Australia could turn more of its aluminium and copper resources into higher-value battery components, with a new report from national science agency CSIRO identifying opportunities to strengthen the country's domestic battery manufacturing capabilities. The report, The Future of Australian Battery Manufacturing: Cell Cans and Current Collector Foils, examines how Australia could use its existing industrial expertise, materials and manufacturing capabilities to produce key components for lithium-ion and emerging sodium-ion batteries. Rather than focusing solely on the country's critical mineral resources, the analysis explores practical ways to move further downstream and capture more value through local manufacturing. The opportunity comes as global demand for batteries continues to grow,...
Germany and France share one of Europe’s busiest downstream aluminium corridors, and the metal flows in both directions. In the first seven months of 2026, aluminium flat rolled products (FRP), which cover aluminium plates, sheets and strips (HS code: 7606), as well as aluminium foil (HS code: 7607), crossed the border each way, amounting to a total of around USD 692 million. However, the bilateral trade flow is tilted towards Germany, which remains France’s largest FRP supplier. Nonetheless, the inter-dependence remains as the countries do exchange the same products but engage in cross-border trade of specialised high-value products and alloys, feeding the demand on either side. The trade figures for January–July 2026, as compiled from the International Trade Administration, highlight...
Grow with
AL Circle
Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) announced its quarterly results on Monday. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. On a related note, analysts at Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a research note to investors on Friday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Shares of Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) traded up 2.24% during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.06. Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $57.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.47 and its 200-day moving average is $50.12. The company has a market cap of $875.2 million...
Prospects for the aluminium industry have worsened in the short term, with prices and margins weakening on fears of a global economic slowdown. Yet in the long term and the right environment, aluminium — used in a range of products from beverage cans to roofing — can be a good business. Natixis Commodity Markets says in its fourth-quarter Metals Review there is likely to be solid demand growth for aluminium in the next few years because of rising incomes in developing countries. Prices will be underpinned by rising energy costs, since this is an energy- intensive industry. Alcoa, the world’s biggest producer of primary and fabricated aluminium, which has about 5Mt of smelting capacity around the world, recently reported disappointing third-quarter earnings as aluminium demand slowed and...
Guangxi Guangyin Aluminum Co., Ltd and Ningxia Ningdong Energy Chemical Base signed a 2 billion yuan contract, which can produce 200 thousand tons aluminum plate and strip annually. People's Government of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region held a Investment Conference during the 8th CAEXPO. Ma Xiufen, deputy director of municipality NPC; Pengzhao, vice-chairman of CPPCC of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Ningxia delegation and enterprise representatives attended this conference. In recent years, Ningxia and Guangxi have been getting more and more active in economy and trade exchange.During the 11th Five-year plan,a lot of Guangxi enterprises entered into Ningxia and had great achievements.It is learnt that through this CAEXPO, merchants from Ningxia, Guangxi and ASEAN will cooperate...
Benada Aluminum Products LLC has delayed the restart of its idled cast house in Sanford, Fla.,due to weakness in the marketplace, a company executive told AMM. Benada, which purchased the cast house as part of its June acquisition of the former assets of Florida Extruders International Inc. (FEI), had originally hoped to bring the cast house online by the end of the summer (AMM, June 28). However, decreasing billet demand and seasonality led the extruder to postpone the ramp-up, president and chief executive officer Monte Friedkin said.
PSA will increase the use of aluminium in its vehicle range by 2020 as it seeks to reduce weight and improve powertrain fuel efficiency. The OEM is working on a five-year plan to develop new grades of aluminium, while seeking to use the material more widely in its vehicle development by 2020. PSA already uses the material in the Peugeot RCZ coupe to form the vehicle’s hood and roof arches, while the D-segment Peugeot 508 sedan has an aluminium bonnet hood as well. But the OEM is working with suppliers to develop new grades of aluminium that can be used in series production vehicles across its range. Grade 6061 aluminium is widely used in premium vehicles but is currently too costly for mainstream applications. Marc Duval-Destin, PSA’s director of research and advanced engineering,said,“We...
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Mines, has added another product to its portfolio with the launch of aluminium chequered sheets. NALCO's smelter at Angul in Orissa has started production with thickness ranging from 0.60 mm to 3 mm. The new product has a high demand in automobile industry, vehicle manufacturing and for industrial flooring. NALCO declared a total dividend payout of Rs.257.72 crore which includes the final dividend of Rs.0.50 per equity share capital i.e. 10% on face value of Rs.5 each, in addition to interim dividend of Rs.2.00 per equity share paid on pre-revised equity share capital i.e. 20% on face value of Rs.10 each. This sum is 60% higher than Rs.161.08 crore paid for the previous fiscal. The company has earned a...
Alumil – Aluminium Industry S.A. informs its shareholders that on 31.12.2011, the five year period, during which the dividend for fiscal year 2005 can be collected, expires. Following the above mentioned date, dividends not collected by shareholders will lapse in favor of the Greek State, in accordance to current legislation. Shareholders, who have not collected the dividend of 2005, must visit the company’s investor relations office (business days and hours) for the immediate collection of their dividends at the following address (Ind. Area of Kilkis, 611 00, Kilkis, tel: +30 23410 79300, fax: +30 23410 71 988) ALUMIL is ranked among the largest aluminium extrusion and profiles production private European groups (No 1 in Greece since 2000) establishing production sites, large sales...
Mathematical models, developed by Oxfordshire-based Innoval Technology, make it possible to ‘see inside’’ a working process and obtain parameters which are physically impossible to measure. The models, which are being launched for the aluminium rolling industry, will be a huge asset to process optimisation. The engineers at Innoval Technology, a leading provider of independent technical expertise to the global downstream aluminium industry, have drawn upon the vast amount of process and materials expertise within the company to create the models and to make them really easy to use. For example, the Innoval Ingot Preheating Model makes it possible to obtain the temperature at any position within an ingot, and at any time, during a heating cycle without having to use thermocouples. This...
Benteler Aluminum is expanding its aluminum extrusion operations in Holland, Michigan,a $7.6 million project which is expected to boost the plant's capacity by about 10%, the plant manager said Thursday. The facility,which Benteler, a privately owned German company, bought two years ago, produces aluminum-based sub frames,body structures and crash-management systems exclusively for the automotive industry. The expansion largely consists of "adding welding equipment, adding some capacity," Plant manager Brian Ehler said. "It's lots of improvements to our existing capacity."The company is staying in the same building,he added. Ehler declined to release current capacity figures. Some of the activities are under way now and will continue into next year."With the automotive cycle,you have a...
Siemens VAI Metal Technologies' Worcester location has won a contract to supply an aluminum rod rolling mill for Beauty Sun Holdings Ltd. of Yixing, China. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The order came from Southwire Co. of Carrollton, Ga,a wire and cable manufacturer.Siemens VAI is responsible for engineering, manufacturing and commissioning of the rolling mill and coiler equipment.The new mill will produce aluminum rod for the power conductor market, Siemens VAI said in a news release today. Southwire and Siemens VAI have worked together for more than 40 years. In Worcester, Austria-based Siemens VAI employs about 500 people.
Constellium’s Speciality Sheet division will evaluate business opportunities with Sumitomo Light Metal (SLM) and Sumitomo Corporation. Both Sumitomo Light Metal and Constellium operate aluminium rolling activities with a high level of technical focus and expertise. With a strong presence in their respective home markets (Europe and Japan/Asia), both are involved in packaging, automotive and other high value added speciality rolled products. Constellium will continue to look for technical and commercial opportunities to develop and bring products and solutions to market. While the fast-growing automotive segment has already been identified as a focus area, Constellium will also investigate other markets to serve its increasingly global customers.
Australian packaging group Amcor stood by its forecast for "substantially" higher earnings this year,expecting cost savings tied to its Alcan and Ball plastics acquisitions to outweigh rising raw materials costs. "Although economic conditions remain uncertain, the momentum of cost synergies already achieved and ongoing operational improvements in the acquired businesses underpins earnings growth for the next two years," Amcor Chief Executive Ken MacKenzie told the group's annual meeting on Thursday. Amcor's shares jumped 3.6 percent to a three-month high after its update while the broader market sank, with investors attracted to its defensive businesses in plastic bottles for soft drinks and packaging for food, medicines and cigarettes. While costs of raw materials like resins, polymers...
Aluminum prices have fallen approximately 10 percent this year amid concerns that the global economic slowdown may cut demand for raw materials. While that number may be alarming, ten percent is the smallest drop among the six industrial metals traded on the London Metal Exchange. Aluminum demand remains fairly strong as more of the metal is used in electronics, cans and transportation and construction. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Aluminum industry and provides equity research on Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) and Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX). According to researcher CRU, Aluminum will have the biggest annual demand increase among industrial metals through 2015 as its surplus turns to a shortage. The researcher argues that consumption will outpace supply in...
Alcoa Inc.’s ABI smelter in Bécancour, Quebec, has halted billet production as it seeks to resolve off-grade metal production problems. "We are experiencing technical issues at the ABI smelter in Quebec and have stopped producing billet while we work to resolve the situation," an Alcoa spokesman told AMM. "We have (pinpointed) the source of the problem, and actions are being taken to minimize customer impact." The smelter, which has a total capacity of about 400,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, can produce as much as 160,000 tonnes of billet in addition to foundry
The street gave a thumbs up to Hero MotoCorp ’s second quarter results as net profit accelerated better-than-expected 19.4% year-on-year to Rs 604 crore and sales rose a robust 28% to Rs 5,784 crore. The stock hit a high of Rs 2,086.25, up over 4% in morning trade. Auto sales have slowed down this fiscal,as expensive loans and high petrol prices have hurt passenger car demand. But two-wheeler demand has been strong. Hero MotoCorp saw July-September sales jump to their highest for the quarter at 15.44 lakh units, up 20% year-on-year. Festive season demand also pushed up its sales in September to its highest ever for the month at near 5.5 lakh units. While sales volumes have continued to accelerate, some easing of aluminium prices has also come as a much needed shot in the arm for Hero.High...
Auto parts manufacturer Rane expects its loss-making aluminium diecast subsidiary to turn around this year. Rane Diecast Ltd was set up in 2006 to cater to American partner TRW’s global requirements of machined aluminium die-castings. The subsidiary has an integrated plant in Hyderabad. For the fiscal year 2011, Rane Diecast recorded a turnover of Rs 43 crore (at a 29 per cent growth over last year) and a net loss of Rs 4.6 crore (loss of Rs 2.9 crore in FY 2010). “The first project we bagged was that of Chrysler which eventually went into bankruptcy. Orders dried up thereafter,” said Mr L. Ganesh, Chairman, Rane group. Despite improvement in sales, the capacity utilisation in 2010 – 2011 was only 67 per cent. For nearly 7-8 months, the plant was running idle, said Mr Ganesh. Higher...
Available in 6 sizes from 2.95 x 1.73 x 0.94 in. to 4.72 x 2.63 x0.75 in., MINITEKAL SK sealed enclosures consist of extruded aluminum case body with 2 molded ABS end panels assembled by 8 self-tapping screws. Typical applications will include small handheld measurement devices, low power radio equipment, power supplies, peripherals, monitoring systems and detection devices. Due to their small size, 'MINITEKAL SK' enclosures can be used as independent units or located in control cabinets. TEKO have extended the 'MINITEKAL' range of miniature extruded aluminum enclosures with the new sealed 'SK' models which feature molded end panels instead of pressed aluminum. The 'MINITEKAL SK' design consists of an extruded aluminum case body with two molded end panels which are assembled by eight...
Smartfix Industries presents Nu-core A2 Fireproof Aluminium, the next generation in prefinished aluminium composite panels (ACP). The A2 Fireproof Aluminium sets a new benchmark in aluminium composite panel technology with its new fire resistant properties. ACP is usually manufactured from polyethylene materials, which easily burns when exposed to fire. Even though the B1 ACPs are an improvement on traditional plastic materials used, the core still burns and releases toxic fumes. The Nu-core A2 aluminium composite panels eliminate the concerns in ACP installation with its fire resistant, non-combustible features and earth friendly materials.
