Ducati has unveiled the Desmo450 SM, a new production supermoto developed from its Desmo450 MX platform, featuring an aluminium twin-spar frame. This is designed to combine low weight, rigidity and strength. The motorcycle made its debut during World Ducati Week and is aimed at competition use. The Desmo450 SM uses the same aluminium frame architecture as the motocross model. Ducati says the frame has also been designed to allow a straighter intake route while maintaining the strength and rigidity needed for high-performance riding. The bike has a fuel capacity of 7.2 litres. The company has also focused on reducing weight in other areas. Its Bartubeless wheel system, for example, removes inner tubes and cuts rotating and unsprung mass by 1.2kg. The motorcycle also features a cast...
China’s aluminum door and window manufacturing sector includes a range of suppliers offering thermal-break systems, customized solutions, OEM/ODM production, and products for international building projects. A recent industry guide highlights Guangdong Dejiyoupin, Guangdong EEHE, Foshan CIVO, Sichuan Yazhixuan, and Sichuan Mingrenju, citing their production capabilities, product portfolios, project experience, customization services, and testing or certification coverage. The companies differ in their areas of focus. Dejiyoupin is highlighted for its production capacity and international certifications, while EEHE is noted for patents and a broad range of project solutions. CIVO focuses on factory-direct customization and climate-oriented systems, while Yazhixuan provides OEM/ODM...
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Builder John Holland has ended an issue over aluminium cladding on its $100 million AutoHaus Newstead project in Brisbane by using a solid aluminium sheet that avoids flammability. AutoHaus project was getting delayed by a disagreement between its cladding fabricator and supplier over the fire testing of the specified Vitracore G2 cladding. The builder opted for a different aluminium product to avoid questions about fire safety. "As this is still under way, the project team has chosen a product which is undeniably non-combustible – solid aluminium sheets. The solid aluminium product will give our customer the same quality of finish and can be delivered in time to meet the project schedule." The bulder however, has not confirmed on the timeline for the project. The decision temporarily...
American manufacturers across multiple sectors use both foreign and domestic steel and aluminum in their production processes. According to US Geological Survey, in 2017, imports made up 61 per cent of aluminium consumption in the U.S. and total crude and semi-finished aluminium import stood at 6.3 million tonnes. The tariffs are creating worries among the US automakers, can makers and construction industries and construction material suppliers. US automakers buy much of their raw steel and aluminium domestically, but they import some of the auto components from other countries. Duties have created a great deal of supply chain uncertainty for automotive-sector companies. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced procedures whereby U.S. consumers of steel and aluminium can...
According to a Bloomberg report, Trump administration’s 25 per cent duty on about $50 billion worth of imported goods will hamper growing export of Chinese-assembled cars to the U.S. auto market. A small number of Chinese-made cars make way to the U.S. market, but the number has been on the rise. Volvo Cars started importing S60 sedans from China in 2015. General Motors Co. also imported Buick Envision SUV and Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid in small numbers. According to Autodata Corp, about 4,367 Envisions were sold in the U.S. last month, less than 1.5 per cent of GM’s total sales, plus only 17 plug-in Cadillac CT6s. “At this point, the decision would put on hold any plans to import cars,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, adding that “it’s really...
Business tycoon Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, which has been on an acquisitions spree since 2013 including deals in Europe, the U.S. and Australia for steel mills, aluminium smelters, energy producers and auto- components manufacturers, will build EV plants as part of his venture into the auto supply chain worldwide. According to the press statement, the group has committed more than $3 billion to the investments. GFG Alliance plans to start building Formula 1-inspired electric vehicles in India and Australia early next decade. GFG aims to design the budget, lightweight city cars based on a car model developed by former McLaren Racing and Brabham technical director Gordon Murray. "We are talking about city cars, about small, light, very, very economic cars," he said in an interview in...
Finland based leading manufacturer of energy-efficient and fire-proof insulation solutions, Paroc introduces new lightweight solutions for A60 aluminium constructions under Paroc Light Marine launch series. This is expected to reduce considerable weight, as well as cost in the shipbuilding industry. Paroc's A60 solutions for 70mm aluminium bulkheads and 60mm decks based only on one new technology product Paroc Marine Navis Mat 90, a non-combustible stone wool mat used for fire protection on ships in A-class constructions of aluminium decks and bulkheads. The design and installation of this product are easy as the same product is used on stiffeners. Since the 4mm thick aluminium decks and bulkheads, tested and approved by the new A60 solutions are expected to decrease the weight more than...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final determination finding current fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles model years 2022-2025 are not appropriate. US environmental regulators decided that the emissions standards for cars and trucks set by Obama administration were “too high”. They announced on Monday that they would ease emissions standards for cars and trucks and set up new standards. The agency believed the regulations “presents challenges for auto manufacturers due to feasibility and practicability, raises potential concerns related to automobile safety, and results in significant additional costs on consumers, especially low-income consumers”. Automakers, environmentalists and metal producers and associations...
General Manager of Integral Coach Factory S. Mani declared on Saturday 31st March, 2018 that the company will start manufacturing aluminium coaches from 2020. This is going to be a significant step towards crafting light-weight rail coaches, at par with international standards. At an event to mark the achievement of 2,500 coaches in 2017-18, Mani made an announcement that ICF rolled out a total of 2,503 coaches of various capacities on March 31, 2018, adding that the company will export the coaches to Sri Lanka. According to ICF higher officials, the manufacturing unit of Indian Railways crossed 2,500th-mark for the first time. “We had manufactured 2,277 coaches in 2016-17. That feat remained as our top performance until we crossed 2,500 today (Saturday). Our 2500th coach with 102 seats...
U.S. President Donald Trump is girding for a trade war with China. After slapping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports this month, he announced plans last week to levy tariffs on up to $60 billion (374 billion yuan) of Chinese goods. In retaliation, Beijing said it will impose tariffs on $3 billion of American goods, most of which are fruits. Both sides hope to settle the disputes through negotiation. It remains unknown where the talks will lead. Yet regardless of the outcome, the impact on foreign automakers operating in China will be limited. For global automakers, the Trump administration is likely to obtain two concessions from Beijing. One is looser restrictions on the stake foreign automakers are allowed to hold in local joint ventures. Under existing rules, foreign automakers must...
A number of small scale end user industries in the U.S. will end up increasing the cost of their products to adjust Donald Trump's 25% and 10% tariff on steel and aluminium import. As we have said earlier, craft beer or cider industry fears they would have to increase the price of beer and cider cans if imported aluminium becomes expensive. Justin Heilenbach, president and co-founder of Citizen Cider, Burlington says if the cost of aluminium cans goes up, that could be passed on to the consumers. The same goes for the price of kegs, which are made out of steel. Andrea Gagner, CEO of 14th Star Brewing in St. Albans cans most of the beer they produce and they are still not sure how they would manage the extra cost if their can suppliers increase the prices Gagner said if aluminum prices go...
Executives from major automakers raised concerns at the New York auto show this week about the possibility of a trade war after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports earlier this month, especially at a time when U.S. sales of new vehicles are in decline. "Protectionism doesn't have winners," Hinrich Woebcken, Volkswagen AG's North American chief executive, told Reuters. "When you start to raise bars, you are bringing an imbalance of trade that will not produce any winners." U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel imports that industry experts and manufacturers say could lower profits for companies making everything from pickup trucks to canned soup, or result in higher prices for consumers. Trump has criticized Germany for levying...
There was a slight drift in the use of metal when the electric carmaker Tesla Inc. decided to use steel instead of aluminium in its first mass-market model last summer. Aluminium has always been the key metal to redress the weights of batteries and increase consumer acceptance for electric vehicles. However in the recent time, in order to invade a bigger market, the battery-powered car maker invited a little change in the use of metals and embraced some technological developments in batteries and components, due to which, the price of Tesla's mass-market orientated Model 3 is around half of the £70,000 luxury Model S. “Before the aim was 'Let's get the [electric vehicles] developed', now it's 'Let's get them developed at the right price point, said Mauro Erriquez, a partner at McKinsey &...
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) announced that Devinder Ahuja, senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), Novelis Inc., has been named to the NAM Board of Directors. Ahuja will join the NAM Board to advance a manufacturing policy agenda that promotes growth and prosperity for all Americans. Founded in 1895, the NAM, guided by its Board of Directors, is the largest industrial trade association in the United States with 14,000 members and is the nation’s most influential advocate for manufacturing. The NAM’s membership includes some of the world’s most iconic brands and many of the small manufacturers that power the U.S. economy. More than 90 percent of our members are small and medium-sized businesses. The NAM is at the forefront of every important policy...
Canowater has revealed that it has introduced a brand new edition to its range of environmentally friendly water cans made out of aluminium and specially designed by Christopher Raeburn for London Zoo, since the zoo has decided to swap plastic water bottle for aluminium cans in order to lend a touch of advanced eco-friendliness to nature. A UK-based company Canowater, established in 2015, has always aimed at creating a “sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bottles” and therefore, decides to use aluminium instead of detrimental plastic for crafting water cans. "Aluminium has the highest recycling rate of any drink out there”, said company co-founder Josh White adding, "Recycle a can and it could be back on the shelf in as little as six weeks". Needless to say, that these specially...
Strong demand from overseas aluminium foil markets in the final quarter of 2017 saw aluminium foil deliveries from European foil rollers reach a new record tonnage for the full year, according to figures released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA). Overall deliveries for the full twelve-month period were at 886,300t (2016: 874,900t), even higher than pre-crisis levels for the second year running. Thinner gauges, used mainly for flexible packaging and household foils added 1.8% year on year, while thicker gauges, used typically for semi-rigid containers and technical applications, slightly increased by 0.3 percent. Total domestic deliveries were ahead by 0.6% in the period, while exports improved strongly, by 5.7 percent. The final three months of 2017 saw deliveries to...
Novelis has supplied premium aluminium to the new London Electric Taxi. London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) has developed an all-new zero-emissions capable taxi, the TX, with an aluminium frame. The company’s lightweight aluminium sheet is incorporated into the design of the TX to help reduce weight and increase the driving range. Image Source: Novelis “Many automakers and particularly those like LEVC that sell urban vehicles are allocating more time and resources to electrification and lightweighting as a way to increase the performance of the vehicle and reduce CO2 emissions,” said Michael Hahne, Vice President, Automotive, Novelis Europe. LEVC wants to create cities that are cleaner and greener for everyone and by incorporating more infinitely recyclable and lightweight aluminium...
Emaar Industries & Investments (EII) has acquired a stake in Gutmann Systems Middle East, a supplier of architectural aluminium glazing systems. The strategic partnership with EII will be a game changer for our operations in the region, according to Gutmann Systems Middle East. Nael Afieh, Managing Director of Gutmann Systems Middle East, said: “The strategic partnership with EII will be a game changer for our operations in the region, as we continue to grow our footprint and business.” “Across the MENA region, there are significant investments in infrastructure development. This forms an ideal market for our solutions that have demonstrated their high standards of quality. We aim to build long-term value through this association and look forward to the informed guidance and strategic...
Birmingham-based ExtrudaSeal has launched a new high-performance lock housing mechanism with easy to fit Eurogroove cover for aluminium bi-folding door systems. Developed in response to fabricator demand, the rigid PVC-U extrusion delivers an exacting and flush fit inside the sash frame, minimising adjustment of locking mechanisms. Paul James, sales director, Extrudaseal explained: “In developing a lock-housing which sits flush with the frame but most importantly tight within it, we’re able to eliminate any movement. “The major innovation is that the housing features two additional legs, which reinforce and deliver far greater structural integrity to the profile. “When its fixed within the frame with fixing screws there’s no movement whatsoever and because it’s also flush with the frame...
The escalating development in global automobile sector is poised to generate commendable growth avenues for automotive wheel market in the ensuing years. Automobile producers have been adopting new manufacturing techniques to comply with emission control regulatory norms. Researchers have also been implementing novel product designs and improvised concepts to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles, which in turn, will boost automotive wheel industry size. Another pivotal factor making a significant impact on the product demand is the rising spending capabilities of consumers. Of late, consumers have been prioritizing comfort, durability, and product design, which has undoubtedly provided a significant impetus to global automotive wheel industry size. As per the estimates, automotive...
