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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Aluminium Association of Canada president and chief executive officer Jean Simard hopes the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) reached on Sunday September 30 will lead to a swift resolution of the dispute over 10% US tariffs imposed beginning June 1. A side letter aiming to prevent the future use of such Section 232 national security tariffs has already been released, along with the text of the USMCA, which will replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), Simard told Fastmarkets MB. He also stressed that the US and Canadian negotiators have formulated a model (in another side letter) that aims to prevent future disputes over Canadian exports of automobiles to the US, which involves effective caps on trade volumes. Export volumes up to the cap levels would...
The aluminium major National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) plans to set up aluminium foil manufacturing unit at Kamakshyanagar in Odisha to meet the challenges of providing alternative solutions to the packaging industry, said Nalco Chairman and Managing Director Dr Tapan Kumar Chand while addressing a function organised to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr Chand advocated the use of aluminium foil as alternative solutions to plastic packaging, which is eco-friendly and can be recycled. Nalco organised host of activities under the swachhata hi seva movement at Bhubaneswar. Led by Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, distinguished personalities from media houses, bureaucrats, social activists, artists, and students from various institutions including XIMB, KISS, KIIT, Astha...
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...
The Hyderabad-based defence public sector unit, Midhani or Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited has announced a dividend of INR 39.4 crore or INR 2.10 per equity share for FY 2017-18. During FY 2017-18, the manufacturer of speciality materials for strategic sector registered a net profit of INR 131.26 crore on a turnover of INR 666 crore. The order book position as on September 1, 2018 stood at INR 734.71 crore. According to the Chairman & Managing Director, D K Likhi’s speech during the 44th Annual General Meeting, the company is in the process of finalizing new orders and Midhani is confident of registering consistent growth in future. “In line with the disinvestment programme of Government of India, Midhani has become a public limited company and completed the exercise of listing of the company...
Sanctions on Russian suppliers exporting to the US have indirectly helped some other aluminium producers and aluminium product manufacturers. Johannesburg-based precision water-cutting and -profiling company AquaJet Profiles reported record-high aluminium sales profit margins earlier this year, owing to the sanctions, company director Preeshan Naidoo says. Since US domestic manufacturing has become costlier because of the price rise in imported raw materials and tight supply, countries like South Africa is exporting more finished products to the US. “South Africa needs to acknowledge the significance of the US markets. While there is potential in emerging markets, and not forgetting the huge client base in the Asian market for raw materials, the US is still one of the largest consumers of...
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...
President Donald Trump has threatened to impose severe economic penalties against Canada if it does not agree to his modified trade policies. Trump announced his plan to effectively terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement during a press conference and impose steep tariffs on all automotive imports from Canada. Diplomatic relations between the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump appeared to hit a new low when Trudeau refused to agree to changes to NAFTA on a number of grounds. Trump accused Canada, their oldest trading partner of ripping off American workers from work and already imposed 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminium imported from Canada, initiating an endless trade war. The latest on the list is a tariff on automobile and auto parts which will...
A report discussed during London’s corporate services committee meeting on Tuesday September 25 showed that London could be hit by the side effects of Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminium. Whoever is elected during municipal election will have to find a way out to manage the fallout of Trump’s tariffs. “The estimated impact of steel and aluminium tariffs could be close to $10 million over planned budgets for the next five years,” the report reads. “Purchasing that would most likely be impacted includes fleet vehicles and equipment for the city (including fire and police), new and refurbished facilities and transportation or pathway projects that include bridges,” the report added. According to London Chamber of Commerce CEO Gerry McCartney the tariffs will slow down...
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...
According to the statistics are derived from customs data released by the U.S. and Canadian governments, imports of aluminium ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totalled 372 thousand tonnes in July 2018, down 13.8 per cent from the July 2017 total of 432 thousand tonnes. Including scrap, which accounted for roughly 52.2 per cent of reported aluminium exports by the U.S. and Canada in July, exports totalled 294 thousand tonnes, up 13.4 per cent over a year ago. Excluding scrap, exports totalled 141 thousand tonnes, an increase of 18.5 per cent YoY. Through the first seven months of 2018, imports were down 6.3 per cent to 2.8 million tonnes, while exports were up 13.4 per cent to 2 million tonnes YoY. The two North American countries have...
According to the latest reports from Aluminum Association, shipments of Aluminium Powder and Paste to domestic markets by domestic producers, including imports by domestic producers stood at 7.03 million pounds during August 2018, up 28.3% from August 2017 total of 5.47 million pounds. On a month on month comparison, shipments were off 2.1% from the July 2018 total of 7.17 million pounds. YTD shipments through August 2018 stood at 56.81 million pounds, up 6.2% YoY. Compared to August 2017, estimated shipments of powder to domestic markets increased 36.7% to 6.17 million pounds, while shipments of paste decreased 11.0% to 0.85 million pounds. Estimated shipments of Aluminium Drawing Stock, Bare Wire and Rod & Bar by U.S. and Canadian producers stood at 102.6 million pounds during August...
Preliminary estimates from the Aluminum Association indicate that aluminium demand in the United States and Canada (shipments by domestic producers plus imports) totalled an estimated 7.4 million tonnes through July 2018, up 2.1 per cent over the same period of 2017. Demand for semi-finished (mill) products for the same period totalled 5.3 million tonnes, up 2.5 per cent. Apparent consumption (demand less exports) in domestic markets totalled an estimated 14,361 million pounds, slightly up year-over-year. Exports of aluminium ingot and mill products from the U.S. and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totalled 894 thousand tonnes through the first seven months of 2018, up 15.2 per cent over like-2017, while imports were off 6 per cent to 2.35 million tonnes. Demand for aluminium...
The 100-year old auto building which used to serve as an aluminium foundry in Toronto has now become an address for the Museum of Contemporary Art. The latter has reportedly taken over five floors of the building constructed in 1919. It was the tallest building when opened, an early example of engineer CAP Turner’s concrete flat slab architecture. Being functioned as an aluminium foundry for over 80 years, it manufactured supplies for both World Wars as well as domestic goods such as saucepans and bottle caps. The industrial past of the museum’s new headquarter is still visible while the interior, renovated by ERA Architects and architectsAlliance, features mushroom-shaped head concrete columns and huge factory windows. The 55,000 square feet of space includes two main exhibition floors...
Arconic opened expanded aluminium and titanium aerospace parts facility in Bestwig, Germany. The expansion increases production capacity to meet growing demand from commercial aircraft manufacturers. Bestwig operations employs approximately 900 people in the production of aluminium and titanium structural castings used in the latest, leading aircraft platforms. Jeremy Halford, President Arconic Engineered Structures said: “We have significantly invested in Arconic Bestwig’s capabilities, almost doubling our titanium parts production capacity, and have added state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment as part of our efforts to better serve our customers.” “Combined with our previous investments in Bestwig, this latest expansion is providing additional capacity to deliver even more of the...
Shanghai Metals Market found operating rate across 50 Chinese aluminium extrusion manufacturers extended a decline in August on sluggish demand from the construction extrusion sector. The survey by SMM found that manufacturers in August operated at 57.3 per cent, 2.2 percentage down from the previous month. The operating rate for construction extrusion sector also fell by 2.46 percentage points from July to stand at 57.94 per cent, while that for industrial extrusion sector climbed 0.22 percentage points to 51.02 per cent. Operating rate across large-scale manufacturers came in at 63.89 per cent, the rate across medium-sized ones stood at 52.83 per cent and that across small one up to 20.37 per cent. Orders at construction extrusion plants also dropped down last month due to the decay in...
AMAG Austria Metall AG is the first integrated recycling, casting and rolling plant and third company to receive certification under the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). ASI’s certification program focuses on responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. AMAG offers its products to a range of downstream use sectors, including aircraft, architecture, automotive and transportation, packaging, sporting goods and other industrial applications. It manufactures foundry alloys, customized products in the form of liquid aluminium, ingots and sows in its Casting Division and specialty flat rolled products in its Rolling Division. The ASI Certification program was developed through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process and is the only comprehensive voluntary...
According to Reuters report following an update by a Chinese industry official, a group of Chinese aluminium foil producers who are facing an anti-dumping probe in Mexico is organising a legal defence ahead of possible duties. Wen Xianjun said: “another no injury defence was being prepared for the Mexico case.” Wen Xianjun is a vice president of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association who coordinated a legal defence for foil makers before the United States International Trade Commission (USITC). He told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Shanghai, “We will do it very quickly.” He pointed out that Chinese aluminium foil export volume to Mexico was never so big. Perhaps, the annual value should not be more than US$ 100 million per year, Wen said further. Last month,...
The aluminium rolling industry has witnessed a colossal growth over time due to the increasing demand from application sector. To start with, sophisticated and updated methods of manufacturing that resulted in a higher degree of refinement and richness of final product and the application that evolved owing to the growing demand for aluminium sheets, plates, and foils in various sectors such as packaging, transportation, and construction. According to a research report, the global consumption of aluminium rolled products is forecast to hit 30 million tonnes at a CAGR of around 5 per cent. Transportation is likely to be the key consumption area, followed by the two other sectors. European demand for rolled products reportedly remains firm as well, primarily driven by automotive and...
