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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Bahrain-based Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco) said its locally-manufactured products have received the CE (European Conformity) mark thus paving for their exports to European Union. The CE (Conformité Européene- which literally means European Conformity) is a mandatory conformity marking for certain products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985. The CE Marking on a product is a manufacturer's declaration that it complies with the essential requirements of the relevant European health, safety and environmental protection legislation, in practice by many of the so-called product directives. These are also found on products sold outside the EEA that are manufactured in, or designed to be sold in, the EEA. It is, in that sense, similar to the FCC Declaration of...
Aludium, a producer of high value-added, semi-finished aluminium products made an announced that it has appointed Empire Resources, Inc. as its exclusive importer and distributor for the United States and Canada. This appointment, which is effective immediately, essentially covers all products from Aludium’s Alicante, Amorebieta and Castelsarrasin mills, with specific focus on Aludium’s extensive value-added output. Christiane Huber, Sales Director of Specialty Products commented: "Aludium is delighted to partner with Empire Resources to introduce our products into North American markets. We are confident that together, we will establish and maintain a leading position in the market, serving an extensive customer base.” Aludium was formed in January 2015 when Atlas Holdings acquired the...
European countries are receiving an increasing number of refugees. German authorities are working with the industry to facilitate jobs for some of the refugees, where Hydro is contributing with additional apprenticeships. Hydro will establish eight apprenticeship positions in Grevenbroich, Neuss and Hamburg. “We are making our contribution in providing a job opoportunity in our industry for refugees who have fled to Germany,” says Joachim Deppe, Head of HR & Organization in Hydro's Rolled Products business area. Germany expects 800,000 new applications for asylum in 2015, and its government and national business associations have asked companies to help. In Hydro, the rolled products plant in Hamburg stepped forward by hosting an intern from Syria in July and August. The refugee is an...
Apple announced the launch of its new watch cases and bands, including new Apple Watch Sport models. Apple Watch Sport’s lightweight anodized aluminum case now comes in two new beautiful colors, gold aluminum and rose gold aluminum paired with high-performance fluoroelastomer Sport Bands in lavender, antique white, stone and midnight blue. Apple Watch Sport silver aluminum is now available with new orange or blue Sport Bands. The company also announed that WatchOS 2 will be made available on September 16 as a free update, which will pack in a host of new features and enable native running of third-party apps. The software watchOS 2, according to Apple, makes apps faster and more fluid by running natively on Apple Watch. It also introduces new watch faces, the ability for third-party apps...
In a recently published report, aluminium and aluminium alloy has been together termed as the future of China automotive lightweight material (metals) industry. The key findings of the report are: - China's consumption of automotive aluminium alloy hit 300,000 tons in 2014. The supply and demand of aluminium alloy automotive sheet, on the other side, stayed at a low level. - The high-end mainstream market was dominated by Novelis, Kobelco, Aleris and other foreign brands. In October 2014, Novelis (Changzhou) put its 120,000 tons per annum automotive aluminium sheet/strip project into operation, making China's automotive aluminium alloy sheet capacity reach 185,000 tons. - Kobelco Aleris, Zhongwang Group and other companies will put automotive aluminium sheet projects involving over...
Sapa announced an 18-month exclusive agreement with PPG Industries, providing Sapa with exclusive rights to administer PPG’s coatings warranty on completed aluminum products. “This exclusive partnership gives Sapa the ability to offer its customers our full coatings warranty along with the benefits and assurance that we will stand behind our warranty to meet customers’ needs,” says Brian Knapp, Coil & Building Products Director at PPG Industries. “Given our work with Sapa in the past, we have confidence in the quality of the aluminum extrusions and paint application process they produce for their customers.” As part of this exclusive agreement, starting September 10, 2015, Sapa can now transfer PPG’s coatings warranty along with Sapa’s applicator warranty directly to its customers that...
GME, the producers of the world’s most complete line of Trench Shields and Trench Shoring Equipment, announced the launch of its latest Lite Aluminum Sheeting system is built to be used by rubber tired backhoes and lightweight excavators. Constructed from lightweight, aircraft grade aluminum, the system is designed to solve the problem of how to safely shore around existing utilities on job sites, according to the manufacturer. Used in conjunction with the GME interlocking aluminum sheet pile, the system can be used at depths of 10 to 12 ft. (3 to 3.6 m) in a 2-, 3- or 4-sided configuration, while providing up to 84 in. (213 cm) of vertical pipe clearance (contingent upon soil conditions). The system’s panels, measuring up to 10 ft. in length, can provide up to a 10 ft. 6 in. (3.2 m)...
The International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank group) will lend €15 million to the group of companies Alutech, the largest privately owned manufacturer of aluminum sections in Belarus, told IFC representatives. The IFC said that the money will be granted to help bolster and diversify the Belarusian company Alutech and stimulate the growth of the private sector. The IFC's long-term loan will substitute the company's short-term financial debt. It will allow Alutech to reinforce the structure of the capital and help continue increasing export and diversifying it geographically. Carsten Mueller, the IFC's director for investments in production sector, services, and agribusiness in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, noted that investments in Alutech represent part of...
Alicon Castalloy, one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium alloy castings, has acquired the castings business of Atlas Castalloy. The acquisition includes transfer of plant and machinery against issue of equity shares to the existing shareholders of Atlas Castalloy. The acquisition has been completed through an all-share deal wherein existing shareholders of Atlas have been issued 1.26 million equity shares of Alicon. Atlas Castalloy, manufactures aluminium castings at its production facility at Chinchwad, Pune with a capacity of 6000 million tonnes per annum, generated revenue of INR 1.37 billion during FY 2014-15. Vimal Gupta, CFO, Alicon Group, said "The acquisition will enable the company to achieve economies of scale with additional production capacities, optimal utilization of...
Alucast, which is a specialist supplier of sand, gravity and pressure castings, has secured TS16949, a prestigious automotive quality accreditation, as part of its continuous improvement drive and believes this latest development will pave the way for 33 per cent growth between now and 2018. Boosted by the industry-specific approval, the company is expecting to win a number of new orders, taking turnover from its current £7m level to £10.4m in three years, potentially creating 25 new jobs in the process. “We’ve always offered outstanding manufacturing standards to our global client base, but in order to win more work with tier 1 and car makers we had to secure TS16949. It’s fast becoming a pre-requisite on tenders,” explained Martin Haynes, technical manager at Alucast. “It is a quick...
TVS Motor and Sundaram Clayton, India's two leading two-wheeler companies together announced plans to invest around INR 800 crore in Tamil Nadu. Speaking on the sidelines of Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet at Chennai on Wednesday Venu Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, TVS Motor and Sundaram Clayton said that Tamil Nadu is the best place to invest as it boasts great business environment and infrastructure. Both the companies together would invest around INR 800 crore over the next three years. This will be increasing the two-wheeler capacity from 2 million to 2.5 million in Tamil Nadu. The investment will be on castings, plastic and aluminium casting and also on the BMW project.
Ford Motor Company has reported record sales for its F-series trucks, a strong indication that Ford’s last year gamble is reaping benefits for the US auto-maker. The automaker introduced a massive implementation program in August last year, converting the steel-body-made popular F-150's to aluminum-coated body. However, the company faced hefty costs, in the process of shifting to aluminum-made trucks. Ford initially had to close the truck assembly plant at Dearborn, resulting in a fall in production. Ford had earlier on derived about 40% of the revenue from its Ford trucks according to marketwatch. Moving away from steel lead to high disruption costs and a fall in sales, as demand outstripped constrained production. The company estimates that due to production issues, it will not be able...
Novelis, the global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its plant in Kingston, Ontario with a number of public activities taking place the week of Sept. 12 - 19. As an integral facility in Novelis’ North American operations, the plant produces aluminum for automotive, transportation and other industrial applications serving customers across the globe. “For 75 years, the employees of Novelis Kingston have built a legacy of leadership in the production of high quality aluminum material for our customers,” said Jacob Czyz, Plant Manager of Novelis Kingston. “I am honoured to lead our Kingston plant at this memorable time and know that we have a bright future ahead.” In honour of reaching this milestone, Novelis will host a series of celebratory...
Aleris International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aleris Corporation, today announced the results of its asset sale offer to purchase, on a pro rata basis, up to $125 million of its 7?% Senior Notes due 2018 and its 7?% Senior Notes due 2020 at a cash purchase price of 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the payment date. The Offer expired at 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on September 2, 2015. The table below sets forth the results of the Offer for the Notes, according to information provided by Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the depositary for the Offer, as of the expiration time. As the aggregate principal amount of the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn exceeds the maximum offer...
SCI International cut its forecast for China’s automotive aluminum consumption in 2015 to 210,000-220,000 tonnes from 250,000 tonnes predicted early this year. Harsh domestic aluminum market is behind SCI International’s forecast cut. China’s automobile sector consumed 194,000 tonnes of aluminum in July, down 17.9% from June and 11.7% from a year ago, as per data from SCI International. China’s automobile production and sales were 1.52 million units and 1.5 million units in July, down 17.99% and 16.64%, respectively, compared with June.
AMAG Austria Metall AG reported significant growth in its key operating earnings results during the first half of 2015 compared with the previous year's first six months. Revenue grew by 15.9 % – from EUR 406.7 million to EUR 471.5 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up by 30.1 %, increasing to EUR 70.6 million (H1 2014: EUR 54.3 million). Helmut Wieser, CEO of AMAG: "Our broad portfolio of special products has enabled us to exploit market opportunities and report significant increase in both revenue, which was up 16 %, and operating earnings, which grew by 30%. This growth also already includes contributions from new products from the new plants created as part of our AMAG 2014 expansion project. These new plants allow us to manufacture...
After several meetings with directors, promoters, car owners, and drivers the American Sprint Car Series has elected to hold off on allowing aluminum blocks in the series for 2016. A plan had been put in place at the 2014 PRI Show to allow the blocks for next season. “We put the rule out there in 2014 in order to allow everyone to know what we wanted to do that way we were able to gain feedback from as many sources as possible, and the response was tremendous,” said ASCS National Coordinator, Matt Ward. “We’ve heard from just about everyone, ASCS affiliated or not, on what they thought of the potential for the Aluminum Block and with respect to everyone’s concerns, we are going to put the option on hold. This sport is an expensive one, and that was one of the biggest concerns we heard at...
SAMMA Glass and Aluminium Limited launched three new products at the Fiji Club in Suva last week. The newly opened hardware company attracted more than 30 construction firms and clients who wished to get a firsthand look at the company’s new products. General Manager of SAMMA Glass and Aluminium, Marcus Nand said, the company which kicked off two months ago started with glass and aluminium. “For our clients we have brought some of the markets leading products to complement our offering in the market," he said. The products launched were the door handling range, the entire locking range launch from Dorma, an international company and Crimsafe which is a security screen product from Australia. Marcus said: “When we started our company two months ago obviously it is not a two month year old...
