Two recent Tesla stories sit at opposite ends of the range. Tesla Model 3 is set to benefit from cost-focused Cybercab inverter technology, announced on November 1 2026. The flying car, Tesla Roadster, uses aluminum in its battery cells and underbody protection, reinforcing power delivery, thermal management and lightweight construction. The two models reveal how aluminum can serve very different engineering priorities, from making electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable to helping them deliver extraordinary performance. Tesla Model 3: the everyday car gets Cybercab hardware Nick Verzini, Tesla’s Head of Drive Unit Engineering, mentioned on a Munro Live factory tour that a new printed circuit board assembly and power stage from the Cybercab’s inverter will enter Model 3 production in...
Aluminum foil is getting a seasonal makeover as Reynolds Wrap introduces its limited-edition Snowflakes Fun Foil, bringing decorative appeal to everyday kitchen tasks ahead of the holiday season. Featuring an embossed snowflake pattern, the product combines the familiar functionality of aluminum foil with a festive appearance suited to food wrapping, holiday entertaining and homemade gifts. The new design allows consumers to use Reynolds Wrap foil for more than routine food storage, adding a decorative touch to meal preparation and presentation. Its winter-inspired pattern makes it suitable for covering dishes, preserving leftovers, packaging baked treats and creating festive crafts. Despite its seasonal appearance, Snowflakes Fun Foil retains the practical functionality of conventional...
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Windows, Doors & Facades (WDF) 2019, the fourth edition of Middle East’s largest event dedicated to windows, doors and facades will take place from September 24 to 26 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Innovative products and new facades solutions will be showcased at one of the most popular events for the end user applications of a number of materials including aluminium, steel and PVC in the construction sector. While new-age buildings like the Museum of the Future are in course of construction in Dubai and the region, tomorrow’s landmarks that promise to mesmerise the passer by will start taking shape at the event, said a statement. Next generation of façade solutions by leading manufacturers will be presented during the event, which will allow architects and developers to break their...
According to a recent report, Coca-Cola is switching from plastic bottles to aluminium cans for its Dasani water brand. As per the report, Coke will start selling canned Dasani next month onwards in the north-east of the United States, and by 2020 it plans to reach out to other parts of the country. The announcement came after Pepsico recently declared to experiment with selling Aquafina in cans at restaurants and stadiums. Beverage giants are under pressure to boost recycling and reduce the use of plastic in their packaging. Since aluminium cans contain more recycled material, the companies are turning to this metal as an alternative solution. Dasani and Aquafina are the top two bottled brands in the US, with combined sales north of $2 billion. In addition to the aluminium can, Coke is...
During a panel discussion last week at the 2019 CAR Management Briefing Seminars, representatives from steel, aluminium and plastic industry seem to be agreeing with working together rather than competing with each other in the auto sector. Most of the automotive experts agreed on a mixed-materials approach for vehicles that allows the use of different materials in strategic areas in order to produce safe, strong, lighter-weight and affordable vehicles. "All materials will be significant players," said Mario Greco, chairman of the aluminium transportation group of the Aluminum Association, a trade group. According to him, the future architectures for electric and autonomous vehicles will require different materials to optimize weight and safety and with smart usage of multiple materials,...
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales of new energy vehicles across Chinese markets declined in July, the first full month after the new subsidy scheme took effect. NEV sales registered month-on-month decline by 47.5% and year-on-year by 4.7% to stand at 80,000 units, Shanghai Metals Market reported. Pure electric vehicles sales witnessed a sharper decline. Production of NEV stood at 84,000 units last month, a drop of 6.9% year-on-year. Production dropped 37.2% month-on-month. CAAM data also showed that cars production decreased 5% on the month and 11.9% on the year to stand at 1.8 million units in July. Auto sales stood at 1.81 million units in July, down 12.1% on the month and by 4.3% on the year. Sales of passenger vehicles declined 3.9% YoY to...
Bread-based beer brand Toast Ale has reportedly launched a new line of craft beer cans, which will be available online and in Tesco and Waitrose. The release of these cans was inspired by a study that showed aluminium cans boast a lower environmental impact than glass bottles. It also found that aluminium cans could be more readily recycled than glass bottles. In the United Kingdom, approximately 72 per cent of aluminium cans is recycled compared to 67.7 per cent of glass bottles. In early July, Toast Ale reported that it was raising a fund of £35,000 to make a move from glass bottles to aluminium cans . The new products give a new brand identity to the London-based brewery, replacing the company's existing ‘Brewed with Bread' tagline with a new ‘Toasting Change' message. The company...
According to the latest update from Shanghai Metals Market, about 73,500 new energy vehicles obtained qualification certificates in China in the month of July. This marks a decrease of 43 per cent from a month ago and 18.3 per cent from the same period last year, the first-ever Y-o-Y decline since the NEV sector emerged a few years ago. Installed power battery capacity also shrank by 29 per cent month-on-month and 26.9 per cent year-on-year to 4.69GWh. After a rapid expansion in the first half of the year, China’s NEV sector hit a trough in July, the first full month since the new NEV subsidy scheme and vehicle emission standards took effect. Due to the shift to new emission standards, there had been a rush to clear existing inventories of diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles, resulting...
According to the global export-import data, France is expected to be the leading destinations for Germany’s aluminium cans export in 2019. The available data shows that France is likely to secure 19,454 tonnes of aluminium cans this year, an increase of 34 per cent from 14,561 tonnes in 2018. In 2016 and 2017, Germany’s export to France stood at 8,568 tonnes and 11,549 tonnes respectively, up 35 per cent year on year. From 2017 to 2018, Germany’s aluminium cans export to France grew by 26 per cent, as shown by the available data. The Netherlands, however, which is another important destination for Germany’s aluminium cans export, is expected to secure a lesser amount of aluminium cans this year, compared with the previous year. In 2018, Germany exported 15,518 tonnes to the Netherlands,...
China’s new-vehicle market has continued falling for 12 consecutive months on slower economy. Automakers and suppliers are likely to see a longer period of downturn as the government is planning to discontinue a key stimulus plan designed to boost the economy. The Chinese Communist Party has decided not to “use the property market as a tool to stimulate economic growth,” a local media report said on Tuesday. Beijing plans to abandon its policy of managing the domestic economy by adjusting real-estate policy. This means the government used to ease controls on real-estate development and make home loans easily available to home buyers whenever there was a sign of slowing economy. This helped boosting the economic graph. This policy helped investments in real-estate development across the...
Façades systems distributer Vivalda Group has acquired MSP Scotland for an undisclosed amount. MSP will continue to trade under its brand, which was established in 1966. Vivalda chairman Peter Johnson said: “The MSP name is well known across the UK as a provider of both branded facia boards, as well as its bespoke coated aluminium façade solutions. I’ve been impressed with the level of skilled technicians and engineers based here at Cumbernauld – which I am sure will prove to be a great asset to the Vivalda Group. “We intend to invest in people and technology here at MSP, to create a world-class façades manufacturing and fabrication facility. There’s a great fit between Vivalda and MSP, both strategically and culturally, and I am confident that this acquisition will bring further growth...
French shipyard Garcia Yachts, specialised in aluminium blue water cruising sailboats construction, has reportedly begun developing the first hull in its flagship Exploration 60 range. The key features of the vehicle include an aluminium hull and deck structure, as well as aluminium forward and aft bulkheads. The coach roof is fitted with large glass panels to allow passengers to enjoy a panoramic view of the outside world. A totally flush deck, refined exterior lines, and an interior helm station are some of the other notable features of the yacht. The versatile transom area doubles up as a diving platform, boarding area or bathing beach. The Exploration 60 can be operated with or without crew. It offers three layouts in two different interior styles. The “standard” layout features two...
Alexander Baumgartner, CEO of Constantia Flexibles, was unanimously elected as chairman of the Flexible Packaging Europe during the organization’s summer conference in Amsterdam. Baumgartner reaffirmed FPE’s objective to be a voice for the industry which is dedicated to food safety, food waste reduction and sustainability after his election. “I am very honoured to have been elected to lead FPE forward in its next phase of development, especially in these defining times for the packaging sector. It is vitally important that we come together to innovate and work on all the important topics, such as recyclability, resource efficiency, sustainability, food waste and food safety. It is important that, as an industry, we speak with one voice and implement change,” the new chairman said....
Ardagh Group, a Luxembourg-based producer of glass and metal products, reportedly expands its range of coloured tabs and shells for aluminium cans with copper colour. The copper effect is for increasing the visual impact of canned products. The colour is approved for both Ardagh’s coloured tabs and shell lines, meaning the customers can choose the copper colour for both parts of the beverage end together or mix-and-match with other colour options. Ardagh said the copper colour would be an apt choice for those final products that are linked with copper still distilling or where the brand is positioned at the top end of the market and seeks an exclusive appeal. Dirk Schwung, sales director at Ardagh Group’s European metal beverage division, said: “We are proud to be introducing this unique...
Bumchun Precision will reportedly construct an aluminium battery terminals manufacturing facility in Hungary with an investment of EUR40.8 million (US$45.3 million). As per the report, Hungarian government is providing EUR8.13 million in funding towards the investment. The facility, to be built in Salgótarján, will manufacture aluminium battery terminals for electric vehicles and will create 200 new jobs (approx.). Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, said: "The Government would like to develop Hungary into a production location within this field, and it regards South Korea as an ally in view of the fact it is in the most part investments realised by South Korean enterprises that are designating the winners of the new industrial era." According to the Minister, the...
Heineken NV reported on Monday that it missed profit estimates for H1 2019 despite higher sales, attributing it to rising packaging costs due to higher aluminium prices. The world's second-largest brewer and Europe's top-selling lager beer maker sticks to its profit growth forecast for the full year. The company experienced 0.3per cent increase in the Jan-June period which is likely to increase by the end of 2019. The company expects to be benefitted in 2019 from higher sales volume, higher prices and a consumer shift to more expensive beers. However, input and logistics costs would rise by a mid-single-digit percentage over 2019. Heineken's input costs during January-June rose 8.5per cent, primarily for the costlier aluminium used in its beer cans. Company’s CFO Laurence Debroux told...
Renault and Toyota Motor have each signed a deal with a domestic Chinese electrified vehicle manufacturer to jointly produce EVs. China is encouraging foreign automakers to strike similar deals with domestic producers in order to expand EV output in the country. Collaboration between foreign automakers and local peers on EV production started in 2017 when government revealed plans to introduce a carbon credit program to push manufacturers into hiking output of electrified vehicles. In June 2017, Volkswagen Group signed an agreement with Jianghuai Automobile Co. to produce EVs for China market. Ford Motor Co. and BMW Group also collaborated with Zotye Automobile Co. and Great Wall Motor Co., respectively next year. VW, Ford and BMW have all chosen to incorporate new EV production ventures...
Ardagh Group, a global supplier of infinitely recyclable, metal and glass packaging for the world’s leading brands, announced its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019. The Group’s revenue stood at $2,268 million in the three months period, down 3% year-on-year. On a constant currency basis, revenue rose by 1%, mainly due to the pass through of increased input costs, partly offset by lower volumes in Glass Packaging North America. Paul Coulson, Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “Our second quarter performance was in line with our expectations, led by strong performances in our Metal Packaging Americas and Glass Packaging Europe divisions. The recently announced combination of our Metal Packaging Food & Specialty business with Exal to form Trivium Packaging, a new global...
Aluminum producer Hydro now supplies ASI-certified sustainable aluminium for the battery housing of the first fully electric SUV of Audi called Audi e-tron The aluminium component is processed and manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner and under socially acceptable working conditions. This has been certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) with a “chain of custody” certificate. Audi also had a certificate from ASI for the sustainable assembly of these aluminium components in October 2018. This ensures that the aluminium sheets processed in the battery housing of the Audi e-tron are now completely certified for sustainability along the complete supply chain. Both the partners have kept a strict target of reducing CO2 emissions from the use of aluminium along the...
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) has forecast the automobile sales to drop in China in 2019. Weaker purchasing capacity due to slower economic growth and the new vehicle emission standards could be some of the reasons for the estimated drop in car sales, according to a report by staffs from the association. As per the CAAM’s estimation, there is likely to be a 5 per cent drop in car sales in China this year to 26.68 million units, compared to a previous forecast of 28 million units. This year’s decline would thus, be larger than that of 2.8 per cent in 2018, the first drop in 28 years. For new energy vehicles, the CAAM expects the sales to climb about 19.4 per cent and come in at 1.5 million tonnes, a slower increase compared to the last year’s estimate of 33 per...
