Bahrain’s aluminium wire exports continued to gain momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with shipments rising significantly compared with the corresponding periods of 2025 and 2024. The country exported 80,895 tonnes of aluminium wire in Q2 2026, taking its total shipments during the first half of the year to 143,518 tonnes. The export data covers aluminium wire under HS code 7605, excluding stranded wire, cables, plaited bands and similar products, electrically insulated wires and strings for musical instruments. Export volume registers strong Y-o-Y growth Comparing the quarterly figures, Bahrain’s aluminium wire export volume increased by 23.76 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2 2026, against 65,366 tonnes shipped during Q2 2025. The latest quarterly volume also marked a considerable rise from Q2...
India-based KEC International Limited is pushing ahead with Phase II of its aluminium conductor capacity expansion, even as a difficult second quarter dragged consolidated profit down. The Q2 FY27 investor presentation, dated November 2, lists the expansion as underway in its Cables & Conductors business, one of the few segments that grew in the quarter. The update comes over a year after KEC’s commissioning of the first phase of the plant in Vadodara in February 2025, marking an investment of about INR 600 million (USD 6.33 million). The company has not disclosed the capacity to be added, the investment or a completion date. Explore AL Circle’s report ALuminium Wires & Cables - Insights & Forecast to 2030 for insights into aluminium applications, industry developments and opportunities...
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Airbus has reached the final stages of regulatory reviews over a plan to use lithium ion batteries for backup and starting power on the A350-900, says executive vice-president of engineering Charles Champion. But well-publicised safety problems with lithium ion batteries on the Boeing 787-8 and other aircraft have stretched out the regulatory review process. “We might have to do a few more tests because authorities are extremely nervous on the subject because of the Boeing 787,” Champion says. Airbus already has decided to make one design change to the original lithium ion battery system for the A350-900. The original design allowed power to flow between the batteries, but that raised concerns that one overheating battery could cause another to fail. So, they put in a non-return valve so...
China, as the largest producer and consumer of aluminium in the world, plays a decisive role in the global aluminium industry. The sustainable and healthy development of China’s aluminium industry in the future requires a wider opening and longer perspective in broadening of international collaboration, strengthening of industry coordination and practice of win-win strategy. In order to enhance cooperation, deepen communication and promote aluminium application, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) decides to host 2015 China International Aluminum Industry Week in Qingdao of Shandong province from 26th to 29th October 2015. The four day event includes 2015 China Aluminum Forum, Pan Pacific Aluminum Industry Summit and Expanding Applications of Aluminum Cladding Panel Forum....
The Aluminum Association released the latest edition of the Aluminum Statistical Review for 2014 on September 17, 2015 . The 2015 edition of the Review, which features a new design and statistics through 2014 in the North American market, includes information on every cycle of the aluminum production process from primary aluminum to markets for finished goods to the recovery of aluminum scrap. The full report is available for purchase in the Aluminum Association bookstore at www.aluminum.org. This year’s Review shows continued growth in demand for the metal and positive trend lines in many key market sectors. Among key findings, the report found that in 2014 in the U.S. and Canada: • Demand for aluminum (producer net shipments and imports) increased by 3.6 percent to 25.5 billion pounds....
President & CEO Egil Hogna intends to spend his first 100 days gaining deep insight into the operations of his new company and its global team, with travel around the world of Sapa. He started this week in Denmark and Austria. Already during his first week on the job, between meetings with the management team, Hogna opened his agenda and invited all employees at Sapa’s head office in Oslo for five-minute “speed dating” sessions. It lasted the entire day. Now, he has started his tour around the world of Sapa. His first stop was in Denmark, where he visited the extrusion plant and the aluminium tubing plant in Tønder. He went from there to Austria, site of the Nenzing extrusion plant. Board union representatives Tor Egil Skulstad and Kenneth Hertz joined Hogna on the visits. ”Sapa is made...
A recent study by Quantis Canada on the environmental impact of single serve coffee portions, relative to bulk coffee preparation at home, reinforces findings from the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) on two coffee packaging systems commissioned by Flexible Packaging Europe (FPE). The externally reviewed study for PAC (Packaging Association of Canada) concludes that “Overall, the single-serve best case scenario posts a better environmental performance than the drip brew system from the perspective of the systems’ full life cycles”. Stefan Glimm, Chief Executive Director for FPE said, “The conclusions of this new study are significant as they confirm our LCA on packed food products “Case Study: Coffee” comparing an instant coffee single serve stick-pack with a ground coffee family size pouch...
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has announced the speakers for the second annual OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit to be held November 5th at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2015 SEMA Show. SCRS is welcoming back Doug Richman, vice president of engineering and technology for Kaiser Aluminum and technical committee chairman of the Aluminum Association’s Transportation Group. Richman’s presentation, “The Future of Aluminum in the Automotive Industry,” will offer insight into the technological advancements being made in the aluminum industry relative to use in the automotive market. The program will touch on safety, repairability and integration with automakers to address the growing demand for lightweight materials. Richman joined Kaiser in 1996 and was...
Africa's largest producer of rolled and extruded aluminium products, Hulamin, is asking the government to protect it from cheaper imports through higher import duties on all of its products to the maximum level of 15%. The move follows applications made to the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) by steel makers, including ArcelorMittal SA, for tariff protection. About 80% of Hulamin’s revenue comes from rolled products with the rest from complex extruded products. The group supplies the domestic industry and exports to Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Hulamin CEO Richard Jacob confirmed that the company had made an application to Itac for increased import duties. "We submitted two applications to Itac, one each for rolled and extruded aluminium products,"...
Coventry-based HTA Group has invested over £2 million in automated laser profiling technology in an installation that is said to be unparalleled in the UK. The equipment comprises two 5kW TRUMPF TruLaser 5040 fibre laser cutting machines (4m by 2m format) with BrightLine fiber technology and SortMaster part sorting automation. Both machines are connected to an automated storage system via automated loading and unloading systems. The installation will help the company enhance its customer offer, namely the supply of laser cut parts and fabrications for industries that include construction, automotive, defence, rail, renewables and oil and gas. “We wanted to take our profiling capability to a whole new level, using the very latest technology available,” says the company’s managing director,...
Rexam published its 2015 Sustainability Report in concurrence with the publication of 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index; and Rexam has again been listed as an industry leader in sustainability. The index is published by RobecoSAM, an investment specialist focused exclusively on sustainability investing. Rexam has improved its score in 10 categories within the 2016 index, and is overall industry leader in Risk & Crisis Management, Human Capital Development and Labour Practice Indicators & Human Rights. Rexam’s Sustainability Report demonstrates how the business has embedded sustainability to achieve these results. The report also details the company’s progress against its 2020 commitments, including targets such as the reduction of each can’s carbon footprint by 25% and the reduction of...
The aerospace materials market is expected to reach $23.8 billion in 2022, reveals data from a recently published report. The main drivers for the growth of the global aerospace market are change in technology, increased aircraft size, and high replacement rate. Buoyed by this steady growth, demand for materials such as aluminium alloys, titanium alloys and composite materials are used for building aircrafts will also increase in the next five year period. According to the report, aluminium alloys accounts for nearly 50.0% of the market in terms of volume; yet it corresponds to only around 25 per cent of the market in terms of value. The demand for aluminium alloys is likely to remain steady in between 2014 and 2019, but raise in usage of the composite materials and titanium alloys in the...
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced it will commercialize its breakthrough MicromillTM technology, working with the Danieli Group, a global supplier of plants and equipment to the metals industry. Danieli will license Alcoa’s intellectual property associated with manufacturing advanced Micromill® products. In a separate announcement made earlier today, Alcoa and Ford Motor Company said that the automaker has selected Micromill material to be used on its 2016 Ford F-150 truck. Under the letter of intent, Alcoa and Danieli will work toward an agreement to sell Micromill equipment and license the patented Micromill technology. As part of the collaboration, Alcoa will grant Danieli exclusive rights to sell Micromill equipment for a limited period of time. In addition, the...
AluMag, “The Market Developer” for the world’s premiere businesses, announced the 3rd North America Automotive Lightweight Procurement Symposium will be held from 9th – 11th of November 2015 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, USA. This year, the international symposium will be focused on automotive lightweighting, supply / process chain and procurement management. Procurement executives who are part of the lightweight supply chain and engineering as well as technical sales managers seeking an understanding of the synergy of cost-/ weight reduction programs are expected to grace the event in numbers. Noted speakers from the aluminium, magnesium, steel & composite industry will deliver lectures on topics related to lightweight supply chain and engineering. OEMs will express their needs &...
Hyundai has officially unveiled the mildly updated 2016 Sonata sedan at the Frankfurt Motor Show, featuring a revised exterior design and more standard equipment. The 2016 Sonata continues to showcase Hyundai’s latest styling language, but at the front is a more aggressive bumper bar layout for the Sport variant. A set of updated 17-inch alloy wheels have also been added. At least three different powertrain options will be available, internationally, spanning from a 1.6-litre turbo producing 130kW and 265Nm, to a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder producing 136kW and 240Nm, to a range-topping 2.0-litre turbo producing 180kW and 350Nm. The 2.4 and 2.0T come matched to a six-speed automatic, while the 1.6T uses a seven-speed dual-clutch unit. Underneath the new Sonata, the...
As part of its strategy to profitably grow in Asia and to serve its customers in this region even better, Sapa has decided to reorganize its business and will include its extrusion operations in Asia with its global aluminium tubing business. As a consequence, Salvador Biosca, executive vice president and head of Sapa’s Precision Tubing business area, will take over the responsibility also for the extrusion business in Asia. “By putting together our precision tubing and extrusion operations in Asia, we are focusing our efforts, and we believe this will be a very positive change for our operations in this important region,” says Biosca. He will take over responsibility for the Extrusion Asia units as of October 1, 2015. Over the last few years, Sapa has established strong positions in...
Ford Motor Company and Alcoa Inc. are collaborating to produce next-generation automotive aluminum alloys that are more formable and design-friendly. Ford will use Alcoa’s Micromill® material in multiple components on the 2016 F-150 - becoming the first automaker to use the advanced automotive aluminum commercially. The companies entered into a joint development agreement to collaborate on next-generation aluminum alloys for automotive parts using Micromill™ technology. ‘‘Light-weighting enables us to design vehicles with great customer attributes – like the F-150, which can tow more, haul more, accelerate quicker and stop faster than the previous F-150, and is more fuel-efficient than ever,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president and chief technical officer, Global Product Development....
Balco, part of Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd, has started the procedure to shut down its rolling business in Chhattisgarh - a move that will see 1,000 people losing jobs. Last month, the aluminium manufacturer had announced its decision to shut down the rolling mill in Korba (Chhattisgarh) on account of "steep fall" in the prices of the metal besides dumping from China and falling margins. "Balco has begun the official procedure to close down its Sheet Rolling Division and Foundry at Korba. The company has issued the information to the Secretary, Labour Ministry, Government of Chhattisgarh as well as the BSE and NSE," the company said in a statement. Mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, earlier Sesa Sterlite, holds 51 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco), while the remaining is...
From Alcan's Kingston Works to Novelis Inc., the aluminum manufacturing plant is celebrating 75 years in the Limestone City. "I think in the heyday there was 4,100 to 4,200 employees, three plants," recounted Jake Czyz, Novelis plant manager. "We pretty much say everybody in Kingston knows somebody who has retired or worked here at the plants." The Aluminum Company of Canada plant was built in 1940 to support the Allied effort during the Second World War. The plant -- referred to as "the annex" -- housed manufacturing and research facilities. During the 1960s and 1970s, the plant was responsible for the research and manufacturing of aluminum sheet metal, cans and supplies for major industries such as automotive, transportation, beverage and packaging. Today, Novelis, a subsidiary of the...
Lanka Aluminium Industries PLC – the pioneers in the manufacture of high zquality powder coated aluminium extrusions opened its newest showroom in the fast expanding city of Gampaha recently. The showroom is strategically located in Asigiriya, Gampaha. The expansion of the showroom network was planned in Gampaha in order to provide this fast expanding town with access to state of the art aluminium extrusions. The opening ceremony took place on the 23rd of July 2015 with the participation of the chief guest Eranga Senanayaka, the Mayor of Gampaha and special invitees. “We are pleased to have opened our newest showroom in Gampaha town which is one of the most fast expanding towns in Sri Lanka. Being physically close to the customer will enable us to provide much needed advise while...
