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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Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) issued an investigation notice last week regarding implementation of dumping and the countervailing duty on aluminium extrusions exported from Vietnam and Malaysia. The notice also included the adjustment of the preliminary dumping margin on Vietnamese and Malaysian aluminium products import. In October 2016, the ADC issued a preliminary public notice confirming dumping in the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation on import of aluminium extrusions (with HS codes: 7604.10.00, 7604.21.00, 7604.29 .00, 7608.10.00, 7608.20.00, 7610.10.00, and 7610.90.00) reported by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Competition Authority. For Vietnam, the preliminary dumping margin for co-operative...
ExtrudaSeal, specialists for the manufacturing of flexible extrusions, is set to showcase a variety of gaskets and ancillary products at the FIT Show 2017. The event is going to take place on the 23-25th of May at the NEC, Birmingham. Birmingham based ExtrudaSeal is also going to profile its new aluminium bi-fold door threshold that will be compatible with aluminium systems. The company provides gaskets and sealing solutions to the aluminium door and window fabrication market. ExtrudaSeal Managing Director Chris Byers said ““We are excited to showcase our latest innovations, including our unique aluminium bi-fold door threshold gasket, complete with semi-rigid PVC foot system for improved fit and weather sealing.” “The FIT Show is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate to...
The production of aluminium flat rolled products in Japan is on the rise. As per December 2016 data released by the Japan Aluminium Association, the total FRP output in the country was estimated at 1,249.9 thousand tonnes last year. In January 2017, FRP production reached 91.8 thousand tonnes, rising 2.5 per cent from 89.6 thousand tonnes in the same period previous year. The export data of aluminium plates, sheets and strips from the country also reveals an increasing trend. {newsStudioGallery} Japan exported 253268.77 tonnes of aluminium plates, sheets and strips in 2016, up 2.17 per cent from 247881.9 tonnes in 2015. In 2017, the country is estimated to ship 254572.84 tonnes of these value-added products to off-shore customers, higher by 0.51 per cent from that in the previous year....
The week has seen a few significant deals driven by the end user sector. The market saw a few downturn and China reported a drop in semis export. Here is a quick recap of the top news headlines from the last week. Arconic announces multi-year deal with Toyota Global technology, engineering and advanced manufacturing leader Arconic has announced a multi-year supply deal with Toyota North America. Arconic is supplying aluminium to Toyota for its all-new Lexus RX. The vehicle debuted last year and became Toyota’s first vehicle in North America to prominently feature aluminium exterior panels. Alumil SA teams up with Value Line to offer aluminium extrusion products in India Greece-based aluminium extrusion products manufacturer Alumil SA has announced that the company has teamed up with...
The month-long pollution control drive launched in China's Gongyi, Henan Province came to an end earlier this week. The environmental protection team that was conducting inspections left the region letting operations to resume at the local aluminium downstream facilities. Shanghai Metals Market surveyed to find that majority aluminium downstream processing units have already restarted production in Gongyi this week. Shipments of alloyed aluminium ingots from local warehouses have also begun which sent Gongyi inventories down by 2000 tonnes on a weekly basis. As per SMM survey, there are still few aluminium downstream processing units which are yet to go online. Their non-compliance with the pollution control standards and under-equipped infrastructure are the reasons why they are not...
China's export of aluminium semi-finished products in February 2017 declined 10.30 per cent from the corresponding period in 2015, showed data published by the General Administration of Customs on March 23. Aluminium semis exported by the country last month totalled 230,000 tonnes while for January-February 2017, the cumulative volume stood at 580,000 tonnes. China sold 29,525 tonnes of aluminium bars, rods, and profiles to offshore customers in February, down 58.81 per cent from the same period previous year. In January-February 2017, the export totalled 118,948 tonnes. Aluminium wire and aluminium tube (including accessories) export volume for February also dropped by -30.67 per cent and -15.18 year-on-year to stand at 955 tonnes and 6,258 tonnes respectively. Aluminium plate, sheet,...
Greece-based aluminium extrusion products manufacturer Alumil SA has announced that the company has teamed up with Hyderabad-based Value Line, an international brand luxury sanitary ware. Alumil will market its aluminium products in India through Value Line. Alumil will export aluminium materials to the Value Line for the necessary fabrication and then the products will be offered to the residential and commercial projects. The company considers Indian market is the next big market to showcase their extrusion products. George Alex Milonas, Chairman and CEO, Alumil SA, said, Apart from residential projects, the Indian commercial building is a big opportunity and we look forward to working with large airports, hospitality projects in India as we do in other countries.” “Having set up...
Long established local aluminium powder coating business Vertik-Al Limited in Birmingham has been acquired by investment funds led by renowned venture capitalist Jon Moulton in a new deal. Supported by senior debt and working capital facilities from Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank, Shard End-based Vertik-Al has been acquired by investment funds led by Perscitus on behalf of the family office of Mr Moulton. Vertik-Al is a market leader in the UK aluminium powder coating industry. It was the first to introduce vertical powder coating of aluminium in the UK and has remained a leader in this process. Its customer base comprises aluminium extruders and system design fabricators. The firm has invested significantly in advanced plant and equipment and has one of the few vertical powder coating lines...
According to the latest monthly statistics from Aluminum Association, shipments of Aluminum Extruded Products (extruded shapes, pipe & tube, and rod & bar) by U.S. and Canadian producers stood at an estimated 419.2 million pounds during February 2017, registering a drop of 3.3 per cent from the February 2016. On a month on month comparison, shipments were down 2.3 per cent from the January 2017 revised total of 428.9 million pounds. YTD shipments through February 2017 stood at 848.1 million pounds, slightly off from the YTD total of 2016. Shipments of Aluminum Powder and Paste to domestic markets by domestic producers, including imports by domestic producers, stood at 5.77 million pounds during February 2017, registering a slight rise YOY. On a month on month comparison, shipments...
Michigan based Muskegon Castings has shifted its production operations to its other factory after a fire broke out in the company’s building earlier this week. The company resumed its aluminium die casting operations and started supplying its primary customer, as confirmed by an official with Port City Group. John Essex, CEO of the Port City Group, said, "We are blessed with the fact we have four other facilities in the area, and we were able to get in after the fire and pull out and remove all the tooling for our customers.” The Port City Group is a parent company of Muskegon Castings that manufactures aluminium die castings, mechanical assemblies and injected moulded plastics in the Muskegon area. Essex further stated that a force majeure letter had been sent to Subaru, a company’s...
According to the monthly aluminium highlights published by Aluminum Association, U.S. and Canadian producers shipped estimated 322.9 million pounds of can stock during February 2017, registering drop of 4.9 per cent YOY. Month on month, shipments decreased 6.1 per cent. YTD shipments through February 2017 stood at 672.8 million pounds, slightly off YOY. Producer shipments of can stock to U.S. markets dropped 3 per cent YOY to 277 million pounds, while exports dropped 14.6 per cent to 46.3 million pounds. Shipments of Non-heat Treatable Sheet (excluding Can Stock) rose slightly to 223.7 million pounds and shipments of All Other Sheet and Plate increased 9.8 per cent to 131.3 million pounds. U.S. and Canadian producers shipped estimated 78.7 million pounds of aluminium foil during February...
The FCA US Kokomo Casting Plant (KCP) has become safer, efficient and cleaner over the years, according to the plant manager Jerry Peterson. Last year, KCP made a new investment into furnaces for the process of re-melting aluminium in-house in order to improve its efficiency. Peterson said, “We closed the books on 2016, and we re-melted roughly 113 million pounds of metal. By doing that, even though the plant doesn’t necessarily get the savings, our company does. We save about 11 cents a pound by melting it in-house as compared to sending it to an outside vendor. That’s roughly about 13 million pounds we’ve saved.” In 2015, KCP made history by winning bronze rating for its efforts in implementing World Class Manufacturing (WCM). With this, KCP has become the first die casting plant to...
Global technology, engineering and advanced manufacturing leader Arconic has announced a multi-year supply deal with Toyota North America. Arconic is supplying aluminum to Toyota for its all-new Lexus RX. The vehicle debuted last year and became Toyota’s first vehicle in North America to prominently feature aluminum exterior panels. “Automakers worldwide are turning to aluminum for the stronger, tougher, higher performing vehicles that consumers demand,” said Mark Vrablec, President of Arconic’s Aerospace & Automotive Products business. “Many bestselling vehicles in America have already converted to aluminum for improved performance, including better fuel efficiency, more towing and payload capacity, and improved vehicle safety scores. This trend will continue. We are proud to expand our...
Granco Clark, the leading single-source supplier of billet furnaces and equipment manufacturer, recently bagged two significant equipment supply contracts from the aluminium extrusion industry. The company has been selected by Oldcastle Building Envelope of Terrell, Texas, to supply a cut-on-the-fly double puller and an idle roll leadout conveyor system. This puller system utilizing two puller heads operating on a common rail with a cutting saw on the first puller head. The puller can provide reliable flying cut or fixed cut operation. The Granco Clark Double Puller is the only puller design in existence with more than 400 installations. The idle roll leadout conveyor system is a roller style, fixed height leadout conveyor with drop-away rollers with high-temp belts. The leadout rollers...
Foreign trade update, merger & acquisition, divestments and anti-dumping regulations have made news headlines in this week’s downstream aluminium sector. China with its cheaper aluminium export has continued to create tension in the U.S., Europe and India. The country however has urged the U.S. to act wisely on imposing AD/CVD duties. Indian government is going through the final considerations regarding the imposition of anti-dumping duties. Novelis continues its expansion strategy into the automotive market. Here are a few trending headlines from the downstream aluminium sector from the week gone by: India considers anti-dumping duty on aluminium foil import from China Indian government is considering the possibility of imposing anti-dumping duty of up to USD 1.63 per kg on imports of...
Arconic Inc. announced today its receipt of a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project (Yadkin) to Cube Hydro Carolinas by Alcoa Power Generating Inc., a subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation. Yadkin encompasses four hydroelectric power developments (reservoirs, dams and powerhouses), known as High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls, situated along a 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River through central North Carolina. The sale agreement was originally announced in July 2016 as part of the Company’s strategy to continue to strengthen its balance sheet and maximize cash flow through sales of non-essential assets. Upon the separation of Alcoa Corporation from Arconic Inc. on November 1, 2016, Alcoa Power Generating Inc., including Yadkin, became part of Alcoa...
Global trade statistics from 2015 onward reveal a noticeable surge in exports of aluminium extrusions from Malaysia. This is striking since the South-east Asian country has barely ever been a hub for extruded aluminium production. The trend seems to be continuing well into 2017; estimate shows that aluminium bar rods and profiles export from the country will keep growing this year as well. {newsStudioGallery} In 2015, Malaysia shipped 46592.85 tonnes of aluminium bar rods and profiles, which soared by 199.29 per cent to reach 139452.019 tonnes in 2016. In 2017 till November, the country is estimated to export 149513.4 tonnes of the aluminium extruded products, up 17 per cent from the corresponding period previous year. Malaysia's earnings from export of aluminium bar rods and profiles...
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, announced it has expanded its automotive supply capabilities by signing an agreement with next-generation car company, NIO, to provide innovative aluminum solutions for its fleet of smart, high-performance, premium electric vehicles. NIO will use Novelis Advanz™ aluminum alloys to create a wide range of structural components and parts for its aluminum-intensive NIO electric SUV models to be launched over the next five years. The NIO partnership marks Novelis' first major commitment in the premium electric vehicle space. As the industry leader, Novelis is uniquely positioned to meet the increasing demand for automakers designing a new generation of lighter, better performing and more fuel-efficient vehicles. Supply for NIO will...
