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...
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According to Shanghai Metals Market, operating rates across Chinese processors of aluminium plate, sheet, and strip are estimated to decline to 65 per cent in January, down three percentage points from the revised reading in December. On a yearly basis, operating rates in January are expected to decline two percentage points, SMM learned. The reason behind this estimated fall in downstream aluminium operating rates in January could be the week-long Chinese New Year break as it affected some operations. While some processors started their CNY holiday as early as on January 20, reducing the average operating rate in the industry. On the other hand, though some large-sized firms with annual capacity above 150,000 tonnes maintained stable operation during the holiday, their year-end...
Arconic announced that it will separate into Engineered Products & Forgings and Global Rolled Products, with a spin-off of one of the businesses. The US aluminium products manufacturer will also consider the sale of businesses that do not fit into either of the divisions. Arconic Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Plant said, “After a rigorous and comprehensive process, we did not receive a proposal for a full-company transaction that we believe was in the best interests of our shareholders. The Board sees more shareholder value creation through a restructuring of the Company.” “As part of the strategy and portfolio review, we have determined to separate the portfolio into Engineered Products & Forgings and Global Rolled Products. In addition, we will also explore the potential...
Arconic Inc. reported fourth quarter 2018 and full year 2018 results. The company delivered revenues of $3.5 billion in Q4 2018, up 6% year over year. Organic revenue was up 10% YoY, driven by higher volumes across all segments with double digit growth in most major end markets. For full year 2018, revenue was $14.0 billion, up 8% YoY. Organic revenue was up 7% YoY. The company reported net income of $218 million in Q4.For full year 2018, net income stood at $642 million, from a net loss of $74 million in full year 2017. Net income excluding special items was $162 million, from $152 million in Q4 2017. The increase was driven by higher volumes and lower expenses for pension, interest, and taxes, largely offset by higher aluminium prices and unfavourable product mix. Full year 2018 net...
Russian aluminium producer Rusal said its value added products sales in the fourth quarter of 2018 stood at 333 thousand tonnes, a drop of 32.4 per cent quarter on quarter, compared to 492 thousand tonnes in the third quarter of 2018. “Commodity and value added products (VAP3) sales in 4Q18 were significantly challenged by short OFAC General License extensions,” the company said. For the full year of 2018, sales of VAP dropped by 11 per cent to 1,664 thousand tonnes, as compared to 1,869 thousand tonnes in 2017. The share of VAP sales in total sales now stands at 45% <iframe width="540" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EVasm2kR-0Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Aluminium production...
U.S. aluminium products manufacturer Arconic has appointed John C. Plant as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The company also said Elmer Doty, a current director, will serve as chief operating officer, and Arthur D. Collins, Jr., a current Director, will serve as Lead Director. John C. Plant will replace former General Electric veteran Chip Blankenship. Plant will oversee the company’s operations as well as the ongoing strategy and portfolio review. It is expected that Mr. Plant will serve in the role of Chief Executive Officer for a period of one year. Plant previously served as the CEO of auto parts maker TRW Automotive from 2003 to 2015. Mr. Doty has extensive knowledge of Arconic’s aerospace and defense markets, having served from December 2012 to February 2016 as President and...
KEMPER GmbH marks another year with great financial achievements. 2018 became the most successful year so far for the Germany-based company. For the first time, the sales of the firm’s extraction units and filter systems surpassed the mark of 40 million euros, up 25 per cent from 2017. Björn Kemper, CEO of KEMPER GmbH said, "The fact that we have once again managed to increase our sales to an extremely high level is proof of the increasing demand for intelligent occupational safety solutions in the metal processing sector." KEMPER even managed to double its turnover – an outstanding development in an industry that is otherwise marked by moderate growth rates. The family-owned company intends to build on this trend and increase its sales by half of its current level by 2025. Germany...
Alumex, the aluminium extrusions subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s Hayleys group, reported in its interim financial results that it lost 63.4 million rupees in the December 2018 quarter compared with a net profit of 102 million in the same period last year. However, sales rose 17 per cent to 1.3 billion rupees in the period. In August 2018, Hayleys PLC CEO Mohan Pandithage had said that the quick growth of the country’s construction sector resulting in significant demand for aluminium extrusion enhanced the sales and sales revenue of Alumex. The interim results also showed that costs grew faster than net profit during the December quarter, with net finance costs soaring to 147 billion rupees instead of 29 million in the contemporary period last year. December quarter’s loss per share was 21...
Constellium has supplied aluminium structural components for new BMW X Model Sports Activity Vehicles. Aluminium products manufacturer supplies the new BMW X4 and X5 from its White, Georgia facility. The plant opened in 2017 to serve automakers in the Southeast U.S. and now employs 250 team members. Constellium provides front Crash Management Systems for both the BMW X4 and X5. The Crash Management System absorbs energy in a collision to protect the occupants and vehicle integrity. The systems feature a second smaller bumper beam that helps prevent a pedestrian from falling under the car in the unfortunate event of an impact. The company also delivers the aluminium front rails for the BMW X5, which are part of the vehicle architecture and support the engine. It also serves to absorb...
Novelis Inc., the leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2019. The company reported net income of $78 million, compared to $121 million in the prior year period. Excluding tax-effected special items, net income dropped to $101 million due to a $34 million non-cash income tax benefit in the prior year resulting from the U.S. Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA increased 6% YoY to $322 million. The increased EBITDA is attributed to the higher shipments, favorable product portfolio mix, favorable metal costs and other cost efficiencies. Net sales increased 3% YoY to $3.0 billion, driven by higher total shipments and a more favorable product mix. Shipments of flat rolled products increased 1% to 800 thousand tons....
In concurrent with INCAL 2019, the INDO-ITALIAN METALHUB programme by ArtValley also continued with great success, targeting at decision makers in the industrial sectors in India and in Italy while focusing on the industrial and cultural exchange between the two countries. The programme Indo-Italian MetalHub continued in 2019 with the participation to INCAL 2019, with the Special Session in particular on “Aluminium in Railways & Transportation”- The challenge of metallurgy in the world of transportation in India. Among many companies that made a strong presence at the seminar, Metra was the “star” in the transportation section. The Italian company was the main protagonist of the Italian mission in India, Bhubaneswar - the host city for INDO-ITALIAN HUB programme & INCAL 2019. In several...
In the successive year of 2017, when Norway’s aluminium wire exports had increased by about 2 per cent from 70,079 tonnes in 2016 to 71,490 tonnes, the country reportedly saw a year-on-year decline in further exports, found our third-party data. {newsStudioGallery} In 2018, Norway’s aluminium wire exports were pegged at 70,735 tonnes, down 1.05 per cent from 2017. 2019 is also estimated to see a plunge in Norway’s aluminium wire exports to 69,479 tonnes, down around 2 per cent year-on-year. But despite the fall in estimated aluminium wire exports volume from Norway this year, the revenue is likely to see a rise, learned the international export-import data. From US$121 million in 2018, Norway’s revenue from wire exports is anticipated to grow to US$123 million in 2019, up about 2 per...
Yantai Donghai Aluminium Foil Co. Ltd. is the first company in China to receive Performance Standard certification under the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). Yantai Donghai Aluminium Foil, based in Shandong province, manufactures aluminium foil for industrial and consumer applications that include a wide range of packaging, batteries, capacitors, and cabling. ASI announced the first Chinese company to be successfully certified against ASI’s standards for responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI said “ASI is delighted to congratulate Yantai Donghai Aluminium Foil Co. and Shandong Nanshan Aluminium group on their achievement of ASI Certification. We are excited to see the growing commitment to ASI in China and to...
Followed by two back-to-back rises, the A00 aluminium ingot price registers a drop today, on February 1, by RMB 90 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. After increasing on 30 th of January and 31 st of January, the aluminium ingot price had reached RMB 13,390 per tonne, but after a plunge today the price came in at RMB 13,300 per tonne. This same ingot price in China was on the17 th of January. However, the average prices of aluminium ingot today are expected to range between RMB 13,280 per tonne and RMB 13,320 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 80 per tonne to RMB 40 per tonne. The rise in primary aluminium social inventories yesterday by around 75,000 tonnes could be a possible reason for this ingot price drop today. In the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou), the aluminium ingot...
Some industry stalwarts at the International Conference on Aluminium (INCAL) opined that Odisha offered tremendous opportunities to investors to set up downstream aluminium industries. INCAL-2019, jointly organised by NALCO, Aluminium Association of India and the Ministry of Mines, is taking place in Odisha from January 31 to February 2, under the theme “MAKING ALUMINIUM….DRIVING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT”. Addressing the event, Industries Department Principal Secretary and IPICOL Chairman Sanjeev Chopra said, “Odisha is now among the top three investment destinations in India and the number one state when it comes to the investment implementation rate.” He further said, “As per Vision 2025 of the State Government, six focus sectors have been identified and efforts are underway to attract...
Matalco Inc., a producer of aluminium extrusion and forging grade billet and rolling ingot slab manufactured primarily from scrap aluminium, announced that it will invest $80 million to construct a new state-of-the-art billet manufacturing facility in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. “This significant investment firmly demonstrates our continued and unwavering commitment to serve both our customers and prospective clients and expand our market share. After a lengthy selection process, we decided on Wisconsin Rapids as the site of our new plant because of its location relative to our market, its exceptional workforce, local investments in quality of life and the comprehensive incentive package and assistance provided from both the state and local levels,” said Tom Horter President Matalco Inc....
According to China Customs data, the country’s aluminium strip, rod and shapes exports in December stood at 98,500 tonnes, up 31.7 per cent year-on-year and 3.34 per cent month-on-month. For the whole year of 2018, exports of aluminium strip, rod and shapes by China expanded 17.12 per cent and came in at 975,400 tonnes. The products are under HS codes of 76041090, 76042100, 76042990, 7604291 and 76041010. As for the aluminium alloy wheels, China exported 80,800 tonnes in December, up 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, showed data from China Customs. The graph below thus shows that China’s aluminium strip, rod and shapes exports were 22 per cent higher than the exports of aluminium alloy wheels in December 2018. However, although China’s exports volume of aluminium alloy wheels grew in...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas in China increased some 22,500 tonnes over the week ended Thursday January 31. Stocks of aluminium billets now stood at 110,200 tonnes. In Foshan and Guangdong and in Changzhou, Jiangsu, the billets stocks increased by 8,600 tonnes and 3,700 tonnes to stand at 60,000 tonnes and 16,700 tonnes respectively. In Nanchang, Jiangxi, the inventory stood at 12,400 tonnes, up by 4,800 tonnes. Chinese New Year break of more downstream buyers accounted for the increase in aluminium billet stocks. The price of aluminium alloys (ADC12) remained unchanged at RMB 14,850 per tonne today. This price has been continuing since January 21.
According to a Business Standard report, the increasing dumping of aluminium downstream products in the Indian market from China has adversely affected the domestic operation of these items. Moreover, decreased global prices and low export incentives in the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) are eroding export margins of the domestic downstream producers and therefore, threatening their survival. Unlike big primary producers, secondary players face the price disadvantage as they have to buy aluminium from primary makers at a premium of 14 per cent over London Metal Exchange prices and then compete with them in downstream product sales. Aluminium Secondary Manufacturers Association (ASMA) patron Anil Agarwal said in an email: “Chinese manufacturers, with the help of an export...
