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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In the line of electromobility campaign in India, another Japanese carmaker Honda has recently announced plans to set up a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in India. Honda Cars India, the Indian arm of the Japanese automotive giant, is currently researching on the type of electric vehicles that would be best suitable for Indian roads. According to an announcement by Honda earlier this year, electric vehicles will account for up to 65% of the company’s overall sales by 2030. Out of the electric vehicles, 15% would be pure electric and the rest would be hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell powered cars. Commenting on the strategy, Honda Cars India Senior Vice President Jnaneswar Sen said, “Recently, on the global front, Honda has tied up with Hitachi for electric motors and we...
As a significant step towards Government’s mission to switch to all-electric cars by 2030, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has approved the introduction of EV-based public transportation systems in 11 cities across the country. The cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Jammu and Guwahati. Ministry of Heavy Industries selected these 11 cities after screening 47 proposals from 44 cities, requesting nearly 3,144 electric buses, 2,430 electric four-wheeler taxis and as many as 21,545 electric three-wheelers. This would have required about US$632.2 million (INR 4,054.6 Cr) of financial support from the centre. Considering limited funds under the FAME schemeonly 11 cities have been shortlisted currently. The selection was made based on...
Dudley’s Aluminium has begun work on a new project with Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd to construct the new Village Urban Resort Hotel in Bristol. The new hotel, which will be located in the North of Bristol, will be a business class hotel with a business and events hub as well as a state-of-the-art health and fitness club. Dudley’s secured the contract with Willmott Dixon, a contract in excess of half a million pounds, and will install high-quality Kawneer capped curtain walling, windows, doors and patio doors throughout the hotel’s bedrooms, as well as automatic doors at the entrances. It is the second VUR Hotel that Dudley’s has undertaken with the Willmott Dixon team, following on from the successful completion of the new VUR Hotel in Portsmouth. The hotel is predicted to create more...
Dell has expanded its Inspiron series with the launch of ultra-slims notebooks. The company has launched three notebooks- “Inspiron 13 7000" 2-in-1 (7373), "Inspiron 15 7000" (7570) and "Inspiron 13 5000" (5370) for the Indian market. Alen Joe Jose, Product Marketing Director, Consumer and Small Business, Dell India, said in a statement: "We have brought in durability and long-lasting strength in an encased anodised aluminium body. The new Inspiron family is every bit striking and versatile, all clubbed into a light-weight design." "Inspiron 13 7000" 2-in-1 (7373) gets FHD IPS touch display with SmartByte streaming technology. "Inspiron 15 7000" (7570) comes with 15-inch thin bezel display encased in an aluminium body. Dell "Inspiron 13 5000" (5370) features 13-inch FHD IPS display with...
Alusynco Hellas Services Ltd, a subsidiary company of Hellas Construction group, has started the construction of a new manufacturing facility at the Appolonia City’s business park in Accra, Ghana. The plant will manufacture aluminium and PVC home finishing products such as doors, windows, wall curtains, balustrades and security doors. Gregory Savvidis, Technical Manager of Alusynco, commented: “Appolonia City’s impressive growth over the last few years made it an obvious choice for our new manufacturing facility. We are excited about the opportunities to expand our reach to the new residents of Appolonia City and to join the growing community of businesses at the business park.” Alusynco Hellas Services Ltd manufactures aluminium products in Greece and has now invested in Ghana. Bright...
In a first, the Railways will soon roll out 15 aluminium-bodied trainsets A– called Train-20 — on its prestigious Rajdhani routes that will run faster and boast of improved passenger comforts. The aluminium trainsets A– or trains like the Metro or EMUs that do not have locomotives hauling them — will not only be lightweight and energy-efficient, they will run at 160 kmph and have an automatic door system. They will have both seating and sleeper berths. The aluminium trainsets, estimated to cost INR 2,500 crore, will start rolling out of the Railways’ Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) near Chennai by 2020. “A global tender has been floated inviting bids from leading international coach manufacturers for design, development, manufacturing, testing and commissioning of aluminium car body...
China’s Zhejiang University announced that they have created a new type of aluminium-graphene battery that can be charged in seconds rather than minutes or hours. The new aluminium-graphene battery was developed by researchers from the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University. The team have designed the battery using graphene films as an anode and metallic aluminium as cathode. According to a report published by xinhuanet, it retains 91 per cent of its capacity after 250,000 recharges, surpassing all the previous batteries in terms of rate capability and cycle life. This new battery can be charged in 1.1 seconds.
The demand for aluminium tubes and pipes is estimated to increase in foreseeable future because of continuous expenditure in sectors such as construction, building, transportation and others. Denmark’s aluminium tubes and pipes export, which was down last year, is expected to rise in 2017.Most of the country’s aluminium tubes and pipes export goes to Czech Rep., Germany, France, Poland, and Sweden. According to recent statistics, Denmark exported 16997 tonnes of aluminium tubes and pipes in 2016, down from 17038 tonnes in 2015. In 2017, the country’s aluminium tubes and pipes export is estimated to rise to 17002 tonnes. The estimated value of aluminium tubes and pipes export was USD 88 million and USD 84 million respectively for 2015 and 2016. In the year 2017, the value of export is...
Ball Corporation recently won silver and bronze at this year's Canmaker "Can of the Year" Awards for its L'Oréal Men Expert Antiperspirant can in the "Aerosol Cans" category and its Tactile can in the "Prototype" category. Ball utilized its innovative ReAl technology to make the new silver award-winning L'Oréal Men Expert Antiperspirant can. ReAl paves the way for greater lightweighting potential, as well as stronger cans. Ball's ReAl technology provides increased strength and allows Ball to lightweight the L'Oréal Men Expert Can by approximately 12 percent. Additionally, the 80-station necker Ball uses to manufacture this can enables the production of more intricate shapes. "ReAl is an excellent fit for L'Oréal Men Expert, as the sustainability benefits of meaningful lightweighting...
Once again the WorldStar competition, organised by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), has recognised excellence in aluminium foil innovation by naming four winning entries from the Alufoil Trophy 2017 in its own list of winners. Amcor and Constantia Flexibles provided the successful entries in the prestigious and globally recognised WorldStar competition. In the food category Constantia Flexibles scooped three of the WPO’s awards for products for very diverse uses. The Bone Shaped Container for wet dog food features very high-impact printing for maximum shelf appeal, as well as being lightweight and easy to stack when empty. The second Star was awarded to a container and lid combination for Bäckerei Stiebling’s Cakees ready to eat cake products, enabling them to be kept at ambient...
The British defence and aerospace company BAE Systems has received a US$45.3 million contract from the U.S. Navy to modernize its guided missile cruiser USS Anzio (CG 68). The contract includes elaborate repair work on-board the 567-foot-long Anzio and replacement of critical aluminium structures with new ones. BAE Systems will conduct the modernization work at its shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. The location also happens to be the ship’s homeport. On completion after six months, the cumulative value of the project is estimated to go up to $53.1 million. The work is expected to begin in February next year. “As our team wraps up the first stage of modernization work aboard the Vicksburg, we look forward to the arrival of the Anzio soon afterwards to start its cruiser-mod program,” Vice...
Value-addition is “in” in all the industrial metal manufacturing sectors, especially in the emerging economies where infrastructure overhaul is in full swing. India’s JSW Steel recently launched JSW Everglow- an aluminium zinc-coated housing solution made of technologically superior steel. The product was launched for Kerala market. JSW Everglow is a super-premium steel product coated with aluminium-zinc compound. It also features a highly durable polyester (SDP) paint coating and bottom colour paint coating which makes it ideally suited for interior accent as well strong roofing solution. With this product launch JSW Steel has reinforced its focus on value-added steel portfolio. JSW Steel has developed a wide-range of innovative products leveraging its technological capabilities. Its...
Netherlands, the 9th largest exporter in the world, shipped US$435 billion worth of goods in 2016. The country’s exports of commodities have decreased during the last five years. Aluminium containers, which are used for packaging of several commercial commodities, are non-toxic, odourless and moisture resistant. Netherlands witnessed a drop in exports of aluminium containers last year. The country’s export of this product is estimated to increase this year. According to recent estimates, Netherlands shipped 964 tonnes of aluminium containers worth US$9.5 million in 2015.Aluminium containers export from Netherlands totalled 591 tonnes and was valued at US$ 7.1 million in 2016. Netherlands is estimated to export 2908 tonnes of aluminium containers and earn revenue amounting to US$317...
Reynaers Romania, a leading European specialist in developing and marketing of innovative and sustainable solutions in aluminium for windows, doors, curtain walls, sliding systems & sun screening, is targeting a 10 per cent increase in turnover in 2018. The company also aims to achieve a turnover of EUR 7 million at the end of 2017. Reynaers Romania relocated its operations to the logistic center in the south part of Bucharest, Romania in 2017. The logistic center was commissioned at the end of 2015 with an investment of approximately EUR 1 million. The company plans to develop the distribution channel by opening a new showroom in the center of Bucharest in 2018. They also have nationwide expansion plans for 2018, starting with areas, such as Cluj, Timisoara, Sibiu and Iasi. Reynaers...
Chinese electric auto maker Nio has launched sales of its first vehicle three years after the company was founded, undercutting the price of a rival model from Tesla. Electric motors mounted on each axle give the ES8 a 0-62mph time of 4.4 seconds, which is similar to a Model X 90D. The launch could put pressure on Tesla in the world's largest electric vehicle market because the USA company isn't expected to manufacture its Model X into China until 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said recently. However, because of import duties that are levied, the all-electric crossover is quite expensive. These companies want to rival Tesla with smart electric vehicles that feature internet connectivity and new technologies, and by leveraging their understanding of Chinese consumers. The competing SUV is more...
Crown Asia Pacific, a division of Crown Holdings, has inaugurated its new aluminium beverage can manufacturing plant in Jakarta, Indonesia. The new facility is Crown’s first beverage can plant in Indonesia and 16th in the Asia Pacific region. The plant has an initial annual capacity of 650 million cans. Robert Bourque, President of Crown Asia Pacific, commented: “There is great potential for the beverage can in Indonesia thanks to strong economic growth and a sizable population, which ranks as the fourth largest in the world.” The single-line facility will produce standard 330ml two-piece aluminium beverage cans and a range of specialty sizes. The facility has been designed to be able to accommodate a second can line with similar capacity and a beverage end production line, allowing Crown...
Hazlemere Commercial, one of the largest suppliers of architectural aluminium products in the South East of England, has secured contract to supply all the new aluminium windows, doors and curtain walling. Kier Construction has awarded contract for their new build project at Green Ridge Primary Academy in Aylesbury, Bucks. The company will manufacture and install all the fenestration required for this new high quality teaching space. Locally based on Cressex Business Park in High Wycombe, Hazlemere will be fabricating all the aluminium double glazed products within their 38,000 square foot factory in South Bucks. The thermally broken double glazing products specified by Kier Construction on the Green Ridge Primary Academy project are Sapa Elegance 52 aluminium curtain walling, Sapa...
Major development projects are being flagged off across Malaysia driving the demand for building materials sector. AmInvestment Bank Bhd in their recent market study held an ‘overweight’ view of the sector which includes aluminium building materials. According to the investment bank, key catalysts are visible and the order books are full for construction industry players in the country. Buying of building materials such as steel, cement and aluminium has increased lifting higher-than-expected average selling prices of these commodities. “Key catalysts that potentially boost greater demand for building materials are the infrastructure development projects earmarked under Budget 2018, in which the government is committed to spending on roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, public housing,...
