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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Mo Xinda, division chief of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA), pointed out at SMM Al-Si Summit on Thursday, December 6, that China would have to seek more opportunities to expand aluminium consumption domestically and abroad as trade disputes with the United States lowered aluminium product exports in 2018. China, however, has a record of maintaining a trade surplus in aluminium materials exports since 2005, she added while addressing delegates at the SMM 2018 SMM Aluminium-Silicon Summit in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. 2018 witnessed a significant plunge in aluminium products exports by China owing to trade disputes with the United States, which otherwise was the biggest destination of Chinese aluminium products in 2017, Mo said. Chinese exports of aluminium foil to...
Aluminium imports by the USA for consumption stood at 4.81 million tonnes during nine months period 2018, down 460,000 tonnes or 9% from 5.27 million tonnes during nine months period 2017, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. In September, the USA imported 473,000 tonnes of aluminium for consumption, down 21000 tonnes or 4% from 494,000 tonnes in September 2017. {newsStudioGallery} Imports of crude metal and alloys and scrap dropped by 480,000 tonnes YoY and 4,000 tonnes YoY respectively during nine months period 2018. But imports of semi-fabricated products increased by 30,000 tonnes in comparison to the same period of 2017. Total crude metal and alloys, Semi-fabricated products and scrap imports stood at 3.23 million tonnes, 1 million tonnes...
NioCorp Developments Ltd. is developing North America’s only niobium, scandium, titanium plant near Elk Creek, Nebraska. The project, once complete, is claimed to be the largest prospective producer of scandium in the world. NioCorp is sitting on 250,000 tons of niobium pentoxide, 2,300 tons of scandium, and 891,000 tons of titanium dioxide, and likely to be the only producer of its kind in the USA. Scandium is a niche metal to be used in high end products such as the aerospace industry and sports equipment. However, it has great potential as an alloy because it has almost as low a density as aluminium with a much higher melting point. When scandium is added to aluminium, it creates a strong lightweight alloy with excellent resistance to corrosion and good weldability and melting point....
As shown by AlCircle’s report on “A Worldwide Market Analysis of Aluminium Wire rod, Cables & Conductors - Industry forecasts to 2025” , China is the world’s major producer of aluminium wire rod followed by India supplying together about 67% of the global aluminium wire rod usage. India’s share of the global wire rod market is expected to increase from 18% in 2017 to about 23% in 2025, while China’s usage is expected to see a flat growth. The booming market calls for extra focus on the expansion of wire rod capacities by Indian aluminium producers. {newsStudioGallery} However, as a result of the simmering US-China trade conflict, India has faced a flood of imports of an array of aluminium products including aluminium wire rods. Overall imports have risen 32 per cent in July-September...
Shanghai Metals Market research found that operating rates at Chinese manufacturers of aluminium wire and cable remained unchanged in November from a month ago at 86.2 per cent, but fell 0.77 percentage point from the corresponding period last year. Although weaker consumptions of home appliances, property, and automobiles reduced orders across magnet wire producers in November, yet rates held stable in the said month given greater investment in power grid projects that bolstered demand. Data from the China Electricity Council showed that China’s investment in power grid projects in January-October dropped 7.6 per cent compared to the year earlier. The year-on-year decline was 2 percentage points smaller than the drop in January-September. Per the SMM survey, most producers belong to...
Looking at the surge in imports, metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd has strategized a plan to raise its downstream products output by 25 per cent in the October-March period. As U.S. has restricted import of aluminium and aluminium products from China, the country has redirected its exports to other markets. India also has witnessed a flood of imports of an array of aluminium products. While scrap aluminium imports from US have increased 144 per cent, overall imports have risen 32 per cent in July-September period, creating a concern for the domestic aluminium producers. Imports of fake semis from China and wire rods from South East Asia region have also created issues for the Indian aluminium makers. The share of imports in domestic aluminium consumption has reached 60 per cent...
Mainboard-listed Nico Steel Holdings Limited has received new orders of approximately 22 tonnes per month of aluminium alloy materials from for an existing customer and a new customer. The company will supply 20 tonnes per month of aluminium alloy to a major global brand of tablets. The material will be used for the fabrication of the LED back panel of tablets. The other order of 1.8 tonne per month of aluminium alloy is for a new customer – one of the top printer solutions manufacturers in the world. The customer intends to enhance the aesthetic aspects of its printers by incorporating metal into its plastic design. Danny Tan, Executive Chairman and President of Nico Steel said, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with globally renowned brand owners on their evolving...
The United Arab Emirates, one of the top aluminium exporters to the US, accounted for 10% of all aluminium imports by the US during the first nine months of 2018. The UAE exported 460,000 tonnes of crude metal and alloys, aluminium semi-finished products and scrap to the US during January-September 2018, down 14% from 534,000 tonnes during January-September 2017. {newsStudioGallery} Total aluminium exports by the UAE stood at 43,700 tonnes in September 2018, down 3% from 45,200 tonnes in September 2017, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. Exports of crude metal and alloys stood at 456,000 tonnes during January-September 2018, down 75000 tonnes from January-September 2017 volume of 531,000 tonnes. In September 2018, the volume stood at 43,000...
An Ilkeston-based company Dales Fabrications has reportedly installed a polyester powder coating equipment that will apply attractive hard-wearing finishes to the aluminium products it manufactures at own factory in Compton Road. The equipment got unveiled on Friday, November 30, by some industry specialists and Erewash MP Maggie Throup, a British Conservative Party politician. Dales designs and manufactures an extensive range of standard and bespoke aluminium building products including fascia and soffit systems and brise soleil. Karl Prosser, managing director of Dales, said the equipment worth £170,000 will help the company to ramp up its output capacity and at the same time speed up the production process. Out of £170,000, around £42,500 was funded by a Government fund managed by the...
According to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey, exports of aluminium semi-finished products (plates, sheets, bars, etc.) by the U.S. stood at 76,200 tonnes in September 2018, down 8.4 % from September 2017 volume of 83,200 tonnes. On a month on month comparison, the volume dropped 15% from the August export volume of 89,200 tonnes. The U.S. exported 796,000 tonnes of aluminium semi-finished products in the first nine months of 2018, up 1% from 786,000 tonnes in the first nine months of 2017. The U.S. exports to Canada reduced 16% MoM to 28,100 tonnes in September2018. The export volume was 33,500 tonnes in August 2018. Canada imported 301,000 tonnes during January-September 2018. The U.S. exports of aluminium plates, sheets, bars, etc. to Mexico stood at...
Aluminium products manufacturer Constellium has opened new Automotive Structures facility in Zilina, Slovakia for the production of aluminium Crash Management Systems and Body Structure components to the Eastern European market. The Zilina plant features advanced technologies for forming, machining, welding and heat-treating aluminium automotive components, along with a state-of-the-art quality lab to ensure products meet customer specifications. Aluminium continues to be a material of choice in the automotive industry to reduce vehicle weight, improve fuel economy and lower emissions, and increase safety. Constellium is dedicated to developing and testing advanced aluminium automotive components to help automakers achieve their goals across the globe. Lionel Chapis, Managing Director of...
Japan's largest aluminium rolled product manufacturer UACJ Corporation is looking at the Southeast Asian market to compensate for the slow growth in the domestic market. The company wants to revive a struggling Thai unit under this plan, which President Miyuki Ishihara expects to turn profitable despite the threat from Chinese supply. "The investment is temporarily weighing on the unit's earnings," he said, while also pointing to "high transport and energy costs." Ishihara said in an interview. However, he pinned his hope on the plant considering greater-than-expected demand. "But the turnover rate of local employees is declining, and we expect to turn a profit by the end of 2019." UACJ plans to invest about 90 billion yen (US$796) million to boost aluminium capacity in Thailand. A 37...
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), in September 2018, China's export of aluminium alloy auto wheels grew 18.3 per cent from a year ago to 89,300 tonnes. The value of export rose 18.8 per cent YoY to US$417 million last month. Export prices averaged US$4.67/kg. China exported 817,000 tonnest of aluminium alloy auto wheels during the first ten months of this year, up 7 per cent from last year. The value of exports increased up 11.6 per cent YoY to US$3,935 million. Export prices averaged $4.82/kg, according to CAAM data These products were supplied to16c ountries, with the top 40 countries accounting for 97.8 per cent of the overall value of exports during January-September. In another update from SMM, Anhui Meixin Aluminium started construction of...
Bahrain’s imported products were valued at BD515 million ($1.366 billion) in October 2018, up 17 per cent from BD439 million ($1.164 billion) in October 2017, said the foreign trade report by Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) for the month of October. China and the USA were the major exporters to the country last month. Alumina emerged as the top product imported to the country with BD43 million ($114.1 million). Exports from Bahrain increased to BD171 million ($453.7 million) in October 2018, as compared to BD170 million ($451.1 million) for the same month of the previous year. The country exported most of its products to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the USA. Bahrain exported BD27 million ($71.6 million) worth of aluminium wire to the global markets, the top product exported in...
According to a senior official of Mexican steel trade group Canacero, Mexico’s next government is willing to impose tariffs on US aluminium and steel in case the Trump administration continues the duties on imported metals from Mexico. Canacero Vice President Raul Gutierrez said on Monday, November 26, that both Mexico’s present and incoming government have agreed to levy resounding mirror measures on US aluminium and steel if needed. Next day, on November 27, Canacero reported this statement at a news conference. The left-wing government of Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, which will start December 1, has pledged to impose mirror measures on US aluminium and steel in case the Trump administration does not eliminate its Section 232 tariffs or if it imposes an unacceptable export quota on the...
A bipartisan group of the US senators has reportedly urged for an independent review into the Trump administration’s process for granting imported tariffs exemptions on aluminium and steel products. Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey, an ardent free-trader, joined centrist Democrats Doug Jones of Alabama and Tom Carper of Delaware on Monday, November 26, in demanding a review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The senators claimed that the US Commerce Department, as of last month, had processed about one-third of the nearly 50,000 requests for exemptions. “Members of Congress and U.S. businesses have repeatedly raised concerns about the pace, transparency, and fairness of the Section 232 steel and aluminium exclusion process,” the senators wrote in a letter to GAO head Gene...
The State Funding Board of Tennessee has approved two economic incentives for two companies from different sectors. The Tennessee panel has approved an economic development grant of US$975,000 for Gränges Americas Inc. in Huntingdon, an aluminium rolling company. The State Funding Board also approved a grant of US$772,000 for job training assistance for Keep Truckin, Inc. in Nashville, a trucking technology firm. Gränges' Huntingdon facility has aluminium continuous casting, cold rolling, finishing operations with a capacity of 160 thousand tonnes. They supply to HVAC, food containers and transformers sector. State economic development official Paul VanderMeer says Gränges, a Swedish aluminium engineering and manufacturing company, plans to add 65 jobs over two years in their plants, on...
Primetals Technologies, an engineering and plant construction company for metals industry, has announced it received an order from from Ulsan Aluminum Ltd., a rolled aluminium producer, for the supply of new automation technology to the company's hot rolling mill and cold rolling mill no. 2 in Ulsan in the southeast of Korea. Primetals Technologies will be responsible for the installation, commissioning and fine adjustment of the automation technology in both rolling mills. The new technology will improve the reliability and availability of the rolling mills. The modernization is planned to be completed by the end of 2018. source:www.primetals.com The Ulsan plant produces rolled aluminium plates for the Asian markets of the beverage and electronics industries, the transportation sector...
