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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The 18th Global Foundry Sourcing Conference 2016, China Casting Exporting Conference and China Foundry Conference were successfully held at Shanghai Everbright Int’l Hotel during April 20-21. Organized by Suppliers China Co., Ltd., and co-sponsored by National Technical Committee 54 on Foundry of Standardization Administration of China, the event was aimed at building a procurement negotiation, market analysis, technical communication platform for foundry industry. The conference attracted more than 600 delegates at home and abroad. At the backdrop of weak demand for castings, FSC prepared an academic activity based on the demand of China casting export enterprises during the 18th Global Foundry Sourcing Conference, invited industry senior experts, multinational buyers, and casting...
The 4th Automotive Lightweight Supply-Chain Symposium will be kicked off on the 11th of July 2016 in the days leading up to the DIECATING CHINA EXHIBITIONS in Shanghai, China. Different from other Chinese Lightweighting conferences, the AluMag Symposium focuses on supplier development, process and supply chain, procurement with intensive discussions with more international attendees under a much closer but also a warm atmosphere. Attendees will enter a tight network of lightweight supply-chain executives from all of the world. Around 77 per cent of the attendees are managers and executives. The symposium is accompanied by a small lightweight technology exhibition and three receptions will be held during the three day event to offer a perfect setup to interchange with the domestic as well...
Production costs of rolling mills are falling due to both lower LME prices and weak energy prices. According to CRU’s Aluminium Rolling Cost (ARC) model, the costs fell in 2014 and 2015, with 2016 costs likely to continue their downward movement. However, from 2017 onwards, CRU expects costs to start recovering. Mills typically source a range of raw materials including primary remelt ingot or liquid, rolling slab, hot rolled coil and a variety of different forms of scrap. Scrap makes up approximately 30-35 per cent of the total raw material mix. Raw material costs represent approximately 65-75 per cent of a rolling mill’s total costs, therefore the total business costs are closely linked to the LME price. It has fallen markedly since 2014 and CRU forecasts that prices will weaken further...
Aleris Corporation reported results for the three months ended March 31, 2016. First Quarter 2016 Results: Adjusted EBITDA totalled $45 million for the first quarter of 2016 compared to $55 million for the first quarter of 2015. First quarter results were impacted by unfavourable year-over-year scrap spreads in North America caused by continued low aluminum prices and reduced scrap availability, and changing currency exchange rates which decreased Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $9 million. The U.S. dollar weakened 4 percent in the first quarter of 2016 while it strengthened 11 percent in the first quarter of 2015. This resulted in $3 million of losses on the remeasurement of U.S. dollar working capital in Europe during the first quarter of 2016 and $5 million of gains in the prior year....
China’s aluminium foil exports hit multi-year high in March and many producers remain optimistic over overseas market. According to China Customs, foil exports surged 30 per cent from February and 26 per cent from a year ago to 94,000 tonnes in March. Aluminium extrusion exports swelled 44 per cent month-on-month and 106 per cent year-on-year to 104,000 tonnes in March. Aluminium plate/sheet and strip exports spiked 43 per cent month-on-month to 150,000 mt, but down 9 per cent year-on-year. These brought China’s aluminium semis exports to 360,000 tonnes in March, up from February’s 260,000 tonnes and up 20.6 per cent from a year ago.
EconCore, a technology provider for continuous production of honeycomb sandwich materials has developed new generation of aluminium composites panels. Within the conventional process, a relatively thick layer of polymer is extruded in between two layers of aluminium sheet. EconCore technology allows to replace the heavy polymer layer with a thermoplastic honeycomb core which is directly laminated with metal skins. The combination of thermoplastic ThermHex honeycomb core and aluminum skins offers over 50 per cent weight savings while the cost saving benefits are not only due to the material savings but also to enhanced efficiency (lower conversion energy and higher speeds) of the in-line integrated process. TATA Steel recognized the benefits of combining metal skins with thermoplastics and...
Two major Japanese metals companies are planning to expand their aluminium offerings to take advantage of the emerging trend in consumer vehicle lightweighting for improved fuel efficiency. Kobe Steel is planning to spend approximately US$93 million to assemble aluminium plants in the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The plants will make extruded aluminium for use in automotive body parts like bumpers as well as frame parts. The plant to be built in the US and finished next year will be the firm’s first offshore integrated production complex. The Kentucky plant will merge the continuing casting process with the extrusion process in one facility. The firm’s plants will turn out aluminium parts that are stronger than material currently used in automobile manufacture, but up...
The Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) is working towards development of aviation grade alloys for the Indian Air Force (maintenance command) as a part of the indigenization process and the 'Make in India' initiative of the government. It will also be setting up an aluminium extrusion plant in the centre. JNARDDC director Anupam Agnihotri, during the 27th foundation day programme of the centre on Friday said that there are many parts in aircraft which are made from special aluminium alloys. India is largely dependant on impoprts for sourcing these metal products. If these parts could be made locally for replacing the wear and tear caused in the aircraft it would substantially reduce the maintenance cost of any aircraft by about 15 per cent. "And this is...
China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries “the Group”, a world’s leading aluminium fabricated product developer and manufacturer, announced its unaudited consolidated results for the three months ended 31 March 2016. During the period under review, the quarterly revenue was approximately RMB3.46 billion. Benefited from the increasing share of high-end aluminium extrusion products in its product mix, the Group achieved gross margin expansion by 4.3 percentage points year-on-year to 33.6 per cent. Net profit reached RMB604 million. Mr. Lu Changqing, Executive Director and President of China Zhongwang, said, “In the first quarter of 2016, China’s economy continued to exhibit steady growth. The structural adjustment in the sectors of transportation, machinery and...
Emirates Global Aluminium (Ega), the Middle East’s largest primary aluminium producer, will participate at the 11th International Aluminum Extrusion Technology Seminar & Exposition (ET’16), which takes place from May 2 to 6 in Chicago, US. The company, which is among the top five in the world, was jointly set up by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai after combining their respective aluminium industry interests. Held every four years, the ET series of events has an established reputation for quality and commitment to excellence; and is highly respected by players in the aluminium extrusion industry. The ET’16 event, which marks Ega’s third participation, is expected to attract more than 1,200 industry professionals from more than 50 countries....
Rico Auto Industries Ltd stock was higher by 5 per cent at INR 40. The company has set up a manufacturing plant at Chennai for supply of High Pressure Die Casting Aluminium Auto Components to Renault-Nissan. The scrip opened at INR 40 and has touched a high and low of INR 41.1 and INR 39.7 respectively. So far 1134237 (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is INR 526.32crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 50.1 per cent while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 3.73 per cent and 46.17 per cent respectively. Rico is a world-class engineering company supplying a wide range of high precision fully machined aluminium components and assemblies to automotive OEMs across the globe. Rico’s consolidated group total turnover is over US$...
Gränges announced interim report for January-March 2016. Sales volume reached 45.1 ktonnes (42.7), an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to previous year. Net sales of the rolled aluminium products supplier for brazed aluminium heat exchangers totalled SEK 1,360 million (1,456), a decrease of 6.6 per cent compared to previous year. Adjusted operating profit amounted to SEK 155 million (155), corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of 11.4 per cent (10.6). Gränges' Operating profit amounted to SEK 155 million (155). Profit for the period was SEK 94 million (111), and earnings per share basic and diluted decreased to SEK 1.25 (1.49). Cash flow during January- March 2016, before financing activities, was SEK -22 million (-1). Net debt amounted to SEK 316 million at 31 March 2016,...
Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd (TCM) has proposed to sell off assets of loss-making subsidiary TC Aluminium Castings Sdn Bhd to sister company APM Automotive Holdings Bhd for RM5.701 million cash. TCM and APM has a common shareholder, namely Tan Chong Consolidated Sdn Bhd (TCC). TCC owns 43.88% of TCM and 37.53 per cent of APM, according to Bloomberg data. TCM said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that it will pocket in gains of RM640,000, which will be used for repayment of borrowings. The filing said TC Aluminium Castings’ parent, TC Manufacturing Holdings Sdn Bhd, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCM, has proposed to enter into a related party transaction with APM Thermal Systems Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of APM Automotive, to dispose of TC Aluminium Castings’ assets...
Sapa has delivered the strongest first quarter since the company was established in 2013. The demand for lighter cars in both North America and Europe, resulting in aluminium substitution in the automotive industry, is contributing positively. Owners Orkla and Hydro reported to the financial markets Sapa's results for the first quarter of 2016. Sapa continues to deliver strong results. Underlying EBIT improved with 46 per cent compared to the same quarter previous year to NOK 571 million. Performance improved across all business areas mainly due to the effects of the improvement programmes, increased share of higher margin business, positive currency effects from the weakening Norwegian krone against the US dollar and Euro and seasonally stronger demand. Total revenue for Q1 was NOK...
Baosteel will put online its aluminium can project in Heilongjiang province next month and plans to more than double the capacity in the future, cnmn.com reported. The project will produce 700 million aluminium zip-top cans in the first phase. The company plans to expand total capacity of the project to 2 billion zip-top cans in the second and third phase. The project will target not only northeast China, but also Russia and Mongolia markets.
Henan Energy Sanmenxia Dicastal Wheel Manufacturing Co. broke ground on its aluminium alloy wheel rim project several days ago, industry sources reported. The project is designed to produce 4 million aluminium alloy wheel rims each year. Planned investment for the first phase of the project totals 1.33 billion yuan ($205 million). Construction will take about one year.
Impol Group, which operates under the auspices of its holding company Impol 2000, posted strong financial growth for the year ended December 2015. The net profit of the group jumped 80 per cent to EUR 22.5m in 2015 over 2014, according to audited results published on Tuesday. Revenues of the Group, meanwhile, surpassed the half billion mark for the first time. At EUR 546.1m, they were higher by 12 per cent when compared to the corresponding period previous year- making these the best results ever. Impol manufactures a wide range of rolled and extruded aluminium products and excels in supplying them in customized varieties to a global clientele spread across a diverse industries comprising automotive, defence, transport, construction, food, and pharmaceuticals. Impol is also making headway...
Constellium N.V. has announced that the Board will nominate Jean-Marc Germain as an Executive Director at the company’s next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in June 2016, with the view to him becoming Chief Executive Officer of the company in the course of summer 2016. Jean-Marc Germain will succeed Pierre Vareille, who announced in March 2016 his desire to retire as the CEO of the company. “After conducting an executive search process, the Board is delighted to have Jean-Marc Germain join our company,” stated Richard (Dick) Evans, Chairman of Constellium. “Jean-Marc Germain has a successful long track record in the aluminium industry, both in Europe and in the United States. With this extensive experience, Jean-Marc is uniquely qualified to help us continue to execute...
