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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Braidy Industries, a manufacturer of metals for transportation and defense industries, announced it has acquired NanoAl LLC (NanoAl), a materials research and technology company dedicated to design, develop, and commercialize high-performance aluminium alloys based on scientifically-designed nanostructures. NanoAl will join the Braidy Atlas aluminium rolling mill and Veloxint in the Braidy Industries company portfolio of holdings. Craig T. Bouchard, Braidy Industries Chairman and Chief Executive said, “We have been pleasantly surprised at the opportunity to grow our powder metallurgy business via acquisition. And, we have been approached by numerous parties to consider building our second rolling mill. We intend to pursue these opportunities.” Braidy said in its press release that it...
According to a Hürriyet newspaper report, two Turkish aluminium processing companies, Teknik Alüminyum and Burak Alüminyum received bankrupt protection in early September. Notably, both the companies are listed among Turkey's top 100 exporters. Both companies once successfully exporting to a number of countries have been struggling to repay their loans and have applied for bankruptcy protection recently to avoid distraint warrants. Burak Alüminyum is a manufacturer of aluminium profile, aluminium extrusion and aluminium surface processing started operating officially in the aluminium sector since 1984. First established in the northern province of Trabzon, the plant was later shifted to Maltepe, Istanbul. It has also been facing cash crunch in repaying its 300 million lira (US$47,9...
Aluminium flat products manufacturer JW Aluminum is investing $32.8 million to optimize equipment for foil production at Russellville, Arkansas; Saint Louis, Missouri and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The investment includes projects to enhance existing rolling mills, annealing equipment and slitters to improve quality, reliability and throughput for the fin stock, honeycomb foil and flexible packaging markets. Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Roush said: “These investments reinforce our commitment to continuous improvement and customers in our core markets. We’re investing to insure we remain a trusted and preferred supplier of quality sheet and foil now and for generations to come.” In June, JW Aluminum announced that it will invest $255 million in an expansion of its Mount Holly flat rolled...
Stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas in China recorded a fall yesterday, September 20, by 4,900 tonnes from a week earlier to stand at 116,200 tonnes, Shanghai Metals Market found. The decline came after five consecutive weeks of increases. In Foshan and Guangdong, the aluminium billet inventory stood at 77,800 tonnes while in Wuxi and Jiangsu, the inventory was seen at 12,300 tonnes. For more details, refer to the chart below: In this background, the aluminium alloys (ADC12) spot price climbed by RMB 50 per tonne to stand at RMB 15650 per tonne, as of September 21, 2018. Aluminium alloy (A356) and aluminium alloy (A380) also recorded a surge, by RMB 100 and RMB 50 per tonne respectively, to stand at RMB 15300 per tonne and RMB 16400 per tonne. This rise in...
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, a leading producer of semi-fabricated aluminium products, has acquired Imperial Machine & Tool Co., a leader in multi-material additive manufacturing and machining technologies for aerospace and defense, automotive, high-tech, and general industrial applications. Headquartered in California, Kaiser Aluminum delivers highly engineered solutions for aerospace and high-strength, general engineering, and custom automotive and industrial applications. The company produces value-added sheet, plate, extrusions, rod, bar, tube and wire products. Jack A. Hockema, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The acquisition brings significant technology and intellectual property to broaden Kaiser’s ability to provide solutions for demanding applications in compatible...
Ellwood Group Inc. announced today, on September 20, to establish a US$60 million aluminium casting facility at its Ellwood Engineered Castings casting site in Hubbard, Ohio, reported the business journal daily. Ellwood Engineered Castings is a gray and ductile iron foundry that operates at 7158 Hubbard Masury Road in Hubbard Township. It belongs to the parent company Ellwood Group Inc. consisting of nine operating business units that encompass multiple plants in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and Canada. In regards to this new prospective project, executives of the company are of the opinion that this would help Ellwood Group to expand its materials production capabilities and widen its focus beyond steel to better serve the tool and die, aerospace, forging, plate mill rolling and...
The state-owned Navratna firm National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) never misses to top the headline either because of its new project plan or new collaboration or extraordinary business achievements. Recently, according to a report published in Reuters, Nalco is planning to invest INR 55.2 billion in the eastern state of Odisha for expanding production capacity. As the government stated on Tuesday, September 18, the company aspires to manufacture aluminium products in the new expansion. The proposal has already been sent to a panel headed by the state’s chief minister for approval, as per the Reuters’ report. Investment proposals have also started pouring in worth INR 74.16 billion by now, mainly from Indian companies, said the state government further. Besides increasing...
According to Reuters report, Rusal’s Armenal plant has started reducing its aluminium foil production due to U.S. sanctions on the Russian aluminium giant, a source at the plant and a source close to Rusal said. The Armenian aluminium foil is mostly exported to Europe and the United States. The plant, which produced 33,720 tonnes of foil products las year, may temporarily suspend all of its production. The plant currently has 670 employees. Armenal has seen the demand for its aluminium foil products fall since the Treasury in April imposed sanctions against Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and eight companies in which he has large holdings, including aluminum giant Rusal. No official comment has been issued by Armenal and Rusal on this matter. The U.S. sanctions hit Rusal’s steady...
According to the data revealed by The Aluminium Association, shipments of aluminium can stock by domestic producers in the United States totalled at around 338.5 million pounds in August 2018, while that in the same period last year was at 356.2 million pounds. In July 2018, shipments of aluminium can stock from the US had even stood higher at 351.3 million pounds in total. This shows that the aluminium can stock shipments from the US faced a year-on-year dent by 5 per cent and month-on-month by 3.6 per cent in August 2018. {newsStudioGallery} The data also revealed that year-to-date shipments through August 2018 were seen at 2,709.2 million pounds, 1.5 per cent down from 2,749.8 million pounds in 2017. Compared to August 2017, producer shipments of can stock to the U.S. markets were down...
India for the third time has reportedly deferred the tit-for-tat tariffs against 29 American products worth US$ 235 million. The tariff was supposed to come into force today, September 18, as a response to the Trump administration for raising import duties on Indian aluminium and steel products. According to a report in Mint, this decision to postpone the retaliatory hikes till 3rd of November is taken since the two countries are attempting to find a solution. The United States had imposed 25 per cent duty on certain steel products and 10 per cent on aluminium products, which would help the US government collect US$ 241 million in import duty. In response, India announced even higher tariffs on the imports of 29 products from the US, including almonds, apples, and phosphoric acid worth...
A lot happened over the week in downstream and end-user sectors of aluminium. While there had been updates on project expansion and new products launched, on one hand, on the other, there was news on the semi-finished product export market or an increase of VAT rebates on exports. Let’s now recapitulate to some of the top news this week just in case you missed any. The week started with UACJ Corporation’s announcement to construct a new battery foil production facility through its subsidiary Ruyuan Dongyangguang UACJ Fine Aluminum Foil Co. Ltd. in Guangdong province, China. The Group also announced to collaborate with Guangdong Hec Technology Holding Co., Ltd., to further expand its business in China. Followed this, the news arrived that China would increase the value-added tax (VAT)...
Hindalco Industries Ltd, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gujarat government on Friday September 14 to set up India’s biggest aluminium extrusion and recycling plant in Gujarat. The company will be investing an estimated INR 3,500 crore on the project. The MoU was signed by Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco and MK Das, principal secretary to the Gujarat Chief Minister. The planned extrusion plant will have capacity of 1.5 lakh tonnes per annum and Hindalco plans to invest INR 2,000 crore in two phases for development of the plant, a state government release confirms. Hindalco already has two extrusion plants in Renkoot (Uttar Pradesh) and Alupuram (Kerala), which are capable of producing about 60,000 tonnes of extruded products of different specifications and size...
GFG Alliance is reportedly considering alternative plans to change the design of £120 million alloy wheel plant at the site to enable it to double its output. The company, headed by international entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta, said this plan came after a very encouraging response from Britain’s car makers to the prospect of being able to source alloy wheels in Scotland rather than having to import the entire supply. The original design, which was approved by Highland Council early this year, was for a plant that would use half the aluminium produced in Fort William and the rest would be sold to other factories around the United Kingdom. GFG explained it had a long-term plan to optimise the value of the smelter and its associated hydro power schemes by turning all the metal produced there...
On Sept 12, Platts reported that JSW Aluminum's sheet mill in Goose Creek, South Carolina, and Bonnell Aluminum's extrusion facility/cast house in Newnan, Georgia, could be impacted by Hurricane Florence. According to the latest update from Platts quoting a company official, JW Aluminum temporarily closed its building sheet mill in Goose Creek, South Carolina in preparation of the potential damage from Hurricane Florence. The official, on anonymity said that JW closed Mt. Holly at 7 pm local time Wednesday and does not expect to reopen until Saturday. The decision will depend on the current weather conditions. Companies in the Mt.Holly area were bracing for the major impact from the hurricane late Thursday night or Friday morning. Century Aluminum 's Mt. Holly smelter was not closed down,...
Constellium, a global producer of aluminium semi-products with headquarters in Amsterdam, announced today, on September 13, that it expanded its operations in Dahenfeld, Germany to increase the supply of aluminium automotive structures. In the new setup, Constellium will manufacture a wide range of aluminium structural components for the body structure of a premium sports car. It will increase the production capacity and manufacturing capabilities as well for its key customers in the expanded area of 14,000 square metres. By 2019, the company will expectedly create 30 new jobs at the plant, which will create a total employment of 175 workers in Dahenfeld. Enhanced capabilities at the plant also include new fully automated robotic assembly cells with integrated measurement for quality...
SMS group will install its fifth extrusion press for Thöni group at its future works at Pfaffenhofen, a press release from SMS confirms. Thöni group, headquartered in Telfs, Austria, has placed an order with SMS group for the same. The line includes a 55-MN front-loading extrusion press to process billets that have a maximum diameter of 12 inches (304.8 mm) and a maximum length of 1,600mm. The extrusion press will produce profiles of aluminium and aluminium alloys for application in the automotive and other markets. “From the end of 2019, the new line will produce about 8,000 tons per year of high-quality aluminum profiles for the European automotive industry. Through subsequent processing we will refine these products ready for installation,” says Helmut Thöni, CEO and shareholder of...
China's electronics parts maker HEC Technology Holding will team up with Japan's Toyo Aluminium to develop new electrical products of the soft ductile metal. HEC plans to set up a joint venture with Toyo in Tokyo, Japan with a registered capital of JPY200 million (USD1.8 million), the Guangdong province-based company said in a statement yesterday. Both parties will own half of the firm with equal sums of initial investment. The JV between the Chinese and the Osaka-based firms will develop special aluminium foil products for capacitors with a great added value. HEC will promote the related technical cooperation and the procedure of product development, the firm added. Toyo produces aluminum products such as foils, sheets and alloy powders which it exports to Southeast Asia, as well as the...
According to the latest update from Shanghai Metals Market, inventories of aluminium billet across major consumption areas in China have extended their growth this week. The reason could be the sluggish consumption in Guangdong area, SMM research found. Stocks of 6063 aluminium billet across five major consumption areas have increased by 3200 tonnes from a week earlier to stand at 121,100 tonnes as of Thursday, September 13. The growth of some 6,500 tonnes in stocks across Foshan, Guangdong province mainly accounted for the increase. Currently, the aluminium billet inventory in Foshan, Guandong is standing at 85,900 tonnes while that in Wuxi, Jiangsu at 11,300 tonnes. For more details, refer to the chart below. According to another update from SMM, inventories of primary aluminium across...
