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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Chalco and Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM) signed a strategic agreement on August 28 to establish an all-new DFM-Chalco automotive aluminum alloy laboratory. The laboratory will be dedicated to research and development and applications of new materials and technology in automotive aluminum alloy field. Lighter car body is the direction of the automobile industry. All premiere car makers across the world such as Jaguar, Ford etc. are focusing on R&D initiatives to bring out new models based on lightweighting technology. They are increasingly using aluminium and aluminium alloys in their car bosies and engines to make their machines fuel as well as cost efficient. DFM’s EJ series electric vehicles too are equipped with all-aluminum car body at present.
AMAG rolling GmbH and Danieli signed a contract in April 2012 for the design, manufacture and on-site installation of a plate stretcher with all its auxiliaries. This job has been a challenge from many points of view, given the high quality standards requested by the customer and the demanding performances required from the machine. This 80MN stretcher is used to process medium-thickness plates with high surface quality and high performance requirements, for alloys ranging from series 1xxx to 7xxx for aerospace to marine, defence and commercial transportation applications. The rolling line is fully controlled and operated by the automation system supplied by Danieli Automation. The project got the attention of the Austrian media for the impressive transport of large-dimension component...
SAF (Southern Aluminum Finishing Co.) announces a big push for Northwest sales and customer service: the opening of an SAF Northwest Sales office in Salem, Oregon. The new office opened this spring is managed by Peter Stauffer, Account Manager of Pacific Northwest. Stauffer was promoted from his previous position in Sales at the company’s SAF-West facility in Redding, CA. The SAF Oregon Sales office will focus on sales support to Pacific Northwest glazing and other contractors and suppliers in the commercial building market. “This office will help SAF meet expected growth in the Pacific Northwest’s commercial building industry, which by our estimates is poised to grow 25% over the next 5 years,” said, Penn McClatchey, SAF Co-CEO.
Rexam has collaborated with Czech brewer, Budweiser Budvar, to create a limited edition can design celebrating 120 years of the Budvar brewery. Rexam and Budvar worked together to create a unique design that encapsulates Budvar’s history and communicates the premium nature of the beer. Using value added matt over-varnish and careful colour matching, the stand out design celebrates the anniversary and brand traditions with a visual depiction of a 19th century barmaid. Marek Honetschläger, Budweiser Budvar Innovation manager, says, “We wanted to bring our unique can design to life in a way that would engage our valued consumers and enable us to celebrate this exciting milestone with them. As a trusted supplier, with vast experience in the industry, we knew Rexam could be relied upon to...
A New era in the history of North-East train building starts this morning when Hitachi opens the doors to its £82m train factory. At 11am in a ceremony attended by ministers, 500 guests and 100 journalists from around the world Hitachi will declare the Newton Aycliffe Rail Vehicle Manufacturing Facility open for business. Follow this momentous day as business editor Andy Richardson reports live from the opening of Hitachi's new £82m factory Karen Boswell, managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe, told The Northern Echo that today’s opening ceremony would be spectacular: “I am supremely confident that we will leave an indelible memory of the day Hitachi opened in Newton Aycliffe. Things that you thought weren’t possible will happen today. It will be more than cutting a red ribbon – I like...
Jaguar Land Rover has quietly scrapped an ambitious plan to build a factory in the desert in Saudi Arabia, according to people familiar with the matter. Codenamed Project Fern, the plan sought for the first time to place production of JLR’s premium vehicles in the Middle East — an important market for the UK-based carmaker. The plant would also have potentially given JLR the opportunity to use Saudi-produced aluminium in its lightweight cars. For Saudi, it was an attempt to reduce the country’s dependency on oil revenues and establish a manufacturing base in the kingdom. In response to a request for comment from the Financial Times, JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said the Saudi project was now “on hold”. Several people familiar with the matter went further, saying the plans had been...
Anheuser-Busch confirmed a $170 million project to expand aluminum bottle production for Budweiser and Bud Light at its Metal Container Corp. facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The project will create about 75 new jobs at the facility, officials said. The brewer had sought $15 million in state and city incentives for the project. The plan was revealed in May in a project summary for Jacksonville's Office of Economic Development. “The growing demand for our Budweiser and Bud Light aluminum bottles has helped drive growth and development in Jacksonville," Pete Kraemer, vice president of supply at Anheuser-Busch, said Tuesday in a statement. Anheuser-Busch also operates a brewery in Jacksonville. In December, Anheuser-Busch announced it would spend $150 million to expand its Metal Container...
Success Aluminium, a manufacturer and supplier of aluminium products and systems with an estimated annual turnover of $39.4 million has collapsed into voluntary administration. The company has been operating for more than 30 years and employs 34 staff across its operations in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. It manufactures and supplies aluminium extrusions, rolled products, fabricated materials and aluminium systems. Administrators Jirsch Sutherland was appointed to Success Aluminium on August 10, with Sule Arnautovic, Amanda Young and Glenn Crisp appointed to manage the administration. The appointment was made less than a month after an application to wind-up the company was filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission by a business called...
China Railway Corp has ordered a further 15 eight-car CRH380D high speed trainsets from Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation for 2·4bn yuan. Announcing the order on September 2, the BST joint venture of Bombardier and CSR Sifang Rolling Stock Co said it had begun delivering an initial batch of 70 CRH380D trainsets in the first quarter of this year, and the early follow-on order showed CRC’s confidence in the product. The CRH380D has eight aluminium-bodied cars, with three classes of seating and a dining car. It is designed for a maximum operating speed of 380 km/h, with Bombardier Mitrac propulsion and control systems supplied by the Bombardier CPC Propulsion System Co joint venture.
Aavid Thermalloy has announced launch of its its High Density Die Cast (HDDC) heat sinks. These heat sinks are said to offer several advantages over their machined, die cast and extruded counterparts. They are claimed to offer increased thermal performance and uniform thermal distribution because of the ability of the HDDC process to expand the fin configurations, fin thickness and shapes of the heat sink producing, for example pin fins, oblique or elliptical fins and radial fin arrays. Many of these features cannot be achieved via extrusion or standard die casting techniques. Further, the process is said to allow fins to be formed on thinner and lighter wall electronics housings and enclosures with intricate features and low mass. Another advantage Aavid say its HDDC process has is that...
Emirates Extrusion Factory (EEF), a leading aluminium extrusion company in UAE, plans to commission its third extrusion line at its plant in Techno Park, Dubai, which will increase its production capacity by 7,000 metric tonnes (MT) per annum. The company, a subsidiary of Masharie LLC - the private equity arm of Dubai Investments, has also announced plans to start a new powder coating plant with a capacity of 8,400 MT per annum, as demand for aluminium products surges amidst rampant construction projects in the UAE and region. EEF, which reported a total turnover of over 13,800 MT in 2014, is targeting growth of over 10 per cent growth in 2015 and bracing for increased demand in line with its expansion plans into Africa; including Algeria, Angola, Morocco, Tunisia and Kenya; and Europe,...
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) launched new curtain wall mockup and field testing capabilities for building envelopes. The global safety science organization’s services provide performance testing to determine the rate of air infiltration, water penetration, structural, impact, and cyclical performance for windows, doors, and curtain walls. The testing can occur in the laboratory, field, or in curtain wall mockups. Evaluations of air and water resistance, as well as the structural integrity of a building envelope with mockup testing and onsite testing, provide architects, building owners, consultants, and contractors with critical information needed to assess performance and risk. “These new testing capabilities not only help validate the design and material selection of the building...
General Motors Co said it will spend $877 million to overhaul its pickup truck factory in Flint, Michigan, capping a series of investments to keep production of profitable large pickups and sport utility vehicles rolling through a significant model change expected in 2018. The Flint investment is part of a plan to expand three U.S. truck plants to install new assembly lines, body welding shops and paint operations for future generations of Silverado pickups and SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade, while still running the operations that build current models. Company sources say GM's next-generation pickups and SUVs will make use of various materials, including aluminum to shed weight and gain fuel efficiency to meet tougher federal standards. Assembling the new vehicles...
Shanghai Metals Market(SMM) sees no positive note for China’s aluminum semis exports in H2 2015. One of the drags comes from one large Chinese company listed on the HKEx, who has been accused by overseas institution of engaging in aluminum semis exports in disguised form. Besides, a high SHE/LME aluminum price ratio will also undermine exports of low- and mid-end products, SMM's aluminum research team said. China exported 320,000 tonnes of aluminum semis in July, up 0.3% year-on-year, but down 21.95% month-on-month, customs data showed. Extrusion exports plunged from 163,000 tonnes in June to 77,000 tonnes in July, the major drag on overall exports.
Vimetco N.V., the global producer of primary and processed aluminium products announced its interim financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2015. Sales stood at USD 855 million while EBITDA improved at USD 129 million compared to USD 90 million during the similar period of 2014. Gheorghe Dobra, Chief Executive Officer commented: "Although the average aluminium price (cash) for the first half of 2015 stood at 1,783 USD/tonne, slightly above the level registered in the same period of last year (i.e. 1,753 USD/tonne), during the second part of the semester it had a decreasing trend falling below 1,650 USD/tonne by 30 June 2015, one of the lowest levels during the last six years. This determines us to intensify even more our efforts to control costs and to increase the efficiency...
Smart Vision Lights, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-brightness LED lights for industrial applications, is pleased to introduce its new patent-pending powerful ultra-low-cost T-SLOT LED light series featuring diffusing optics. The new series provides a cost- and energy-saving replacement for fluorescent lighting. Priced at just $89 per foot, the T-SLOT LED light bar is compatible with most popular brands of .32”, 8-mm, and 10-mm aluminum extrusions, including extrusions from 80/20, Bosch, Item, and more. These new lights truly offer twice the performance at an ultra-low price. Smart Vision Lights’ redesigned low-voltage 24 V DC T-SLOT LED light bars slide into aluminum extrusions with no extra mounting of additional lighting needed. They are ideal for use in applications with...
Cube has revamped its road line-up for 2016, with the popular Peloton replaced by a new frame dubbed the Attain, available in both aluminium and carbon fibre, and the mid-range Agree overhauled as an aero bike with endurance geometry. Both the Attain and Agree will come in rim brake and disc brake versions Aero endurance Agree is a completely new frame from what’s previously been known as the Agree. Cube describes the Agree as an ‘aero endurance’ bike and it brings together two trends which have emerged in recent years: aerodynamics and endurance geometry. That’s a relatively a rare combination as most bike brand’s pitch their aero machine squarely at the race market, but the Agree takes on a slightly more relaxed geometry than the top-of-the-range Litening, which is Cube’s super-light,...
The US-based Automotive Service Association (ASA) announced a new research project this week concerning the repair of hail-damage of aluminum vehicles. The study is a response to questions raised by the National Alliance of Paintless Dent Repair Technicians (NAPDRT) regarding proper processes for fixing aluminum body panels. The ASA Collision Division Operations Committee will formally document the repair process necessary to restore aluminum panels that have suffered hail damage. “Our goal is to provide an impartial review of the aluminum repair process as it relates to hail damage to dispel any misconceptions that may still exist,” says Scott Benavidez, AAM, ASA’s Collision Division Director. Once completed, the study will be released to the industry for reference when writing damage...
