in global markets,” she said. Aluminium automotive body sheets customers include European companies operating in the automotive sector. EU would make sure that...
Aluminium foil export by China stood at 87,600 tonnes in February 2019, an increase of 0.7 per cent from 86,900 tonnes in February 2018. On month-on-month basis, exports of aluminium foil, under five HS codes, dropped 22.8 per cent from January export of 113,500 tonnes. Exports of all the five types of these products decreased month-on -month in February, Shanghai Metals Market reported based on the data from China Customs. In other update from SMM, 40.8GW of Chinese solar modules were exported in 2018, an increase of 45 per cent from 28.1GW in 2017, Seraphim Energy reported. Major chunk of solar modules were exported to India, Japan and Australia last year. India imported about 6.7GW of solar modules last year, down 26 per cent from a year earlier due to safeguard duties and BIS...
Amafond and Indo Italian MilanHub (IIMH) have promoted a meeting with the new Consul General of India in Milan, Dr. Binoy George, on Monday 25 March. Amafond is Italy's leading industrial association for aluminum machinery, innovative metal and the foundry sector. Many of its associated companies have long been working with India in the metallurgy industry. Amafond was among the supporters of the Indo-Italian Metal Hub platform, promoted by ArtValley and IIMH, which promotes the interchange between the two schools and their industrial sectors. In this platform the executive program The Aluminium Innovation Manager, to be held next summer in close cooperation between ArtValley, CUOA, AAI, IIMH,Al Circle, A&L and the associations Amafond,Assomet, AIFM, Assofond. The companies involved are...
Hydro said that its Extruded Solutions business was back up to 60 per cent of capacity on Monday. Its Extruded Solutions has ramped up production at several sites, and is concentrating all available resources on enabling further restarts. The division was running at 50 per cent capacity on Friday. “Extruded Solutions is expecting to reach an overall production rate of 60 percent by Monday. The business area is concentrating all available resources on enabling further restarts during the coming days to allow for continued deliveries to customers, Hydro said. Hydro said its Building Systems unit was affected the most by the cyber-attack. The company is expecting to slowly ramp up production and shipments during the week. “I’m pleased to see committed colleagues across Hydro working with...
Japan’s UACJ Corporation has signed an agreement with China-based CITIC Group Corporation to form a JV with two CITIC Group subsidiaries, CITIC Bohai Aluminum Industries and CITIC Dicastal that make aluminium automotive components. The joint venture company will manufacture and sale extruded aluminium parts and components for automobiles. The new company will begin operation with manufacturing of vehicle bumpers and battery casings, using UACJ Group’s machining technologies and research and development teams at its R&D Center. The company will have the support of the CITIC Dicastal’s leading presence in China’s auto parts market as the world’s number-one producer of automotive aluminium wheels. The new company will serve as a supply center for automakers and auto parts manufacturers in...
ExtrudaSeal will showcase its new products and gaskets and extrusions range at Fit Show 2019. The company will display new flush e-gasket and wedge on the 21-23rd May 2019 at the NEC, Birmingham. ExtrudaSeal launched new flush low-line e-gasket and wedge for aluminium bi-folding and inline sliding door systems last year. The gasket is “designed to maximise glass area, providing a flush finish that lines up with the putty-line, rather than up to 5mm of the glass. This helps to create new symmetry in low sightline doors and provides a much more aesthetically pleasing finish”. Flush e-gasket also features a tear-away strip. This helps to reduce the depth of the gasket by 1mm. “This design helps by accommodating variances in the depth of IGUs, the company said. At the last two Fit Show...
The 10% tariffs on imported aluminium imposed by Trump administration in March 2018 has cut down on the import, especially from China and Russia. Total aluminium import by the US dropped 10% from 2017 to 6.2 million tonnes in 2018. Japanese aluminium product manufacturers are now focusing on expanding production at their US facilities to leverage on higher domestic prices, driven by the tariffs and a tight market. UACJ Corporation, one of the leading rolled aluminium product manufacturers in the world and the largest in Japan last year dissolved a struggling aluminium parts joint venture in the U.S. with Constellium. The company is now planning to have an independent re-entry in the strong market. The company has invested 18 billion yen in a Kentucky factory to increase production of...
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order on March 21 in the latest appeal regarding whether curtain wall units are included in the scope of the trade case against the Chinese aluminium extrusion industry. The case filed by Aluminum Extruders Council demanded a collection of anti-dumping and countervailing duties upon import of Chinese extrusion into the U.S. The court order says that they have not received enough evidence to prove that curtain wall units should be excluded from the Anti-Dumping (AD) and Countervailing Duty (CVD) Orders and affirms that they are within their scope. In this order the court said, “… we affirm the judgment of the Court of International Trade.” The Order excludes “finished good kits” from the tariffs and defines a “finished good kit” as a...
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) announced C.S. Aluminium Corporation (CSAC) has become a new Production & Transformation member of the ASI. This brings the total number of members working toward a responsible aluminium value chain to 83. CSAC is the largest manufacturer of rolled aluminium products in Taiwan. The company mainly produces high quality aluminium and zinc cast products such as aluminium plates, rolls, sheets, foil, zinc alloy ingots, zinc anodes for electroplating, and hot-dip zinc ingots. Its core competitiveness regarding quality, delivery, costs, and services will be strengthened to expand its sales and distribution channels. “It’s the great honor to join ASI as fully integrated aluminium company. Under a clear set of rules regulated by ASI, CSAC can continuously...
Stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas in China declined 6,900 tonnes from a week ago to stand at 137,600 tonnes as of Thursday March 21, Shanghai Metals Market data showed. Stocks of aluminium billet extended declines this week as the upcoming tax cuts drove downstream consumers to make purchases. In Foshan, Guangdong, the billet stocks increased 400 tonnes from Thursday, March 14 to stand 92,300 tonnes, while stocks in Wuxi, Jiangsu, dropped 300 tonnes from Thursday, March 14 to stand at 20,800 tonnes. In Changzhou, Jiangsu, Huzhou, Zhejiang, and Nanchang, Jiangxi, aluminium billet stocks reduced 5,500 tonnes, 1,000 tonnes and 500 tonnes to stand at 13,500 tonnes, 4,000 tonnes and 7,000 tonnes respectively. In another update from SMM, the average price of...
Shanghai Metals Market found processing fees for aluminium billet in Guangdong climbed to nearly three-months high this week as traders withheld from selling cargoes to await lower value-added tax rates. As on Monday, processing fees for φ90 aluminium billet in Guangdong were offered at more than RMB 500 per tonne. Monday, March 18, was the first trading day after Premier Li Keqiang on Friday, March 15, announced lower VAT cuts from April. On Friday, the offers were heard at RMB 400 per tonne. The aluminium billet processing fees, however, did not retreat on Tuesday and Wednesday. Aside from the imminent tax cuts, lower prices of spot aluminium in Guangdong than in Shanghai also kept billet traders in the southern market away from offloading cargoes that drove the hike of processing fees...
Hulamin reported an operating loss of R949.9million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to an operating profit of R498.4m last year. Turnover increased to R11.5 billion, from R10.3 billion last year on increased volume, higher USD rolling margins and a firmer Rand aluminium price. Hulamin’s rolled products sales volume increased 6 per cent to 228,000 tonnes. This resulted in a third consecutive year of record sales volumes from rolled products division. “Rolled Products benefitted from healthy overall demand for its products, while a superb manufacturing performance increased production, and consequently sales, by approximately 6% to 228 000 tons for the year,” the company said. The company said its extrusions division experienced a challenging year, with lower sales and...
The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) has released the latest edition of the AEC Buyers Guide. The Buyers’ Guide is a comprehensive directory of AEC Extruder Members, featuring such information as company headquarters, plant locations, contact information, maximum press circle size, forms produced, and types of services offered. The Buyers’ Guide includes listings for AEC Supplier and Producer Members, as well as valuable content that provide readers with interesting facts about aluminium and aluminium extrusions. It also includes an article, “Aluminium Extrusions: Helping Designers Meet Time, Cost and Weight Challenges," showcasing the flexibility of aluminium extrusions that offer limitless design potential for a wide variety of industries. An essential reference tool for designers,...
According to the latest figures released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), aluminium foil deliveries from European rollers ended 2018 with a record 3% rise from 2017, for the third consecutive year. The growth was supported by sustained demand from export markets as well as steady consumption in domestic markets, particularly for thinner gauges. Total deliveries stood at 942,500 tonnes against 915,000 tonnes in 2017. Thinner gauge foils, used mainly for flexible packaging and household foils increased 4.1% year on year, while thicker gauges, used for semi-rigid containers and technical applications, rose by 1.1% annually. Total domestic deliveries were flat, while exports increased 25% throughout 2018. Q4 2018 registered a 2.8% increase in output to 228,200 tonnes from...
The total aluminium imports by the USA for consumption stood at 5.76 million tonnes in 11-month period of 2018, down 570000 tonnes or 9 per cent from 6.33 million tonnes in 11-month period of 2017, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. {newsStudioGallery} The USA imported 471,000 tonnes of aluminium (crude metals and alloys, plate, sheets, bars etc., scrap) for consumption in November 2018. This records a drop of 10.8 per cent year-on-year. The imposition of tariff on aluminium is affecting the total imports in the USA. Canada remains the top aluminium exporter to the USA contributing 44.4% of the total imports, followed the United Arab Emirates (9.6%), Russia (5.8%), China (4.2%) and Mexico (3.8%). Data shows Canada exported 2.56 million tonnes...
